Japan for First Timers

In order to have a nice and smooth arrival to this beautiful country, there are some things you should check and do before and after.

Let's start with what you should do before booking your trip:

1. if you are going to Tokyo first, I would buy a flight that goes to Haneda Airport, instead of Narita Airport. Narita's is pretty far away from Tokyo and sometimes it can be expensive to reach the city. Haneda Airport is smaller, easier to navigate and closer to the city!

   If flying to Narita is cheaper though, here are the best and cheapest way to get to Tokyo (I calculated from the airport to Tokyo station):

   1. Keisei Narita Skyaccess, 1410 yen, 1h15;

   2. Keisei Skyliner, 2570 yen, 45 min;

   3. Narita express, 3070 yen, 1h;

   4. Limousine Bus, 1300 yen, 1h.

I don't recommend taxing a taxi, it's very expensive. It could be around 30.000 yen.

1. After you have booked your flights, it's important to find a good accomodation in a good location. I wouldn't say there are bad accomodations in Japan, the service is always pretty good, so the choice of the hotel/airbnb is up to you. But! There is something to consider. I really recommend finding an accomodation close to a station, no more than 5 minutes away on foot. That will save you a lot of time! You should avoid the main, super busy stations like Shinjuku or Shibuya though, they are confusing (even to people living there for a long time!).

2. Once you have flight tickets and hotels, you should book your internet. Japan offers different options of Wifi rentals: pocket wifi, travel sims, travel esims. There are many websites online, the one that I have used in the past for my first trip to Japan was Sakura Mobile (not sponsored). Everything is in English and easy to understand. You just have to choose what service you like best and you get it delivered directly to the ariport.

3. Next, I recommend booking popular activities, attractions or even restaurants. For example, amusement parks tickets (USJ, Disneyland, Harry Potter) Shibuya Sky or popular restaurants that accept reservations. You don't want to come all the way and they turn out to be fully booked.

4. If you intend to rent a car and drive in Japan, then you have to prepare an International driving license. The shops that accepts international driving licenses are: Toyota Rentacar, Nippon Rentacar, Nissan Rentacar, Orix Rentacar, Times Rentacar and Ekiren. You can check here if you can drive in Japan!

   https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/multilingual/english/traffic_safety/drivers_licenses/geneva.html

5. I also recommend exchanging some money already before your trip. It's not nevessary, as there are many exchange machines at the airport, but sometimes the exchange fees are higher. I also believe it's just better to have some cash with you in case of an emergency.

6. Learn some words or phrares! For example, "thank you", "sorry", "no, it's fine", "do you speak English?" "where is...?", "may I have...?". It really helps other people understand how to help you.

7. Now you can also buy a virtual IC card before your trip. An IC card is a rechargeable travel card that can be used for transportations and also to pay at convenience stores! You just have to add it in your Wallet app and that's it. You can choose between three IC cards: Suica, Pasmo or Icoca. They are pretty much the same, to put it simply Suica and Pasmo are from Tokyo and Icoca is from Osaka, Kansai.

Now, you are pretty much ready for your trip. Enjoy your flight, because once you arrive, you still have some things to take care of!

What you should do after your arrival:

1. First of all, connect to the WiFi at the airport and make sure you have Google Maps and Google Translate downloaded in your phone.

2. Withdraw some money, if you need it, and go get your internet device (pocket wifi or sim). Usually on the airport website they explain with a map and instructions where the shop is, so you will find it right away.

3. If you are uncofortable taking your luggage with you because they are heavy and in the way, you can always choose to send your luggage directly to your hotel. Just look for "TA-Q-BIN". It's a service you can find anywhere, not just at the airport, so you might consider using it a couple of times when moving from one city to the other.

4. If you haven't got your virtual IC card before coming to Japan, you will have to do it now. Since June 2023, it is no longer possible to purchase Pasmo and Suica cards in Tokyo, so you will have to add a virtual one in your Wallet app. In Osaka, on the other hand, it is still possible to get the Icoca IC card. Both the virtual card and the real card, are very easy to use, just tap it at the gates when you go in and tap it when you get out.

And this is pretty much it! I will make more detailed desciptions of some of these tips (like renting a car, Japanese words you should learn or sending your luggage to the hotel), so don't forget to check my other tips!

Have a nice trip! 👘🍣🎋