Going to Japan in a few weeks, need advice

[arakura]

Hey folks,

I have plans to go to Japan with my brother and a friend in a few weeks and am trying to make sure I have everything in order. I've actually never traveled outside of the United States, so I'm a bit worried about running into confusing obstacles in another language. I was hoping some people here who know what they are talking about could give me some information (general or specific, anything could help ^^). Stuff I would love to hear about include

Transportation: What's the best way to get around? Is there a transportation fare card you can buy instead of having to deal with fares individually? If so can you buy such a thing for a length of time or do you simply load a certain number of rides/whatever units they use (I think they use estimated travel times). We want to go from Tokyo to Kyoto during the trip, is there a high-speed train that we should purchase a ticket for in advance? Should I be buying a fare card in advance?

Places to visit, places to eat: Cmon, you have to have something to say here ^^. Fun nighttime outings, good types places to eat, good things to eat, information about hot springs, the districts of tokyo, temples to visit in kyoto and maybe tokyo, anything.

Warnings/general advice/anecdotes: hit me up with those stories

Anyway, I hope I'm not too greedy hoping for some fun and some informative responses. I plan on working out allll the details in the coming days, but it would ease the concern bulding in my heart to have some information laid freely before me. So I'd appreciate any advice you can give for a first-time traveler.

I don't speak Japanese btw

Edited December 10, 2016 by arakura

[sanahtlig]

I'd find a tour group and tag along with them.  Going around in a foreign country with no knowledge of the language would be stressful and would require a great deal of planning to get the most out of your time spent.  The two of you will probably enjoy yourself more as part of a larger group of people with similar goals as well.

Edited December 10, 2016 by sanahtlig

[seventhfonist425]

Don't worry too much about not being able to speak Japanese, since if you're staying at a hotel, chances are there's someone at a desk who knows english. It's perfectly normal for foreigners to stay at their hotels, so they need to prepare for that kind of business. So if you have questions that some of us haven't covered, they should know way better than most of us. (Meaning you can ask them for popular tourist locations too.)

The best transportation options as a foreigner are the train and bus. There's a rush hour, sometime around 8 o'clock, where trains'll be really crowded (there's lots of videos of those "manin densha" literally filled to the brim, packed trains of people being pushed in to fit) so I recommend trying to avoid that. If you have google maps to take you places, it'll tell you what trains to take. You can buy a train card you can fill up with cash and use that to get on trains (scan when you get on and off. The same goes for buses. lol, I almost got off a bus without when I got off, was lucky a friend stopped me.) Also, this card is multi-purpose, I believe it also works for certain vending machines that have the option for it. So it's just, load money into the card, and off you go.

As for the Shinkansen (bullet train) I actually don't exactly know how that works. I know you need to reserve your seats beforehand, but when I got on as part of a study abroad thing, they just sorta did all that work for me. You CAN actually get there by regular train, but it'll just take a little longer.

Places to go... shit, I honestly forgot most of the names of the places I went to. Shrines and temples are really well kept, so they're worth going to for sight seeing. Akihabara is guaranteed. There is Otome Road in Ikebukuro, if you're into that. If you do end up going to Kyoto, there's lots of deer there, so I recommend that very very much. All the animals there are used to being around people, so they won't run off like around here. Also in kyoto is uhh, there are a few shrines that end up going super super high. And if you ever see those shrines with those staircases that go super high up, be prepared to get really tired, and get drinks BEFORE you go up, lol because prices climb with the stairs (they really do. things are more expensive near the top) but the climb is honestly worth it, since the view is really amazing.

 

THE NUMBER ONE THING TO BE SURE OF: Make sure you do whatever it is you need to do with your phone company so you can get 4G or whatever data plan you have working in Japan. I DID NOT. (Couldn't call my parents the entire time I was there since I couldn't figure out how to get the telephone booth to work) So I had a rough getting around, and very often risked getting lost when I was alone. So my only hope was to find a seven-eleven (those things are everywhere and have internet) and load up a map to get back to where I needed to go. (Also, I recommend googling information if you're ever unsure. If you don't know, google probably has the answer for it)

Other tidbits: Uhh, let's see, off the top of my head, and based on what happened... Trains have a time where they stop working, be sure to confirm when they stop. And uhh... there are some trains that are FEMALE ONLY at certain times of the day, out of consideration for females who might get assaulted. Convenient store food tastes super good. Going on a night on the town is... I'm not sure. You should consult someone else about that, but it seemed like that would risk having to use too much Japanese, more than I was capable of, so I don't particularly recommend it if you don't know Japanese. And lastly... how others will perceive you will depend on how you look. If you look white or something, they'll probably try speaking english to you, which in your case, would be beneficial. (That's all I got for now)

 

(Also yeah, same. Japan was the only time I ever went out of state, and I went for a month.) Uhh, Finals thoughts, you should expect to run into trouble, but you should also expect that you will be able to find ways to solve them. As long as you have the proper technology to find information you need and provide a cushion for you to fall back on, there's really no need to worry. (Things like google, or asking people in hotels is always useful. I very much recommend googling "temples and shrines in tokyo" or "sightseeing in tokyo." Kyoto also works.) 

Edited December 10, 2016 by seventhfonist425

[Clephas]

Depend on using public transportation if you are sticking to Tokyo or one of the other major cities.  There are bus and train passes sold specifically for tourists (just google Japan, public transportation, tourists), or so I discovered when I was considering going last year.   'eigo o shitteimasu ka?' is a good question to ask when you need to talk to someone who knows English.  Other than that, I suggest keeping your smartphone handy and simply tap out what you are trying to say, show it to the person you are trying to say it to so they can read and interpret it without the panic brought on by trying to listen.  That worked surprisingly well when I went to Mexico last year. 

Also, it is wise - and actually required by law - for you to buy into health insurance when you go to Japan as a visitor, though I can't remember how long it has to be before this is required (it is less than a month, if I recall correctly). 

Also, eat Japanese.  There is no point for a tourist in eating hamburgers and pizza in Japan, lol. 

[seventhfonist425]

2 minutes ago, Clephas said:

Also, it is wise - and actually required by law - for you to buy into health insurance when you go to Japan as a visitor, though I can't remember how long it has to be before this is required (it is less than a month, if I recall correctly). 

Yeah, I think it's less than a month. I was required to get into health insurance when I went. (I didn't and they never checked. WHEW)

[Deep Blue]

is this worth buying? 

https://www.japan-rail-pass.co.uk/

 

[ittaku]

Get yourself a Japan Rail Pass which Deep Blue linked you above which gives you unlimited travel on the shinkansen over a time period for much cheaper than multiple discrete tickets. It's incredibly easy to go from city to city once you have one of these. Note that it won't work on certain Shinkansen trips (like Nozomi and Mizuho which are more express trips - they all have different names) but you can still get on the majority of them. Once you have a rail pass you can get onto the free seating carriages freely but if you're more organised and go to a JR ticket office with your JR pass at least the day before you can simply book a seat in the seated area though it takes a little longer. During busy periods you may even find yourself standing on a Shinkansen if you are trying to use the free seating carriages which can be rather awkward.

Here's a more generic link rather than the UK one above:

http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/

As for getting around Tokyo, regular train train train, everywhere. Above ground, subway, high speed, monorail, whatever. Just take trains everywhere. The trains in Osaka aren't quite as comprehensive and Kyoto much less so, and you'll need to take buses which are rather slow...

[Kawasumi]

@OriginalRen @Mephisto