Weekly Japan Travel Information and Discussion Thread – August 18, 2023

17 comments

1. Arriving tomorrow!! Hope trains are back to schedule now. However bracing the excessive heat wave. Forecast seems to call for rain everywhere we go. Does rain tend to be spotty and isolated or long down pours?

2. I’ve never taken an international flight before, so I’ve never gone through immigration and customs. My question is, when does it happen? I have a flight to Osaka with several connecting flights. I’m pretty sure my checked bags will smoothly transfer between flights without me needing to re-check them (because American Airlines and Japan Airlines have a partnership), but I don’t know when the immigration and customs process happens. Is it only once I land in Japan? Is it before the initial flight? Does it happen with each connecting flight? I just don’t want to underestimate how much time I’ll need.

3. Hi all, I will be in Japan during the last 2 weeks of September. I am trying to decide on a day trip from Tokyo to either Nikko, Hakone, or Kawaguchiko. At first, I was thinking Nikko because I wasn’t sure that Mt Fuji would be visible in September. But now, I’m thinking that maybe we can go to Hakone and if Mt Fuji is visible, then great! If not, we can enjoy the onsets and the nature around there. With Kawaguchiko, I think it may be too big of a risk since there’s not as much to do there if Mt Fuji isn’t visible and it’s harder to get to. Does that logic for choosing Hakone make sense? Anything I may be missing? Thanks!

4. Hello all, Ill probably be dropping a few questions into here over the next few days as a first time solo traveler to Japan. I have a 2 week stay 26th September – 10th October and I’m starting to outline itinerary plans although I like to be flexible when I travel so nothing will be too locked in.

   Trying to get my head around some of the travel passes required to get around.

   I see that JR pass travel is going up in pass from 1st October. Does this mean I can buy the pass beforehand at the lower rates and then still use it into October or will it become invalid? The idea I had was to get the seven day green pass from 30th September-6th October and use this time to do the travelling and then return to Tokyo for the last few days.

   Is this possible? Does the ticket become valid once you exchange your voucher or do you pick a date range? If so is it possible to exchange the voucher and then get a train the same day/ day after or will the trains be booked up?

   [I planned to buy the pass from here along with a sim card](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html)

   Finally, I see Suica cards seem to be a bit of a nightmare right now. I’m hoping I can [just buy this](https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/transportation/prepaid-cards/suica?market=US&gclid=CjwKCAjwt52mBhB5EiwA05YKo_kah2J_hAWVf4PkklgaDFt8HafWou6Ubxo965LkLdyzrDlmP71weRoCa5IQAvD_BwE) and top this up while I’m there. Does that work? I currently use Visa cards but Im probably going to grab an AMEX or a Starling Mastercard before I go so I should be able to use those right?

   I appreciate thats a wall of text but I thank anyone in advance who bothers to read it and help!

5. Hello, I’m going on a solo trip for a little under 30 days and it’s my first time in Japan. What is the best option for physical SIM cards – buying at the airport or at places like Bic Camera? My iPhone X (upgrading after this trip!) unfortunately doesn’t support eSim so that’s not an option.

   I would probably prefer unlimited data as I’m not sure how much I will be using it, especially with heavy Google Maps & Translate usage. But I’m guessing less than 1GB/day should be ok?

6. I was last in Japan 5 years ago and I will be heading back in September. I still have my Pasmo card from last time I visited and I had a balance on the card when leaving. I’m wondering if the cards expire or if the balance expires? Hoping I’ll still be able to use the current card and the remaining balance!

7. We are picking up both our JR Pass and Japan Wireless pocket wifi when we arrive in Kansai airport. We’ve found where the Japan Wireless pickup counter is on the map, but we’re also trying to find the JR Pass pickup counter. Any idea where we could find that?

   Thanks!

8. I am planning to visit to Kyoto in the fall and fly out from Kansai International Airport (KIX). My flight leaves at noon, but I am unsure if I can make it from Kyoto to KIX on time. Would it be recommended to spend the night in Osaka or should I be able to make it from Kyoto if I left early enough? Any pitfalls from leaving from Kyoto to KIX directly that I may unaware of?

9. Just wondering if it’s okay to use my standard bank-issued CC as a cashless option in Japan or is it better to get a Wise one?

   Also I don’t plan on bringing much cash but seeing as I’ll be going to Hokkaido, it should be better to err on the side of caution and bring enough for daily expenses anyway right?

10. PSA: Tickets for the [Ghibli exhibition in Toyama later this year](https://kinro-ghibli.com/toyama/ticket/) went on sale earlier today (the Tokyo exhibit is all sold out). They are plentiful, refundable if you buy through the museum website, and accepted my foreign credit card on the first try, so a 10/10 purchase experience by Japanese standards.

    Easy hop over from Kanazawa. Free entry for high schoolers and below so going on weekday mornings would seem like the winning formula.

11. I really hope somebody can answer this(possibly really dumb) question.

    I am trying to buy tickets in advance for the Yokohama Gundam Factory. I’m coming from Canada but noticed there is a section when filling in the customer information where it’s asking for your Prefecture(and is a required field).

    I’m assuming I’d just select “Other” seeing as how I do not live in Japan, but it’s just a touch confusing. Is anybody able to confirm/clarify this.

12. Is it possible to connect within Tokyo Narita in 3 hours and 15 minutes? Plane arriving from Korea to Tokyo Narita at 1pm (Terminal 3), and plane departing Tokyo Narita to the USA at 4:25pm (Terminal 1).

    These are separately booked tickets, so I would have to clear customs and immigration and re-check my bags.

    Is this too tight of a schedule? Thanks!

13. Anyone have recommedations for a battery? Was thinking about getting the sharge storm 2. I expect to be walking around more/alot every

14. Can anyone recommend a good restaurant near Toyama Station? I’ll only be there for the evening, flight arriving 730PM but still want to try some of the local delicacies.

15. Anyone recommend the best place for all things Pokémon? Will be there 31 Aug – 8 Sep. The event in Yokohama will be gone by the time I get there. Thanks!

16. Hi! I just purchased 14 day JR Rail Passes online for our group of four.
    Our group is landing at different times on August 26th, would it be possible to pick up separately and meet up in Tokyo? I have the login info for the Japan Rail Pass website and can share it

    Also, the narita express is included in the pass right?

17. hihi~ just wanted to get someone’s thoughts on if this route for cities/travel was okay?

    **some context**

    * going for 2 weeks
    * mid nov – end of nov
    * landing/departing at narita.
    * 2-3 days before my flight out of tokyo, there is a concert which I may attend – so need to be in tokyo for min 4 days at the end.

    **possible route**

    1. land in tokyo (stay for night)
    2. travel to kyoto or osaka and base there with day trips to Hiroshima/Nara for a bunch of days
    3. travel back to tokyo to spend rest of days.

    [Based on japanguide](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2014_when.html), it seems like this route matches the autumn foliage too which made me think this route might be decent rather than spending time in Tokyo first.