OP
OP
If your card got one of these logos on it, then it'll work:
https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/card2.html
Just go to a nearby 7-11 and in most of the 20000+ locations in Japan there's an ATM where you can withdraw money.
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Japan Travel |OT| We have to go back
- Thread starter MikeHattsu
- Start date
If your card got one of these logos on it, then it'll work:
https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/card2.html
Just go to a nearby 7-11 and in most of the 20000+ locations in Japan there's an ATM where you can withdraw money.
Excellent - thanks! My Visa Debit matches the first symbol, so we are set.
Really appreciate the info!
OP
OP
The fees on your card seems to be horrible though:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/debit-card-foreign-transaction-international-atm-fees/
Huh...Maybe I should look into opening a Capitol checking account just for foreign travel. We do it enough that even having a separate account just to withdraw from when overseas would make sense.
Never REALLY looked into it, but that link sheds light on things. Thanks!
That's what I did, I already have a Capital One credit card so I just signed up for a checking account purely for travel ATMs, I guess the Schwab account is slightly better but I didn't feel like getting a hard credit check just for a checking account.
We are using our Chase Private Client debit card and there are zero fees for any international use, ATM included. It has been very handy.
We just finished our first day in Tokyo, amazing! Great temple in Katsushika, then the Imperial Gardens and Ginza. We finished up with checking out Akihabara! Talk about sensory overload! Braving rush hour trains in downtown was actually fun! One highlight was sitting in a GTR-Nismo at the Nissan exhibit in Ginza!
Ok guys, my partner who didn't want to see anything in Japan really wants to see the snow monkey park.
We are heading from Kyoto to Tokyo with nothing else planned for the day, check-in is at 3pm. Realistically could I Coin-Locker our stuff and then Tokyo to Nagano to see the Snow Monkey Park and back to Tokyo when done feasibly doable in one day before the JR line shuts down?
We are heading from Kyoto to Tokyo with nothing else planned for the day, check-in is at 3pm. Realistically could I Coin-Locker our stuff and then Tokyo to Nagano to see the Snow Monkey Park and back to Tokyo when done feasibly doable in one day before the JR line shuts down?
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Kyoto to Tokyo leaving 8-9ish
Arrive two something hours later on a JR train.
So midday or close to it.
I know it's a bit rough but I haven't really set everything in stone, I kinda don't like doing that on trips.
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Yeah, that's not gonna work. It will take 3.5-4.5 hours to get to the monkey park from Tokyo, so if you start out at noon, you'll be there at like 16:30 at the latest. The park closes at 17:00.
And it's the mating season for the snow monkeys right now, so you might not see any at the park anyway since they might be out in the mountain forests instead.
Edit: That is if you're there right now. If you're going next month or something, then the park closes ast 16:00 :p
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So a friend booked us for a tour that includes Hakone, 5th station and some other places I forgot near Fuji... sadly no lake Kawaguchiko. T_T Grrrrr...
Anyway how cold does it get near Mt. Fuji in October? Will be there by 17th.
Anyway how cold does it get near Mt. Fuji in October? Will be there by 17th.
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Cool thanks, was worried I needed to bring some winter jacket of some sort.
Has anyone here come up with a good definitive (english friendly) list of Restaurants that a person needs to try in around Tokyo yet? We're staying in Shinjuku the first 5 nights and Shibuya the next 4. I'd like one or two higher end Sushi or Steak spots and as many budget options as you can throw at me. I'm pretty open to anything.
New York Grill in the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku was my one baller blowout meal when I last went. I recommend it.
Having recently returned from an amazing solo trip to Tokyo, I've managed to convince my parents of the merits of a trip to Japan next year. Nothing is set in stone yet, but they and myself are interested in seeing other places outside of Tokyo, so I've started planning an itinerary for September 2019, figuring out where we'll go, what we'll do, and what the cost will be.
Since my parents are both in their 60's, I don't want the itinerary to be too hectic, so I've narrowed it down to five main locations. My parents are also a bit more cost-concious than I am, so I'm trying to keep the cost as low as I reasonably can, but they do understand that visiting Japan is expensive, and they insist on accommodation with private bathrooms as a minimum.
Unless there are good reasons to choose otherwise, I think we should be able to manage everything on a 7 day JR Pass.
Here's what I've got so far:
Day 1: Tokyo: Arrival in morning. Check-in. Asakusa, Akihabara. Early night (compensate for jet-lag).
Day 2: Tokyo: Teamlab Planets (my suggestion), Odaiba, maybe other area(s) to be decided.
Day 3: Tokyo: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku (+ park), Robot Restaurant (my suggestion).
Day 4: Tokyo: To be decided.
Day 5: Hakome: Activate JR Pass, take morning Shinkansen to Hakome. Stay in Ryokan.
Day 6: Kyoto: Take morning Shinkansen to Kyoto. Remainder of day to be decided.
Day 7: Kyoto: To be decided.
Day 8: Kyoto: Arashiyama bamboo grove. Remainder of day to be decided.
Day 9: Hiroshima: Take morning Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Peace Memorial Park and Museum.
Day 10: Hiroshima: Miyajima Shrine Island and/or Hiroshima Castle.
Day 11: Osaka: Take morning Shinkansen to Osaka (last day of JR Pass). Remainder of day to be decided.
Day 12: Osaka: Activity to be decided.
Day 13: Osaka: Activity to be decided (maybe a day trip outside of Osaka?)
Day 14: Home: Departing flight from Osaka.
From what I can tell, most hotels in Japan cannot be booked yet for September 2019, so it seems we'll need to wait until nearer the time for availability to open up. For this reason, I'm currently using hypothetical March vacation dates on booking.com as a guideline for what choices and prices should be like in September.
Regarding flights: KLM seems to cover my route with direct flights both to Tokyo and back from Osaka, but it seems a little more tricky for my parents UK (north). They're not keen on the twelve hour flights, so requiring a connecting flight might be a deal-breaker. Unfortunately British Airways only shows direct flights going out from London Heathrow, but only show connecting return flights from Osaka (same for Tokyo). JAL seems to have direct flights, but they're pretty expensive.
I'm currently looking at the possibility of them flying to Amsterdam to meet me the day before we fly to Tokyo, then flying back from Amsterdam the day after returning from Osaka, e.g:
Day -1: Parents fly from UK to Amsterdam, spend the night at my place.
Day 0: We all fly together from Amsterdam to Tokyo.
// ... vacation as above ...
Day 14: We all fly together from Osaka to Amsterdam, parents spend the night at my place.
Day 15: Parents fly from Amsterdam to UK.
This has the some advantages: We'd be flying together, they get a good night rest between otherwise connecting flights, they can use a closer airport in the UK, and the cost seems reasonable even accounting for the additional return flight to Amsterdam.
Nevertheless, I'd be open to other direct-flight options from the UK in case I've missed anything.
So anyway, this is my plan so far. Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary for spending two weeks in Japan with my 60+ year old parents? Any suggestions on what to change or things to include would be welcome, but of course I also have plenty of time to research.
Since my parents are both in their 60's, I don't want the itinerary to be too hectic, so I've narrowed it down to five main locations. My parents are also a bit more cost-concious than I am, so I'm trying to keep the cost as low as I reasonably can, but they do understand that visiting Japan is expensive, and they insist on accommodation with private bathrooms as a minimum.
Unless there are good reasons to choose otherwise, I think we should be able to manage everything on a 7 day JR Pass.
Here's what I've got so far:
Day 1: Tokyo: Arrival in morning. Check-in. Asakusa, Akihabara. Early night (compensate for jet-lag).
Day 2: Tokyo: Teamlab Planets (my suggestion), Odaiba, maybe other area(s) to be decided.
Day 3: Tokyo: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku (+ park), Robot Restaurant (my suggestion).
Day 4: Tokyo: To be decided.
Day 5: Hakome: Activate JR Pass, take morning Shinkansen to Hakome. Stay in Ryokan.
Day 6: Kyoto: Take morning Shinkansen to Kyoto. Remainder of day to be decided.
Day 7: Kyoto: To be decided.
Day 8: Kyoto: Arashiyama bamboo grove. Remainder of day to be decided.
Day 9: Hiroshima: Take morning Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Peace Memorial Park and Museum.
Day 10: Hiroshima: Miyajima Shrine Island and/or Hiroshima Castle.
Day 11: Osaka: Take morning Shinkansen to Osaka (last day of JR Pass). Remainder of day to be decided.
Day 12: Osaka: Activity to be decided.
Day 13: Osaka: Activity to be decided (maybe a day trip outside of Osaka?)
Day 14: Home: Departing flight from Osaka.
From what I can tell, most hotels in Japan cannot be booked yet for September 2019, so it seems we'll need to wait until nearer the time for availability to open up. For this reason, I'm currently using hypothetical March vacation dates on booking.com as a guideline for what choices and prices should be like in September.
Regarding flights: KLM seems to cover my route with direct flights both to Tokyo and back from Osaka, but it seems a little more tricky for my parents UK (north). They're not keen on the twelve hour flights, so requiring a connecting flight might be a deal-breaker. Unfortunately British Airways only shows direct flights going out from London Heathrow, but only show connecting return flights from Osaka (same for Tokyo). JAL seems to have direct flights, but they're pretty expensive.
I'm currently looking at the possibility of them flying to Amsterdam to meet me the day before we fly to Tokyo, then flying back from Amsterdam the day after returning from Osaka, e.g:
Day -1: Parents fly from UK to Amsterdam, spend the night at my place.
Day 0: We all fly together from Amsterdam to Tokyo.
// ... vacation as above ...
Day 14: We all fly together from Osaka to Amsterdam, parents spend the night at my place.
Day 15: Parents fly from Amsterdam to UK.
This has the some advantages: We'd be flying together, they get a good night rest between otherwise connecting flights, they can use a closer airport in the UK, and the cost seems reasonable even accounting for the additional return flight to Amsterdam.
Nevertheless, I'd be open to other direct-flight options from the UK in case I've missed anything.
So anyway, this is my plan so far. Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary for spending two weeks in Japan with my 60+ year old parents? Any suggestions on what to change or things to include would be welcome, but of course I also have plenty of time to research.
Wooooah.
I leave in just under 2 weeks. Prepping myself for the long ass flight.
Still got a few things left to do. I've been reading that I shouldn't need a special adapter for outlets like we did in Europe. That correct? Just that they may be non-polarized, so a non-polarized adapter should cover those cases?
I leave in just under 2 weeks. Prepping myself for the long ass flight.
Still got a few things left to do. I've been reading that I shouldn't need a special adapter for outlets like we did in Europe. That correct? Just that they may be non-polarized, so a non-polarized adapter should cover those cases?
This thread has already been a lifesaver in terms of helping me get my bearings about tickets and pocket Wi-Fi in advance. Thanks to everyone.
I am flying out in 48 hours, landing at Narita and then heading to my AirBNB in northern Tokyo (Toshima). And... I'm woefully unprepared. I'll be picking through this thread for recommendations and suggestions, but if you're particularly savvy and want to just PM me suggestions that have already been listed in this or other threads (or publicly reply here), I would seriously appreciate it.
I have two weeks to just do what I please, and I wanna maximize my eating, walking, sightseeing, gaming, nerding, and weirding out. The only plan I have at this point is going to a snake cafe on Saturday. Budget is actually pretty ample (I've saved up a bunch just in case), and I'm open to traveling and doing 1-2 night stays wherever (I figure I'll head to Kyoto for a 2-3 day stint at some point).
I am flying out in 48 hours, landing at Narita and then heading to my AirBNB in northern Tokyo (Toshima). And... I'm woefully unprepared. I'll be picking through this thread for recommendations and suggestions, but if you're particularly savvy and want to just PM me suggestions that have already been listed in this or other threads (or publicly reply here), I would seriously appreciate it.
I have two weeks to just do what I please, and I wanna maximize my eating, walking, sightseeing, gaming, nerding, and weirding out. The only plan I have at this point is going to a snake cafe on Saturday. Budget is actually pretty ample (I've saved up a bunch just in case), and I'm open to traveling and doing 1-2 night stays wherever (I figure I'll head to Kyoto for a 2-3 day stint at some point).
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Well, doing both Asakusa and Akihabara is one way to show off both sides of Japan in 1 day I guess ;p
Your itinerary looks decent. You could cut day 7 though, move everything else up a day up to and including day 11, do Miyajima on day 9 (which was on day 10 before), and add a new day 11 where you go to Himeji Castle with the last day of the JR Pass. Then on day 12 or 13 you could do a day trip to Kyoto if you want to have that extra day there. Will most likely save a little bit of money as well since it's usually cheaper to stay in Osaka than Kyoto.
Having just left Kyoto after 3 days, I second the idea of spending more time there. The beautiful temples and amazing food everywhere is worth the time!
I also want to praise the use of my Pasmo card. It has made using trains, buses and subways super easy in Japan. This thread has been unbelievably helpful for our trip! We in Osaka now for a few days before going back to Tokyo.
I also want to praise the use of my Pasmo card. It has made using trains, buses and subways super easy in Japan. This thread has been unbelievably helpful for our trip! We in Osaka now for a few days before going back to Tokyo.
This is what I did for my first trip a few weeks ago. My hotel was in Asakusa, so I wandered around for a few hours before I could check in to my hotel. Then I headed over to Akihabara since I had still had some time after check-in and it isn't too far away.
Thanks for the suggestion! Looking at the routes, suggestion makes a lot of sense!
Nice!
Sounds like your pretty open to anything in Tokyo thankfully so I can recommend a few things if you can pick a spot for the day or time frame /want to be suggested something to do.
Toshima isn't too far from the main train stops I believe, if its the main one I'm thinking of. So should not be too hard to get into the main areas to do... whatever. What exactly are you interested in? What kinds of foods do you like or cannot eat? how into sight seeing are you? overall what kind of shopping or window shopping are you looking to do?
Probably can't give too great advice since I don't live in Tokyo and honestly... kinda think its a pretty uninteresting city haha, but I've been a few times at least.
Really, I'm up for it all. From outdoorsy/long-walk/mild-hike stuff, to being bombarded with zillions of lights and sounds. I will eat all of the foods, seriously. And window shopping is a blast, looking at ridiculous toys and figures and weird crap sounds good to me for a small expedition. I'll also have a 7-day JRPass and may very well jump on some of the thread's train-around suggestions for 5-6 days, as well, with Kyoto being high on my list, but I'm open to alternate trajectories for a 6-day JRPass-a-rama. Lead me wherever you please with suggestions. No itinerary, as well, so your spot/time frame query is wiiiiide open.
Just a few quick suggestions on places to eat/drink that I've really enjoyed the most in Tokyo/Kyoto.
The ramen I always come back to is at Menya Musashi in Shinjuku. Tonkatsu Tonki in Meguro has amazing pork katsu. Sushi no Midori in Shibuya station is always good, but beware the line. Anzukko in Kyoto for their baked dumplings is a must try.
For cocktail bars, Bar Benfiddich in Shinjuku is my favorite. Make sure it's the one on the 9th floor, not their brandy bar on the 3rd. Bar Trench in Ebisu is great. Bar Martha is also worth a visit in the same area if you like vinyl bars. If you're in Kyoto and like whisky you need to go to the Yamazaki distillery, it's an easy train ride away. New York Bar at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo is pricey, but the view and ambiance is worth it I think.
Awesome, thank you. Yes, I want to eat all the ridiculously good things. Ramen, noodle houses, overpriced fruits, you name it.
Where should I eat in Kobe? Just grabbed some face melting steak. Looking for other suggestions. Only here 1 night.
Anyone know what the difference is between a room in a hotel and a room in a hostel? I always thought hostels were just dorms (i.e. shared rooms), but it seems many of them have private rooms with private bathrooms that look comparable to hotel rooms, yet the hostel prices tend to be a lot cheaper than the hotels, so I'm not really sure what the catch is?
The only thing I noticed is hostels tend not to offer breakfast, and I assume the hostel room is not cleaned each day like in a hotel? If those are the only differences, I could easily live with that.
The only thing I noticed is hostels tend not to offer breakfast, and I assume the hostel room is not cleaned each day like in a hotel? If those are the only differences, I could easily live with that.
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You might have to put the sheets on the bed yourself and pay like 100 JPY to rent towels, in addition to what you mentioned, but other than that there's not much difference, no. Oh, and no room service or concierge or anything fancy like that of course :p
Thanks for clarifying. I always assumed hostels were only intended for young people; I'm planning on bringing my cost concious parents over who are in their 60's; I think they might rather save money than have their beds made each day. :)
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Got our Ghibli Museum tickets for November 21st! Now we can kind of start planning around that. How long does one usually spend there?
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How is the Ghibli museum?...friend and I are planning to go for 9 days (2 of those will be flights) and probably stay in Tokyo for the most part. Kinda just googling things to see. I know they're touristy but we definitely wanna check out Shinjuku and Akihabara. And that Golden Gai area looks really cool....just keeping an eye out for round trips under 1k usd to jump on.
First day in Tokyo: I hopped a train to Nippori Station, walked through nearby graveyards and temples, stopped for a ridiculously good coffee at Kayaba Coffee (clearly some guide/recommendation book has hipped foreigners to it, as it was 50/50 Japanese ppl and white tourists), and checked out the beautiful art collection at Tokyo Art University's current exhibits. One of the wings was dedicated to the evolution of multimedia art from the '80s to today and has a wall covered in VHS players, USB sticks, and a bunch of A/V gizmos in between (including one of the coolest, sleekest Walkman tape players I've ever seen). Then I wandered around Ueno Park for a while, beautiful on a gray day. Then walked a little further south to the insanity of Ameyoko Market, and then napped, and now I'm playing [REDACTED] in my AirBNB. Great Friday.
Until I got to the Market, that whole route was surprisingly chill/quiet, and it included a lot of great surprise shops, foods, and sights down tiny streets (I'm still getting used to how those are legit public streets here, as opposed to off-limits alleyways in the states). I recommend it if you like to just kinda wander and see where the wind takes you (with Tokyo Art Uni and Ueno Park as anchors in a pinch). And if anybody sees that and has similar recommendations for chill/beautiful walking routes, lmk know.
Heading to a restaurant near Kudanshita Station tonight (an old TX friend owns it) and wandering from there. Thanks again for this whole freakin' thread. Hopefully this 6-hour saunter description is of use to anybody.
Until I got to the Market, that whole route was surprisingly chill/quiet, and it included a lot of great surprise shops, foods, and sights down tiny streets (I'm still getting used to how those are legit public streets here, as opposed to off-limits alleyways in the states). I recommend it if you like to just kinda wander and see where the wind takes you (with Tokyo Art Uni and Ueno Park as anchors in a pinch). And if anybody sees that and has similar recommendations for chill/beautiful walking routes, lmk know.
Heading to a restaurant near Kudanshita Station tonight (an old TX friend owns it) and wandering from there. Thanks again for this whole freakin' thread. Hopefully this 6-hour saunter description is of use to anybody.
Done all the tourist stuff in osaka, done himeji and hiroshima. Got another day in osaka and have jr pass, any ideas?
Got way to much done in two days.
Got way to much done in two days.
Leaving in 8 days! Thanks for the suggestions on the new checking account. Put us both at ease knowing we won't need to carry over 100k JPY with us. Bringing 40k to start and will withdraw as needed.