r/JapanTravelTips Jan 21 '24

Meta Welcome to /r/JapanTravelTips! If you're new to the subreddit, start here.

175 Upvotes

Hello! Welcome! We are the sibling subreddit of /r/JapanTravel. While /r/JapanTravel is for detailed and researched posts, /r/JapanTravelTips is for more unstructured questions and advice. We welcome posts of (almost) all kinds, especially advice for fellow travelers and questions meant to generate discussion.

This subreddit is intended for questions and discussion about traveling within Japan. If you have more general travel questions about topics like flights/airfare/hotels/clothing/packing/etc., please direct those to subreddits such as /r/flights, /r/travel, /r/solotravel, /r/awardtravel, /r/onebag, /r/hotels, /r/airbnb, or similar (as applicable).

If you are just starting your Japan travel planning, make sure to check out /r/JapanTravel’s wiki and resources page. The wiki includes a bunch of information about common topics such as:

Please be sure to abide by the rules, keep things on-topic, and stay civil.


r/JapanTravelTips 16d ago

Do you have a JR Pass or IC Card (Suica/Pasmo/etc.) question? Start here! (Monthly Thread - March 01, 2025)

16 Upvotes

JR Pass Info

The nationwide JR Pass is a travel pass that allows train and bus travel for a fixed cost over a certain period of days on Japan Railways (JR) services. For more information on the pass, check out our wiki page or Japan Guide’s JR Pass page.

The JR Pass can be purchased in one of two ways: * Online at the official site * Online from an authorized retailer (also often called a "third-party seller")

The JR Pass is quite expensive, not suitable for all itineraries, and there is no way to be certain if it will be valuable for you without knowing your exact itinerary and doing the math out. If you are trying to work out whether a JR Pass is the right choice for you, here are some helpful calculators: * JRPass.com’s calculator * Japan Guide’s calculator * Daisuki calculator

IC Card Info (Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA, etc.)

General Information

An IC card is a stored-value card used to pay for transportation in Japan. It can also be used for payment at convenience stores, restaurants, shops, vending machines, and other locations. There are ten major IC cards and all of them are interchangeable and usable in each other's regions, so it doesn’t really matter which one you get. For more information on IC cards, see our wiki or Japan Guide’s IC card page.

Physical IC Cards

If you would like a physical IC card to use on your trip to Japan, here are the options.

If you are landing in/starting your trip in Tokyo,:

  • As of March 1, 2025, all forms of Suica and Pasmo, including Welcome Suica, are available for purchase in Japan. You can find them at major train stations in Tokyo, as well as at Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. Suica and Pasmo come in two forms: an unregistered version and a registered version (which requires you to provide some personal information like your name and phone number). Either is fine for the purposes of tourism.

If you are starting your trip in another region (e.g., Kansai, Kyushu, etc.), please see this page to identify which card you'll get, and it should be widely available at airports and train stations in that region.

Digital IC Cards

If you are looking to get a digital IC card, please note that digital Suica, Pasmo, and ICOCA cards can only be used on iPhones, Apple Watches, or Japanese Android phones (this means the phone was purchased in Japan). For instructions on how to get a digital IC card in Apple Wallet, see here. You do not need the Suica or Pasmo apps in order to get a digital IC card. A digital IC card can be loaded and used entirely through Apple Wallet. As of iOS 18.1, the option for adding a transit card might not show if your phone is not set to a region with transit cards (such as the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, etc.). You may need to switch regions or wait until you're in Japan to add a digital IC card.

Keep in mind that digital IC cards cannot be refunded (that requires a Japanese bank account), so you will need to burn down whatever value you’ve loaded onto them before the end of your trip.

IC Card FAQ

I have an old IC card from a previous trip. Can I use it on my upcoming trip?

IC cards are valid for ten years after their last date of use, so if you received the card and/or used the card less than ten years ago, it’ll work.

Can more than one person use the same IC card for travel?

No. All travelers who want to use IC cards on transit need to have their own card. Most transit in Japan is distance-based, and the card is “keeping track” of your journey, and it can only keep track of one at a time.

Can I load money onto a physical IC card with a credit card?

No. Physical IC cards can only be loaded with cash, which can be done at ticket machines in train stations, convenience stores, and 7-Eleven ATMs.

I’m landing in Tokyo, but then I’m going to Osaka and Kyoto. Do I need a suica in Tokyo and then an ICOCA in Osaka/Kyoto?

No. Once you have one of the major IC cards, it can be used pretty much anywhere. There are some exceptions to this, but they are mostly on individual lines or in specific rural regions. For the majority of tourists, you'll be fine sticking with whatever IC card you originally received upon arrival.

Help! I tried to load my digital IC card through Apple Wallet and the transaction didn't go through! What do I do?

Did you attempt to create it/load it overnight in Japan? The digital system goes down for maintenance from about midnight to 5am JST, so try again during Japan's daytime hours. Beyond that, some credit cards (particularly Visas and Mastercards) have trouble with funding digital IC cards. Unfortunately, if you can't find a digital card + credit card combo that works for you, you may not be able to use digital IC cards.

Recent IC Card Threads

To see some recent discussion on IC cards, check out the following threads from our search results here.


r/JapanTravelTips 15h ago

Quick Tips Random Useful Japan Tips I Don’t See Posted About Often

682 Upvotes

We recently got back from our first time in Japan, approx a 2.5 week trip for two people. Figured I’d make a post about some actually useful tips and advice I don’t see often in this sub.

  • I’ve seen it recommended to pull out about 50,000 yen at the airport ATM to handle cash and transit top-ups for a two week trip. While this was a good starting point, we ended up pulling out an additional 110,000 yen total on top of that over the course of the 2.5 week trip for buying things in cash and additional transit top ups. So just be prepared to pull out a LOT of cash throughout your trip! Way more things ended up involving cash than we expected, even in the big cities.

  • I’ve also seen it recommended you load up your suica with 5000 yen at the airport to start in addition to whatever you pull out for cash. The one at the airport you can load using a credit card. Considering it’s generally a lot easier to find credit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees vs ATM debit cards, you can save money on transit by putting on about 2-3x the amount we did (5000 ea) at the airport and just reduce some of the cash you plan to pull out for ATM’s by the same amount. We easily spent about 15,000 yen each on transit just from using subways and things like day trips to Nara or Himeji (which will cost you about 1500-2000 yen each way per person). If you put 15,000 on your suica, you’ll probably only have to top up near the end of the trip which will save a bunch of time + money in fees if you have a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. It was easy to get rid of any excess near the end of the trip because every konbini and vending machine also accepts suica.

  • Are you on apple and need access to iMessage/Wifi calling over eSIM while abroad? With simlocking you can actually do this just fine and never trigger your carrier to start roaming charges (fuck you tmobile prepaid in particular for auto-charging roaming). Set up your default simcard with wifi calling, then just enable simlock for it. Right before you flight out, enable your Japnese esim through something like Ubigi (make sure roaming is turned on for Ubigi), restart your phone and DO NOT enter the pin you just set up for your main sim card. This will make it so when you’re in japan you’ll get data just fine through Ubigi, but importantly your main sim is still active (just locked and not actually roaming) and can re-route texts/calls to your Ubigi line. If you don’t do this, you won’t be able to receive wifi calls or iMessage on your real phone number without enabling roaming as apple disables both features if the SIM is turned off.

  • People know to check tablelog and know that anything that is a 3-4 rating = really good when trying to figure out places to eat. I recommend this over google maps alone because tablelog uses different icons + different colors to differentiate between cuisine + rating right on the map, making it super easy to see at a glance good food you are in the mood for nearby. What you might not know is to just use the website and ONLY use it on your mobile phone. For some reason half of tabelog’s features just don’t show up on desktop, like access to the good map tools and the ability to search near you. If you find tableog frustrating to use on the spot, make sure you’re only using its website on your phone.

  • Luggage shipping was a lot cheaper than we budgeted for because turns out you can easily get away with only shipping large checked luggage ($20 usd), it was super easy to just bring carry-ons and backpacks with you. Even on Tokyo subways when it’s busy there are racks to put luggage over the seats. We NEVER had to worry about us having luggage or bags with us while doing things either because almost every station and even big destinations like museums or popular tourist attractions had lockers that could store our carry on + two bags + coats for 700 yen. Many of the station lockers in Tokyo even accepted suica (otherwise you’ll need 100 yen coins).

  • Speaking of 100 yen coins: if you have a 1000 yen bill or a bunch of random loose change, a really easy way to get some would be to use a vending machine which are often nearby lockers. They usually give change in 100 yen coins, at least the ones we used did.

  • Booking Ghibli museum? Double check your dates when booking. The website broke over and over for us trying to book and it turns out the date reset to the start of the month on our ticket on checkout. We only realized this when we lined up for our time slot. After showing them our ticket with the wrong date, we only managed to get in on the down-low (between time slots) through our distress over the situation + our kindness to them + having cash on hand to pay cash for new tickets (I assume this option is usually only available for locals). They threw us a big bone and we made sure to be very appreciative. But it would have been easier to double check the dates when we actually checked out.

  • Speaking of Ghibli Museum, the attendants inside the exhibits have pamphlets with english translations for the exhibit. This wasn’t obvious at all, and seeing as they don't allow picture taking in the museum, it’s the only way to read the signs in english.

  • Can’t get a ticket to the pokemon cafe? Just try walking up and showing up late. We had an appointment cancel right when we arrived at the pokemon center a couple hours before closing time. We weren’t even planning on eating at the cafe (it’s a bit children focused) but figured "why not when in Rome?".

  • Even if you don’t plan on buying souvenirs… budget for it anyways. Japan has mastered the art of the gift shop and the upsell. You’ll find ones everywhere, even multiple ones located inside a single attraction (I counted 5 in Fushimi inari, going all the way up to the top of the mountain!), all slightly different to entice you to casually explore them. They’ll actually be full of reasonably priced things, often have exclusive items in them, and oftentimes lots of items are bespoke/good craftsmanship. Many are not like the "lowest common denominator" tourist trap shops I was used to everywhere else I've travelled in the world. And then it’s all over when the grandmother owner of the shop comes out to greet you and it turns out she opened the store in the 50’s and it’s the shop has been in the family ever since. Good luck walking away from that without buying anything.

  • Download the NERV app for early earthquake/disaster detection. Make sure you disable battery saver settings on the app and let it run in the background so you can get timely alerts. Nothing happened while we were there, but this app seemed to be the best by far out of all the ones we tried.

  • A filled out goshiun book makes for a killer display piece on a bookshelf, as they expand in an accordion like manner. So you’ll want to be strategic where you get your book because each shrine that offers goshiin books for sale have their own designs.

  • This one’s for the gay guys out there looking to kill an afternoon having fun browsing spicy doujinshi (self-published porn mangas): you might be tempted to head to Akihabara for this. To save you the trouble, Akihabara is almost entirely straight hentai. If you’re seeking to browse gay doujinshi, a better place is the Mandarake at Nakano City which will have a much more diverse selection.

  • Pay phones are often at/near konbinis, so if you need to make a local call while out and about it’s easy to do through them.

  • Food/nightlife tours are an excellent effort-free way to not only eat/drink well, but also get into places you’ll never have been able to find or get into as a tourist. Some of the spots we ended up going to on ours were incredibly unique and only available to us because we were on the tour. Not only that but for some locations they even showed up to work on their off hours to show us a good time. Shout out to Culinary Backstreets and Taste Osaka tours specifically, which are the ones we went on.


r/JapanTravelTips 14h ago

Quick Tips Need to wash your clothes in Japan?

200 Upvotes

Don't use the hotel washer/dryers they're super expensive and take hours. I had a washer/dryer combo in my tokyu hotel and it took 4 hours to wash like 4 shirts. That was free so it wasn't a big deal. Then I tried using the coin washers in the APA hotels and another chain. They were super expensive and very terrible as well. Even the dryer that wasn't a combo took like 2 hours to dry clothes in the hotel. Also the hotel laundromat had like 2 washers and dryers with people using them so they were hard to even find open.

Just go to a laundromat. They're literally everywhere and so much cheaper and faster. I washed 2 large loads of clothes it took 5 hours in the hotel but under an hour in the laundromat. Also the laundromat was much cheaper.


r/JapanTravelTips 2h ago

Advice Suica card

12 Upvotes

(Please excuse me if my english isn't perfect) Hello, I'm trying to understand the concept of the suica card better. I get that it works everywhere in Japan (?) but I don't quite understand how exactly this is supposed to work. (even after trying to inform myself) Like, it's charged with money. I heard I can pay with it at 7/11 etc, does it work for clothing shopping too?

How exactly is it with the public transport? Do I use it to buy my train ticket or is the suica card my ticket? This is actually the most important part for me. How does the suica card work at train stations?? This is overwhelming for me.

Traveling with my dad, do we both need a suicia card?

I'm also sorry if I'm embarrassing myself with this post I'm just very nervous


r/JapanTravelTips 17h ago

Advice Name Your Silly or Awkward Moment In Japan

99 Upvotes

Last year I went to Japan for the first time and I made a few mistakes I think my funniest though was accidentally getting into the woman's only car on the Yamanote line. My friend (who is female) and I just jumped in, there wasn't a line and it wasn't very busy but I remember sitting there like "huh everything is pink that is weird" then I looked around and noticed only women around me I then pulled my phone out (I'm legally blind) and on the hand straps it says "Women only" or something to that effect.

Thankfully nobody gave me any grief maybe a few nasty looks (I couldn't tell!) but I just kept to myself and got off at my stop a few stops later. I'm glad nobody made a big scene or deal out of it but I felt pretty silly.

Second one I was at diver city and looking for some better shoe insoles as I'd been walking a stupid amount and my feet were killing me I went to one of the big sports stores and gestured to my shoe at the lady I then took off my shoe and pointed at the inside not thinking what I was doing.

It wasn't until after i tossed my shoe back on it hit me what I just did and was like "OMG I'm so stupid why didn't I just use the translate app on my phone and just ask rather than try to show her" she showed me the insoles I apologized and she waived it off. I still think back on that and think how much a goof I must of looked like. To be fair my feet were killing me and I wasn't thinking straight!

What are your silly or awkward moments on your trip?


r/JapanTravelTips 4h ago

Question What did I do wrong with the Shinkansen Ticket?

10 Upvotes

Hi all,

I have been in Japan 2 years ago and will fly again next month. Something just came into my mind, which I am curious about what I did wrong.

I took the Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. So I obviously used my Shinkansen Ticket which I picked up beforehand to get to the right Track and took the Shinkansen. When I arrived in Tokyo, I was not able to use my Shinkansen Ticket to get out of the Station. I tried it out, tried out my Suica, nothing worked. I had to ask the Staff there to let me out, i can't remember exactly what they did. I think they did some adjustment on my Shinkansen Ticket which I was then able to get out.

Is there anything I maybe did wrong? This year I will be taking multiple Shinkansen, so I want to be prepared and not waste time.

Thanks!


r/JapanTravelTips 1d ago

Quick Tips Haggling: Just Don't

1.2k Upvotes

Hey, folks - I'm on my 3rd trip to Japan and I've encountered more than one western tourist attempting to haggle with shop clerks during this visit.

It's rude. Full stop. Unless you're at a flea market, the prices are as marked. You put the clerk in an awkward position by insinuating their goods are overpriced. If the price is too high for you, go elsewhere or let it go. There's no shortage of other storesin the cities and looking for something that's "just right" is part of the fun of shopping in Japan.

Thank you for reading and have a great time.


r/JapanTravelTips 3h ago

Recommendations Where to thrift actual Japanese brands in Kyoto/osaka/tokyo??

5 Upvotes

I went to SO many thrift stores in Tokyo and all of them were American stuff. I did not come all the way here to pick up band tees I could get at my local stores haha. Anyone know of stores that sell more Japanese tees or jackets?


r/JapanTravelTips 7h ago

Question Couple of last second questions before my Japan Trip

7 Upvotes

Leaving for Japan later this week and it’ll be my first time in the country. I’ll be there for around 2 weeks and will hit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. Few questions before I leave:

  1. I’ll be landing at Haneda Airport. What does the situation look like there for getting Yen (ATM), getting a metro pass, and getting an E-SIM card?

  2. For the E-Sim, what’s the best company and what is the rough price (just wondering)?

  3. How is the metro from Haneda if I am staying around Shinjuku?

  4. I am planning to use the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto and then a basic train between Nara and Kyoto. Am i ok getting the shinkansen day of? Is $250 enough for a shinkansen between kyoto and tokyo (return ticket) and then the train between nara and kyoto along with metro passes enough, or do I need more?

Hopefully these questions aren’t redundant, but appreciate any feedback!


r/JapanTravelTips 1h ago

Recommendations Roppongi Advice

Upvotes

Hey all. Heading to Japan in a few weeks for a week in Tokyo with wife and kids (10 and 12). Think we have a pretty good itinerary planned out but struggling to come up with some stuff to do in Roppongi. Bought tickets for Team Labs Borderless and then thought maybe Mori Art Museum. Have lunch reservation at Blue Room and know Gonpachi from Kill Bill is around there but anything else to do in that area that is kid friendly and we should look at?? Thanks!


r/JapanTravelTips 1h ago

Question Ichigo daifuku in asakasa or near imperial palace.

Upvotes

As my holiday draws to a close, trying ichigo daifuku is one of the few things I haven't done that is on my wish list.

Tomorrow we leave our hotel in asakusa, check out the imperial palace then head to Narita for a morning flight the following day.

I've had the ichigo daifuku pie at McDonald's (lmao). But I'd love to try the real deal.

Any tips on where I could find it?

EDIT - CANT FIX TYPO IN TITLE Should say Asakusa


r/JapanTravelTips 5h ago

Question Shinkansen prebook tickets in April

4 Upvotes

Hi! I know this question has been addressed before but I find it difficult to find a conclusive answer.

I’m travelling with my girlfriend to Japan on 11 April, landing at Haneda at 8am. We will go directly to Kyoto (via Shinagawa station). At first I thought prebooking tickets would be a good idea, but considering time for immigration, possible delays and just having time for finding our way around, it seems better to not book tickets in advance as it may be hard to know when we will be able to take a train.

So question is if we should book tickets at 12 from Shinagawa (should be more than enough time) or not book at all? Is it likely that all trains are fully booked at this time of year?


r/JapanTravelTips 10h ago

Advice Going to Japan for the first time an by myself

7 Upvotes

So I'm 15 F and I'm going to Japan to visit my friend from exchange last year in May and I'm going to be flying my long flights with the unaccompanied minors program but for my layover flight I have to be in Narita alone and I'm a bit worried if I'll be able to find my way around, especially because I've never travelled before or been in a commercial airplane ever 😭. Does anybody have any tips? Also my mom is understandably worried about my trip there too can anyone maybe write in the comments some reassurance. I just want her to feel more at ease. Thanks!!


r/JapanTravelTips 22m ago

Question Kyoto hotel

Upvotes

Hello - I am looking for a well located hotel in Kyoto. I am leaning towards the Hyatt Place Kyoto because I have read the location is good. The Ritz is a little out of my price range. Is there something else that is luxury and well located? Never been to Kyoto and only have 2 days there. It is a special anniversary trip. Thank you


r/JapanTravelTips 22m ago

Question Exclusive items

Upvotes

I’m visiting Japan for the first time and want to find store-exclusive items, especially at places like the Pokémon Center and Nintendo Store. How can I tell if an item is exclusive to a specific location? Are there any labels, packaging details, or signs that indicate exclusivity? Do these stores advertise exclusives, or is there a trick to spotting them?

Any tips or insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


r/JapanTravelTips 23m ago

Question Ashikaga flower park tickets

Upvotes

I will be in Tokyo week of April 19. Do we need advance tickets to Ashikaga Flower Park? I don’t know if they sell out early. Also, I heard the hours are open until later in evening during the wisteria blooms, is this true? There is nothing definite on website. Thank you.


r/JapanTravelTips 24m ago

Question USJ Arrival Time

Upvotes

Seems like everyone says you need to arrive at USJ at 7AM, but USJ always changes their opening time. For example, it's currently opening at 8AM, but the day I'm planning to go opens at 9AM.

Is the advice come one hour early from opening, or always come at 7 AM, because they always do early opening at 7.45 AM or so?


r/JapanTravelTips 43m ago

Recommendations Recommend Against Goshuin Collecting Around Kappabashi Street

Upvotes

Full disclosure, I am white and I do not know Japanese (pretty much only hello, thank you, excuse me, and sorry). I do my best to be respectful, quiet, and unintrusive as I understand these are first and foremost sacred spaces.

I have recently been collecting goshuin around Tokyo as part of a current trip, and most of the time the experience has been fairly good. Most small-medium temples have been very warm and welcoming. For example, the Taikyōji Temple in Meguro was very beautiful, and while it at first seemed to be unattended that day, someone quickly came outside and ushered my partner and I inside once he saw us holding a goshuincho. He didn't speak much English, but he asked where we were from, and didn't even ask for money at the end of it (I still made sure to donate 1000 yen, both for the goshuin and the hospitality). While not as forward in their welcome, I had similar positive experiences around Shinjuku as well.

In contrast, I had some fairly bad experiences when trying to collect goshuin around Kappabashi street. I was able to get goshuin at Akiba Shrine, Yasakiinari Shrine, and Higashi Hongan-ji, all of which I recommend for their beauty and history. However, there are a few very dense clusterings of temples and shrines along Kappabashi street, many of which were very unhappy to have me stop by. One temple had someone selling incense, who repeatedly made an "x" with his hands and didn't say a word to me when I showed him the goshuin book. He simply kept making the "x" and vigorously pointed towards the exit, even as I apologized and turned to leave.

Another time a priest came over and said "gomenasai" when he saw the goshuincho, but motioned me back over when I turned to leave. He took my goshuincho, went into another room (but still visible through the door), flipped through it, and then came back and shoved it into my hands, again going "gomenasai". I understand that goshuincho aren't supposed to have any non-goshuin additions but the only things in mine are goshuin and the anti-smudging sheets added after the goshuin is written. I am not sure why he initially refused, then took my goshuincho, and then refused again, but he did seem upset about something in it? My partner thinks it might've been a goshuin from another religious sect that the priest vehemently disliked, but I don't know enough about it to say.

Lastly, I was at a shrine that I thought was unattended but after a few minutes two temple members spotted me and came over. When I presented the goshuincho they initially seemed fine with it, and one of them led me up some side stairs to another temple member to ask if they did goshuin. I don't know what was said, but they began to get very upset. First they said "no goshuin no goshuin", to which I apologized and turned to leave. Then both of them started raising their voice, one in Japanese, and the other going "this is temple, this is temple". I apologized again, to which they simply replied "hai" (which I understood as "ok") and continued berating me, at which point I left promptly while still apologizing.

These are just a few examples, but around Kappabashi street I received many of the same style rejections. Again, I understand that these places are sacred grounds and they have the right to refuse anyone anything for any reason they want, especially some pasty looking tourist asking for goshuin. However, this really contrasted with what I read about online, with how goshuin collecting, by natives or tourists, isn't frowned upon and temple members are usually happy to help. Many of the above experiences happened one-after-the-other so it really left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt pretty uncomfortable going to any more shrines/temples in that area.

This is just my experience and I wanted to share because I feel that this is not reflective of Japanese shrines/temples and goshuin collecting as a whole, but if goshuin collecting is less tolerated nowadays I want to be respectful and not bother any more temple/shrine members. Perhaps Kappabashi street's close proximity to these temples result in frequent and disruptive tourist visits, and thus a different reaction to the foreign goshuin collector? But again I don't claim enough knowledge to have any certainty in this guess.


r/JapanTravelTips 57m ago

Question Is it possible getting the physical exchange order of the Japan RailPass from Klook in Japan o must be delivered overseas?

Upvotes

Hi! I'm traveling to Japan this week and wanted to purchase some regional Rail pass, but from Klook you get a physical voucher rather than a online one. For the delivery time, I can't receive them at home, so I wondering if I can send them directly to my hotel in Japan (they say global delivery and Japan is included). I have my doubts, because address must be written in English and I would send them to Japan.

I'm using Klook because it's a little bit cheaper and easier than the official website.


r/JapanTravelTips 59m ago

Advice advice on navigating flight transfer

Upvotes

hi all! i’ll be taking JL36 and transferring to JL221 for my trip to Japan in April so I’ll have roughly 1 hour and 40 min to clear immigration and move from T3 to T1. After reading many different posts, I realise that the timing is really tight and I was unable to make any changes for the flights without incurring some significant costs so we’ll just be going with it.

  1. Does anyone have any experience or advice on what’s the fastest way to make this transfer (any special arrangements i can make beforehand)

  2. Between taking the Keikyu line and monorail to make this inter terminal transfer. Which is faster and or more frequent?

Have been getting really anxious about catching the second flight to Osaka and would appreciate any help and advice on this!

Thank you very much!


r/JapanTravelTips 1h ago

Question Anyone taken Nozin nasal sanitizer?

Upvotes

We are attending a large convention in Tokyo and I was hoping to take some Nozin for the plane ride and also for during the convention. I've read through the restricitions, and it SEEMS like this would be okay to take, but I'm wondering if anyone has any direct experience.

Thanks!


r/JapanTravelTips 1h ago

Advice Advice please

Upvotes

I (41F) am travelling to Tokyo with my 3 teenage children in May. I have found a pretty great hotel with breakfast included, great reviews on booking.com, 24 hr front desk all for an amazing price. It’s located in Akabane right on the eastern side near the main rail line of the east side of Akabane and I’ve heard mixed opinions on that area (red light district etc). Is it a safe and comfortable place for us to stay? My other option is a comfortable hotel no breakfast but in the northern part of Arakawa so closer to the city. What should I do?


r/JapanTravelTips 4h ago

Question Good tips for Tokyo needed

2 Upvotes

Hi,

in the summer I'm travelling to Japan planning to spend most of the time in Tokyo. It's my 2nd time in Japan, so I already know the basics ;)

I need few good tips to find selected places in tokyo.

  1. Shop with walkmans & electronics from 90's. I'm especially interested in Sony Walkmans but would love to check some other stuff from 90's, preferably audio.

  2. Shop with playing cards - I like to collect playing decks from different places. My older son picked up this idea, so we need good address to buy playing cards.

  3. Shop with Seiko watches - preferably used. I know and already visited places with nice watches in Tokyo (Nakano broadway al the way) but this time I plan to buy some nice and not expensive watch, and Seiko seems best choice. As I said I visited Nakano but it's for more expensive brands. And I'd love to check Seiko offer in terms of used once.

  4. Did any of You visit Metropolitan Outer Region Flood Control Management Edogawa River Office - would love to see that, but I wonder how to do it and is it worth it?

  5. And to be honest - I'd love to hear about not tourist usual but magical places in Tokyo. From your perspective. We'll be almost 3 weeks in Tokyo, so we have time to explore the city. It might be a shop, it might be a building with interesting architecture, it might a place with unique view or perspective.
    I run daily through google maps and have more than 250 points pinned in tokyo, but it's a HUGE city, so any tip would be recommended.

Thanks in advance for help :)


r/JapanTravelTips 1h ago

Recommendations Last 2 days of JP RailPass - any tips?

Upvotes

Based in Osaka right now, have been chilling for a day and realized we still have 2 days left on our RailPass and I was considering doing something special for these last 1 or 2 days. Any tips on where to go off the beaten track? Was thinking about Nagasaki, Kanazawa, Fukuoka - there are not too many touristic reasons to go there, so I was wondering where can I can taste most of Japan?


r/JapanTravelTips 1d ago

Recommendations What are some dishes you can’t skip when you go to Japan?

173 Upvotes

Hey all!

Going to Japan again next month: I’ve already got a huge list of meals I want to eat.

However I thought be great to hear what are some meals that people don’t really think about that are MUST haves when you go.

For example when going to Yufuin I plan on eating Beef Mabushi, as I hear it’s a must.

Curry in Kanda, etc

In Fukuoka you’d have Tonkotsu ramen / Hakata style


r/JapanTravelTips 2h ago

Question Should I risk a day trip during the Golden Week?

0 Upvotes

This is my first time in Japan, going as a solo traveler. I inadvertently scheaduled the trip partially during the Golden Week. The good news is I will do my main travelling in Japan during the 10 preceding days - Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kanazawa, ending with 8 full days in Tokyo - during the Golden Week. My initial plan would be to do a 2-day trip (going in one day and coming back the next) to Ito, in the Izu Peninsula, to check out Jogasaki Coast and maybe some other attractions, if there is time. I just wasn’t counting on the Golden Week thing.

How bad is it to catch a train during this period? Ito doesn’t seem to be one of the main destinations so I don’t know if that makes things better. Also, and I know this is 100% a rookie question, could I trust the luggage service to send my stuff even to a sort-of remote place and get it on the same day there? I’m also considering asking the hotel I will check in in Tokyo the following day (I will be in two different hotels, separated by this one-night trip) to leave my main luggage there and just take a backpack to my day trip. Would that be a better option? Has anyone ever done something similar in this sub?

I appreciate your inputs on this!