Want to Go to Japan. When and where??

[Clienad]

I would like to go to Japan but need some advice on how to get there and what to do when there. i want to go from 25/3/07 to 8/4/07

I am travelling from London UK to anywhere in Japan I need a holiday and i just want to go! sooo. any tips and hints would be greatly appreciated.

[JonB]

you are very lucky as it will be cherry blossom time.

On the other hand - a lot of hotels and trains will be very busy because it is cherry blossom time!

Kyoto/Nara would get my vote as well as some time in the Tokyo environs. As to what to do - there is so much! What are your intertests to give us some chance to narrow it down!!!

Note - please don't say Sumo because the Osaka tournament ends on 25th March...

JonB

[Clienad]

im going to be going to tokyo first then to kyoto and oosaka. im intrested in anything and anything. ive been listening to the podcast for a year now and have lots of information about japan. so have alot to think about. in week 2 i think im wanting to going to sapporo I have a 2 week rail card and am planning on traveling pretty light. I just want to enjoy myself really.

I am an animator so i would like to at least visit one of the studios in Japan also. It would be nice to pop in on the Japanese pod staff too.

[WCR91]

I'd visit Tokyo if at all possible. There are so many great neighborhoods (and also famous and also infamous neighborhoods) you can visit. From what I've heard, the food is great, the shopping is great, and the sightseeing and shows are great also!

If you've even thought about it, you should visit, if only for a few days.

[Belton]

Pretty soon now.

Have you booked a flight yet?
You should check out Osaka (Kansai International) airport perhaps (via KLM or Air France is much cheaper than a direct flight) as a more pleasant experience than Narita from what I've heard of Narita. If you're going from Kyoto to Sapporo anyhow it again could be nicer to get into Tokyo en route rather than top and tail you journey there.

Osaka isn't great really. Very concrete, modern city. Maybe I was in a bad mood or something. I'd advise you to base yourself in Kyoto in Kinki. Daytrip to Osaka if you want as well as Himeji or Kobe. Nara is a must I think and again is a daytrip from Kyoto.

I haven't been but you need to book a visit to Ghibli - land (outside Tokyo) before you go apparently. You can't just turn up. And tickets are rationed.

My vote for things you have to do is visit an onsen. And at least once stay in a ryokan or temple lodging or a minshuku. rather than a western style hotel or hostel.

[Clienad]

Yeah i booked already I will be arriving and leaving via Narita.

I will try and go from Tokyo to Fukuoka via Kyoto, Takayama, Nara and Osaka I have friends in Osaka and Fukuoka so I plan on visiting them too.
If i can also visit to Japanese pod 101 that would be great! how do you get an audience with the Great Peter any how?

I will be definately going to onsen and to ryokan I promised myself

About currency and getting cash. Will my maestro card do?

[Clienad]

thank you all for your help so far.

[Belton]

Maestro Card.

It's backed by Mastercard so it ought to work. (famous last words)

I used a similar card (Connect, backed by Visa, drawing on a UK bank) without any trouble at Post Office ATMs. These give instructions in English which is useful. The drawback is they seem to be inside Post offices rather than a hole in the wall. Although there is a large 24 hour ? lobby in the Post Office next to Kyoto station. I'd assume something similar in large cities.

It's worth asking your bank. It might be an idea to tell them you're using it in Japan so you don't suddenly run into verification problems.

It seems a cash based world in Japan. People don't seem to use cards as much as UK, (where I sometimes go a week without using any actual paper money). In my limited experience the only places happy to take cards were hotels. (not minshuku or ryokan or smaller places) even then they sometimes wanted the tax in cash and once even though the Hotel took cards, they weren't happy to take mine (dodgey looking gaijin that I am). It's always worth asking about cards but be prepared to use cash.

[Belton]

On the animation thing, I came across this link today that might be useful to you.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/featu ... index.html

[Rizu]

Regarding cash - so it's recommened to carry cash rather than rely on credit cards? I'm not going for at least another year, but I'm just curious how I acquire Yen. Can I just purchase traveler's checks here in the US and then exchange them at a bank in Japan? Are traveler's checks accepted in many places? I would be staying in hotels and ryokan, so do ryokan prefer cash payment for your stay there? How about in restaurants?

Sorry for the many questions. I've never been out of the US (save Canada)

[Belton]

> Rizu-san

I think travellers cheques in general are more trouble than they're worth. But I didn't use them in Japan. I would guess it's easier to use cards than travellers cheques, I think you'd have to exchange travellers cheques at a bank. I believe American Express is now issuing a pre-loaded debit card instead of paper travellers cheques.

I'm sure your bank would order you Japanese Yen if they don't hold them in stock in their foreign exchange. Or most international airports seem to have currency exchanges.

I'm much more comfortable carrying a large amount of cash in Japan than I would be at home. What I have done and am doing the next time is take a wad of cash, top up if needed by using an ATM, make card purchases when I can at hotels and shops.

Mostly what I was spending money on required cash. The places I tended to eat used cash. Minshuku, ryokan and shukubo all were cash only. Entry fees to sites were cash.
I wasn't shopping in department stores or electronic stores where I'd hope a card would be accepted.

Guidebooks still say that cash is the way to go and that you can't rely on credit cards.

[JonB]

Unfortunately still true. Exchanging travellers cheques can be a royal pain in the preoverbial... Tokyo is not like London where you see FOREX places in every road - I can think of 2 or 3 in Tokyo only. Most big hotels will change them, but then you are paying hotel rates.

If you have too - try and get Yen travellers cheques. It is possible and much easier to change at this end. The easiest would be the post office - less queuing than the banks.

The money exchanges at Narita and TCAT offer pretty good rates I have found.

But the good news is that cards are much more common now -even some taxis will accept them! But don't expect to use them in convenience stores like I have seen in the UK. To save embarrasment when going into a restaurant and you can't see a card sign just ask them "cardo OK?" - just don't expect a positive response at the ramen stand

For buying train tickets cards are OK as well. But strangely for buying commuter passes cash will only do

For travelling around Tokyo on the trains I recommend you get a SUICA card - though it only works on JR. From this weekend there is a new service called PASMO that will work on buses, trains and subways - will find out more about it when I get mine this weekend (cash of course!). With SUICA you had to get a card and pay a 500yen deposit - this a card you can charge up but you don't get any discount. I believe PASMO will work the same but you do get some discounts.

The sakura is coming - should be nice next week

[osekihan]

Rather than 'cardo OK?' as JonB reccomended, I think 'cardo wo tsukatemo iidesuka?', which translates to 'is it okay to use a card?'.

[JonB]

Rather than 'cardo OK?' as JonB reccomended, I think 'cardo wo tsukatemo iidesuka?', which translates to 'is it okay to use a card?'.

was just trying to keep it simple. My wife (Japanese) normally something like that or just cardo daijoubou desu ka? or cardo ii desu ka?

Thankfully all that matter is you get a lot more positive responses these day...

[osekihan]

Oh, I was just worrying that the waiter/waitresses might be like 'OK wa nandesuka?'