Perfect Cha0s
Member
Sounds, good. Thanks for the help. Doing some rough math with some ticket and hostel prices I found, ~3500 or so seems to be about how much I'd be expecting.
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
- Start date
openrob
Member
A bit much to read through all these posts in one go, but I will be in Japan for a week in the end of August. All I know is that I will be flying into Osaka, and flying out of Tokyo. 21st - 29th.
It is a pure leisure holiday. It is my first time to Japan, also my Japanese is terrible haha.
I will be scouring this thread for ideas, also if anyone is in the same area at the same time I don't mind meeting up. I have no idea what to do so far, and have nothing but flights booked!
It is a pure leisure holiday. It is my first time to Japan, also my Japanese is terrible haha.
I will be scouring this thread for ideas, also if anyone is in the same area at the same time I don't mind meeting up. I have no idea what to do so far, and have nothing but flights booked!
MikeHattsu
Member
Uh... What do you mean by morning? I'd think you'd need at least 5-6 hours to do that properly.
BronsonLee
Member
That's about as long as it took me. I basically did Nara for an entire day. It was phenomenal. I didn't even go to Kyoto during my trip
Arriving around 8AM and leaving by noon.
MikeHattsu
Member
Hm... It would be better if you arrived around 7AM, but I guess it could be doable if you rush a lot. I don't think I would recommend that though. Maybe skip Isuien? Kasuga Taisha got a botanical garden. And if you're going to Kinkakuji there's a 'garden' area there too.
BronsonLee
Member
If Kasuga is the one I remember (where you pay to get in), I wasn't too impressed. But that's because I went to it after going to the Osaka Museum of Natural History/Nagai Botanical Garden, which was basically the best experience of the whole trip. And it would've been ridiculously cheap even if I didn't have the Amazing Pass
I also highly recommend just wandering around Nara, that was fun. I got lost in a foreign country there!
...Oh and there's an arcade along the main path all the tourists take to Nara Park, gotakeit
Patrick Bateman
Member
What is a nice gadget or something that I should buy in Japan?
Haha this couldn't be more general. What's a something you should buy in Japan??? Narrow it down a bit!
TheBryanJZX90
Member
Christmas in Japan could be a very romantic way to make your wife stop being mad at you. It's a holiday for couples there. Cold but probably no snow. Then New Years has a lot of very Japanese things to do like going to a shrine. But, a lot of the country will be shut down for a bit.
It's the major holiday season. Many take a week off work to do family/shrine stuff. Even my job (which is mostly gaikokujin) offers me the week off, or if I stay double the pay. Basic things like train and convenience stores will be unaffected.
TheBryanJZX90
Member
It's not nearly as bad in Tokyo, but a lot of smaller businesses will be closed or have limited hours from around the 31st to the 3rd. New Years is the major family holiday in Japan, where many people will be packing up the family and going out to the countryside to visit the grandparents. There will absolutely still be things to do, including things special to the New Year holiday like hatsumode, the first visit to a shrine/temple each year. But if you have something specific in mind it might make sense to figure out their holiday hours beforehand just in case.
Patrick Bateman
Member
Videogame gadgets, electronic devices (handhelds) or stuff like a Jin Roh-helmet.
Japan is the best place to get limited edition 3DSes.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Questions on currency exchange!
Where is the cheapest place to do the exchange?
How much is it advised to exchange in advance (relatively speaking)?
What sort of fee do you pay in Japan to exchange while you're there?
Also, should you exchange on the fly or try and do more prior to heading there?
Where is the cheapest place to do the exchange?
How much is it advised to exchange in advance (relatively speaking)?
What sort of fee do you pay in Japan to exchange while you're there?
Also, should you exchange on the fly or try and do more prior to heading there?
BronsonLee
Member
I ran into this. I bought a Travelex credit card and exchanged it when I was there. I didn't need to do that. Cost me a little more than it should've.
Take your normal country card (I'm assuming American?) and just get it from ATMs in the airport, post offices, or 7-11s.
MikeHattsu can explain it better than I but that's the general gist
Zoe
Member
Not one of these brands here?
http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/index2.html
Or do you have a more complex PIN?
I've been advised to avoid credit card use in general while in Japan, not only because it's a cash based society, but apparently not all cards are accepted, and some of their machines may have issues with the chip technology, or pins greater than 4 numbers.
I've never been so I don't know, but to be safe I'll probably have most of my money converted before I go.
I've never been so I don't know, but to be safe I'll probably have most of my money converted before I go.
TheBryanJZX90
Member
Carry a lot of cash. More than you feel comfortable with back home. You will be safe and it's easier than trying to rush to a post office ATM before they close.
Narita always had pretty good exchange rates, I found. Much better than LAX at least.
Narita always had pretty good exchange rates, I found. Much better than LAX at least.
Zoe
Member
Had no problems using my debit cards from Chase and my local credit union at the 7-11 ATM. Was also able to use credit cards at the hotel and some retailers.
The most important part is to warn your banks that you're going overseas.
I'm planning a trip during Christmas week heading towards Chofu (old hometown), and towards anywhere else in the vicinity reachable in less than a day for R&R. Any recommendations? I haven't been back in twenty years.
To clarify, I'll be passing through Tokyo from Narita, so I'll plan to do some sightseeing around Shinjuku, Shibuya, and/or Akihabara. I'll be in Chofu mainly to try seeing if I can reconnect with old friends. But I'd like to get some R&R like at a nice ryokan or something. Is Christmas week a good time for Japan travel, even?
To clarify, I'll be passing through Tokyo from Narita, so I'll plan to do some sightseeing around Shinjuku, Shibuya, and/or Akihabara. I'll be in Chofu mainly to try seeing if I can reconnect with old friends. But I'd like to get some R&R like at a nice ryokan or something. Is Christmas week a good time for Japan travel, even?
distantmantra
Member
I was amazed at the number of places that took my Amex this past April than in 2006 and 2010. Japan is still very much a cash-based society, but I can count on two hands the number of places that didn't accept foreign cards this last trip.
7-11's bank had issues with international Mastercards for a while. I *think* they've been resolved by now.
MikeHattsu
Member
There's still problems with Maestro branded Mastercards.
WasMachinator
Neo Member
Glad my card is dutch then .
Ah man, I am feeling a little bit wierd inside.
I really can't wait to go to japan (we leave in 10 days), but we're flying through moscow and let Russia be the place I really don't want to be in atm. I am so fed up with their MH17 bullshit, argh..
.Ah man, I am feeling a little bit wierd inside.
I really can't wait to go to japan (we leave in 10 days), but we're flying through moscow and let Russia be the place I really don't want to be in atm. I am so fed up with their MH17 bullshit, argh..
VISA and Mastercard DEBIT card are not acceptable in Japan. You need a VISA or Mastercard CREDIT card to make use of it. I have a VISA DEBIT and a Mastercard CREDIT card and only the Mastercard CREDIT card works. If you only got a DEBIT card in your possession then it's time for you to apply for a CREDIT card, otherwise you need to either exchange sufficient amount of money to cover yourself or look out for this logo on the back of your card as some places in Japan still accepts it:
oyoshimaru
Member
VISA and Mastercard DEBIT card are not acceptable in Japan. You need a VISA or Mastercard CREDIT card to make use of it. I have a VISA DEBIT and a Mastercard CREDIT card and only the Mastercard CREDIT card works. If you only got a DEBIT card in your possession then it's time for you to apply for a CREDIT card, otherwise you need to either exchange sufficient amount of money to cover yourself or look out for this logo on the back of your card as some places in Japan still accepts it:
Eh? I used my Mastercard DEBIT card just fine at 7elevens and the post office. I was also able to use my Visa CREDIT card just fine at every single store I tried to use it in.
Banjotanooki
Member
VISA and Mastercard DEBIT card are not acceptable in Japan. You need a VISA or Mastercard CREDIT card to make use of it. I have a VISA DEBIT and a Mastercard CREDIT card and only the Mastercard CREDIT card works. If you only got a DEBIT card in your possession then it's time for you to apply for a CREDIT card, otherwise you need to either exchange sufficient amount of money to cover yourself or look out for this logo on the back of your card as some places in Japan still accepts it:
Eh? I used my Mastercard debit card with no problems when I was there last year...
Couple things I got in Japan last year:
Japanese chef's knife and a pocket knife, go to the kitchen district in Osaka
Super realistic food cellphone charms. I don't know why I like these so much. Also they are cheap, so you can easily get one for everyone
I also bought some jeans, but in retrospect it's pretty easy to get good selvedge jeans in America.
I looked at some of the electronics shops and videogames but didn't get anything besides a few small toy sets.
Patrick Bateman
Member
I like the knives. I have a look at those.
I haven't read the whole thread so I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but there are two things I wanted to add to the OT.
This is no longer an option sadly as it has been discontinued. You can get a 1500 Yen one-way ticket though. It's still a great deal, just not as good as it used to be.
When looking for cheap flights (from/to europe) I'd also recommend http://www.swoodoo.at/. The site is in german but it should be pretty self-explanatory and easy to understand.
This is no longer an option sadly as it has been discontinued. You can get a 1500 Yen one-way ticket though. It's still a great deal, just not as good as it used to be.
When looking for cheap flights (from/to europe) I'd also recommend http://www.swoodoo.at/. The site is in german but it should be pretty self-explanatory and easy to understand.
VISA and Mastercard DEBIT card are not acceptable in Japan. You need a VISA or Mastercard CREDIT card to make use of it. I have a VISA DEBIT and a Mastercard CREDIT card and only the Mastercard CREDIT card works. If you only got a DEBIT card in your possession then it's time for you to apply for a CREDIT card, otherwise you need to either exchange sufficient amount of money to cover yourself or look out for this logo on the back of your card as some places in Japan still accepts it:
Do you know how common places that accept maestro are? I'm planning a trip to japan as well and I'd prefer to use Maestro rather than my credit card.
ThreePiMatt
Member
I think I'm tempted to buy a NeoGeo when I go over. I think if I can find enough good/cheap games I might do it.
Zoe
Member
Maestro should only be a problem when withdrawing money. Credit card transactions will act like a normal MasterCard.
ThreePiMatt
Member
Yeah, I went years without a credit card, going only on my debit card but when I made the decision to travel to Japan I got myself a shiny new Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. No foreign transaction fees and there was a nice rewards points bonus if you spend $3000 in the first three months (which is pretty easy to do when buying international airfare). I'm hoping to build up enough reward points on this card to possibly do another trip next year.
I said VISA Credit cards are no problem as I also can use it. For Mastercard DeBit card, please check to see if you have Maetro logo on the back of that card. If you do then, just like i said, this is one of the few ways that the card would work here in Japan. If the debit card doesn't have Maetro then it ia likely not able to work.
oyoshimaru
Member
I just checked and my debit card is a standard Mastercard. I was in Japan for the entire month of June and like I said, never had any issues at 7eleven or post office. I suggest that any visitors get informed before traveling. I asked my bank and they said I would be able to use it no problem.