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[Stuart444]

Yes. You need to fill in a disembarkation card like this that you get while on the plane (+ you get a customs declarations form as well):



They stick the embarkation part into your passport and you need to give that to them when you're going back to the UK.

Sorry, looking at this again and I'm wondering some things:

For the left side: Flight number is just whatever the flight we're on number is right?

Right side: Flight Number is the flight we're getting home (aka proof of our transport out of the country). And the intended stay. Do you put the day you're leaving (so 2016, 04, 11 for me). Also being unemployed won't affect anything will it? (since they ask for your occupation >.> )

Finally, can you get another one if you mess up/do they give you another one if it's hard to read (in Japan)? Because both mines and my SOs handwriting is rather hard to read. (to the point where I'll probably just use caps for the whole thing and pray I don't mess up/don't make my letters to big since boxes like this I usually can't fit everything in >.> )

I hate being worried about nothing (probably) but my brain can't help but think of everything that could go wrong >_>

 

[Mazre]

Sorry, looking at this again and I'm wondering some things:

For the left side: Flight number is just whatever the flight we're on number is right?

Right side: Flight Number is the flight we're getting home (aka proof of our transport out of the country). And the intended stay. Do you put the day you're leaving (so 2016, 04, 11 for me). Also being unemployed won't affect anything will it? (since they ask for your occupation >.> )

Finally, can you get another one if you mess up/do they give you another one if it's hard to read (in Japan)? Because both mines and my SOs handwriting is rather hard to read. (to the point where I'll probably just use caps for the whole thing and pray I don't mess up/don't make my letters to big since boxes like this I usually can't fit everything in >.> )

I hate being worried about nothing (probably) but my brain can't help but think of everything that could go wrong >_>

Right side is arrival, they will collect that portion at immigration, left side is departure, they will collect that when you pass through immigration again to return home. Intended stay is literally the amount of time you plan to be in country, if it's 2 weeks for example you put 14 days. Doesn't matter that you're unemployed. They have blank ones at immigration in case you mess up, just print everything and take your time. Also use a pen, and there are a couple of questions on the back as well.

 

[Stuart444]

Right side is arrival, they will collect that portion at immigration, left side is departure, they will collect that when you pass through immigration again to return home. Intended stay is literally the amount of time you plan to be in country, if it's 2 weeks for example you put 14 days. Doesn't matter that you're unemployed. They have blank ones at immigration in case you mess up, just print everything and take your time. Also use a pen, and there are a couple of questions on the back as well.

Thanks.

I know it seems weird to worry about it but my mind literally thinks of everything that might go wrong.

Before going, I'll make sure to write down notes (address/tel of the first play I'm staying, flight numbers, etc)

 

[Darksol]

Has anyone been to Japan on a Working Holiday Visa? I was in Japan last November for a couple of weeks, but I move there this February and I'm wondering how the disembarkment/immigration process differs.

It was pretty easy when I visited -- filled out a form on the plane, and that was it. But since I'll be living here for a while, is there more scrutiny? Additional forms, talking with immigration, that sort of thing? Or will it be pretty much the same, since I already went through all of that extra stuff during my application stage of my working holiday visa?

 

[Anony]

I'm gonna be staying in like 5 mins away from asakusa station
i haven't made any plans on what to do yet
any ideas?

I dont think i'll be going to that meetup, no interest in that robot show and it's like close to 50usd already

 

[Darksol]

I'm gonna be staying in like 5 mins away from asakusa station
i haven't made any plans on what to do yet
any ideas?

I dont think i'll be going to that meetup, no interest in that robot show and it's like close to 50usd already

Well, Sensō-ji temple would be an obvious choice due to proximity.

 

[Worthintendo]

So this isn't going to disrupt getting into Tokyo is it :/

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002422224

Hopefully it clears up quickly >.<

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

My girlfriend and I need to get to Meidaimae station (our apartment is near there) from Narita airport. What's the most convenient way to do this? The host of our apartment says to take the "limousine" bus to Shinjuku West Exit, and take a taxi from there. Will a cab driver know where to go if I show the address in English?

Limosine buses are a great idea if you have a lot of luggage or big suitcases. The bus employees will load it on and off the bus, and the taxi driver will do the same. There is less stress that way versus trying to take all of your luggage up and down escalators or find an elevator, or lug all of your stuff in as train doors are closing. The taxi could be a little pricier than what you might expect, but I imagine if your host recommends it then it won't be that bad. As for the address, yes the taxi driver will probably be able to figure it out. If you want to be really sure, you can just ask your host or someone here to write it out in Japanese.

 

[Dilli666]

Wife and I booked our flight recently. We'll be arriving March, 28th in Tokyo.

Is it to early to book rooms? The offerings from the various websites (recommended at japanguide) go from very few to none.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Wife and I booked our flight recently. We'll be arriving March, 28th in Tokyo.

Is it to early to book rooms? The offerings from the various websites (recommended at japanguide) go from very few to none.

Depends on what kind of places you're looking for. If you're going for hotels you should be looking now. If it's hostels then more places opens booking in the next 2 months or so.

So this isn't going to disrupt getting into Tokyo is it :/

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002422224

Hopefully it clears up quickly >.<

Nah:

It's closer to Seoul than Tokyo even

 

[Worthintendo]

Nah:

It's closer to Seoul than Tokyo even

The big worry I have is the flight path AirAsia who I'm flying with, I have a 2 hour stop over at Kuala Lumpur airport before I fly to Tokyo.

 

[Splash Wave]

Limosine buses are a great idea if you have a lot of luggage or big suitcases. The bus employees will load it on and off the bus, and the taxi driver will do the same. There is less stress that way versus trying to take all of your luggage up and down escalators or find an elevator, or lug all of your stuff in as train doors are closing. The taxi could be a little pricier than what you might expect, but I imagine if your host recommends it then it won't be that bad. As for the address, yes the taxi driver will probably be able to figure it out. If you want to be really sure, you can just ask your host or someone here to write it out in Japanese.

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice! We took the limousine bus to Shinjuku station, and took the Keio line to Meidaimae from there. Taking the train with all of our bags was a nightmare, but it gave us a chance to figure out how to use the ticket terminals. I can't believe how hard it was to find an ATM in that station!

Our next issue is that our apartment's internet is *way* too slow for our purposes. Is there any replacement y'all can think of that we can get purchased quickly? All of the reviews claimed that the internet in this place was really fast...

 

[MikeHattsu]

The big worry I have is the flight path AirAsia who I'm flying with, I have a 2 hour stop over at Kuala Lumpur airport before I fly to Tokyo.

Ah. Well, doesn't seem too bad:

 

[Stuart444]

Depends on what kind of places you're looking for. If you're going for hotels you should be looking now. If it's hostels then more places opens booking in the next 2 months or so.

Yeah, if you're going for hotels, I recommend booking now. (I used expedia which people say are usually okay if that helps) Many cheaper places seem to be booking quickly but if price isn't a worry then you're probably okay.

We're arriving the same day as well haha.

edit: glad to see that no one was killed in the eruption (based on the link above).

 

[Laevateinn]

Wife and I booked our flight recently. We'll be arriving March, 28th in Tokyo.

Is it to early to book rooms? The offerings from the various websites (recommended at japanguide) go from very few to none.

We booked our tickets for our trip tomorrow at the end of April and made reservations at our ryokan shortly after that. I figure it varies on a site-to-site basis but I imagine if you're looking into more western style hotels with bigger websites and automated booking they probably only book so far out via the website. If you want to get it out of the way and are having trouble booking this early, try contacting them directly.

 

[Stuart444]

So maybe someone here can answer this for me.

Why do many people (from what I've seen) book a hotel in Kyoto and then in Osaka when they are both so close to each other that you might as well just stay in your first accommodation.

I just find it odd that on many Itineraries that I see, people seem to have accommodations in both areas even when they are close enough to each other.

edit: also something I found that may be interesting considering how much travel around Japan revolves around trains:

http://www.demap.info/tetsudonow/

Drop down menu, set it to &#29694;&#22312;&#26178;&#21051; to see trains moving about at this current moment. You can choose the area selector next to the drop down menu to choose a specific city as well.

I find this incredibly cool but I also just love trains haha.

You can also choose the blue thing to the right to change it between the default and satellite imagery. SO COOL

 

[inafking]

Currently staying in Osaka since the 13th. Visited Den Den Town, Dotombori, Osaka Station City and Umeda Floating Gardens.

Plenty of stuff to do still. My hotel is close to Dobutsuenmae station (1 minute) and Shin-Imamiya Station (2 minutes)

Trying to find a CD from Malice Mizer at record selling stores. Not lucky though. Might try that Shibuya record store when I return to Tokyo.

Hugs!

 

[Worthintendo]

Ah. Well, doesn't seem too bad:

Yeah hopefully should be fine, I'm just abit worried about it. We recently had a Volcano in Indonesia near Bali causing flights to be cancelled the area for like 2 weeks. Something to keep an eye on though.

 

[Splash Wave]

Shit, my girlfriend and I have run into a pretty huge problem in regard to the speed of our apartment's internet; it's just way too slow for us both to teach online (audio, video, and screen sharing). I figured it'd be fine because Japan's internet is known to be extremely fast, but it just runs like shit in this place (I suspect it's because the wifi is coming from an apartment below us). We're going to ask our host about paying for another connection in our apartment, but can anyone suggest private cafe/workspace spots for us to teach from? We need a solution ASAP because we have students to teach tomorrow. I had to cancel all my sessions today because I kept getting disconnected from my student.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Shit, my girlfriend and I have run into a pretty huge problem in regard to the speed of our apartment's internet; it's just way too slow for us both to teach online (audio, video, and screen sharing). I figured it'd be fine because Japan's internet is known to be extremely fast, but it just runs like shit in this place (I suspect it's because the wifi is coming from an apartment below us). We're going to ask our host about paying for another connection in our apartment, but can anyone suggest private cafe/workspace spots for us to teach from? We need a solution ASAP because we have students to teach tomorrow. I had to cancel all my sessions today because I kept getting disconnected from my student.

The Japan resident thread will probably have better responses than this travel thread. Maybe an internet cafe?

 

[Resilient]

So maybe someone here can answer this for me.

Why do many people (from what I've seen) book a hotel in Kyoto and then in Osaka when they are both so close to each other that you might as well just stay in your first accommodation.

I just find it odd that on many Itineraries that I see, people seem to have accommodations in both areas even when they are close enough to each other.

edit: also something I found that may be interesting considering how much travel around Japan revolves around trains:

http://www.demap.info/tetsudonow/

Drop down menu, set it to &#29694;&#22312;&#26178;&#21051; to see trains moving about at this current moment. You can choose the area selector next to the drop down menu to choose a specific city as well.

I find this incredibly cool but I also just love trains haha.

You can also choose the blue thing to the right to change it between the default and satellite imagery. SO COOL

the Shinkansen trip is like 20min, but you need to go (from Osaka),

Station you're near
Osaka Station
Shin-Osaka Station
Kyoto Station
A station near what you wanna see in Kyoto

when you can just go

Station you're near
A station near what you wanna see in Kyoto

same applies for staying in Kyoto to visit Osaka...it's a waste of time and there is a lot you can do in Osaka. Why waste 1-2 hours on train trips and needless walking? To and from?

It's a waste of time to station yourself in Kyoto and go visit Osaka for the city, when there is so much to do. and it's a waste of time to station yourself in Osaka, and go visit Kyoto for it's sights when majority of it is in walking distance from a central area, which isn't Kyoto station (where the Shinkansen stops).

Seems pretty logical no?

 

[JJN]

So maybe someone here can answer this for me.

Why do many people (from what I've seen) book a hotel in Kyoto and then in Osaka when they are both so close to each other that you might as well just stay in your first accommodation.

I just find it odd that on many Itineraries that I see, people seem to have accommodations in both areas even when they are close enough to each other.

I agree with the reason Resilient gave above as the main reason why I'm doing exactly what you are saying here. If it's a stay of multiple nights in each city, as I would assume most of these itineraries are, it's worth it to have a base within the city you're currently experiencing. It's always nice to have the convenience of being able to drop off your purchases and take a shower or a quick nap to refresh in the middle of a day of sightseeing.

I would actually like to ask what is the advantage of staying only in one place if you were planning multiple days in another? Just not having to pack up and go to a different hotel? The only benefit I can see would be that it seems hotels in Osaka are cheaper than those in Kyoto.. plus I heard there's not much nightlife in Kyoto so maybe it's nice to day-trip to Kyoto and go clubbing at night in Osaka.

 

[Resilient]

I agree with the reason Resilient gave above as the main reason why I'm doing exactly what you are saying here. If it's a stay of multiple nights in each city, as I would assume most of these itineraries are, it's worth it to have a base within the city you're currently experiencing. It's always nice to have the convenience of being able to drop off your purchases and take a shower or a quick nap to refresh in the middle of a day of sightseeing.

I would actually like to ask what is the advantage of staying only in one place if you were planning multiple days in another? Just not having to pack up and go to a different hotel? The only benefit I can see would be that it seems hotels in Osaka are cheaper than those in Kyoto.. plus I heard there's not much nightlife in Kyoto so maybe it's nice to day-trip to Kyoto and go clubbing at night in Osaka.

i think he misunderstood the actual distance between the two/hasn't been to Osaka or Kyoto before. yeah, they are near. but there is a whole lot of stuff in the middle, that as a tourist, you're likely not interested in. that, and it's not an easy 20min from heart of Osaka to heart of Kyoto.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Eh, depends on how long you're spending in each place I'd say.

If you're just visiting one city from the other for 1-2 days, then it's easier to just stay in one of them.

If you're spending more time in each, then yeah, maybe stay in both.

 

[Stuart444]

Eh, I have to travel 45 minutes - an hour and a half (depending on if I go with Bus/train) every time I head to the city where I live.

I guess I just don't see 1 or 2 hours as a big deal since I'm so used to it here. Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm in Osaka but we'll see.

 

[Resilient]

are you going on holiday or to live?

if you're living there then i guess it's no different to traveling long-ish distances in your home country.

if you're visiting/on holiday from work, it's a waste of precious holiday time IMO. the way I see it, i travel enough when i'm not on holiday. i'd rather spend more money and reduce travel time + enjoy my trip more. to each their own.

 

[Stuart444]

are you going on holiday or to live?

if you're living there then i guess it's no different to traveling long-ish distances in your home country.

if you're visiting/on holiday from work, it's a waste of precious holiday time IMO. the way I see it, i travel enough when i'm not on holiday. i'd rather spend more money and reduce travel time + enjoy my trip more. to each their own.

haha, well to each their own.

Guess if it bothers me too much, I'll just change it for my next trip. It's my first trip so I don't know what how I'll feel about it after all

Thanks for the replies. Helpful insight

 

[Laevateinn]

Waiting at the airport right now!

 

[MikeHattsu]

Waiting at the airport right now!

Have fun

 

[Zoe]

Phew, booked our Airbnb for the first half of hour trip. Unfortunately we dawdled on it for too long and weren't able to get the same place for the entire week, but it turns out we were able to book from the same person for the same building at least :lol

So the room comes with one of these thingies:

How dependable is the clothes drying option? Could we wash our clothes at night and expect it to be dry by the morning?

 

[Resilient]

Like any dryer, totally wet clothes that came out of spin cycle of a washing machine > not gonna dry well

Try hanging them out for a bit before you chuck them I a dryer

Note: I have never used that dryer type, I'm going off dryers used in Laundry places.

Lol wait is this a button to turn a room into a drying room ?? I imagine that would work pretty well ..

 

[Zoe]

Lol wait is this a button to turn a room into a drying room ?? I imagine that would work pretty well ..

Yeah, that's for the bathroom.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Yeah, that's for the bathroom.

I had one of those in my apartment. You don't happen to be in a Leo Palace do you? (I'm sure other places have them too)

Anyway, it was always pretty hit or miss for me. It's possible but not guaranteed to dry overnight.

 

[Zoe]

I had one of those in my apartment. You don't happen to be in a Leo Palace do you? (I'm sure other places have them too)

Anyway, it was always pretty hit or miss for me. It's possible but not guaranteed to dry overnight.

I'm not sure what the building is, but I think bf had one in Oita as well a long time ago.

Guess I'll plan for at least three sets of clothes to be safe :lol

 

[Gromph]

I'm not sure what the building is, but I think bf had one in Oita as well a long time ago.

Guess I'll plan for at least three sets of clothes to be safe :lol

If you put at 7-8 for 3-4 hours clothes got dry.

I had one like that in my previous house.

Also i use my new house one a lot.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Could anybody translate this?
http://www.tobu.co.jp/news/2015/850/

Going to Nikko early next month, so I should be good? It says something about some buses that are still not running though?

 

[SPAW]

GAF HELP needed: I will be in Japan from Sunday for one week. What I need are some good (gaming) related suggestions for places to visit. What is the best place to bring people in order to introduce them to the Japanese otaku scene? Any and all suggestions are welcome!

 

[MikeHattsu]

GAF HELP needed: I will be in Japan from Sunday for one week. What I need are some good (gaming) related suggestions for places to visit. What is the best place to bring people in order to introduce them to the Japanese otaku scene? Any and all suggestions are welcome!

What city will you be in? Should visit Akihabara if you're in Tokyo.

This guide is helpful if you're gonna look for retro games in Akihabara:
www.usgamer.net/articles/the-classic-gamers-tokyo-shopping-guide

There's also a Book-Off underneat the rail tracks to the south of Akihabara station.
Edit: Map here, also with a Sofmap store:
www.kotaku.com/a-gamer-buyers-guide-to-otaku-mecca-akihabara-1581892976

Check out Nakano Broadway as well that's mentioned in that guide above. Goes well with a Ghibli Museum visit since it's on the way.

 

[SPAW]

What city will you be in? Should visit Akihabara if you're in Tokyo.

Mostly Tokyo, possible short trip to Nagano.

Akihabara is a must I think ( thanks for the guides!).

 

[Stuart444]

Yeah, Akihabara and Nakano Broadway are the two places I'd suggest checking out.

Look up some vids of both on youtube and see what you think.

 

[RapidCancel]

Any suggestions for staying around Mt. Fuji area? First time there, how long should I stay there for? Would it be better to just make it a daytrip from Tokyo?

 

[MikeHattsu]

Any suggestions for staying around Mt. Fuji area? First time there, how long should I stay there for? Would it be better to just make it a daytrip from Tokyo?

What are you going for? Just the view, or are you planning to do anything in particular in the area?

 

[Stuart444]

Anyone been to Ueno Zoo?

How is it?

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Anyone been to Ueno Zoo?

How is it?

Not bad. It's got capybaras and there is a petting area with alpaca. It's pretty cheap too, only about 600¥.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Anyone been to Ueno Zoo?

How is it?

They had about all the animals I've been interested in seeing. Some of the enclosures seemed a bit small though...

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Ueno Park is kinda nice, just avoid the racist Korean guy.

 

[Laevateinn]

Not bad. It's got capybaras and there is a petting area with alpaca. It's pretty cheap too, only about 600¥.

How did I miss the petting area?

They had about all the animals I've been interested in seeing. Some of the enclosures seemed a bit small though...

This is my opinion as well.

 

[Zoe]

Ueno Zoo will be one of the first things we'll be doing on our trip (it will close for the holidays). I want to see the red pandas!

 

[Stuart444]

So worth checking out then? I love animals and I hear it has plenty variety and stuff so yeah

 

[Resilient]

Ueno Zoo is depressing as hell, then again all Zoo's are..the cages are pretty restricting but meh, go if you like Zoo's I guess. Way cooler shit to do in Tokyo. The park is mint doe.