Weekly Japan Travel Information and Discussion Thread – July 14, 2023

9 comments

1. I want to buy tickets for the whole ghibli park, but two areas(dodonko forest and hill) are only avaliable on the domestic site. Will it be okay to buy on the domestic site or will I be denied and it’d be better to just settle for the warehouse version on the international site? Any help is apprechiated, thank you

2. Are there any remaining fish markets that are still in the spirit of Tsukiji *before* they completely revamped things and moved the tuna auction? Doesn’t necessarily have to be Tokyo. I was lucky enough to check it out back in 2018 before everything changed, so just curious if there’s anything still adjacent to that for when my partner and I visit next year.

3. I’ve always wanted to travel to japan, I like the culture, I want to try their foods, all the tourist places, places with great views and so on, but I also always wanted to visit places that are more oriented towards younger people, like their arcade stores, anime/manga stores, and so on and so on, places that looked awesome to me for many years now, unfortunately I never had the means or the chance to go there during my 20’s when I was young.
   I’m 32 now, and I don’t see myself able to visit japan before I’m 35-40

   the question is would it still be worth it then? it feels weird to me to go to such places when I’m at that age, with beard and hair that start to grey, where everyone around me will be people in their 20’s.
   my interest in those things did not subdue with age, I’m a geek at heart, but I don’t want to be that “old man creep” in those places that will be packed with mostly young people.
   there are certain weird places to go to (for the experience and the laugh) such as maid cafes (just an example) that are less weird to be in if you’re young.
   but once you’re older, going into such places doesn’t feel right anymore, and while I never cared to go to the more extreme weird places like a “maid cafe”

   I still share the same feeling towards the more normal places that are oriented towards younger people.
   and going to japan but not go to all the places I wanted to visit, for that reason, will surely pinch. which makes me wonder if it’s even worth it to begin with.

4. Do I need a round trip flight back to my own country to be approved entry into Japan? I would like to go to South Korea from Japan. I plan to buy my ticket to South Korea before entering Japan. Will this work instead of a round trip ticket?

5. November trip. I’ve got my hotels all booked up and just wanted to see if the price and locations seem OK. I know I’m spending a long time in Tokyo, I know what I like.

   Shibuya Grandbelll hotel 9 nights $728 usd

   Hotel Wing Kanazawa 3 nights $150 usd

   APA hotel namba-eki higashi (next to dotonbori) Osaka 4 nights $250 usd

   Sotetsu Fresna inn Kyoto 4 nights $220 usd

   APA hotel Ueno 4 nights $250 usd

6. While booking hotels in Japan via [Booking.com](https://Booking.com) I see that many hotels charge an additional city tax. How much is this city tax usually or does that vary per hotel/city?

   Are there other fees that I should take into account in my hotel budget?

7. I looked at the document provided by the government and didn’t see Lamotrigene or Wellbutrin listed as prohibited drugs, but can anyone tell me if they have experience? Thanks!

8. Hi, I’ve never traveled to Japan before and I understand that as a US citizen I don’t need a visa for stays up to 90 days.

   Can anyone tell me if I will actually be admitted to Japan, if I tell them at customs I’m staying for 90 days? I know from experience that as a US citizen, you can technically travel within places like Ireland/the UK for 90/180 days, but if you actually say you’re staying for more than two weeks there’s a huge risk they won’t actually let you past the border. I’ve known people who were turned away at the Irish/UK borders for saying they were staying for as little as 30 days, six weeks, etc. I knew one person who had booked full six months of travel in the UK who was turned away at the border.

   I want to go to Japan for the first time to visit my friend who lives there, and I’d like to stay as long as possible, the full 90 days if it’s possible. They said I can stay with them in their apartment the whole time. Will I actually be admitted though if I plan for this?

9. Any recommendations for a day trip from Tokyo? Planning Hakone, but I wonder if there are better options?