Travel tips for Japan first timers
Our Journey
Tokyo - Sendai - Kyoto - Osaka - Okinawa - Tokyo
What to consider before going to Japan
QR codes - entry form
Our preparation for Japan began in the Philippines, the place from where we departured to Japan. We had the flight and accommodations already booked before, but everything else we organized from the Philippines. Luckily, as of May 8th, you don't need to fill out the entry form anymore, which is much comfortable now. As we only had 2 COVID vaccinations, we had to get a PCR test 72hours before the flight. At that time, we were on an island called Panglao, Bohol.
Our Hotel offered scooters for renting, which was very nice for us to move around the island freely. Therefore we drove to the city of Tagbilaran to check, where we will have to do the PCR test. By the time we wanted to do the test, they said that they ran out of tests and we have to drive to another testing centre, which was the Bohol Containerized PCR Laboratory.
The testing went very smooth, it was a unique experience for us, as they did the test outside next to the parking lot. The price was ridiculously high, 2800 pesos each. They have sent us the results within 5 hours, via e-mail in english and Japanese, which we really liked though.
JR Pass
If you're planning to travel a lot through Japan, I highly recommend getting the JR pass. But you have to consider that you have to order the 'voucher for JR pass' (see picture above) at least 2 weeks in advance, so that you can exchange it to the actual pass in Japan. The easiest is to check on the Klook app (or klook.com), and choose from there the most suitable one. You can purchase one just for a specific region, or for the whole country. There is also options to choose the amount of days: 7 / 14 / 21 etc. As we travelled to Sendai, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, we decided to go for the JR pass, that includes all of the regions for 14 days. Although we were staying in Japan for 24 days, we only travelled to these destinations for the first 14 days. In the 3rd week, we went to Okinawa and there the JR pass doesn't work.
We have ordered a JR pass voucher through Klook and picked up the voucher in Manila (BGC) which was very convenient for us. If you don't live in Manila or one of the cities where they have a klook office, the voucher will be sent to your address within 10 business days.
Suica card
The suica card is not a must-have. We were not actively looking for the card, but apparently it's not very easy to get one like in South Korea (you can purchase there from a vending machine). We were totally fine to buy a train ticket (if it wasn't JR line) and travel without the suica card. You anyway need to bring cash everywhere you go. We figured out that purchasing a suica card would give us more hassle because we were carrying too much things with us already.
Arriving in Japan (Narita Airport)
Once we have arrived in Narita, we were welcomed by many helpful people who guided us through the immigration process. Since we had all the documents and QR codes ready, it only took around 15 minutes through the whole process. After we claimed our luggages, we directly went to purchase a WIFI router. We got it on the same floor as the train station (escalator down). It costs around 90$. The next thing we did is exchange the JR pass into the actual JR ticket (a blue little ticket). Be careful to not loose it or bend it. If it's bend, you will not be able to use the speedgates, and have to show your ticket to the security guard every time. If you loose the ticket, you lost it. With all your money etc. At the counter, we booked a seat for the Narita Express that brought us to Tokyo Station. Make sure, if you use one of the express trains or Shinkansen (bullet trains) that you always reserve a seat, and if you travel with big luggage, make sure to reserve a seat with luggage space included)
Check out my Youtube Video.
Google Translate
My lifesaver was definitely to download Google translate and save Japanese / english so that I can use it also offline when I'm on the go. With the Google Translate app you can take pictures of things or even just hold your camera to the word you want to get translated and it immediately translates it to your preferred language. We used it to communicate with people, when they couldn't speak english, to use the airconditioning, laundry machines, to order food and to navigate through the city with public transportation.
Sending a parcel from Japan
I clearly was excited and couldn't stop myself from buying a few souvenirs from Japan. However, I am not going home after visiting Japan, and I don't want to pay for extra weight on the 10 upcoming flights I have. Therefore we figured out that we could ship a few items (that we won't need for travelling) back to Switzerland and win a few kilograms back for any future purchases (new clothes or useful items). The postoffice we used was the Shibuya Post Office. We grabbed our bags full of stuff we wanted to send and went to this post office. They provided a large box for only ¥180. There, we could prepare the box for shipment and filled out the documents. The shipping costs were unexpectedly low ¥5500 (6kg) for surface shipping (1-3 months via sea fright).
Book your visits beforehand
try to avoid spontaneous visits to famous restaurants and places. If you would like to go to a famous restaurant, make sure to make a reservation beforehand. Often, they're fully booked or you would have to wait for hours.
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