Routes Japan. Practical tips for traveling to Japan. Where to live in Hakone
It all started in December 2016. As a result of our president’s visit to Japan, the visa regime was relaxed, friendly relations were established between the countries, and the cross year of Japan in Russia was announced - the coming 2018.
“These are signs!” I thought.
Because when I was going to Japan 5 years ago, getting a visa was not an easy task - a huge list of documents, the mandatory presence of a Japanese guarantor in Japan and a bunch of other problems. After adding up the cost of visa services with air tickets and hotels, I decided to postpone the trip until better times.
And here they are! Japan, represented by Japan Airlines, Japanese film festivals, Japanese art exhibitions and free visas, burst into Russia at the end of 2017. And I firmly decided to fulfill the biggest dream of my life - a trip to Japan. This was the pinnacle of my traveling career, and now I doubt whether I will find a cooler and more exotic place in this world.
This article is one of my series of stories about Japan. To get a complete impression of the land of the rising sun and thoroughly prepare for your trip, I advise you to read:
So, let's begin!
Why go to Japan
Even if you are a sophisticated and experienced traveler, this country will not leave you indifferent.
With so many countries visited, I’m already quite skeptical about every next trip: there are people everywhere, bustle everywhere, nature everywhere. But Japan stands apart among all countries because of the high level of its originality. It was a closed country for a long time, so its traditions and culture have been very well preserved. And after the opening of borders, there was a breakthrough in development and modernity was superimposed on the cultural layer, forming an authentic mix unlike anything else.
Japan surprises:
by people
And the way they get along with each other on such a small piece of land. The way they treat each other, how they respect outsiders and how they survive within a society full of social restrictions and restrictions.
Culture
Ancient: geisha, samurai, sumo wrestlers, Kabuki theater, onsen hot springs, traditional ryokan hotels, bomb Shinto shrines, man-made pedantic gardens, bonsai, ikebana, Japanese ukiyo-e prints. Contemporary: pop idols, electronic games, freaks, high-tech architecture and modern technologies.
Nature
It would seem that our identical island of Sakhalin is nearby, but for some reason nature has awarded Japan with great wealth. Or the Japanese were simply able to tame this nature. There are 72 seasons a year, each of which has a special name, group admiration of the moon, red maples or cherry blossoms. Respect for nature as something living and more important than the human world - Shintoism tends to endow all natural phenomena and objects with divine qualities (Mount Fuji is a clear confirmation of this).
Technologies
And although in modern times Japan is in technological stagnation (as the Japanese themselves grumble), the things invented during the “tech boom” period are still surprising. Japanese toto toilets (mine<3), роботы, умная техника, автопром, скоростные поезда Синкасены и просто какие-то мелочи, выводящие быт на новый уровень.
How to get a visa
It is very easy to obtain a visa to Japan after the visa regime has been relaxed. The procedure is standard: collect a package of documents, submit it to the embassy (you can even do it without personal presence with a power of attorney without notarization), wait 2-3 days, pick up your visa. During peak seasons - spring and autumn - the visa processing time can be 7-10 days. There are not many documents, but they look strictly.
My tips for collecting documents:
Tip 1. All stamps and certificates must be original, no scans;
Tip 2. The account balance must be at the rate of $100 for 1 day of travel;
Advice3. Be sure to fill out the program of stay - date, hotel, city (you can have a fake one - don’t pick on it);
Advice4. You don’t have to buy air tickets in advance - just book them on the Aeroflot website, go to the payment page and select “pay at the office.” You will receive a full-fledged ticket by mail, which you can submit to the embassy (no, they don’t call Aeroflot and check it), and in the Aeroflot system it is canceled after 24 hours;
Tip 5. Useful links: list of documents for a single-entry tourist visa, embassy website, visa section, where you can find other information about visas, from a knowledgeable insider regarding visa facilitation.
How to find cheap flights
There’s not much you can do here, so there are 2 rules: either buy them in advance (half a year or more in advance), or monitor airline promotions (how? Read in the “Air Tickets” section).
There are 3 options to fly to Japan from Moscow:
1. Direct flight of Aeroflot airline
+ good service, regular direct flights, reasonable price if purchased in advance (4-5 months or more). The cost of a direct flight Moscow - Tokyo - Moscow is about 22,500 rubles in both directions;
— Tickets become much more expensive closer to departure; there is a possibility that you will not find such prices on peak dates - cherry blossoms (end of March) and red maples (November).
2. Direct flight from JAL to Japan Airlines
+ you will find yourself in Japan already on board the plane, their service is simply breathtaking and pedantic (information about it), large distances between the seats (winning in the nomination “Best Economy Class Seat” 2017), the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner flies, and also very profitable promotion for regions: 496 euros includes flights from many Russian cities (in fact, they fly to Moscow for free);
— fixed price 496 euros and above (or about 35,000 rubles), flights every other day, closer to the dates the cost rises.
Plane of the plane on the JAL flight Moscow - Tokyo
3. Flights with transfers
Closer to the travel dates, when all tickets for direct flights have already been purchased, search engines will offer you flights with transfers: Helsinki, Istanbul, Doha, etc.
+
you can arrange a stopover and see another country along the way;
— Stressful transfers, possible long connections and high prices.
So it’s better to buy direct flights in advance. Personally, I preferred to see Korea (I highly recommend it) along the way and took a direct flight with Aeroflot Moscow-Seoul, Tokyo - Moscow for 32,000 rubles.
How to get around
The most convenient and fastest way to travel around Japan is by high-speed trains - shinkasen. They don’t rent cars with a Russian license (for sure!), and it only makes sense to use airplanes if you are flying to Japanese islands like Hokkaido, etc. It is convenient to travel within cities by buses, metro, trains and taxis.
Don't worry - it's not difficult to figure it out, the signs are in English everywhere!
They will always tell you how to get there and where to go if you get lost. The main thing is to calculate and plan your route in advance and have notes about the desired train/bus in your phone.
JR pass - what is it?
Labor in Japan is very expensive, and so is all transport. But they came up with one very cool thing for tourists: the JR Pass or Japan Rail Pass (hereinafter JRP). This is a pass that can only be purchased outside of Japan for 7, 14, 21 days. It covers many intercity train lines, some city trains and some buses.
JR pass - where to buy?
The story of JRP is a bit convoluted if you look into it, and scary at first. How to calculate whether it will be profitable for you to move along the route with or without it? I will answer for sure: if you are going to Japan for the first time and are going to see the main tourist cities, then JRP is 100% profitable. In comparison, a Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo Hikari fast train ticket costs $250, and a 7-day JRP (which includes this train) costs $257. So take the pass! It is better to buy on official websites like tourjapan (if you are in Moscow) or jrailpass (purchase from abroad).
JR pass - how to use?
The main thing to consider is that transport companies in Japan are a private business. Therefore, there are a great many of them, and JRP is a feature of one of these companies (hurray - the largest) - Japan Rail. Therefore, before you buy, you should carefully plan which train companies you will use on your trip.
View of Mount Fuji from a shinkasen on the Tokyo-Hakone route
You can calculate your movements in advance and see which trains are covered by JRP on the following websites:
Hyperdia— the most detailed train aggregator, for me it’s too complicated, but it also shows buses;
Japan Rail Pass— JRP official website in English, a lot of information about the pass;
Google Maps(routes) - amazingly accurately calculates train routes between cities, offering several options. Convenient if you plan to take a router with mobile Internet on site;
Japan Travel Navitime— in my opinion, the most convenient application for calculating train routes. The downside is that it only exists as a smartphone app and only works with the Internet. But I used it throughout the trip (taking a screenshot of the required routes in advance) and there were no problems.
They will tell you in detail how to use the travel card (and even give you instructions in Russian) when you change the JRP purchased in Moscow for a convenient and beautiful booklet ticket at any JR office in Japan (available at the airport and at all major metro stations in Tokyo). In a nutshell: you either reserve seats on the desired trains by contacting the JR office in advance (they issue tickets for a specific car and seat), or come to the desired train car without a reservation, but then there is a chance that you will stand (especially in high season ).
By the way, a nice addition is the presence of automatic lockers at each metro station. This simplifies the issue of luggage when actively traveling between cities and traveling from Tokyo for 1-2 days. The cameras are not expensive (300-600 rubles per day) and very convenient. Don't forget to take a general view photo of the section where you left your things, since there are a lot of sections at each station and the lockers look the same.
How to plan a route
Despite its size on a global scale, Japan is very huge in itself and wildly saturated in places. Traveling for almost 10 days with a 24/7 rhythm, I managed to see only the main things. As a result, I was left with a wild desire to return and delve deeper into non-tourist places (we will also talk about them).
Route ideas for beginners
The optimal number of days for traveling around Japan would be 10-14. It all depends on how interested you are in Tokyo as a metropolis. Because it “eats” a lot of time while traveling (I was there for 4 days, or I can say that I managed to quickly explore all the areas).
Below I will give a list of places that are definitely worth seeing during your first trip to Japan (<3 отмечу самые классные, если у вас всего 7 дней):
* Tokyo (exactly! 1-4 days)
* Kamakura, Nikko (day trip from Tokyo)
* Hakone and Fuji (2-3 full days)
* Kyoto (4 full days)
* Nara (half day trip from Kyoto)
* Osaka (half day trip from Kyoto) + Minou (half day trip from Kyoto)
* Koya-san and Yoshino (plan route from Kyoto/Nara)
Route ideas for advanced
There are also some cool ideas where to go from Tokyo for one day. They are described in detail in. I would opt for either Nikko or Kamakura.
Hakone and Mount Fuji
Hakone is a lush green hilly area of incredible nature close to Mount Fuji. It is there that you can stay in a traditional ryokan, soak in onsen, take a cable car to the volcano, try black eggs boiled in geysers and, of course, admire Fuji.
Black ice cream
You can see Hakone in one day, but you won’t have time to do much other than make a standard circle around Lake Ashi (and that means you risk getting to the viewpoint on Fuji by sunset). Therefore, spend at least 2 days in this area because there is a lot to see. In addition, Fuji is very capricious and, due to the changeable weather, is not often shown.
How to get to Hakone?
Hakone can be reached from Tokyo (Tokyo - Odawara train, covered by JRP) or from Kyoto (Kyoto - Odawara, covered by JRP). Odawara is the starting point - a station in the suburbs of Hakone, from which all further transportation can be carried out. Even if you are traveling for 1 day, it makes sense to buy a Hakone Rail Pass - this is an unlimited pass for almost all transport in Hakone for 2 or 3 days. You can buy it at Odawara Station. Along with the tickets, they are given a Hakone map, a booklet with schedules for all types of transport there and a booklet with information about attractions, museums, restaurants, etc., in which pass holders are entitled to small but pleasant discounts.
Where to live in Hakone?
View onsens and minimalist rooms are the hallmark of traditional Japanese ryokan hotels.
In Hakone, be sure to choose a traditional ryokan hotel (read more about hotel format). A ryokan is a mega authentic way to spend a night in Japan and remember it for a lifetime. Minimalism, tatami (bedding) on the floor, yukata (robes) on the body, traditional toe socks and a throwing system for serving food (be prepared for a dozen breakfast/dinner plates with strange toppings). The ryokan itself is expensive (about $100 per person), but you can also find budget ones. Kyoto is also full of ryokans, but I would recommend spending a night for such a traditional experience in Hakone.
Kyoto
If you avoid big cities like Tokyo and go to Japan for nature and culture, then focus on Kyoto.
I was expecting a small village with maple trees, but in reality it turned out to be a large city with many districts (historical and modern) and a ton of cool attractions scattered around the outskirts.
Imperial palaces, fiery maples, a kimono factory, terrible onsens for the locals, amazing cuisine, pedantic gardens, a bamboo forest, a geisha quarter - everything that’s worth going to Kyoto for.
It is convenient to base yourself in Kyoto for 3-4 days. In general, this city is strategically conveniently located, since it is very convenient to get to pleasant places around: Osaka, Nara, etc. So feel free to stay the bulk of your trip in Kyoto.
How to get to Kyoto?
Getting there is very easy - direct high-speed train from Tokyo. The Hikari shinkasen is covered by JRP (2:40 travel time), the Nozomi shinkasen (2:20 travel time) is not covered. Note that both trains stop at Odawara Station along the way, making it a convenient base to plan a few days in Hakone. It is convenient to get around the city itself by buses (ask for a route map at the information center), trains, metro and taxis.
Where to live in Kyoto?
A strong recommendation is to choose a hotel near the train station; there is also a bus station from where it is convenient to travel around Kyoto. You will save time on transport around the city and have time to see more in neighboring cities. Although, if you have more time, Kyoto is full of wonderful ryokans. Note: a selection of traditional housing MashiyaVSAirbnb.
Apartments
It's quite difficult to find budget accommodation in Kyoto. If you are traveling in a group of 3 people, then it is profitable to rent this apartment ($160 per day for 3 people) (I did this). There are many other options for apartments near the station on the Airbnb website.
Hostels
If you want a completely budget accommodation, I recommend Piece Hostel (Kyoto's best host according to Forbes, designer, close to the station, bed $25, single room $30), Sakrura Terrace The Atelier (part of a large designer hotel, close to the station, double room with shared bathroom $55) or Tanaka Gokurakudo Guest House (traditional Japanese style hostel, close to the station, bed $20). It is convenient to search for other hostels on the Hostelworld website.
Hotels
If you want to stay in comfort, the cost of a room in a 3-4* hotel near the station varies from $50-$250. List of hotels in Kyoto, near the station:
What to see in Kyoto?
1. Explore all the temples in Kyoto
There are a lot of them, you still won’t have time. Therefore, place your accents. I looked at several, of which I most remember the golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ji and the Temple of Pure Water Kiyomizu-dera. If you are interested in interior interiors, then there is a direct road to Nijo Castle. I would have stopped at them.
2. Take a day to Arashiyama
In the Arashiyama area you can take a rickshaw 
The Sanctuary of a Thousand Gates actually turns out to be a more interesting place than you expect. I want to devote half a day to it, to slowly test myself and go through this path of a thousand gates. You can rush through the territory of the sanctuary in an hour, or you can walk here all day.
Sometimes on the paths there are small tea houses - their caretakers have been working and living on the mountain for generations.
Here you can drink tea, buy cookies or ice cream. It's better to come in the morning or at sunset. For added atmosphere, you can rent a traditional hala yukata. A very atmospheric place where everything breathes ancient Japanese culture. Convenient to travel on the way back from Arashiyama.
4. Transform into a geisha/samurai
To be honest, dressing up as a geisha for a photo shoot was one of my big dreams that I wanted to achieve in Japan. There are many such changing rooms in Kyoto, but I advise you to stop at the professional company Aya Maiko experience. The company is located in an old Japanese ryokan, so dressing and makeup takes place in an authentic atmosphere. In addition, they have a large selection of kimonos, different shooting plans and a professional photographer. I was wildly satisfied; the $120 service was completed 100%.
5. Buy traditional souvenirs
The golden rule of traveling to Japan is that you can never have too many onsens.
Tenzan is truly one of the coolest "local" places where you won't find tourists. Be sure to end one of your days in Kyoto with a visit to this osenen. And take a scrub - you won’t regret it. If you want a more hardcore option with super ancient carvings on the ceiling, Japanese grannies, a wooden outdoor bathhouse and the first electric bathtub, then choose Funoaka onsen.
Tenzan No Yu Open Courtyard
7. Get to Pontocho Restaurant Street
Pontocho is an old street of food (or rather small restaurants), which comes to life only in the evening and is considered the mecca of Kyoto foodies. In general, restaurants in Japan are such a huge niche that I can’t even recommend anything specific. Everything I tried in Japan was VERY TASTY. Therefore, here is a description of Pontocho for inspiration, and here is a list of restaurants - choose for yourself.
8. Buy a silk kimono
Nara is the ancient capital of Japan, a city with an enchanted forest, 1,500 tame deer and beautiful Shinto shrines an hour's drive from Kyoto. You should definitely visit Nara! The delight cannot be described in words.
Take half a day, or ideally a day, to get lost among this fabulous oak jungle, enjoy the solitude of the temples, meditate in the park and, of course, take selfies with deer.
The structure of the city is simple - you can get around on foot everywhere. Nara is especially beautiful when the red maples are in bloom.
There is a tradition in Nara: in winter, when there is too little natural food for the deer, and the flow of tourists with cookies has weakened, park employees call all the animals for lunch, playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 for them. And the deer, hearing the music, immediately come out of the forest and remote corners of the park. This is the real Japan!
This is how sake is stored in Japan 
Deer in Nara
Osaka is not worth a separate day-long visit, especially with an overnight stay in a hotel (unless you are interested in the experience of erotic shibari bondage or Japan's largest red light district). The distance between Kyoto and Osaka is covered in 20 minutes by high-speed train, so visiting Osaka for half a day is a great option.
There are only 2 places I would recommend: Osaka Castle and Dōtonbori Food Street.
Dotonbori Street is radically different from Kyoto's civilized Pontocho with its trashy, pretentious giant replicas of food stuck directly on the buildings. It looks very colorful!
Top 10 dishes to try outside here Minoh spa garden onsen hotel in Minoh 
Red maples in Minoo 
Okonomiyaki in progress 
Minoo is a cool village with a small scenic hiking trail through a maple canyon that ends at a waterfall. It’s worth going there especially during the maple blossom season, because there’s a whole extravaganza of colors there.
The locals seem to be obsessed with maple leaves - they put them in keychains, fry them in oil and eat them and depict them on whatever they can. Very kawaii.
Minoo is also famous for its large onsen located right on the top of the mountain - Minoo Kanko Hotel Mino Onsen Spa Garden. Inside the onsen there is a pink rejuvenating bath, a huge area with dry saunas and a lot more. Ideally, you can stay at the same hotel for the night, because the main highlight - the view pool - is only available to guests.
Budget
The main issue when traveling in Japan remains budget. The first question from friends was “how much?”
I want to break the stereotype about the high cost of Japan and say that it is not expensive there.
More precisely, there are options to live and eat cheaply. The main problem is shopping! In Japan, everything is so kawaii, cute, and unusual that you want to touch all this stuff and buy it as souvenirs. I counted 2 travel options so you can estimate your budget.
Option 1: Basic Budget Travel.
Accommodation in comfortable capsule hotels and hostels (believe me, this is the best option for active travel - why overpay just for a bed?), all transport at JRP and a minimum amount for shopping and entertainment. As for food, the basic option: lunches in small cafes with soups (where all the locals eat, and a portion of a huge soup costs about $5), a couple of times in restaurants - sushi/okonomiyaki. In general, this is a basic price, cheaper than which it is impossible to travel to Japan.
Option 2: average budget, comfortable trip.
Accommodation in 3-4 star hotels, in some places - designer ryokans or hotels with onsen. There is a sufficient amount allocated for entertainment and shopping (as much as I spent myself).
Food in decent cafes and restaurants based on three meals a day (1000 yen = $10 per time).
useful links
Below I will leave some useful links that will complement my short article about Japan.
Book by V. Ovchinnikov “Sakura Branch”
The Soviet foreign journalist very succinctly, interestingly, colorfully talks about the nuances of life in Japan and reveals the essence of the Japanese. I listened to it in audiobook format while savoring the journey several months before.
Film Cherry Blossom (Germany, 2007)
My favorite film is about the feeling of loneliness in Japan. After the death of his wife, an elderly man comes to Tokyo to stay with his son and suddenly reveals all the nuances of his deceased wife’s Japanese hobby, which he was never interested in. Very tearful - especially the final scene with a view of Fuji. Fall in love!
What to see around Tokyo from 34travel
The best inspiring article from a Russian insider living in Japan “Square of a Happy Life”
Beggar's guide to Japan from the Knife portal - only cheap, only hardcore!
Briefly about the upcoming trip to Japan: how it happened, about fears and mediocre knowledge of Japanese culture and history. Questions are accepted.
Life is an amazing thing. At the end of last year I realized that I missed . By its night lighting, screeching sirens and the faint smell of chocolate. I should go back - I decided, but that was not the case! CThe series of events led me to exactly the opposite result. On the first day, I fly with great company to the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Japan is waiting for us!
About concerns
I have never been to Asia, but here I have to visit two countries at once. On the way back we will have 12 free hours in Beijing during the connection. To be honest, I’m worried about unfamiliar hieroglyphs, my mediocre English and possible problems with logistics. We have compiled a busy route: Moscow - Beijing - Osaka - Nara - Kyoto - Tokyo - Osaka - Beijing - Moscow. I wouldn't want to get stuck halfway. Especially at Beijing airport during the first hour and a half layover.
About the cultural code
In addition to the incomprehensible squiggles instead of letters, here’s another thing that’s confusing. We know a lot about Europe thanks to history at school. We also know about the USA. Thanks to Hollywood movies. But our ideas about Japan are close to zero. In class, of course, they study the Battle of Tsushima, Pearl Harbor and the bombing of Hiroshima, even briefly mentioning the Meiji Restoration, the period of isolationism and the post-war economic miracle, but the rest of Japanese history is shrouded in the fog of war. So it turns out that for most people, including me, the image of Japan is a mess of works, names and traditions that have gained worldwide fame.
Beautiful Fuji. Huge tsunami. Sushi and rolls. Karate, sumo and judo. Hachiko waiting for his owner to the song Big in Japan. Samurai, geisha and ninja watching anime and reading haiku under sake in the shade of sakura near the rock garden. Pokemon, Godzilla and Sailor Moon. This is the yellow-haired lady who was remembered with the phrase: “Moon prism, give me strength!” What else is there? Japanese policeman, tea ceremony and origami.
I suspect that such a vinaigrette can be considered an adequate representation of Japan with the same degree of convention with which vodka, matryoshka and ballet describe the entire depth of the Russian soul. Unfortunately, in a couple of weeks it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to understand what Japan is really like, but you can get a first impression. That’s what I’ll try to do, and then present it here.
We're back and here are the important texts:
And more on the topic (dry and to the point):
Today we will have a review of Japan, and it will, as expected, be conveyed in a manner that is incomprehensible to you and me, but I am sure you will like it, and you will support my new format by liking and sharing with your friends!
Imagine an evening, there’s nothing better than deep night, and you, having watched enough videos about Japan, but not travel reviews, but videos for adults, for some reason you decide that you really need to visit this country and after 5 minutes you don’t find a single reason why No. Indeed, how much can you watch these beauties through the screen, you need to act and contemplate live, accept new experiences and imbue yourself with a new culture and understand whether Japanese women are really so beautiful?
You shift the task of getting a visa to your sister and it turns out that getting it is ridiculously simple: a minimum package of documents, 4 days of waiting, not a penny of money spent, and they give you a stamp that opens the gates to the Asian paradise, the real country of the future!
I wanted to learn Japanese in a couple of months, make a clear plan for traveling around the land of the rising sun, but I was so carried away by my vacation in Bali that I completely forgot about it and went without any preparation, I didn’t even have a tourist pass for Japanese ultra-modern trains , which everyone advised to do in advance. I was completely naked in front of new horizons for me and expected to be greeted in the same way, but that was not the case...
The capital of Tokyo was hit first by one typhoon, then by a second, and I had to buy some clothes and hide my shamelessness!
I got distracted a bit. I go through passport control, get my luggage, but no, I flew here with hand luggage with the hope of stocking up on Japanese clothes and buying myself a new suitcase. The Japanese denim style is known all over the world, but no one mentioned that it’s hardly possible to find anything for a Russian hero like me, so I returned home naked with only a backpack!
I get into a taxi. I have always believed that upon arrival you shouldn’t bother too much and you can overpay a little and quickly end up in a hotel, sleep and go explore the nightlife!
But I immediately got out of the taxi and was a little amazed to learn the price for which a polite and rather elderly Japanese man wanted to deliver me and my small backpack to the center of Tokyo, since I didn’t have a hotel yet, and I didn’t lie about nakedness!
200, you might think yen, but no American dollars, here I was a little shocked, fell into a stupor and couldn’t figure it out, but does this happen?? In a country where cars are made and such prices for taxis? Moreover, as a taxi - an old Toyota model, unfamiliar to me, with automatically opening and closing doors, as if indicating that you are in the future!
I had to figure out for myself how to get to the center, sit in a cafe and find accommodation, although I was perplexed and could not get this figure out of my head!
I wanted to make a second mistake and buy a SIM card with the Internet right at the airport, but I already realized that I shouldn’t do this, I just need to be patient a little, the girls on Tinder will wait for me, since they’ve been waiting for me for 30 years!
The only thing you should do upon arrival is to withdraw some money from the ATM or change your bucks, although it is already old-fashioned to travel with bucks and then change them. In almost all countries you can pay by card and withdraw money from ATMs - don’t complicate your life with old habits, be as changeable as our world, adapt and evolve, otherwise you will face a disastrous end and you simply won’t keep up with it!
And I almost forgot, you still need to buy a 72-hour metro pass + a pasmo card, you put money on it and pay, where the pass does not work or when it suddenly runs out + you can pay in some shops and cafes. A very convenient thing, with the possibility of receiving unspent funds!
And now you, with a wad of local currency, a travel pass and a Pasmo card, can go to your hotel. Or, for those like me who fly into the country and forget to find accommodation in advance - to the city center, to Starbucks!
But how, you ask, is everything so complicated and confusing? You connect to the Internet, which is available at the airport, enter your destination into Google Maps, choose the optimal route and that’s it, if you get lost somewhere, just go to the station attendants, they will always help!
Having spent a month in Japan and using the metro every day, I can say that it is very convenient and understandable, everything is dubbed in English and it is simply impossible to get lost or lost there, the main thing is to persistently move towards your goal and not panic!
I sit down in a cafe, order myself a large portion of cappuccino and a delicious dessert to eat away a little of my stress, and here is the first good news - for this entire luxuriously set table they charged me only 8 bucks! But then, when I started looking for accommodation, I again became upset when I saw how much I would have to empty my card...
Having found the best option for just 60 bucks, I went to the hotel, got some sleep, went on an evening shopping spree, bought myself some pants, although it took several hours to search!
And I am sure that below you will find the ideal route around this country, which I will provide you with based on my experience of holidaying in the country and will save you from unnecessary travel and expenses!
Visa - it takes 4 days and is completely free, everyone can fill it out themselves, or entrust everything to your sister.
Food: - it’s just everywhere, there are a lot of sushi restaurants, where my main advice would be not to take the usual sushi sets, but to take a bowl of sushi - it’s the same thing, only they’ll pile rice on your plate and throw all the fish on top, but it saves 25 percent ! In Starbarks you can drink coffee and do business, they are very convenient and coffee there costs on average around 200 rubles, and in general the prices for food in Japan made me very happy! And the second tip about food - you can go to a good big store and eat right there, or in small markets that are literally at every turn, the food is fresh and tasty everywhere, you won’t die of hunger!
Getting around the city, only by metro and buses, is incredibly convenient, buy travel cards to save money, and you can create a route right on your phone - there are no complications or difficulties and after 1 day, you can feel at home!
Internet - don’t buy at the airport, be patient a little and find any “Big camera” store and ask the bmobile operator there. They also offer a 21 day travel package with 5 gigs of data for just 27 bucks. This is the best option that exists and do not forget to use the Internet in cafes and hotels and then you will be confident that this amount of traffic will be enough! Wi-Fi is available in almost every establishment.
Housing: it doesn’t matter in which area of Tokyo you rent it. Don't be afraid of hostels! In Japan, they are all very clean and often very cool! The main advice is that from Monday to Thursday you can choose more expensive options, and from Friday to Sunday you need to look for a variety of hostels or drop-in hotels, as their prices rise 2-3 times. This is especially true during the cherry blossom season; if you are traveling to Japan during this period, then look for accommodation in advance! I lived in 4 stars, in hostels and in capsules, and I really liked them all and I advise you to experiment and try all types of housing! On average, housing can be rented from $50 a day for two people, which in my opinion is much cheaper than America and Europe! I would not recommend Airbn, there are no special benefits, and there are no normal options either! Next to our apartment there was an apartment where tourists were given massages and then turned into prostitutes; there were brutal showdowns all night long!
You will also definitely need a train pass; you can buy it in Moscow and other major cities and it will be 10 percent cheaper than in Japan. But if you forgot or couldn’t, you can buy it on the spot, right at Tokyo Central Station, just ask any employee where the office is and they’ll tell you everything!
Shopping - if you are a girl, then you will have something to spend all your money on, there is a lot of everything here and the prices are normal. If you're a big guy like me, my advice to you is just don't waste your time, you won't find anything. Guys similar in height and weight to the Japanese can buy themselves some clothes, but, in my opinion, shopping in Japan is not suitable for a European, the only thing worth buying is Japanese jeans and more than one pair!
When to go? I am convinced that the best time is the end of October! Excellent, not hot weather, about 15-20 degrees and it’s super comfortable to see the country, not such a popular season. In addition, you can seriously save on housing, there are not so many tourists and queues everywhere, and on top of everything else - this is the red maple season and in Japan it is very beautiful everywhere, no worse in the Sakura season, when everything is tight and it is difficult to find accommodation. I visited in mid-October and loved everything!
Excursions and the like. I didn’t order anything in advance, especially since everything can be bought on the spot by booking any excursion a couple of days before it starts! Prices for active recreation and attractions are among the lowest in the world: a Ferris wheel 400 rubles, an aquarium 1200 rubles, a lot of free entertainment - I really liked this moment, the Japanese are not trying to cash in on tourists and want everyone to try and see the maximum number of attractions.
Money: we paid mostly by card and sometimes withdrew cash from ATMs!
It seems to me that the main points that are spinning in my head before the trip - I voiced them! And I’ll just add, even if you don’t know anything about the country and just flew in, like me, you won’t have any problems, everything is very simple and easy here, I quickly felt at home and easily moved around the whole country, exploring all its corners.
How far to go? I was there for 25 days, and it seemed to me that that was a lot! For the first time, about 2 weeks is enough!
3-4 days is enough to explore all the interesting places in Tokyo.
Area to live? I would advise: Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya and under no circumstances settle in the Rappongi area, there are clubs, apartments with massages and generally not a very clean and calm area, it’s better to just come there and then leave.
What to do in the city itself?
The best thing to do is to take a walk through all the central areas of Tokyo, they are all different! Just take a walk in them and see what’s there, take a ride on the Ferris wheel in Odaiba, climb up to the free observation deck, which is located in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings and there is, in my opinion, the best view from above. Tokyo is not very impressive from above, there are not many high-rise buildings.
I don’t recommend wasting time on the famous fish market - there’s nothing to do there, and also on the ice cream museum - it’s just wasted time!
Walk around the districts, visit interesting museums, there are many of them here!
I didn’t go to clubs, so I can’t recommend anything here. From a cafe, find Nissan in the Ginza area, there you can make coffee with your photo + a restaurant where you can catch fish and then they will cook it for you, all the other outlandish restaurants, according to reviews, not so much!
Be sure to visit the Imperial Palace!
Yes, I think 4 days is enough here!
After Tokyo you go to Yokohama by subway (one hour), it’s a gorgeous city and there’s a lot to do here, but you should only go here on weekdays, since there are no hostels here and prices for good hotels soar on weekends! You move in near the Landmark Tower - this is a real city of the future, clean, with large buildings, next to the ocean, I liked it here most of all!
Two days are enough for sightseeing:
What you need to do: climb the tallest building at 16-00 and look at the city during the day, sunset and night! What to do before this: in front of the observation deck, there is a museum-ship, it is also worth a visit and there is a museum there. Everything costs a penny, and in the evening you can go to the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse area, here you can eat and relax, and then, if you still have the energy, visit Chinatown nearby, the city is small and everything is nearby, you can walk and sometimes take the subway!
The next day, your goal is Yamashita Park, where you can also visit the museum-ship on which Charlie Chaplin sailed and then be sure to take a ride to the ship across the bay and watch the sunset there.
Then you can go to any bar you like, although the nightlife here is not particularly developed, so it’s better to go to bed!
Don’t waste your time on the aquarium, you can go to it in Osaka, it’s gorgeous there and one of the best in the world!
In the morning you get up early and go to the central station in Tokyo. From this day on, you buy yourself a travel card. I took it for 2 weeks, but it seems to me that you can take it for one and just ride around Japan like that!
From Tokyo you go to Osaka, where half a day is enough for the city. First you go to the aquarium, towards sunset - to the Ferris wheel, then go to the Kuchu Teien Observatory observation deck and at the end of the evening - to Dotonbori Street.
The next day, you visit the imperial palace and immediately take the metro to Nara Park, it’s incredibly cool there! In the evening, upon your return, you can wander around the central streets, go to the Japanese bathhouse complex, we visited and liked it (costs about 700 rubles).
The next day, travel to Kyoto. Here 2 days will be enough! On the first day after checking in, you can visit the bamboo forest and park. It’s incredibly cool there, then take a walk along Geisha Street and sit in a bar! Don’t bother with geishas, we don’t understand this, and there’s nothing cool about them!
The next day, from the very morning, go to all the palaces of the city and walk while you have the strength, then go to the bar and sleep!
In the morning at the 6th tour you are already heading to Nagano, watching the winter monkeys and walking around the city! One day here and that's it! Come, check in and immediately go to the park with monkeys, you can take a taxi, it’s not very expensive, but it will save time! You walk around the park, watch how monkeys live and take baths, and then in the evening you go to a real Japanese bathhouse!
In the morning you go through Tokyo to the Hakone area, rent accommodation there, spend the night and then, in the morning, leaving your things at the hotel, you first go to the open-air museum - an incredible sight, and from there you can see Mount Fuji and the surrounding attractions .
Cable car, ship and so on. Take a one-way ticket everywhere, at the end of the route by bus go to the hotel, where you pick up your things and go straight through Tokyo to Nikko, spend the night there, but be careful in some hotels check-in before 21-22, you need to be in time - with us happened!
The next day in the morning you explore this place, and the same day you return to Tokyo!
You have to fit in your weekly train pass, you may not have enough for the return trip from Nikko, just buy yourself a ticket!
Then you can stay in Tokyo if you liked it there or finish your trip to Japan!
Believe me, this will be enough for you for the first time and you simply won’t want to watch any more, you will be tired and exhausted, since you need to walk a lot everywhere!
I excluded Hiroshima from the route, since there is nothing to do there at all and it is very far away and then you will not have time to go to other places! I strongly don’t recommend it, I was there, if you offered me to go there again, I wouldn’t go! Learn from my mistakes!
And one more piece of advice: when you travel from Tokyo to Yokohama, you can leave all your things at the station in a storage room (300 rubles per day) and do the same when you go to Nikko!
This concludes my strange review, have a good trip to the land of the rising sun!
Overall I liked it, but I expected more!
I was especially attracted to Japanese minimalism in all areas of life. I'm sure you'll like it too! You are unlikely to see any perversions and inventions of the future; everything is calm there, just like everywhere else!
Playlist of my video reports from Japan - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhedGjZUK5nAFpe1Hxl_T6vmd9e5rOVvO
Before describing the beauty, unusualness and attractiveness of Japan, I would like to give some practical advice and answer questions that I myself had when planning a trip to Japan.
1. Route around Japan. How to build? What to see? How to choose?
// aerobulochka.livejournal.com
When planning my route, I focused on the historical sights of Japan, deciding that I wanted to see Kyoto more than Hiroshima. Here, of course, everything is individual, but for example, here is my route for 10 days plus the day of arrival and day of departure:
Arrival day and one full day in Tokyo - two days in Nikko - five days in Kyoto with outings in Himeji, Nara and Osaka - passage in Kamakura - one and a half days in Tokyo.
A wonderful site in English with detailed information about the attractions of Japan, opening hours, recommendations on how to get there, etc. - http://www.japan-guide.com/. It was this site that helped me plan my route by day, and it was from there that I printed out the names of all the places I needed in Japanese - it really helped when traveling in a taxi!
2. When to go to Japan?
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And again - everything is very subjective! Traditionally, there are two periods when everyone flocks to Japan. The first, of course, is cherry blossoms (as usual, from late March to early April). The second is the time of “red leaves”, in our opinion - golden autumn =)
Japan is very hot in summer and quite chilly in winter. The weather in May suited me completely - almost all days it was above 20C, we wore T-shirts and shorts, and it only rained for a couple of days.
3. How to get around by trains and metro? Why do you need a Suica card?
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Japan has a very developed railway transport network, which, unlike Russia, belongs not to Russian Railways alone, but to several private companies, which, naturally, have their own trains and platforms and their own tickets. In big cities, this is supplemented by underground and overground metro lines and monorails, which can drive an unprepared traveler crazy.
To prevent this from happening, the Japanese made a website where you can get directions by indicating the destination stations. The smart system will offer you several route options, calculated by the minute, indicating platforms, lines, travel time and cost. The name of this router is http://www.hyperdia.com. Unfortunately, their iPhone program cannot be downloaded in Russia, so you have to use the website.
The cost of a trip on public transport in Japan depends on the distance of the journey. At each station, there are giant maps above the ticket machines indicating the cost of travel to the different stations. Looking at these cards makes you feel dizzy, you want to hide in a corner and, wrapping your arms around yourself, cry =)) Therefore, to make your life easier, you need to purchase a card on which a certain amount of money is placed and debited when passing the turnstiles - and you don’t have to rack your brains over the cost tickets and waste time buying tickets from a machine or ticket office. The most common such card is Suica. You can also use it to pay in supermarkets like a regular credit card, spend the balance at the airport, or return it after receiving a deposit of 500 yen (~300 rubles).
You can top up your Suica balance through machines at any metro station.
For big cities with a lot of subway lines, like Tokyo or Kyoto, the Suica card is indispensable!
4. What is the Japan Rail Pass? Is it needed?
As I mentioned, the railway network in Japan is owned by various companies, but JR is considered the largest carrier. Their branches cover almost all of Japan, they are the “owners” of high-speed trains, the so-called. Shinsansen.
Transport in Japan is very expensive. For example, a Tokyo-Kyoto trip will cost ~ 8,500 rubles one way per person!
To alleviate the plight of travelers, JR offer the so-called. Japan Rail Pass is a kind of all inclusive travel pass for 7 or 14 days, which allows unlimited use of JR lines.
The JR Pass voucher can only be purchased by foreign citizens outside of Japan. There are several authorized offices that sell passes; it seems there are even offices in Moscow. But I ordered online here https://www.japan-rail-pass.com. Vouchers were delivered by Fedex 3 days after purchase!
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Upon arrival at the airport, vouchers must be exchanged directly for a JR Pass at the JR East counter.
The cost of the pass is rather high - $260 for a week or $420 for 14 days. It’s easy to understand whether the cost of a pass will pay off in your case - make a route for your movements on the website http://www.hyperdia.com and calculate the total cost of tickets that you will have to buy without a pass. In principle, the pass pays for itself on the Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo route alone. If the cost turns out to be slightly less than or equal to (or even more so than) the cost of the JR Pass, feel free to buy it! The pass saves a lot of time - show it to the inspector when passing the turnstile and off you go! No box office, ticket buying, queues...
By the way, the JR Pass also covers the cost of the express train from Tokyo Airport (Narita) to the city, and it costs about 1,500 rubles!
It is worth remembering, however, that some trains (especially high-speed or long-distance ones) require seat reservations - in this case, you just need to go to the ticket office, show a printout of your route (I just took a screenshot from the hyperdia website and showed it on my phone to the cashier) and you Tickets will be issued free of charge indicating the carriage and seats.
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A few words about the Green JR Pass - this pass gives you the right to travel in luxury carriages. The seats in such carriages are wider and more comfortable, there is more legroom and there are fewer people. But overall there is not much difference. Our trip took place during the peak season (public holidays "Golden Week", when the Japanese go to travel en masse throughout their country), and besides, our company had men two meters tall, so we bought a Green JR Pass, which cost ~150 dollars more expensive (~$90 cheaper for a week pass).
The JR Pass is also sold for children 6-11 years old and costs 2 times less than an adult ticket.
Conveniently, the JR Pass does not have to be activated by the date of voucher exchange at the airport - you can specify any date! For example, if your trip will last 10 days, but only days 3-9 will be active for travel between cities, feel free to activate the pass from the 3rd day and in this case a weekly pass will be enough for you.
5. How are things going with Internet access? Do our mobile phones work in Japan?
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We had MTS and Megafon on iPhone and Samsung phones - cellular communications worked great everywhere!
In my opinion, mobile Internet is extremely important when traveling in Japan! Will you give me directions? Do you want to know the train departure time? Read about the attraction? This almost always requires the Internet! You can get it in two ways - by renting a phone with a Japanese SIM card or a portable wi-fi router. All these services are offered immediately at the airport.
I decided to leave my phone - it’s more comfortable and convenient for me. But I ordered a wi-fi router (in order to save time) online in advance here: https://www.econnectjapan.com/. The envelope was waiting for me at the hotel reception, the kit included additional charging (a very necessary thing, since charging the router itself lasts for half a day), as well as an envelope with a return address, in which on the last day I simply put the router with all the bells and whistles, sealed it and threw it into the first mailbox she came across.
A router with maximum speed (you could even download a movie!) and the ability to connect up to 10 devices cost me ~3,600 rubles for 12 days of use. Discounts are given for early booking.
6. Delivery of luggage within Japan? Is it true that you can send your luggage to the next hotel and travel with a minimum of things?
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I don’t know any other countries, except Switzerland, where there is such a mega convenient and inexpensive (this does not apply to Switzerland =) way to move luggage between cities.
Imagine - in the morning you check out at a hotel in Tokyo and set off for Kyoto, deciding to visit a few more interesting places along the way. And all this time you are dragging a suitcase behind you, rushing around stations with it in search of the right line, looking for a storage room of the right size so that at intermediate destinations you can at least have a good look at the city... Can you imagine? Now think how much better your life has become, because you travel lightly - with a backpack or handbag, and the Tokyo hotel sent your suitcase to the Kyoto hotel!
This amazing service costs ~900 rubles for a large 25 kg suitcase. You can drop off your suitcase directly at the reception of most hotels or at any collection point (http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/), and you can also pick it up at your next hotel or selected collection point.
The only negative is that you must return your suitcase before 12 noon following the day of your check-in at the next location.
7. Is it possible to pay with credit cards in Japan? How to withdraw cash from an ATM in Japan?
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Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere except some taxis, restaurants and souvenir shops. Cash, of course, is much faster and more convenient to pay - for example, when buying tickets to temples.
There are currency exchange offices, but you still need to look for them. And if you go away during public holidays, you will have to wait until the bank opens =)
We are proponents of withdrawing cash from ATMs. What a shock we had when the cash began to run out, and the ATMs of different banks into which we tried to insert our cards were either only in Japanese (!), or rejected the operation under various pretexts like “wrong PIN”, “ authorization failure", "try again later"!
An Internet friend helped, who said that Japanese ATMs operate on some other platform, which is not compatible with the platform of European banks and therefore they do not consider the cards of our banks to be human! =)) There are only a few banks whose ATMs are kind to tourists , - the largest of them is 7 Bank, which is owned by - da-da-dam! - Seven-Eleven supermarket chain, so almost every supermarket has an ATM suitable for international cards!
8. Tax free in Japan
VAT in Japan is small, about 8% (but still money!) and is available for purchases of 5,000 yen or more. Tax Free can be provided in two ways. 1) In small stores they give a discount right at the checkout and you pay a smaller amount. 2) In large department stores, after paying for the goods at full price, you must go to the tax free counter and receive a refund in cash.
In both cases, a receipt will be stapled (!) into your passport and stamped, and the goods will be packed in sealed bags, as in duty free (clothes are placed in a regular bag). Further, according to the rules, kindly given in the brochure that will be given to you in the store, shopping bags (without unpacking!) must be presented at the airport (before check-in - if you are checking in your purchases as luggage) or after passport control (if you are taking your purchase in your hand luggage) .
In practice, as confirmed by my experience and the reviews of other travelers that I have studied on this issue, no one looks at the purchases, and you can either tear off the receipts from your passport yourself or go to the Customs window after passing the inspection and the kind Japanese customs officers, who in theory should check your purchases, take the receipts from your passport (even despite the list and cost of what you bought!), smile and let you go in peace.
I took all my purchases out of the bags, removed the packaging and other tinsel that was taking up space (I bought mostly cosmetics), and packed them into a suitcase, which I checked into my luggage. I did not have any problems with the tax free return.
9. Visa to Japan
I have already written a separate post on my blog about obtaining a visa to Japan, for those who are interested and relevant - go there =)
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It seems that I have touched on all the main practical points. I will be happy to help/recommend/answer any questions about independent travel to Japan.
aerobulochka
16/06/2016 13:00
The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.