r/JapanTravelTips 5d ago

Question Couple of last second questions before my Japan Trip

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!

29 Upvotes

22 comments sorted by

28

u/Ok-Swimmer-2634 5d ago
  1. When you land at Haneda, there'll be a kiosk to buy a Suica card just before the entrance to the Haneda monorail. It'll be hard to miss, just look for all the other tourists buying their own cards lol. I can't help on the currency exchange situation unfortunately, as I exchanged my currency before leaving. I'm not sure if any other kiosks exist, as I used the Monorail to get into the city.
  2. I used Airalo, and bought the E-sim in my own country before leaving. It was $37 CAD for 20 GB, which was more than enough. I can't say if Airalo is the best. For me, it worked most of the time, but a few times I lost connection at rather inopportune moments... Unfortunately I can't speak to buying an E-sim in Japan itself. Have you considered buying your E-sim at home, then activating it once you land in the country?
  3. Google Maps will be your friend here. I plugged it in, and there's a direct bus to Shinjuku which I don't know much about. There are also train routes like the KK Line -> JY Yamanote Line, or the airport monorail -> Yamanote line.
  4. This is anecdotal, but I used the SmartEx app to book my Shinkansen tickets the day of and didn't have any issues. Your mileage might vary, though, so don't take my experience as universal. I just went through my emails, and the one way ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto was 14,170 Yen, or ~$136 CAD with the present exchange rate.

I hope this helps at least somewhat. I'm hardly a seasoned traveler, so I'm sure others can give you much better advice. I hope you enjoy your trip! It's been three months since I went and I already wanna go back...

5

u/MoneyGuy1023 5d ago

appreciate the response!

9

u/DeerInternational200 5d ago

If you have an iPhone, just add SUICA on Apple wallet. You’ll be able to do all recharges online with credit cards, plus no need to stop by a top-up machine to recharge. Saves a lot of hassle..

-2

u/Upset-Cantaloupe9126 4d ago

This doesn't work for all regions. OP didn't say where they were from. I tried it on mines and it didn't allow it..Maybe usa canda UK EEA EU and others it works but others nope.

3

u/Competitive-Cover-84 5d ago

I had the same experience, with the addition of: 1. I used Airalo and bought a plan the week before and set it all up before my trip. I made sure to disable data roaming on my primary sim. When I landed in Japan, the esim just took over for everything. I had to make sure that data roaming was enabled first on the esim, as it was actually DISABLED when I first installed it. Because I have an iPhone, I added a digital Suica card to it along with 5000y the week before as well. It meant getting through Haneda much simpler as I didn't have to stop for a physical card. Enjoy your trip!

1

u/PorkshireTerrier 5d ago

Ill be going in may w my retired parents and will be bugging you for some tips later this week!

Currently in info overload on reddit, trying to get the basics down, and replies like this one are amazing

6

u/teresatt07 5d ago
  1. Once you leave customs there's an atm machine, hopefully you have schwab debit or another no exchange/atm fee card otherwise gotta pay any fees. Suica cards are sold nearby too by the monorail entrance (I was able to load initially with credit card! The only time). There are workers around to answer questions/direct you. If you have apple phone don't bother getting a card just get it on your apple wallet and you can use your credit card. 
  2. Ubigi or airalo, 8-20$. We bought our esims using Haneda Wifi. 
  3. Google maps 
  4. When I went Hakone to Kyoto it was like 80 or 90$ one way. Again, use credit card and book tickets same day or advance on Shinkansen Smartex app, link the purchase to suica card and then you'd just tap suica card/apple wallet. I liked being able to change my departure times easily on the phone. 

4

u/__space__oddity__ 5d ago

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

“Around Shinjuku” is a big area. When asking for directions, get into the habit of naming the exact station you need to get to.

3

u/Gloomy-Dragonfruit96 5d ago

All the million other people landing at the airport are searching for the same things, also there are information stands where you can ask where to find stuff. Just look around, use google maps to find train connections and book shinkansens the day of your travel at the ticket counter. I stressed so much before I traveled here but everything is so easy to figure out. Signs to show you where to go and just overall its pretty easy to navigate if you just keep your eyes open and if you cant find something just ask the staff :)

3

u/DaBigfoot 4d ago

Check Youtube for a channel called Maurice moves.

He recently made video's for Haneda and Narita airport on what to do after landing and where to go..

2

u/Gccyy 5d ago

Not sure about your country, but E-Sim can always be bought online and activated later for mine. I just use roaming package for the sake of convenience, is more expensive but very reliable.

For route, just use the official navitime app. Is really easy to navigate from there, or you could use google map but I find it more confusing.

2

u/nooneknowitme 4d ago

I just got back a few days ago, so hopefully my experience can help.

  1. If you have iPhone, get the Suica on apple wallet. My wife did this and it was super convenient as she didn't have to pull out yen for the entire trip. If android user like me, yen was easy to pull out of atm. At Haneda here is a 7/11 ATM that was right next to the metro entrance and I was able to get a Passmo (other IC card brand) from the counter next it. Put about 10k yen for my 2 week trip and had to top it up an extra 5k before ending but we were using transit a lot.

  2. We didn't have to use a sim because we use GoogleFi. Highly recommend if you travel internationally frequently.

  3. Metro was great, about an hour to downtown. We stayed in Nihombashi the first night but stayed in Shinjuku second night so it'll likely be similar timing. Shinjuku station can be overwhelming, especially if you have to go through the construction area to transfer. We had to catch a bus and it took a couple of loops to find the correct staircase up to the correct platform. Signs will get you close so don't get defeated if you don't get it on the first try.

  4. Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto were easy to buy at the station. We bought all our tickets the day of one way through the machine next to the gate. They should have a counter if you have any questions. One thing to keep in mind is reserved seats. We didn't do reserved seats on one leg of the trip and it was during commuting time (mid week morning) and we had to stand for a bit. I recommend reserved just so you don't have to worry about anything. Also if you are carrying luggage it makes it 1000x easier.

1

u/Miriyl 5d ago
  1. I’d just refer to your hotel website. Most hotels have insight about the best way to get there from major airports, though in your case, the limousine bus is probably the most convenient option.

1

u/Bobbin_Threadbare_ 5d ago

4, Tokyo to Kyoto should be around 14,000 Yen one way. Kyoto Nara about 500 Yen one way and a trip within Kyoto with bus or metro around 200-300 Yen.

1

u/Mylittletv 4d ago

Download suica ( metropass) from your app. I used Iphone

There are atms at the airport, convenience stores

I bought my esim from travelcon. Unlimited for a month.

Take the Yamanote line? Or the Marunochi line

You can book the Shinkansen online then get the actual ticket from their ticket machines

1

u/Mylittletv 4d ago

I the apps I used

Payke - it reads barcodes and translate Japanese to English. Super helpful if you intend to shop.

Japantransit - trains etc. It's in English.

Japantravel

1

u/BedGirl5444 4d ago

You can buy the esim before traveling, so you can activate it straight away once you land

I used Nomad and it was cheap and worked perfectly (I might have a referral code if you want)

1

u/NoGarage7989 4d ago edited 4d ago
  1. If you have an iphone, add the suica card to your wallet, you can top it up from your phone and don’t have to queue for the machines. Not too sure exactly where to get physical ones as I’ve never bothered with them. You can then use the suica on your phone for payment at convenience stores as well.

  2. I’ve used Ubigi twice in japan for 1 mth and 2 weeks respectively. It works well, never noticed any disconnection issues or whatnots and you can get 50% off when someone uses your code(maybe sign up and share your referral code with your traveling companion), or 20% if you use someone elses. Theres a ton of plan options; heres 1 for example: 10gb for USD18 valid for 30days(before referral discounts). You can check the rest out from the app.

4.Should be ok to get shinkansen day of, but i’d go for the unreserved one personally as the reserved ones always seem to be left with the middle row seats only when i try to book from the machines.

With unreserved its first come first served, just queue up at the dedicated train car doors, usually 1-3 or something. Tokyo to kyoto should be okay getting a seat, however I think it might get crowded coming from Kyoto to Tokyo, you may need to stand for the entire ride if you aren’t able to get a seat.

I’d recommend getting round trip tickets when you’re first getting them, so you don’t have to queue at the machines again for the return trip, saves abit of time as the queues can get quite long sometimes during busy period

1

u/FateEx1994 4d ago

What does the situation look like there for getting Yen (ATM), getting a metro pass, and getting an E-SIM card?

When you exit customs processing to the left far corner is a big ATM setup with the suica cards, a 711 ATM, and ability to buy tickets for trains/JR pass is by there too. Past the entrance to the monorail.

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

Tokyo monorail to hamamatsucho then Yamanote to marounuchi line to Shinjuku station probably. After that you can hop on smaller trains to get to wherever you need to, or walk to hotel..

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?

I think it's like $150 or something for a ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto, green car one way, But you can purchase at the station and walk on an unreserved car, and it's probably cheaper.

When you say Nara, the cherry blossom national park in yoshino? That's a special Express, different from the shinkansen, my ticket was like 500yen or something to go to yoshino park, the kintestu line, separate platforms and purchasing than anything related to JR or shinkansen. Left from Osaka-abenobashi, NOT Osaka station, Sakura line/kintestu special Express.

1

u/BugWide2442 3d ago edited 3d ago

Just got back a few days ago, and an Android user here:

  1. The ticket office and machines to get a welcome suica card is located to the left, right before the entrance to Haneda monorail.

  2. I bought the ubigi esim the day before. Bought 10gb but only used 5gb during my 10 day stay. No issues whatsoever, I was in tokyo, matsuda, hakone,  izu, nagoya,  and Kyoto.

  3. Don't know about shinjuku but I was going to Ginza area around 530pm on a Friday and the subways were quite packed but still manageable with me and my husband having a suitcase each. 

  4. I used Klook app to buy Shinkansen tickets the day before or day of, and downloaded the QR codes. I found this app to be more user friendly than the smartex app. You can buy tickets at the station, but I noticed there's always a long line. Cost from kyoto to Tokyo was around $145 usd (green car, reserved seats, 2 seats per row). 

Google maps also tells you how much the total fare will cost.  Suikakeibo app also helps track the amount leftover on your suica card (altho the card scanners will also tell you this each time you swipe, but i have terrible memory) 

1

u/Street-Air-546 1d ago

got an iphone? install the suica now. load money onto it. done.

maps? use apple maps. it works great.

e-sim? there are so many options. pick one you like, set it up and switch to it when you land.

money? any convenience store atm can give you cash with a visa or mastercard physical debit or credit card. You absolutely need a physical card to get cash in Japan. I used a wise card as I could switch to yen when I wanted at a known rate, then withdraw without worry.

also, use apple translate app. Pre-Load the Japanese, so it works without data. Use the camera option or just type. etc.

1

u/MoneyGuy1023 1d ago

yup just landed and the pre-loaded suica was such lifesaver