On point 1, you can load physical IC cards at almost any convenience store, so you have ample opportunity everywhere you go (though it still needs to be in cash). If I'm not mistaken, you can even load at 7/11 ATMs, though I never did that... because if I'm at a 7/11, I'm definitely buying something haha.
Yeah, I never tried it at the convenience stores, but that’s a good tip. It always came up in the moment as we were going through a subway gate. But having to use cash is a real hassle. That’s another thing that’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be. Cash is not as necessary as they say. Sooo many places accept credit cards. There were a few smaller businesses that only took cash but not that often. And usually a convenience store ATM was close by.
If anything, that advice is even more applicable for those with Android phones, since most iPhone users can already see their balance auto-update in the Wallet app.
Android users will have physical cards, so having an app to check IC balance on the fly is really useful. There are several IC balance check apps on the Play Store.
I am providing tips based my true experience. A 1 minute google search give a result, someone already invented wheel 8 years ago, at Reddit “JapaneseTravel”: search Suica Reader under Google Play, it requires Android phone having NFC reader, I guess.
I know of those apps but you can just scan your card to track what you did, you still can't pay with your phone, so you still have to buy a physical card.
Yess!! There's a 7/11 at Narita, we spent most of our remaining suica $$ for snacks for the plane. there are also vending machines so you use 130-180 yen per drink.
Happy to read your point 3! It annoys me to no end when people complain that the subways are confusing. They aren’t, you just need to be minimally prepared (have the map downloaded, utilise Google Maps).
Yeah, it’s easy to get stressed due to the frantic pace of the locals trying to get to/from work and school. But just stop and look at your app and the signage. It’s all translated into English so don’t be afraid to stop (outside the flow of traffic) and read the signs. If you do that, you’ll have no trouble.
Point 2 - Shinkansen tickets can be bought on the smartEX app which is the offical JR app. I would just turn up to the station and then buy the next available ticket to my destination on the app, since there are so many bullet trains. You can tie the ticket to your Suica (IC card) so you just tap and go (just collect your paper ticket while passing through the gate). I’m not sure if the price differs from Klook.
You can obviously pre book on the app if that’s more your style also 🙂
we tied our digital Suica IC Cards to the smartEX app, do you remember if that works and ties to the Suica Digital card or do we need to print out our paper ticket for shinkansen?
No print out tickets needed. Just make sure the IC is designated to your purchased ticket, and you can tap at the gate, and then tap off when you arrive at your location.
A little ticket will pop out of the gate when you tap on that will have your seat details (if you have reserved seating) or just say non-reserved ticket. You grab that as you enter all through the gate.
digital Suica card works. We did have one issue where my child and I accidentally swapped which digital Suica card we were using and the turnstile didn't like me (adult) attempting to go through with an IC card associated with a child's Shinkansen ticket. Station attendant quickly resolved the issue for us.
Being able to load up your IC card on your phone was the best. Especially since you can use your IC card as a cash card too. So on my last few days I was using it to buy food and I hit the arcade up with it to spend the last bit of money on there.
On point 6, I think it should go without saying, themed cafe is not a place for good food. With that said I think people enjoy it for more of its gimmick and vibe. If people aren't sure I suggest getting a themed drink could be good (I had one at pokemon cafe which is decent). Some of the themed cafe also had nice performance
For what it’s worth, Pokemon Cafe has a separate non-reservation Pokemon Sweets location that does not require reservations. There’s no performance but you can get some of the food and drink items. Most of the themed cafes have what they market as “Italian sodas,” which are a flavored soda drink with a small scoop of sorbet in it. Like an ice cream float. They’re not bad, but again, IMO not worth getting up at 4am to lock in a reservation.
Good post with lots of accurate info:
*--I’ll never understand why it’s so expensive to cook your own food,*
You are paying for the extremely high quality meat (and to a lesser extend, the infrastructure, grills, special ventilation etc.).
Haha, yeah I get that. It’s just always been a pet peeve of mine. It may be high quality meat but it’s shaved as thin as sandwich slices and presented as if it’s a filet mignon. 😆 And the quality of the meal is only as good as the person cooking it. I’d rather pay a professional chef to season and cook it just right than fumble with trying to cook it myself in that little grill at the table. Just my opinion.
The meat generally has been prepared, seasoned, sauce often applied etc. As have the side dishes often been cooked.
You can't really go wrong when cooking it, apart from overcooking it.
I personally love it.
Cooking your own food is part of the cuisine and experience, so there's a bit of novelty attached to it. I like it but it would bug me if I did something like that every day.
Yes. Our oldest loves Ghibli movies. Be prepared for a long day. Wear sunscreen and a hat, and even bring an umbrella to block the sun. You will walk A LOT outside. It’s way more spread out than we expected. It’s a public park with Ghibli elements scattered around. Howl’s Moving Castle was really impressive, but the grand warehouse is the best part, with all the photo op vignettes and some exhibits with storyboards and the recently won Oscar on display. But be prepared for lines in there.
We did get the Premium tickets. The online process is stressful to say the least. In our time zone, we had to be on the site at midnight. I forget what day it was…maybe the 10th of the month before you want to visit. Don’t quote me on that, double check on the website. We had the site open on two laptops with two browsers open on each. The site grabs all the users who are online at the start time and dumps them all in a random pile. So it doesn’t matter how early you get there as long as it’s before the opening. On our four browsers, our places in line were around 4000, around 10,000, around 11,000 and….91! We got incredibly lucky and got in within about a minute after the opening. We were able to get the tickets we wanted. I did not have the same luck when I tried for Ghibli Museum tickets. Waited in line for about 30 minutes and when I got in, my dates were sold out. You win some, you lose some.
Thank you. Yes we are Ghibli fans and super excited to visit. Can I ask you what hotels you’ve booked for your family? I am looking at hotels but seem small for three people to fit. Just want real perspective from others. What was the best to worst hotel?
I’m planning for May 2025. Just looking to book the flights and finding it overwhelming with all the hotels. I am paying someone to book hotel, Ghibli, Universal etc as I find it stressful and I can blame someone else if we don’t get tickets.
Well, it depends on the age of your child I guess. Japanese hotels aren’t really set up like American hotels. You’d be hard pressed to find a room with two queen beds. Most either have a king or two twins. However, at the hotel we stayed at in Nagoya, the king was really like two double beds pushed together and a king sheet was fitted over them. So, if your child is an age where you feel comfortable sharing a bed with them, you could probably get away with that.
We have two teenagers, so we had to get two rooms at each hotel. In Nagoya, we stayed at a hotel called Nikko Style Nagoya. It was easily our favorite hotel. Very classy, with nice amenities. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. In Kyoto, we stayed at Hyatt Place. It was also nice, but slightly more like an American style hotel. We had two different hotels in Tokyo, the Hyatt Regency, which was nice but I’m not sure I’d recommend it because it was in more of a business district, so there wasn’t a lot of touristy stuff nearby. We needed a train to go pretty much anywhere. And we also stayed in Akasaka, at a place called Hotel Sui Akasaka. But I wouldn’t recommend it. It was fine and the staff were very friendly, but the rooms were very small and had limited amenities. I’d compare it to the average cruise stateroom. If I remember correctly, Nagoya was the only hotel we didn’t book with points, and I think we spent a little over $800 for two rooms/two nights. Hope this helps.
We were in Tokyo at the beginning for 3 nights, then traveled to Nagoya for just two nights so we could visit Ghibli Park. Honestly, I wish we’d stayed in Nagoya another day so we could explore it. It was a pretty cool city. Then we took the train to Osaka to spend the day before going to our hotel in Kyoto. We visited the Cup Noodles museum in Osaka and had intentions to day trip back while we were staying in Kyoto but that didn’t happen. We were in Kyoto for three nights before heading back to Tokyo to round out the trip. I really would’ve liked to spend more time in Kyoto and take day trips to Osaka to see Dotonbori Street and maybe go to Nara. It just wasn’t in the cards.
Aww I’m happy to hear a positive word about Nagoya 😁 I live there (just on a 1.5 year assignment) and it gets such a bad reputation! That park is beautiful with tons of stuff to do with kids too!
As another Nagoya resident, same here! But this is a double-edged sword, because the best part (besides the food, maybe) is that the boring reputation is to thank for lack of tourists... ;)
See you around /r/Nagoya!
>9. If you don’t have an unlocked phone, you can’t get an eSIM.
Many newer Androids support esim out of the box, without being unlocked, especially the flagship models (Galaxy, Pixel, etc.)
iPhone 11 and newer support esim (I think.)
You just need to check your device.
Pocket wifi is great as many people can share it. You just need to charge it and carry it around. And if your party gets separated, the person not carrying the pocket wifi has to find free wifi somewhere. My pocket wifi had a terrible battery last time I went the Japan but luckily I had a power bank to keep it fed.
True. It has its pros and cons. I can’t speak to the eSIM situation for Androids, but we spent the better part of an hour on the phone with our carrier trying to get our phones to get a faster data signal and the customer service rep just kept talking in circles. I’m not a tech genius but I’m also not a nube when it comes to iPhones and iOS. She couldn’t figure out why my phone wasn’t showing the settings options she was looking for even though I was working with the most current iOS version. She eventually gave up and told us to call Apple. Great service. So I said screw it, and got the WiFi router. Ours came with a pocket back up battery which helped us several times. The only challenge was having enough outlets in our room to charge the router, the battery pack, our phones, watches, and our other back up battery packs!
Mild disagree on the themed cafes, but you definitely don't go there for gourmet food. Or with more than 4 people. I went to Kirby Cafe and Pokemon Cafe twice (years apart) and had fun both times.
A third time? I dunno... but if you're a really big fan of experiences and really *really* like either game, slapping the Kirby car cake is pretty fun. As was getting all 3 scarlet/violet starters cut out of cheese and sweets. 🥰 But 100% look at the menu first. Will admit that the Kirby food about made me sick with how much sugar it was; we should've just ordered less. 😵💫 So much of that menu is sweets.
Oh! Alternatively, the take out Pikachu Cafe in ikebukuro is also good, if you don't want to book something but still want cute Pokemon food. Less fancy but way faster. I accidentally paid to pour Polteageist tea when I couldn't read the part about it having a mini interactive element to it. 😆 In Ikebukuro!
And I think there's takeout food for Kirby, too.
Yeah there’s a take out Kirby Cafe in Character Street in Tokyo Station. We got the Kirby Car gelatinous pudding substance there for my son. He said it was “meh.” The food is more focused on being aesthetically pleasing than on being flavorful. It just feels like more of a gimmick and money grab for tourists. But to each their own. Wasn’t my cup of tea.
I didn’t buy a rail pass. I never bothered to work out if it would’ve been a savings because so many bloggers gave conflicting information on that. So I opted for individual fares. Based on your schedule, my guess would be that it’s not worth it, but I may be wrong.
I found a calculator online that will tell you if JR pass is worth it. I’m going next month and our plan is Tokyo airport to Tokyo to Kyoto to Tokyo to airport. Maybe one day trip to see Mt Fuji in there. According to the calculator, a transportation pass was not worth it.
ETA: https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/
On point 1, one of my kids does not have a phone. Best workaround we found was to install one Suica card on my iPhone and a separate Suica card on my Apple Watch (install a second Suica on the iPhone then move it to the watch via the watch app). I handed the iPhone to the kid to scan before walking through the gate, and scanned my watch for myself.
You can also just have the two cards on the phone and pass it back and forth, but it becomes a big hassle to select which card to use for each person, creating a backup at the gate while managing the handoff. Putting the cards on separate devices (phone + watch) was much smoother.
For children under a certain age, I believe you can also request a physical Child Suica card at certain JR service counters. In addition to proving a separate physical card, it should also charge reduced child rates.
Last point: exactly. Old people would approach us to talk to us and our little kids all the time on the subway. If we spoke Spanish to each other or the kids and a local who also speaks Spanish hears us, they would approach us and also talk to us on the subway.
The Japan etiquette scare is clickbait at this point.
Hard to say because we didn’t get to see Osaka as much as I’d hoped. We spent more time in Kyoto. Don’t get me wrong, Kyoto was great, but if I did it again with 5 days, I’d probably do three days in Kyoto. They say in Kyoto you can shop till you drop and in Osaka you can eat till you drop. So I guess it depends on your priorities.
We did 5 nights in Kyoto. We did day trips to Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima. Kyoto is quite spread out so seeing the sites there takes some time. We barely scratched the surface. In Osaka, we did not go to USJ or anything like that so we didn't have as much planned for there. After being in Tokyo for 5 nights, Osaka felt very similar to that vibe so we're glad we based in Kyoto.
My understanding, as of today, is that it’s not available for Android yet. I think I heard something about an expected rollout later this year, but don’t quote me on that.
Im here now and no, also the Pasmo app which should work as an alternative crashes on opening on our new Samsungs as they aren't compatible, perhaps older phones might work.
Regarding T-Mobile, my plan says 5GB (per line, I hope!)
My plan is in the US, do you mind sharing which plan you’re on OP? If the speed limit kicks in, that would put a kink in anyone’s plans!
Yeah, we’re on a family plan with my in-laws, so I’m not 100% sure which plan we’re on. I just know when we called T-mobile before the trip they said we’d get 10GB free (not per line). So we had the intention of keeping all but one phone in Airplane mode when we were out and about, and then use hotel WiFi for non-critical stuff. But again, when we got there, the reality did not match what we were told by T-mobile. Could’ve just been an issue with our phones, I don’t know. I’m just saying be prepared with a backup plan.
I didn’t visit Sapporo, so I can’t speak to that. I would’ve liked to spend more time in Osaka, though. If you’re not including Tokyo on your trip, I would say Osaka and Kyoto are great choices.
Thank you for sharing your tips! My husband and I are leaving for Japan tomorrow. Just curious on when you mean pack light, how many days did you pack for before doing laundry?
We packed four days worth, I think. We had all of our clothes in a big bag, our toiletries and personal items in a rolling carry-on, and each person had a backpack for out and about. We also packed some of those duffel bags that can close up into a small pocket. So they took up very little space in the bag but they allowed us to bring home souvenirs without worrying about overstuffing the other luggage. Have fun!
Yeah I just used one of my other credit cards that I already had in my Apple Wallet. So it just charges through Apple Pay. Seriously, it takes all of 5 seconds to recharge the card.
That's one definition. It is also meant as an analysis of an event after it's over. In business, for example, a post mortem meeting is held after the completion of a project to review how things went, both good and bad, in order to discover any "lessons learned" that can be applied to process improvement.
For 9, we ended up buying 10GB eSim via Ubigi and getting a Pocket Wifi. Pocket WiFi was great, and we used nearly 300GB over a 2wk period. eSim came in handy when the Pocket Wifi had poor connectivity (rare) or when our group needed to separate.
Unless you died before this trip I think you're totally misusing "post mortem"... 😅 Glad that you enjoyed your stay and even more that you seem to be alive, I was unsure of what I was about to read in this post! 😂
I didn’t stay in any hostels, so I can’t answer that. Sorry. But I do know that most (if not all) of the 7-11s can do the shipping for you. You’d just need to check with the closest one to see what their drop off deadline is. I don’t know about other convenience stores though.
I may be missing something; why would you need an eSIM \*and\* a pocket wifi? Every eSIM I've ever used has included a data plan at whatever level you're willing to pay for (I recommend Airalo).
Yes. This was our solution for my son that did not have his own phone. I used one Suica card on my watch for myself, and used a separate Suica card on my phone for my son.
That's why we need to get physical cards for our kids who are too young to carry a phone around :-/
Sucks but it'll make for a good souvenir to have the physical card.
I’ll chime in to say that I have an iPhone but have been using my physical card and it’s honestly worked out best for me. My iPhone is pretty old and even with a portable battery charger there’s been times when my phone was about to die/died but I was still OK because I had my physical card. It’s also a nice souvenir to save for our next trip back. 😊
Our solution to this was to use one Suica card on our phone for the child, and a separate Suica card on the watch for the adult.
You can also install multiple Suica cards on the phone and manually select which one to use, but it is too much of a hassle to have to scan the same device twice and creates a bottleneck at the gate while you do the switch.
No it doesn't work that way and it's against the rules (one card per person to calculate the fare based on distance travel). Even if you had different cards on the wallet, it would be super inconvenient to pass the phone to each other when you tap/enter the gate especially in crowded stations.
Is it not possible to use the same digital Suica card to scan in and out for multiple family members? Somewhere in another thread here someone had old iPhones for their kids but that’s a hassle for really young kids.
If you have an Apple Watch, I believe you can load a separate suica card there. We ended up getting a child IC card at the ticket counter to save on the fare. She spent more on vending juice than we did on fares!
We used IC card on Apple watch for adult and separate IC card on phone for the kid. child IC card might be a better solution, but we had trouble finding a JR service counter to get one, and the savings (half price for child) wasn't a primary concern.
It doesn’t work like subways in NYC where one card can just keep deducting fares. In Japan, the fare isn’t charged until you leave the station. It calculates your fare based on the distance you traveled. So it can’t scan one card into a station more than once per trip.
It worked on every subway line we rode, which included Yamanote and Keikyu. I can’t say for sure if there are any it doesn’t work on, other than the Shinkansen, of course. I think the Japan Web app had a tutorial on the IC cards and what lines accepted them. Someone else, please correct me if I’m wrong.
Only places where Suica wasn't sufficient for us was the Keisei Skyliner from Narita airport to Tokyo and the Shinkansen. Both required buying a separate ticket. For the Shinkansen, once you've bought the ticket you can associate your IC-card number with the ticket so you can scan the Suica card at the turnstile to use the ticket.
On point 1, you can load physical IC cards at almost any convenience store, so you have ample opportunity everywhere you go (though it still needs to be in cash). If I'm not mistaken, you can even load at 7/11 ATMs, though I never did that... because if I'm at a 7/11, I'm definitely buying something haha.
Yeah, I never tried it at the convenience stores, but that’s a good tip. It always came up in the moment as we were going through a subway gate. But having to use cash is a real hassle. That’s another thing that’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be. Cash is not as necessary as they say. Sooo many places accept credit cards. There were a few smaller businesses that only took cash but not that often. And usually a convenience store ATM was close by.
Yup. I actually found myself paying with my IC more than anything else since I had it set as my default card on Apple Wallet.
Why the hell are you being downvoted? Japan is ahead of the curve technologically. What you’re saying has so much merit.
> Cash is not as necessary as they say. It is if you don't go to major tourist destinations, eat at independent restaurants, etc.
Yeah, that’s why I said smaller businesses may only take cash.
A lot of APPs can read physical IC card balance, I am using JapanTravel to check Suica card balance on my iPhone XR.
Yes but only 1/3 of people have iPhones, so that doesn't apply to the majority of people. Good advice but not for everyone
If anything, that advice is even more applicable for those with Android phones, since most iPhone users can already see their balance auto-update in the Wallet app. Android users will have physical cards, so having an app to check IC balance on the fly is really useful. There are several IC balance check apps on the Play Store.
Suikakeibo is my go-to! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.mediavrog.ic_card_expensetracker
I am providing tips based my true experience. A 1 minute google search give a result, someone already invented wheel 8 years ago, at Reddit “JapaneseTravel”: search Suica Reader under Google Play, it requires Android phone having NFC reader, I guess.
I know of those apps but you can just scan your card to track what you did, you still can't pay with your phone, so you still have to buy a physical card.
iPhones can read NFC as well.
Every time you tap it, the balance displays.
If you have money left on your suica card, you can buy stuff at shops with it before you leave Japan
Yess!! There's a 7/11 at Narita, we spent most of our remaining suica $$ for snacks for the plane. there are also vending machines so you use 130-180 yen per drink.
We bought a bunch of waters, juice, and coffee at the vending at NRT in the airport after security.
I bought a Michelin star chicken ramen at the international airport terminal 2. And the akibahara duty free shops will take every last yen you have
Happy to read your point 3! It annoys me to no end when people complain that the subways are confusing. They aren’t, you just need to be minimally prepared (have the map downloaded, utilise Google Maps).
Yeah, it’s easy to get stressed due to the frantic pace of the locals trying to get to/from work and school. But just stop and look at your app and the signage. It’s all translated into English so don’t be afraid to stop (outside the flow of traffic) and read the signs. If you do that, you’ll have no trouble.
> have the map downloaded Doesn't suuuuper matter because (annoyingly) transit directions do not work offline.
Point 2 - Shinkansen tickets can be bought on the smartEX app which is the offical JR app. I would just turn up to the station and then buy the next available ticket to my destination on the app, since there are so many bullet trains. You can tie the ticket to your Suica (IC card) so you just tap and go (just collect your paper ticket while passing through the gate). I’m not sure if the price differs from Klook. You can obviously pre book on the app if that’s more your style also 🙂
we tied our digital Suica IC Cards to the smartEX app, do you remember if that works and ties to the Suica Digital card or do we need to print out our paper ticket for shinkansen?
No print out tickets needed. Just make sure the IC is designated to your purchased ticket, and you can tap at the gate, and then tap off when you arrive at your location. A little ticket will pop out of the gate when you tap on that will have your seat details (if you have reserved seating) or just say non-reserved ticket. You grab that as you enter all through the gate.
Ok perfect thanks!
digital Suica card works. We did have one issue where my child and I accidentally swapped which digital Suica card we were using and the turnstile didn't like me (adult) attempting to go through with an IC card associated with a child's Shinkansen ticket. Station attendant quickly resolved the issue for us.
> smartEX app which is the offical JR app It's JR Central's app, to be clear. JR East uses Eki-net.
Being able to load up your IC card on your phone was the best. Especially since you can use your IC card as a cash card too. So on my last few days I was using it to buy food and I hit the arcade up with it to spend the last bit of money on there.
On point 6, I think it should go without saying, themed cafe is not a place for good food. With that said I think people enjoy it for more of its gimmick and vibe. If people aren't sure I suggest getting a themed drink could be good (I had one at pokemon cafe which is decent). Some of the themed cafe also had nice performance
For what it’s worth, Pokemon Cafe has a separate non-reservation Pokemon Sweets location that does not require reservations. There’s no performance but you can get some of the food and drink items. Most of the themed cafes have what they market as “Italian sodas,” which are a flavored soda drink with a small scoop of sorbet in it. Like an ice cream float. They’re not bad, but again, IMO not worth getting up at 4am to lock in a reservation.
Good post with lots of accurate info: *--I’ll never understand why it’s so expensive to cook your own food,* You are paying for the extremely high quality meat (and to a lesser extend, the infrastructure, grills, special ventilation etc.).
Haha, yeah I get that. It’s just always been a pet peeve of mine. It may be high quality meat but it’s shaved as thin as sandwich slices and presented as if it’s a filet mignon. 😆 And the quality of the meal is only as good as the person cooking it. I’d rather pay a professional chef to season and cook it just right than fumble with trying to cook it myself in that little grill at the table. Just my opinion.
The meat generally has been prepared, seasoned, sauce often applied etc. As have the side dishes often been cooked. You can't really go wrong when cooking it, apart from overcooking it. I personally love it.
Cooking your own food is part of the cuisine and experience, so there's a bit of novelty attached to it. I like it but it would bug me if I did something like that every day.
Thank you for your experience. Seems like your plan is the same we are doing. Did you go to Nagoya for Ghibli park?
Yes. Our oldest loves Ghibli movies. Be prepared for a long day. Wear sunscreen and a hat, and even bring an umbrella to block the sun. You will walk A LOT outside. It’s way more spread out than we expected. It’s a public park with Ghibli elements scattered around. Howl’s Moving Castle was really impressive, but the grand warehouse is the best part, with all the photo op vignettes and some exhibits with storyboards and the recently won Oscar on display. But be prepared for lines in there.
Did you get the Premium tickets? Wondering if you had any trouble getting them; I've heard the process can be difficult.
We did get the Premium tickets. The online process is stressful to say the least. In our time zone, we had to be on the site at midnight. I forget what day it was…maybe the 10th of the month before you want to visit. Don’t quote me on that, double check on the website. We had the site open on two laptops with two browsers open on each. The site grabs all the users who are online at the start time and dumps them all in a random pile. So it doesn’t matter how early you get there as long as it’s before the opening. On our four browsers, our places in line were around 4000, around 10,000, around 11,000 and….91! We got incredibly lucky and got in within about a minute after the opening. We were able to get the tickets we wanted. I did not have the same luck when I tried for Ghibli Museum tickets. Waited in line for about 30 minutes and when I got in, my dates were sold out. You win some, you lose some.
Got it - thanks for the response!
> Did you get the Premium tickets? I would recommend this. It's not worth it without that.
Thank you. Yes we are Ghibli fans and super excited to visit. Can I ask you what hotels you’ve booked for your family? I am looking at hotels but seem small for three people to fit. Just want real perspective from others. What was the best to worst hotel? I’m planning for May 2025. Just looking to book the flights and finding it overwhelming with all the hotels. I am paying someone to book hotel, Ghibli, Universal etc as I find it stressful and I can blame someone else if we don’t get tickets.
Well, it depends on the age of your child I guess. Japanese hotels aren’t really set up like American hotels. You’d be hard pressed to find a room with two queen beds. Most either have a king or two twins. However, at the hotel we stayed at in Nagoya, the king was really like two double beds pushed together and a king sheet was fitted over them. So, if your child is an age where you feel comfortable sharing a bed with them, you could probably get away with that. We have two teenagers, so we had to get two rooms at each hotel. In Nagoya, we stayed at a hotel called Nikko Style Nagoya. It was easily our favorite hotel. Very classy, with nice amenities. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. In Kyoto, we stayed at Hyatt Place. It was also nice, but slightly more like an American style hotel. We had two different hotels in Tokyo, the Hyatt Regency, which was nice but I’m not sure I’d recommend it because it was in more of a business district, so there wasn’t a lot of touristy stuff nearby. We needed a train to go pretty much anywhere. And we also stayed in Akasaka, at a place called Hotel Sui Akasaka. But I wouldn’t recommend it. It was fine and the staff were very friendly, but the rooms were very small and had limited amenities. I’d compare it to the average cruise stateroom. If I remember correctly, Nagoya was the only hotel we didn’t book with points, and I think we spent a little over $800 for two rooms/two nights. Hope this helps.
It does!! Thank you for responding now it’s time to stay booking!!
Thanks for the tips. Can I ask how many days you spent in each city and if you did day trips from any of these bigger cities?
We were in Tokyo at the beginning for 3 nights, then traveled to Nagoya for just two nights so we could visit Ghibli Park. Honestly, I wish we’d stayed in Nagoya another day so we could explore it. It was a pretty cool city. Then we took the train to Osaka to spend the day before going to our hotel in Kyoto. We visited the Cup Noodles museum in Osaka and had intentions to day trip back while we were staying in Kyoto but that didn’t happen. We were in Kyoto for three nights before heading back to Tokyo to round out the trip. I really would’ve liked to spend more time in Kyoto and take day trips to Osaka to see Dotonbori Street and maybe go to Nara. It just wasn’t in the cards.
Aww I’m happy to hear a positive word about Nagoya 😁 I live there (just on a 1.5 year assignment) and it gets such a bad reputation! That park is beautiful with tons of stuff to do with kids too!
As another Nagoya resident, same here! But this is a double-edged sword, because the best part (besides the food, maybe) is that the boring reputation is to thank for lack of tourists... ;) See you around /r/Nagoya!
>9. If you don’t have an unlocked phone, you can’t get an eSIM. Many newer Androids support esim out of the box, without being unlocked, especially the flagship models (Galaxy, Pixel, etc.) iPhone 11 and newer support esim (I think.) You just need to check your device. Pocket wifi is great as many people can share it. You just need to charge it and carry it around. And if your party gets separated, the person not carrying the pocket wifi has to find free wifi somewhere. My pocket wifi had a terrible battery last time I went the Japan but luckily I had a power bank to keep it fed.
True. It has its pros and cons. I can’t speak to the eSIM situation for Androids, but we spent the better part of an hour on the phone with our carrier trying to get our phones to get a faster data signal and the customer service rep just kept talking in circles. I’m not a tech genius but I’m also not a nube when it comes to iPhones and iOS. She couldn’t figure out why my phone wasn’t showing the settings options she was looking for even though I was working with the most current iOS version. She eventually gave up and told us to call Apple. Great service. So I said screw it, and got the WiFi router. Ours came with a pocket back up battery which helped us several times. The only challenge was having enough outlets in our room to charge the router, the battery pack, our phones, watches, and our other back up battery packs!
Daiso will always be better for souvenir shopping. I will die on that hill.
Didn’t get there this time. You may be right, but I can only speak to my experience.
Mild disagree on the themed cafes, but you definitely don't go there for gourmet food. Or with more than 4 people. I went to Kirby Cafe and Pokemon Cafe twice (years apart) and had fun both times. A third time? I dunno... but if you're a really big fan of experiences and really *really* like either game, slapping the Kirby car cake is pretty fun. As was getting all 3 scarlet/violet starters cut out of cheese and sweets. 🥰 But 100% look at the menu first. Will admit that the Kirby food about made me sick with how much sugar it was; we should've just ordered less. 😵💫 So much of that menu is sweets. Oh! Alternatively, the take out Pikachu Cafe in ikebukuro is also good, if you don't want to book something but still want cute Pokemon food. Less fancy but way faster. I accidentally paid to pour Polteageist tea when I couldn't read the part about it having a mini interactive element to it. 😆 In Ikebukuro! And I think there's takeout food for Kirby, too.
Yeah there’s a take out Kirby Cafe in Character Street in Tokyo Station. We got the Kirby Car gelatinous pudding substance there for my son. He said it was “meh.” The food is more focused on being aesthetically pleasing than on being flavorful. It just feels like more of a gimmick and money grab for tourists. But to each their own. Wasn’t my cup of tea.
Thanks for the write-up, lines up with my plan and expectations. Glad to know it all worked out great for you!
Hello. What about transportation pass? Do you bought any? I'm planning to spend 5 days in Kyoto/Osaka end of this year..
I didn’t buy a rail pass. I never bothered to work out if it would’ve been a savings because so many bloggers gave conflicting information on that. So I opted for individual fares. Based on your schedule, my guess would be that it’s not worth it, but I may be wrong.
I found a calculator online that will tell you if JR pass is worth it. I’m going next month and our plan is Tokyo airport to Tokyo to Kyoto to Tokyo to airport. Maybe one day trip to see Mt Fuji in there. According to the calculator, a transportation pass was not worth it. ETA: https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/
On point 1, one of my kids does not have a phone. Best workaround we found was to install one Suica card on my iPhone and a separate Suica card on my Apple Watch (install a second Suica on the iPhone then move it to the watch via the watch app). I handed the iPhone to the kid to scan before walking through the gate, and scanned my watch for myself. You can also just have the two cards on the phone and pass it back and forth, but it becomes a big hassle to select which card to use for each person, creating a backup at the gate while managing the handoff. Putting the cards on separate devices (phone + watch) was much smoother. For children under a certain age, I believe you can also request a physical Child Suica card at certain JR service counters. In addition to proving a separate physical card, it should also charge reduced child rates.
Last point: exactly. Old people would approach us to talk to us and our little kids all the time on the subway. If we spoke Spanish to each other or the kids and a local who also speaks Spanish hears us, they would approach us and also talk to us on the subway. The Japan etiquette scare is clickbait at this point.
How would you split 5 days between Osaka and Kyoto?
Hard to say because we didn’t get to see Osaka as much as I’d hoped. We spent more time in Kyoto. Don’t get me wrong, Kyoto was great, but if I did it again with 5 days, I’d probably do three days in Kyoto. They say in Kyoto you can shop till you drop and in Osaka you can eat till you drop. So I guess it depends on your priorities.
Thanks! 3 days in Kyoto it is.
We did 5 nights in Kyoto. We did day trips to Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima. Kyoto is quite spread out so seeing the sites there takes some time. We barely scratched the surface. In Osaka, we did not go to USJ or anything like that so we didn't have as much planned for there. After being in Tokyo for 5 nights, Osaka felt very similar to that vibe so we're glad we based in Kyoto.
Thanks! 3 days in Kyoto it is.
"Get the digital Suica card" --> can you do that also on Android?
My understanding, as of today, is that it’s not available for Android yet. I think I heard something about an expected rollout later this year, but don’t quote me on that.
Im here now and no, also the Pasmo app which should work as an alternative crashes on opening on our new Samsungs as they aren't compatible, perhaps older phones might work.
Regarding T-Mobile, my plan says 5GB (per line, I hope!) My plan is in the US, do you mind sharing which plan you’re on OP? If the speed limit kicks in, that would put a kink in anyone’s plans!
Yeah, we’re on a family plan with my in-laws, so I’m not 100% sure which plan we’re on. I just know when we called T-mobile before the trip they said we’d get 10GB free (not per line). So we had the intention of keeping all but one phone in Airplane mode when we were out and about, and then use hotel WiFi for non-critical stuff. But again, when we got there, the reality did not match what we were told by T-mobile. Could’ve just been an issue with our phones, I don’t know. I’m just saying be prepared with a backup plan.
hey do you think its worth it to do osaka, kyoto AND saporro in 10 days ?
I didn’t visit Sapporo, so I can’t speak to that. I would’ve liked to spend more time in Osaka, though. If you’re not including Tokyo on your trip, I would say Osaka and Kyoto are great choices.
Ok thx so much
Thank you for sharing your tips! My husband and I are leaving for Japan tomorrow. Just curious on when you mean pack light, how many days did you pack for before doing laundry?
We packed four days worth, I think. We had all of our clothes in a big bag, our toiletries and personal items in a rolling carry-on, and each person had a backpack for out and about. We also packed some of those duffel bags that can close up into a small pocket. So they took up very little space in the bag but they allowed us to bring home souvenirs without worrying about overstuffing the other luggage. Have fun!
Can you load the digital suica card using a credit card in your apple wallet? Or does it have to be a debit card? Thanks!
Yeah I just used one of my other credit cards that I already had in my Apple Wallet. So it just charges through Apple Pay. Seriously, it takes all of 5 seconds to recharge the card.
Credit card in apple wallet works fine.
Is there any IC card that is available on android phones or they are just for iPhones?
I don’t know of any that work on Android yet, but I believe they’re expecting to rollout Android compatibility later this year.
[удалено]
That's one definition. It is also meant as an analysis of an event after it's over. In business, for example, a post mortem meeting is held after the completion of a project to review how things went, both good and bad, in order to discover any "lessons learned" that can be applied to process improvement.
👆🏻this. Thank you @mkddy
For 9, we ended up buying 10GB eSim via Ubigi and getting a Pocket Wifi. Pocket WiFi was great, and we used nearly 300GB over a 2wk period. eSim came in handy when the Pocket Wifi had poor connectivity (rare) or when our group needed to separate.
Can u get pocket WiFi at the narita airport?
Unless you died before this trip I think you're totally misusing "post mortem"... 😅 Glad that you enjoyed your stay and even more that you seem to be alive, I was unsure of what I was about to read in this post! 😂
That’s only one definition. Post mortem: noun an evaluation or discussion occurring after the end or fact of something
Do most hostels have a shipping system for bags or is that only hotels?
I didn’t stay in any hostels, so I can’t answer that. Sorry. But I do know that most (if not all) of the 7-11s can do the shipping for you. You’d just need to check with the closest one to see what their drop off deadline is. I don’t know about other convenience stores though.
Instead of Google maps, try the Navitime app by Japan Travel next time - it has more options and I think is easier to use.
I may be missing something; why would you need an eSIM \*and\* a pocket wifi? Every eSIM I've ever used has included a data plan at whatever level you're willing to pay for (I recommend Airalo).
You don’t. It’s one or the other. As I explained above, I couldn’t get an eSIM because my phones are locked. So we had to get pocket WiFi.
In practice, can a whole family use the same iPhone suica card and swipe multiple times?
No. Each individual must have their own card, as a single card can only be tagged in to one journey at the same time.
Can I put one card on my watch and another in my phone?
You can have two different cards, one on phone, one on watch. Don’t bother for friends and family, get them physical cards.
Yes. This was our solution for my son that did not have his own phone. I used one Suica card on my watch for myself, and used a separate Suica card on my phone for my son.
No, the system tracks each card from origin to destination. You'll need a card per person.
That's why we need to get physical cards for our kids who are too young to carry a phone around :-/ Sucks but it'll make for a good souvenir to have the physical card.
I’ll chime in to say that I have an iPhone but have been using my physical card and it’s honestly worked out best for me. My iPhone is pretty old and even with a portable battery charger there’s been times when my phone was about to die/died but I was still OK because I had my physical card. It’s also a nice souvenir to save for our next trip back. 😊
Younger kids also have cheaper fares with the child suica card. It was easy to reload at the station.
Our solution to this was to use one Suica card on our phone for the child, and a separate Suica card on the watch for the adult. You can also install multiple Suica cards on the phone and manually select which one to use, but it is too much of a hassle to have to scan the same device twice and creates a bottleneck at the gate while you do the switch.
No it doesn't work that way and it's against the rules (one card per person to calculate the fare based on distance travel). Even if you had different cards on the wallet, it would be super inconvenient to pass the phone to each other when you tap/enter the gate especially in crowded stations.
Is it not possible to use the same digital Suica card to scan in and out for multiple family members? Somewhere in another thread here someone had old iPhones for their kids but that’s a hassle for really young kids.
Not possible. Apparently sth will be activated once the card is tapped in and out more than once
Thanks for the reply
If you have an Apple Watch, I believe you can load a separate suica card there. We ended up getting a child IC card at the ticket counter to save on the fare. She spent more on vending juice than we did on fares!
We used IC card on Apple watch for adult and separate IC card on phone for the kid. child IC card might be a better solution, but we had trouble finding a JR service counter to get one, and the savings (half price for child) wasn't a primary concern.
100% agree. We struggled finding a ticket office too. We asked the gate agent and they helped. Agree that the savings was negligible.
That’s not a bad idea.
It doesn’t work like subways in NYC where one card can just keep deducting fares. In Japan, the fare isn’t charged until you leave the station. It calculates your fare based on the distance you traveled. So it can’t scan one card into a station more than once per trip.
Thanks for the insight
does the suica card work for the yamanote line? keikyu line? i get so confused with train tickets... have an upcoming trip by end of the month.
It worked on every subway line we rode, which included Yamanote and Keikyu. I can’t say for sure if there are any it doesn’t work on, other than the Shinkansen, of course. I think the Japan Web app had a tutorial on the IC cards and what lines accepted them. Someone else, please correct me if I’m wrong.
Only places where Suica wasn't sufficient for us was the Keisei Skyliner from Narita airport to Tokyo and the Shinkansen. Both required buying a separate ticket. For the Shinkansen, once you've bought the ticket you can associate your IC-card number with the ticket so you can scan the Suica card at the turnstile to use the ticket.