Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but the last time I was in Japan, I did a Nagomi Visit . (Actually, I did 4 across Japan). It was single-handedly the best possible thing I ever could have done. I made lifelong friends and for one family, I’ve sent christmas presents to their sons ever since.
Basically, you pay $30 (ish, I can’t remember if the price went up a bit or not but it’s not too much). The money goes for the family to buy food. You can opt to cook with them or they prepare the food ahead of time. You go to their house and eat with their family and/or friends, and so on. The family I mentioned earlier was from Nara and afterwards, they showed my boyfriend and I all around Nara. Afterwards, they drove us to the train station.
They have this program all across Japan. I don’t work for them or anything, as far as I know it’s a non-profit but I had such a lovely experience I’d recommend it 10000%
My data was at 3G speeds all over Japan. It certainly wasn’t anything like 2G speeds. The unlimited texts is great for keeping in touch with people back home, too.
Have you tried paying for gas by giving the card to the attendant? Even though they don’t have a machine attached for credit cards, a lot of places will still let you pay with them. That said, you might be more inaka than me ^-^
Pretty inaka
Maybe some of the gas stations with attendants down town would do this though.
Honestly using cash has just become such a part of life living in Japan that it’s hard to care about using a card too much, there are ATM’s everywhere, and oftentimes with no fees attached (that is for my Japanese bank account, prolly would have some major fees for American account)
Throwing my few pennies in, I’d also say that don’t be afraid to get off the beaten tourist track! There are so many wonderful places you can find just by going wandering around. Whenever I see a thread like this on the internet, it’s always the same things - Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. But there are other places too!
No one ever seems to think about coming down to Kyushu, but we’ve got amazing coastlines, the Princess Mononoke Island, Nagasaki, onsens everywhere, amazing waterfalls, a few active volcanoes, fantastic black-pork yakiniku…
(Of course I love the main touristy-cities, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box!)
Kyushu is going to be the main focus for some future trip, though I haven’t decided when yet. I still want to visit Yanagawa and Yakushima, if nothing else.
i have been in japan a few weeks ago and stayed there for one month. In my opinion the railpass is only worth it if you have a crazy thight schedule like stay in every city for just one day and then move on. The “is the railpass worth it” websites are very missleading because they compare the railpass to single train rides. For example i looked up the train from tokyo to kyoto which was something like 200€ (crazy right). I ended up taking the bus which was something like 10€. Sure it takes longer but i think value wise thats not even comparable. So please keep that in mind before purchasing the railpass.
Well yeah, the calculator only calculates whether the pass is cheaper than just buying the shinkansen tickets on their own. You’ve always got the option of taking regular trains. Or walking. Still, if you’re gonna visit Japan, you’ve gotta take the shinkansen at least once, expensive as it is.
Of course, buses are cheaper than the Shinkansen. They also take far longer and aren’t as comfortable. They’re also predictable since there might be road construction, traffic accidents, or other delays. If you can afford it, the Shinkansen is a much better way to travel. In that case, the rail pass usually pays off if you’re leaving the Tokyo area. Though, even if you aren’t, you might want to check into regional passes!
To add that, if you have never been on a bullet train before, the Shinkansen is such a blast the first one or two times. The way the country side whizzes by at 150mph is beautiful.
That’s my point though - you don’t HAVE to land in Tokyo.
I disagree that just because it’s far it’s not feasible to visit. My friends on their first trip to Japan had a 2 week rail pass and did the major cities plus toured the main cities of Kyushu (and they did land in Tokyo). It is very much doable, it’s just that many people seem to write it off/think it’s not worth it.
Also, kurobuta is just one example. And I would say that going to a local place is better than having it at a station in Tokyo. Just cause you can buy spaghetti in a supermarket, doesn’t mean you discount going to Naples, does it?
It has a lot of information about what makes the shinkansen operate so smoothly and what makes it so special.
The page also links to the SmartEx app that allows you to book shinkansen tickets online. It looks cool, yet strangely it’s only available in the US, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. And there’s a separate app for Taiwan.
Outside those countries, looks like you have to book your ticket in Japan at a JR station or travel agency.
My feeling is that JR makes so much money selling JR passes (and users don’t often travel enough to get their money’s worth) that they don’t wish to sell tickets online. Or maybe it’s just that they haven’t quite figured out the web thing yet.
It was so easy to book tickets on the TGV from Canada when I travelled in France last year…
If you fly into Japan and want to buy a Suica or Pasmo travel card then the machines only accept cash. They have credit card stickers on them, but they are only for monthly or yearly commuter passes. If you want a standard travel ic card, which you can load up to 20,000 yen, then it’s cash only.
I agree that more and more places are accepting cards, but the number of tourists who have been stumped at just that first hurdle, let alone all the rest to come, must be huge!
For some reason, tourists love to go to the robot restaurant. Don’t waste your money. It’s expensive, they don’t even feed you, and you can watch the whole thing on YouTube. If you want a better weird Japan experience, go to the Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku.
Better yet, go to a super sento! It’s like a cheap, high quality spa and it’s really empowering!
Yeah, I guess it depends on each person. It has ok reviews, but many people consider it a tourist trap. Most, if not all, of the clientele are Westerners.
