Japan itenerary planning - my references

Planning is the most essential thing for hassle - free traveling. Meaning, I did plan my itinerary to the minute details, including where I’m gonna stay, how I’m gonna get from place to place, where I’m gonna go, where to eat, my daily spending etc and it helped a lot the whole time I was there. Boy I tell you, just one place was enough to drive me nuts with reading and research. I carried the printed itinerary and kept a softcopy too. But with Japan, whatever listed in the reference - I discovered later - is precisely as what that is gonna be over there, down to the detail of transport mode and ticket prices.

Japan has also been selected to host the 2020 Olympics so I expect that travel in Japan will be much easier than before, though I can't imagine Japan being anymore convenient than it is now.

Internet connection in Japan ~ eConnect

This is how I stay connected to the world while in Japan :) Surprisingly enough, Japan does not have many free Wifi spots. New hotels have it, Starbucks, the airport, train stations, but not many. Most involve registering, which is not something I particularly enjoy doing.

My concern is about quick information access, especially if it happens that I’d need Google Map whenever I’m at lost. After looking around, I found eConnect, a 30 days non – contract micro SIM Internet data of 1G. Speed for Downlink: 7.2 Mbps / Uplink: 5.7 Mbps (best effort). Available in SIM and micro SIM. Good enough, cost 4890 Y including delivery. Payment by credit card.

Go to Japan. You will love Japan. And you will never regret it :)

Japanese version of Minions singing Banana!!! :D

Ok, let’s give Japan some credit here, they do try to speak sukoshi English and make life easier for gaijin like me by putting up English signboards here and there, loading up their Tourist Information Centres with English – speaking personnel and stuffs, and some helpful Japanese even attempt to speak some English to help a lost – looking gaijin, and I did kinda get  blown over by a Japanese who actually speaks better English than me LOL. All in all, Japan is an easy place to visit.

What you need to know about Japan Rail Pass @ JR pass

Japan being train – centric, next on the list is to get the JR pass @ Japan Railway pass exchange voucher, especially if you are planning to travel extensively across Japan. It saves a LOT of money. A long - distance one - way shinkansen ticket can cost you at least 9000 Y, but a JR pass allows FREE unlimited shinkansen uses within a time frame. 

When you order a JR pass, you will receive an exchange voucher which takes roughly about 2 weeks to be delivered to your address. This is how an exchange voucher looks like (above). You have the option of 7 / 14 / 21 days, Ordinary or Green. Note that you can only buy the exchange voucher while you are outside of Japan.

For myself, I was using an ordinary one since I was going during an off - peak season and the JR tracks that cover my places mostly do not have Green cars. Ordinary cars are comfortable enough with ample leg space. After agonizingly planning my itinerary, I decided to take the 7 – day pass, since most of my time is spent in one local area. Also, there are many special discount cards and passes available for tourist covering transport and attractions so if you do a thorough research, you pretty much can cut cost and decide on the best JR pass duration that you may need. And yeah, most of the websites are in English. 

Takuhaibin delivery service... one of the awesome things in Japan

Takuhaibin is a delivery service in Japan that can be utilized to transfer your luggage from one place to another as long as you have the address of that place and the cash for it. This, if anything, is one of the most convenient thing ever during my stay in Japan. But it requires some planning on your side.Use this service if you have the extra cash and don't want the hassle of dragging huge luggage around.