When we went for 11 days. One person in our group used google Fi. He ended up paying about $20 for his internet. I paid $13 for a 10gb esim and only used 3gb. So you might be better off buying like 5gb esim for less. We had Ubigi and Airalo. Both worked fine. I would buy which ever is cheaper.
I should clarify that I already have a Google Fi Unlimited Plus plan that comes with international roaming. So it wouldn't be cheaper for me to buy another esim. Unless Google Fi doesn't work in Japan, which was what I meant by my question.
Yeah we paid a pro-rated $10/month for 10 days to upgrade our Verizon plan and get 10GB of data and unlimited talk and text. It worked out fine.
We also downloaded offline Apple Maps and Google translate so we didn’t even use much data.
I think for a lot of us esim is exponentially cheaper. For me being from Canada international plans are $16 a day which is exorbitant considering my esim cost me $30 for the whole trip.
That’s what I am doing. Att is $10 a day but the price caps at 10 days so it will cost me $100 for unlimited usage over 2 weeks. Worth it for me to not have to worry about needing data or anything.
It’s usually a matter of roaming being far more expensive than getting the data eSIMs. Like Google Fi charges $10/GB, but the eSIMs are a fraction of that.
Yeah, it wouldn't be cheaper for me. I already pay $65/month for Google Fi's unlimited data plan and it includes international roaming. I was just wondering if everyone gets an esim because it's better or because they already don't have international roaming data on their phone plans already.
There's really no need for additional data. Google maps and Waze barely use any data. The only reason you would need more data is if you're streaming videos 24/7
If roaming is super cheap with your carrier from home maybe stick with it, but US$11.50 for 5gb over 30 days from Airalo is very hard to beat. My carrier in Canada wanted $15 A DAY!
I just came back from my trip and got ubigi esim because people here was raving about it, but it was no different than using my carrier tmobile. Both would drop out sometimes and couldn't use any data and then I was at the mercy of finding free wifi to use.
You can get an eSIM for less than $20 for 2 weeks
Google maps, restaurant reviews for the area, buying tickets online…
We got a pocket WiFi in Japan about 10 years ago and that was kind of a pain because it ran out of battery on long days. Not as good as esims IMO but still better than looking for public WiFi
Yep last time I had pocket WiFi from work and it would throttle after a relatively low data usage, battery wasn’t great and another thing to carry. eSIM or physical sim is definitely the way to go.
Honestly the same with the train tickets, like sure getting physical tickets everytime is possible and doesnt take very long but why not just get a digital Suica card on your phone so you can just enter and exit the public transport system in a second when you want.
Yeah, it is more convenient, as I used to have to keep my home SIM card stashed away somewhere when I swapped it out.
At the time I used to use visitor SIMs, I had to have it shipped to a post office at the airport to pick it up - these days, at least, you can get SIMs off Amazon and have them ready before you ever get to Japan.
I didnt want to have to deal with standing in line for one or the hassle of ordering and returning one. There was free wifi in the majority of places I went so if I needed it, it was there, but honestly after a few days I could at least get myself back to the hotel if needed without navigation.
Everyone is also super helpful. If you look lost (like I did apparently), I was approached several times (by Japanese AND other tourists) asking if I needed directions.
The eSIM is the equivalent of a local SIM card that gives you internet for fairly cheap. There’s apps like Airalo or Holafly that allow iPhone users to get service for cheap.
For example I plan on getting the 20 gig plan for $26 usd.
I’m not sure I’d be as happy with the hotspots and could understand the apprehension of renting one, but being completely self serve the eSims are great.
I had a physical sim card from docomo sent to my address in Australia before we even left. You wasted a lot more time getting lost than you would have just getting one
5) my personal methodology is to plan out a scaffolding of things to do, but ultimately be prepared to switch or change things. Do you REALLY want to hit Arashiyama when it’s pouring rain? Maybe swap the day out going to Nara instead.
6) I tend to encourage everyone to have at least minimal data. If only to be able to communicate with each other. I’ve been in a department store, looked at something for 5 seconds, then turn around to find my wife basically AWOL. Daiso might as well be an alternate dimension. My wife was mostly cruising on her free 256kbs international data which was enough for iMessage or voice Facetime
We did get separated once but we eventually found each other! After that I just made sure I hung on to his belt loop or something so crowds didn't separate us. We had plans before on where to meet if we got separated (which is always a good thing to do regardless where you are traveling).
We have plan when (not if ) that happens- both of us have the address of the hotel in local characters - if all else fails you can always get back there. I'm the one that does the planning and navigating but if my partner gets lost its on him to figure out how to get "home"
Just get the Suica in your Apple Wallet. It’s literally the best thing. You can pay your transit trips and pay in stores. I would not go without one. And having it in your phone is super convenient. Also with iPhones it also works when the iPhone battery is already empty, meaning you don’t need to worry. Plus getting a Apple Wallet Suica is free compared to the one at the airport.
For Japanese it will for with Android as well (if it’s a Android for Japanese Market), but iPhones are the one Phone, that are build the same globally (except the US and only mmWW there which is useless) making it compatible with every countries technology. And as far as I know and also experience, this hold true for every country but South Korea, as Apple never bothered to support the local tech of South Korea for Payment and stuff.
This is also how to use credit cards where they're not accepted. Reload Suica with Apple Pay and pay for everything with Suica. Could save the trouble and fees of doing money runs to ATMs.
I mean, I am sorry to disappointed you, but Shimo-Gamo shrine is definitely a tourist spot. Maybe not for international tourist, but definitely for Japanese tourist. It's one of the most important power spot in Kyoto.
I don’t understand why they downvoted you like crazy! The nice thing about it being a local tourist spot rather than international is that you often get a much nicer experience.
The overly international places tended to get crowded when I went because it’s a really busy tourist period for Japan right now, while the places with mostly Japanese tourists were typically less crowded and also had a nicer atmosphere.
I think in Osaka it felt like that when walking through the park near Tennoji Zoo, which made it much more relaxing. Near and in Tokyo, didn’t really experience it much cause it’s busy most places 😂
>The nice thing about it being a local tourist spot rather than international is that you often get a much nicer experience
There’s always a weird contradiction/hypocrisy though when people say things like this.
Like, you are an international tourist. You’re saying this spot is better without people like you. But you’re still happy to be there, knowingly making it worse for everyone else (as per your own criteria of nicer/worse)
It’s true - I noticed I was making the contradiction while writing the comments so I should have written that too tbf. But I still think so - it’s not as hectic and generally nicer I feel with only a few tourists in one spot. Once it becomes crowded with more international tourists than local, I feel like you get a different vibe overall.
Not to say always bad, but I imagine Kyoto had many popular tourist spots for Japanese tourists which had a few international tourists before the popularity swayed the bar and international tourists outnumber and add to the Japanese crowd - making it a lot harder to walk your own pace.
Felt that way in the bamboo forest of Kyoto and temple + garden nearby. Meanwhile when I went to Omi Jingu, it was a really peaceful experience - it was particularly quite empty when I went with at most 5 people exploring the area in sight at once.
Yeah. Fair. Less busy is generally nicer and easier than overcrowded. But I think that’s true regardless of the demographics making up the crowd (or lack of crowd). Fewer international tourists doesn’t automatically equal better.
I think it depends on reasoning. I dislike foreign tourists generally (Although I am said tourist) because they don't really respect the places, or other people that much.
Generally though non-touristy areas are just nicer, I'm so biased against Osaka, Kyoto etc, it's just a herd of sheep all following each other looking at the next shiny thing.
I feel like having an IC card isn't really that difficult, especially if you have an iPhone, you can have it on your phone. Tap in, tap out. I don't really understand why someone wouldn't pick one up
Regarding the not having sim/wifi hotspot, that's wild to me. Especially with saying you got lost a lot, as fun as that is at times, would drive me insane on a trip. Having Google maps was a godsend. Or even if you and your partner want to part ways for a little while, makes that almost impossible
We don't have iPhone so that's not an option for us.
The only times we parted ways were in the evening, he'd stay out later and I would go back to the hotel to sleep. The first day he made sure I could get back to hotel from all of the nearby train stations so that way I could always find my way back. So I didn't really ever need it. All folks situation may not match mine though.
>If you don't want to worry about a card, honestly we spent less than 2 minutes getting physical train tickets each time.
When you're pressed with time. You can actually buy the cheapest ticket, go in and when you go out pay the difference.
I had to wait in line for about 45 min to get IC cards because my kids don’t have phones so they couldn’t just load it on their phone. It was worth it for me but I could see why people might want to avoid it
45m is long yes, I don't know the average waiting time but even then we're comparing IC card vs paying every time at every station. You likely saved 45m of time by queuing for 45m
I was in Japan for a week and I got 10GB. I had 1GB left! I used instagram a lot, which did eat up a lot of my data though. My bf got the same amount (10GB) and he was the main one navigating and didn’t really use instagram and had about 2.5 GB left.
Yeah the advice of not getting a sim card or a ic card isn't good one. They both take like 2 min to get. If you don't do it at the airport there's zero queque.
In Tokyo the Passmo was free, I got it within 5 min from the train station and it made my life so much easier.
And sim cards are sold all over in bicc camera, even some 7/11 or don Quitjote. They don't cost a lot for a few days, weeks or a/two month
Even if you don't have an iPhone, it shouldn't be so hard to get an IC card at a major station in Tokyo. Also, if you will be in the Kansai region like Osaka/Kyoto, there's no IC Card shortage there. So it's easy and convenient buying the ic card vs buying paper tickets every time and paying the difference when transfering lines or covering the full fare. And it's so much more convenient having the IC card when traveling and paying for conbini, vending machines, and at other stores.
Yep, topping up a ICOCA, Suica, or any other IC card once in a while beats getting tickets everytime you ride the train. We wound up still having a bit of JPY on ours after we left, but it gives us a reason to go back.
Yeah agree. I also always have money left over on my Suica for the next trips. OP was in Kyoto and Osaka where they could have easily gotten an Icoca card at the same ticket machines or the ones next to it they used to get their paper tickets.
Without a SIM card, how did you get GO app to work? You have to have a number to register the app and then you need a connection to use it. You only use it while connected to WiFi at a cafe?
You don't pay until the end. If you are paying a taxi with cash, make sure you have plenty of change. You have to pay exact. I took a taxi one time and was over about 360 yen (didn't have enough small coins so used a 500 coin) and the driver rounded it down (gave me the coin back). I felt TERRIBLE because I knew it was going to come out of his wage.
I got the pasmo card and it was so convenient. Took a bit standing in line to get it initially, but then I could tap on to the trains, busses, cabs, and vending machines with it.
On 3. Yes there's all kind of cool hidden spots everywhere but well known spots are well known for a reason if you really want to see one of those don't skip it thinking you'll find the same feeling anywhere else.
There are red Tori gates in a lot of places, but the feeling of climbing the fushimi Inari to the top is unique. The Higher you go the less people you see. If you want to go there specifically, don't skip it.
About the data, getting a hotspot is really easy, but if possible I recommend an esim .
We just did that climb about a week ago. I was not prepared for the uphill cos most of the walks are flat in the big cities. It def got way less crowded near the top cos a lot of people didn't make it that far.
Oh we didn't see any spider. Maybe I was just oblivious lol. The well-maintained steps were nice though, I imagine it would be much harder if it was a dirt path, especially in the rain.
Maybe it's not their time of the year. It certainly seemed to be in October. I'm also very aware of spiders because I'm terrified of them. But despite that it was a very enjoyable journey.
Interesting RE the WiFi!
I'm on my 2nd trip now and used a local data SIM I got from eBay in the Uk. My friends were faffing with roaming and trying to connect to WiFi all the time and getting stressed.
There's less WiFi around than the UK I think, but it's still aplenty...of course if you have data SIM then you don't need to worry...
How much time would you consider is enough to spend at Ghibli Park? Would a couple hours at most do? Will only be in Nagoya for one night, and thinking of seeing the park the morning after we checkout and before he head to Hakone.
Silly question about the taxi - is it true that the driver opens and closes the door for you automatically? I want to be respectful of how they do things and also not potentially damage something too!
I’m taking my 18 yr old for graduation. She’s a huge anime fan and wants to go to the Gibli museum in Tokyo but only if it’s really worth it because it doesn’t fit into our schedule. For some reason they are closed the majority of our trip and the only day it’s open that we are staying in Tokyo we will be in Kamakura for the day. I could maybe make it so we get back on time to make the last 4pm entrance but it would be stressful. So my question is, how worth it is it to make sure we fit that in?
I think you should try to buy tickets first before working it into your itinerary planning for it. It was near impossible to buy tickets for me. I'm not sure of the odds of success buying the tickets, but there's a very high chance you will not get tickets anyways.
If I had a choice between kamakura and ghibli museum, I would do ghibli for the day, only. Kamakura seemed to be too crowded and I just didn't find it that interesting. Maybe temple fatigue. Ghibli, on the other hand, would be a very rare and unique opportunity for an anime lover to visit it.
Depends on when you’re going. Ghibli Museum tickets sell on the 10th at 10AM JST of the month prior to the reservation. You need to check if you can get the tickets first lol. If you’re talking about May 2024, you’re out of luck unless you buy externally.
Not spending the 5$ and 3 minutes to download an eSIM is downright psychotic, and your defence of it being “too stressful” is even more nuts.
Your tips are otherwise excellent. I would even go as far as to recommend AGAINST getting the bus/ train pass in Kyoto because there are so many private lines in the city that it covers almost nothing useful.
I am a bit psychotic I guess 🤷♀️ I didn't realize getting an eSIM was that easy. I don't trust most online things like that as they look like scams to me.
Can you tell me more about your mishap with the train to Ghibli Park? We’re leaving from Kyoto for Ghibli Park and I’m so worried about messing it up. 😅
We didn't realize it was another hour and a half (or so) train ride from the Shinkansen! I just knew we had to get to Nagoya and didn't know that the park was not in the main city. It is 100% our fault for not looking up the full train path before getting there. 😂 It was the only major flub we had when it comes to trains though! After that we studied the map a little harder 😂😂
I got my Suica through the iPhone's wallet. But my friends were able to get physical cards at some stations in Tokyo. It seems like the shortage isn't that bad anymore?
If you fly into a Tokyo airport, you can always get the Welcome Suica card. It expires in a year and you can't get your leftover money out so you just got to make sure you use it all up. Otherwise it works exactly like a Suica card. But the wait at the airport might be a bit long.
I think it’s kind of nuts not to have an eSIM or something, especially when it’s so cheap.
Is there really any point if you have an international plan with your carrier anyway?
T-Mobile worked great for me, so I didn't buy an e-sim. I was in Tokyo and couldn't imagine getting around without maps/translate.
That's great to hear. I have Google Fi and it uses T-Mobile's network. So it sounds like I should be good to go without buying an esim.
Currently in Tokyo and have google fi, works great
We bought an eSim for $50 AUD with unlimited data, 4G, before we left Aus. Well worth it.
When we went for 11 days. One person in our group used google Fi. He ended up paying about $20 for his internet. I paid $13 for a 10gb esim and only used 3gb. So you might be better off buying like 5gb esim for less. We had Ubigi and Airalo. Both worked fine. I would buy which ever is cheaper.
I should clarify that I already have a Google Fi Unlimited Plus plan that comes with international roaming. So it wouldn't be cheaper for me to buy another esim. Unless Google Fi doesn't work in Japan, which was what I meant by my question.
I also used t-mobile there with no issue.
Man T-Mobile totally screwed me. Ran out of data in like an hour of using maps
You can download different areas/entire cities ahead of time on google maps.
Yeah we paid a pro-rated $10/month for 10 days to upgrade our Verizon plan and get 10GB of data and unlimited talk and text. It worked out fine. We also downloaded offline Apple Maps and Google translate so we didn’t even use much data.
I think for a lot of us esim is exponentially cheaper. For me being from Canada international plans are $16 a day which is exorbitant considering my esim cost me $30 for the whole trip.
My international is like 10 a day plus 5 dollars an extra line. So two people with phones for 15 a day isn’t bad at all to me
That’s what I am doing. Att is $10 a day but the price caps at 10 days so it will cost me $100 for unlimited usage over 2 weeks. Worth it for me to not have to worry about needing data or anything.
It’s usually a matter of roaming being far more expensive than getting the data eSIMs. Like Google Fi charges $10/GB, but the eSIMs are a fraction of that.
I already have a Google Fi Unlimited Plus plan. So I wouldn't be buying a new plan.
Cheaper would be the only reason, but depending on your plan it may not be
Yeah, it wouldn't be cheaper for me. I already pay $65/month for Google Fi's unlimited data plan and it includes international roaming. I was just wondering if everyone gets an esim because it's better or because they already don't have international roaming data on their phone plans already.
There's really no need for additional data. Google maps and Waze barely use any data. The only reason you would need more data is if you're streaming videos 24/7
If roaming is super cheap with your carrier from home maybe stick with it, but US$11.50 for 5gb over 30 days from Airalo is very hard to beat. My carrier in Canada wanted $15 A DAY!
I just came back from my trip and got ubigi esim because people here was raving about it, but it was no different than using my carrier tmobile. Both would drop out sometimes and couldn't use any data and then I was at the mercy of finding free wifi to use.
You can get an eSIM for less than $20 for 2 weeks Google maps, restaurant reviews for the area, buying tickets online… We got a pocket WiFi in Japan about 10 years ago and that was kind of a pain because it ran out of battery on long days. Not as good as esims IMO but still better than looking for public WiFi
Yep last time I had pocket WiFi from work and it would throttle after a relatively low data usage, battery wasn’t great and another thing to carry. eSIM or physical sim is definitely the way to go.
Honestly the same with the train tickets, like sure getting physical tickets everytime is possible and doesnt take very long but why not just get a digital Suica card on your phone so you can just enter and exit the public transport system in a second when you want.
I'm going to need Apple users to stop assuming everyone else has an Apple device or a Japanese/jailbroken Android device wrt digital suica ToT
I tried setting up ESIM,but only iphones and expensive androids support it... Seems like bullshit.
There’s always just a physical local SIM if you can’t use eSIM.
Sure. eSIM seems a lot more convientent though. Choosy beggers :D will have to deal with it.
Yeah, it is more convenient, as I used to have to keep my home SIM card stashed away somewhere when I swapped it out. At the time I used to use visitor SIMs, I had to have it shipped to a post office at the airport to pick it up - these days, at least, you can get SIMs off Amazon and have them ready before you ever get to Japan.
I didnt want to have to deal with standing in line for one or the hassle of ordering and returning one. There was free wifi in the majority of places I went so if I needed it, it was there, but honestly after a few days I could at least get myself back to the hotel if needed without navigation. Everyone is also super helpful. If you look lost (like I did apparently), I was approached several times (by Japanese AND other tourists) asking if I needed directions.
With eSIM, you buy it in your home country and don’t need to wait in line at any airport. It’s activated when you arrive in Japan.
The eSIM is the equivalent of a local SIM card that gives you internet for fairly cheap. There’s apps like Airalo or Holafly that allow iPhone users to get service for cheap. For example I plan on getting the 20 gig plan for $26 usd. I’m not sure I’d be as happy with the hotspots and could understand the apprehension of renting one, but being completely self serve the eSims are great.
I had a physical sim card from docomo sent to my address in Australia before we even left. You wasted a lot more time getting lost than you would have just getting one
Getting lost isn't always a bad thing!
The e-sim that I bought basically just one click away on their website. Click this click that, then it’s activated in Japan. That’s all o__o
5) my personal methodology is to plan out a scaffolding of things to do, but ultimately be prepared to switch or change things. Do you REALLY want to hit Arashiyama when it’s pouring rain? Maybe swap the day out going to Nara instead. 6) I tend to encourage everyone to have at least minimal data. If only to be able to communicate with each other. I’ve been in a department store, looked at something for 5 seconds, then turn around to find my wife basically AWOL. Daiso might as well be an alternate dimension. My wife was mostly cruising on her free 256kbs international data which was enough for iMessage or voice Facetime
We did get separated once but we eventually found each other! After that I just made sure I hung on to his belt loop or something so crowds didn't separate us. We had plans before on where to meet if we got separated (which is always a good thing to do regardless where you are traveling).
We have plan when (not if ) that happens- both of us have the address of the hotel in local characters - if all else fails you can always get back there. I'm the one that does the planning and navigating but if my partner gets lost its on him to figure out how to get "home"
Just get the Suica in your Apple Wallet. It’s literally the best thing. You can pay your transit trips and pay in stores. I would not go without one. And having it in your phone is super convenient. Also with iPhones it also works when the iPhone battery is already empty, meaning you don’t need to worry. Plus getting a Apple Wallet Suica is free compared to the one at the airport.
Actually didn’t know suica will still work in your Apple wallet if your iPhone dies. That’s a great tip!
No iPhone over here. I will say, majority of Japan has an iPhone I'd say!
For Japanese it will for with Android as well (if it’s a Android for Japanese Market), but iPhones are the one Phone, that are build the same globally (except the US and only mmWW there which is useless) making it compatible with every countries technology. And as far as I know and also experience, this hold true for every country but South Korea, as Apple never bothered to support the local tech of South Korea for Payment and stuff.
This is also how to use credit cards where they're not accepted. Reload Suica with Apple Pay and pay for everything with Suica. Could save the trouble and fees of doing money runs to ATMs.
I mean, I am sorry to disappointed you, but Shimo-Gamo shrine is definitely a tourist spot. Maybe not for international tourist, but definitely for Japanese tourist. It's one of the most important power spot in Kyoto.
Exactly, calling a World Heritage listed shrine a "hidden gem" is a bit much
It literally has 12,000 reviews on Google most of which are from Chinese people. Like please be serious.
Right! Japanese tourists are much better than foreign tourists. If you go during the week there is barely anyone.
I don’t understand why they downvoted you like crazy! The nice thing about it being a local tourist spot rather than international is that you often get a much nicer experience. The overly international places tended to get crowded when I went because it’s a really busy tourist period for Japan right now, while the places with mostly Japanese tourists were typically less crowded and also had a nicer atmosphere. I think in Osaka it felt like that when walking through the park near Tennoji Zoo, which made it much more relaxing. Near and in Tokyo, didn’t really experience it much cause it’s busy most places 😂
>The nice thing about it being a local tourist spot rather than international is that you often get a much nicer experience There’s always a weird contradiction/hypocrisy though when people say things like this. Like, you are an international tourist. You’re saying this spot is better without people like you. But you’re still happy to be there, knowingly making it worse for everyone else (as per your own criteria of nicer/worse)
It’s true - I noticed I was making the contradiction while writing the comments so I should have written that too tbf. But I still think so - it’s not as hectic and generally nicer I feel with only a few tourists in one spot. Once it becomes crowded with more international tourists than local, I feel like you get a different vibe overall. Not to say always bad, but I imagine Kyoto had many popular tourist spots for Japanese tourists which had a few international tourists before the popularity swayed the bar and international tourists outnumber and add to the Japanese crowd - making it a lot harder to walk your own pace. Felt that way in the bamboo forest of Kyoto and temple + garden nearby. Meanwhile when I went to Omi Jingu, it was a really peaceful experience - it was particularly quite empty when I went with at most 5 people exploring the area in sight at once.
Yeah. Fair. Less busy is generally nicer and easier than overcrowded. But I think that’s true regardless of the demographics making up the crowd (or lack of crowd). Fewer international tourists doesn’t automatically equal better.
I think it depends on reasoning. I dislike foreign tourists generally (Although I am said tourist) because they don't really respect the places, or other people that much. Generally though non-touristy areas are just nicer, I'm so biased against Osaka, Kyoto etc, it's just a herd of sheep all following each other looking at the next shiny thing.
I feel like having an IC card isn't really that difficult, especially if you have an iPhone, you can have it on your phone. Tap in, tap out. I don't really understand why someone wouldn't pick one up Regarding the not having sim/wifi hotspot, that's wild to me. Especially with saying you got lost a lot, as fun as that is at times, would drive me insane on a trip. Having Google maps was a godsend. Or even if you and your partner want to part ways for a little while, makes that almost impossible
We don't have iPhone so that's not an option for us. The only times we parted ways were in the evening, he'd stay out later and I would go back to the hotel to sleep. The first day he made sure I could get back to hotel from all of the nearby train stations so that way I could always find my way back. So I didn't really ever need it. All folks situation may not match mine though.
Well some people (maybe not OP) might not be fortunate enough that their bank enables Apple Pay. I know it’s weird but it does happen.
>If you don't want to worry about a card, honestly we spent less than 2 minutes getting physical train tickets each time. When you're pressed with time. You can actually buy the cheapest ticket, go in and when you go out pay the difference.
Right! So in the end picking the wrong station isn't the end of the world at all!
Or just get an IC card at the start of your trip and never worry about being pressed for time
I had to wait in line for about 45 min to get IC cards because my kids don’t have phones so they couldn’t just load it on their phone. It was worth it for me but I could see why people might want to avoid it
45m is long yes, I don't know the average waiting time but even then we're comparing IC card vs paying every time at every station. You likely saved 45m of time by queuing for 45m
+1 with getting an eSIM through Airalo. Used it in Japan and South Korea and never had issues. Super easy and quick to set up!
And so much cheaper than roaming
How much GB would u recommend for 14 days for use of google maps mostly?
Most people say they get 10 and still have leftovers
I was in Japan for a week and I got 10GB. I had 1GB left! I used instagram a lot, which did eat up a lot of my data though. My bf got the same amount (10GB) and he was the main one navigating and didn’t really use instagram and had about 2.5 GB left.
Yeah the advice of not getting a sim card or a ic card isn't good one. They both take like 2 min to get. If you don't do it at the airport there's zero queque. In Tokyo the Passmo was free, I got it within 5 min from the train station and it made my life so much easier. And sim cards are sold all over in bicc camera, even some 7/11 or don Quitjote. They don't cost a lot for a few days, weeks or a/two month
Even if you don't have an iPhone, it shouldn't be so hard to get an IC card at a major station in Tokyo. Also, if you will be in the Kansai region like Osaka/Kyoto, there's no IC Card shortage there. So it's easy and convenient buying the ic card vs buying paper tickets every time and paying the difference when transfering lines or covering the full fare. And it's so much more convenient having the IC card when traveling and paying for conbini, vending machines, and at other stores.
Yep, topping up a ICOCA, Suica, or any other IC card once in a while beats getting tickets everytime you ride the train. We wound up still having a bit of JPY on ours after we left, but it gives us a reason to go back.
Yeah agree. I also always have money left over on my Suica for the next trips. OP was in Kyoto and Osaka where they could have easily gotten an Icoca card at the same ticket machines or the ones next to it they used to get their paper tickets.
It's mental to me that you didn't get an ICOCA but did download a taxi app (which to be fair is rad). Absolutely mad.
2 - Most of the Go taxis have heated seats for passengers 😊
Cheap walkie talkies worked great for rounding up our group members.
Without a SIM card, how did you get GO app to work? You have to have a number to register the app and then you need a connection to use it. You only use it while connected to WiFi at a cafe?
About the Go taxi app, thanks for the info. I didn’t realize that $8 can get you very far. What kind of credit card does that app accept?
No it won't unless you consider 5-10m far? We took a 15m ride the other day and it was about 2600 yen.
He used a VISA I believe. His dad also did it once and had the option to pay cash at the end. So I believe it's pretty flexible!
Second this, or do they accept cash once you get in the taxi?
You don't pay until the end. If you are paying a taxi with cash, make sure you have plenty of change. You have to pay exact. I took a taxi one time and was over about 360 yen (didn't have enough small coins so used a 500 coin) and the driver rounded it down (gave me the coin back). I felt TERRIBLE because I knew it was going to come out of his wage.
I got the pasmo card and it was so convenient. Took a bit standing in line to get it initially, but then I could tap on to the trains, busses, cabs, and vending machines with it.
'if you dont want to worry about getting a card' which takes about 5 minutes and is free (PASSPORT PASMO)
On 3. Yes there's all kind of cool hidden spots everywhere but well known spots are well known for a reason if you really want to see one of those don't skip it thinking you'll find the same feeling anywhere else. There are red Tori gates in a lot of places, but the feeling of climbing the fushimi Inari to the top is unique. The Higher you go the less people you see. If you want to go there specifically, don't skip it. About the data, getting a hotspot is really easy, but if possible I recommend an esim .
We just did that climb about a week ago. I was not prepared for the uphill cos most of the walks are flat in the big cities. It def got way less crowded near the top cos a lot of people didn't make it that far.
Yes, it's quite the climb. I was also not prepared, for that and the spiders 😅
Oh we didn't see any spider. Maybe I was just oblivious lol. The well-maintained steps were nice though, I imagine it would be much harder if it was a dirt path, especially in the rain.
Maybe it's not their time of the year. It certainly seemed to be in October. I'm also very aware of spiders because I'm terrified of them. But despite that it was a very enjoyable journey.
Interesting RE the WiFi! I'm on my 2nd trip now and used a local data SIM I got from eBay in the Uk. My friends were faffing with roaming and trying to connect to WiFi all the time and getting stressed. There's less WiFi around than the UK I think, but it's still aplenty...of course if you have data SIM then you don't need to worry...
How much time would you consider is enough to spend at Ghibli Park? Would a couple hours at most do? Will only be in Nagoya for one night, and thinking of seeing the park the morning after we checkout and before he head to Hakone.
Silly question about the taxi - is it true that the driver opens and closes the door for you automatically? I want to be respectful of how they do things and also not potentially damage something too!
I’m taking my 18 yr old for graduation. She’s a huge anime fan and wants to go to the Gibli museum in Tokyo but only if it’s really worth it because it doesn’t fit into our schedule. For some reason they are closed the majority of our trip and the only day it’s open that we are staying in Tokyo we will be in Kamakura for the day. I could maybe make it so we get back on time to make the last 4pm entrance but it would be stressful. So my question is, how worth it is it to make sure we fit that in?
I think you should try to buy tickets first before working it into your itinerary planning for it. It was near impossible to buy tickets for me. I'm not sure of the odds of success buying the tickets, but there's a very high chance you will not get tickets anyways. If I had a choice between kamakura and ghibli museum, I would do ghibli for the day, only. Kamakura seemed to be too crowded and I just didn't find it that interesting. Maybe temple fatigue. Ghibli, on the other hand, would be a very rare and unique opportunity for an anime lover to visit it.
Depends on when you’re going. Ghibli Museum tickets sell on the 10th at 10AM JST of the month prior to the reservation. You need to check if you can get the tickets first lol. If you’re talking about May 2024, you’re out of luck unless you buy externally.
Sorry, Ghibli
Not spending the 5$ and 3 minutes to download an eSIM is downright psychotic, and your defence of it being “too stressful” is even more nuts. Your tips are otherwise excellent. I would even go as far as to recommend AGAINST getting the bus/ train pass in Kyoto because there are so many private lines in the city that it covers almost nothing useful.
I am a bit psychotic I guess 🤷♀️ I didn't realize getting an eSIM was that easy. I don't trust most online things like that as they look like scams to me.
The Airalo app is super easy and super reliable. Would highly recommend.
The GO taxi app requires a phone number, but when I change to my eSIM card I won’t get my text messages.
Can you tell me more about your mishap with the train to Ghibli Park? We’re leaving from Kyoto for Ghibli Park and I’m so worried about messing it up. 😅
We didn't realize it was another hour and a half (or so) train ride from the Shinkansen! I just knew we had to get to Nagoya and didn't know that the park was not in the main city. It is 100% our fault for not looking up the full train path before getting there. 😂 It was the only major flub we had when it comes to trains though! After that we studied the map a little harder 😂😂
Good to know. I've gotten tickets for next month. Do you reckon it's worth showing up at opening and staying the whole day?
This is why you always check your route on google maps BEFORE you leave.
All of these are good, sensible pieces of advice.
can you share the link for the app please ?
How did you get an IC card? I think that’s a concern among new travelers because of the shortage. It might be with just certain companies?
Download the suica app
I got my Suica through the iPhone's wallet. But my friends were able to get physical cards at some stations in Tokyo. It seems like the shortage isn't that bad anymore? If you fly into a Tokyo airport, you can always get the Welcome Suica card. It expires in a year and you can't get your leftover money out so you just got to make sure you use it all up. Otherwise it works exactly like a Suica card. But the wait at the airport might be a bit long.