I don't often comment on videos, but I have gone through countless Japan videos in the past month in the build up to my trip which I am finally taking this month. Your videos have not only been incredibly helpful but also very comforting and reassuring to watch. Thank you for all the effort you have put into the videos, and I will be following along even when I am back from Japan !
Thanks so much for the comment! This means so much to me to know that you will be traveling with more confidence! japan will Be a great trip for you I’m sure!
Nathan, I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you so much for all of your incredibly helpful tips. I’ve watched many of your videos over the last few months in preparation for my trip in Japan. Currently I am in Tokyo having spent my first week in Nara. I visited Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto before heading up to Tokyo. I am having a blast. I found all your tips helpful, especially getting a portable Wi-Fi and an IC card on my phone! Most of all, your love for Japan, and your incredibly positive and respectful attitude have been my model during this whole trip. My Japanese friends are super impressed that I have so many tools to help to make my trip more enjoyable. I’ve been thinking about sending you a comment, and just now getting around to it. Again, thank you so much!
thank you so much for such a kind and positive comment. It makes me very happy to know that you have been able to use some of my tips to make for what seems to have been a great trip! :)
Another very informative video Nathan! Thanks so much for clarifying these questions for tourists that are a bit confused by the mountain of misinformation on social media ❤
Thanks.. for some really WEIRD reason, when i woke up this morning this video only had 6 or so comments which I replied to and i was up to date with replies and then all of a sudden a few hours later many of the comments have popped up including yours! weird
Thanx a lot for the amazing info nathan!your video really helpful for a first japan traveller like me.and i didn't expect my question will be include in your video,im so happy 😂🎉. Your video is easy to understand for first timer like me.i hope your channel will grow more,bigger and successful than it already is.keep up the good work nathan 🙏😊
Heads up RE: the airport limousine. We booked a hotel that is a stop because we have an early flight out of Narita. If you have early morning flights double check the schedules because they don't start running until a certain time and even then it may not stop at your hotel, even if it is a stop. At the end of the day we had to take the Narita express.
Yes this is true. Tokyo (and Japan generally) is quite limited when it comes to 'night transport'. Limo bus sometimes has limited stops and times during off peak hours so thanks for bringing this up
Recent trip in Feb and I was so happy and impressed that the ICOCA card I saved from my 2019 trip worked problem-free in Tokyo and also on the monorail in Okinawa, I found that I needed an OKICA card (local Okinawa IC card) for using local bus services (or cash but the card was more convenient). Amusing that the names are so similar sounding 😂. In Australia the buses and trains allow payment by tapping a credit card which is very convenient for tourists...
Well done ! Great Q&A video for travel info particularly 1st time Japan visitors. Excellent to see the limousine airport bus service included 🤗 ... ahhhh the ease of transfer directly from the airport arrival doors to Tokyo centre provided by luggage loading attendees, riding in air-conditioned comfortable seating while enjoying the large-window sightseeing trip as you travel. 🚌 Only wish I realised how good the LBS was on my 1st trip rather than my 5th. Since then, it's been the only way I go !
Limo bus is certainly a great option I've taken a few times.. Although it does depend on schedule and timing and where im heading in the city.. These days the monorail works well for me :)
@@NinjaMonkeyguy yes monorail out of Haneda Airport to the Yamanote line if you're further connecting to city stations 🚝 👍. No monorail available from Narita Airport to city 😊
It depends on the day/period/weekend/public holiday which is why I always tell people to ask ahead of time how long it will take. My experience for that route is usually leaving my luggage the on the evening for it to arrive the following afternoon. but at certain public holidays ive been told longer
Question about IC card Do you use the card to purchase a ticket at a ticket station loading the ticket onto the card, then walk through the gate scanning it or Do you simply walk through the gate scanning your card and then go where you need to then when you exit through the gate you scan again and are charged automatically for the distance you traveled?
Hiya, great videos with a lot of great information! I have a question regarding the luggage forwarding (which I haven't seen answered yet): can you forward your luggage to your destination a couple of days before you arrive there? For example, forwarding the luggage from Tokyo to Kyoto while spending 3-4 days (traveling to Kanazawa, Takayama, Nagoya..) , before arriving to Kyoto? Thanks again, please keep up the great work! :)
Yes you can. You can specify when you want your luggage to arrive for a few days in advance. Or, you can also communicate with the hotel you are sending it to and ask them if its ok for it to arrive early and for them to hold it for you.
Thanks for all the useful information, Nathan! :) I have a question regarding luggages which I'd be glad if you could answer. In about a week I will be leaving for a three-week trip to Japan. While the second two weeks will be more relaxed, meaning that me and my friends will be staying mainly in Tokyo area and Kyoto area in the same hotel for consecutive days, the first week schedule is going to be pretty tight, as we will be leaving from Tokyo to Hiroshima after a couple of days and stay at hotels in different cities every night. My question is: since bringing the hold luggage with us or using the forwarding service each day could be pretty uncomfortable/expensive, do you suggest leaving it in a coin locker in Tokyo and then pick it up when we go back there after a week? Thank you very much in advance :)
You wouldn't be able to leave your luggage in a coin locker that long, what you could do is send it forward to a few hotels in advance like every few days
@@NinjaMonkeyguy I see. I took for granted a longer time limit to leave the luggage there. I'll follow your advice! Thank you very much for answering :)
Great video! I’m going on a trip to japan in the summer and I’m going to use the luggage delivery service when traveling on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka. My question is, do these luggage delivery services do same day delivery, or will I have to pack an overnight bag just in case my luggage doesn’t get to my hotel before I get there? Thanks!
Yes some foreign credit cards would not work on the digital Suica card. I know north American visas were having issues where it would not work. Not sure if they fixed this or not. But don’t be caught unaware of this issue.
the limo bus seems like a good option but my accommodation is not near one of the drop off points in tokyo so i will still need to get a train, so im thinking just get the train maybe the sky liner as it goes straight from narita to nippori, if i was staying nearer one of the drop off points i would definately have got the lbs something to bare in mind for my next trip to japan, get accommodation near a drop off point
Been to Japan once, going again later this year. Yes, there is some "nervousness" about a first-time trip to Nihon. But once, there my wife and I had a wonderful time. After a couple of days, we didn't want to go back home! Hahahaha
@@NinjaMonkeyguy thank you so much for your reply ! Just want to know how extensive the restrictions are. If we can visit Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, Yasaka shrine etc !
Hi, I’m visiting Japan the 2nd week of April and I’m planning on visiting 3 cities : Tokyo, Kyoto, and Yokosuka. My question is since I’m visiting 3 cities would I be ok if I find a place to stay when I get to those cities? or would I be messing up if I don’t book in advance? (I’m staying a day or 2 in each city) I’m doing a bit of improvising in these cities which is why I’m considering to just book a place to stay when I’m there. Lmk any recommendations thanks!
I always recommend booking in advance for piece of mind and also for price. Not to say you cant do this on they go, just less options and maybe more expensive.
The biggest advice I would give is just be honest why you are going to Japan. Make a list of why you're going. For example there are a fair amount of middle aged men who fly to Japan just for one reason, so I wouldn't take advice from them on which shrines, museums and gardens to go visit.
I bought 4 train tickets through Klook, which unfortunately do not show in my app. My question is, can the tickets be redeemed a couple of days prior to travel or do they have to be redeemed on the day. We have a transfer from Nagoya to Nagano which is only 10 minutes and I don't think that would be have enough time to redeem tickets and then finding platform etc. We have never been to Japan before. Should we change the booking from Osaka to Nagoya to give ourselves more time. You comments would be appreciated.
When it comes to Klook questions you'd need to contact their helpful support team. However, what you likely have is a Qr Code that you would redeem for a physical ticket at the station. And my understanding is that you can do it before your trip. if you were recieving Qr Codes then you might have recieved them via email. here is a handy guide from klook www.klook.com/en-AU/blog/japan-bullet-train-guide/ once again please check the technicalities directly with klook :)
Thank you for sharing, do you have videos how to use the train system in japan i mean tips for the 1st timer, this is our 1st time our flight is March 13. thank you
So, if the maximum amount of days is 180 days in one year; does that mean I could technically go to Japan for 90 days fly to South Korea for a day then come back the next day to Japan for another 90 days? It may be more of a hypothetical; but I could see it coming handy in some cases.
I was there 3 days and got a metro pass. I'm going back for 5-6 days. I want to do 2 separate day trips (Kyoto, Osaka) should I get the JR pass or is it cheaper to book the bullet train separate and stick with metro pass for around Tokyo ? Also, thanks to your videos my 3 day trip went smoothly.
i think you are better off using the JR pass calculator to see, travel.. it depends on where you are staying, I might suggest staying in Osaka or Kyoto as a base to explore those two locations instead of day tripping from Tokyo
We are traveling to Kyoto in June. The place we are staying at wishes a copy of our fair plane tickets and passport. Is this ok? I’m mainly concerned about passport info.
I've never heard of needing to show your flight fair. Passports they would need to make a copy at the hotel when you check in, I've never been asked in advance though. This is a common practice in many countries though, just one I've not encountered in Japan personally
Ghibli Museum starts seling those ticket 10th of each month for the next month. Sale starts at 10AM local time. I just had to wait till 2am (my local time) then spend another hour waitning in the queue (i was ~6000 in line). Then roughly about 3 am.. i bought two of the last tickets fo me and my doughter for 1400 yen. All of those tickets were gone in roughly an hour and a half. Next day i was tired but still it was worth it! @@NinjaMonkeyguy
Shame there's no Suica app for western Android devices as I like the convenience of just tapping the phone. I picked up a Suica last year and still have ¥10000 on it (thought I was locking in a good exchange rate lol - tho I'm heading back to Japan in a few weeks so it'll get spent quickly!).
Thank you! this made me realise i have filled in the visit japan immigration form wrong, i change at shanghai and THIS has to be the flight you put in not london as the embarking place and flight no., doh! i should have realised as it does say last flight to japan but i was getting het up about the passport pic uploading and gave up with that in the end as i think thats only for tax free shopping anyway (it wouldnt work)
usually the form only has places that fly directly to Japan ..either way its not a biggy, any mistakes can be rectified by filling in a paper form on the way
@@NinjaMonkeyguy you can edit the VJW form prior to arrival if needed. The first time I used it, my flight out of Melbourne was delayed and I missed my connection in Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific rebooked me onto the next flight, but it was going to Narita instead of the planned Haneda. I was able to change the flight details to the new NRT flight without having to start a new form or use a paper arrivals form.
I would like to ask a time-related question. At the moment I'm in Kitakyushu, for my master's degree. I'm trying to see if I'll be able to go for some days in Osaka and Kyoto, between now and the first half of April. Do you have any advices regarding how much time it can require to visit both those two cities?
Well, the good thing is that both cities are quite close to each other and easy to use one as a base. When it comes to Osaka, it's a big city that you could prob do in 2 days, when it comes to Kyoto if you are interested in Temples and shrines then you'll need longer. I could spend 3-5 days and still not have enough time. If you are after a hitting the main spots of Kyoto then 2-3 days will be fine. It all depends on what you want to do. You could in theory even do Osaka in one day.
Hello, I have a question. we are a group of five people and do not want a wifi router but each an esim or sim with a lot of data volume. Can you recommend something?😊
going in 2 months and plan on playing abunch of golf. just having troubles on how to go about finding courses to play and being able to schedule tee times,
Point of embarkation is the last city that you last go through immigration and customs. If you are on transit, the transit city is not your point of embarkation because you did not go through the immigration and customs of the transit country.
Nope this is not correct. Point of embarkation is the last flight you took. Before traveling. Nothing to do with customs. In fact you wouldn’t even have the option to chose countries or criéis that don’t fly direct to Japan.
Hi. First time commenter. This is one of the best videos on Japan that I’ve seen. We will be landing in Fukuoka from Vietnam. We will be there for 2 days and then have 3 days that have not been booked before we go back. What do you suggest we do for three days before our flight back from Haneda?
Fukuoka is in Kyushu which is a great region in Japan, I personally loved Nagasaki and Unzen Onsen. Onsen is a must in my opinion. Hiroshima could make a good day trip too with Miyajima being one of my favourites. as you are travelling from Haneda how about stopping off in Hiroshim/Kyoto and then finishing in Tokyo?
Oh, staying over 30 days so I understand your need.. currently Im not too sure if the status has changed but its important to remember that when trying to purchase a SUICA card do so at JR TRAVEL CENTER Counters (Where the JR pass is exchanged) NOT the normal ticket counters (They will say no).. If everything fails then you might want to consider 2 welcome suica cards for a longer trip.
the issue with getting shinkansen tickets in advance is if you have a JR pass .. and you havent activated it yet bc you arent in japan yet -- you cant reserve ahead of time before you get to japan .. or am i wrong on this?
well.. firstly the JR Pass is no longer as feasable as you might think so please double check against individual tickets. If you decided on a JR pass then booking via the official website will mean you CAN book the seats and tickets in advance on their web portal! .. Since the JR pass is no longer as affordable this might be a good alternative
@@NinjaMonkeyguy thanks for the info - the duration that we're staying + the freuqency of shinkansen travel .. we did the calculation .. JR pass was more economical to us but thanks for the info
as a day trip it isnt too hard, bus would prob be easier (they both end up in the same place) .. Youd need to get a bus to the pagoda or rent a bike which is what I did.. As a day trip its prob easy to just go there and check out the area near the station but thats about it. make sure you leave EARLY!
My visa or MC did not work after a few month's of trying off and on but I had funds in my Apple cash and BAM that worked! Hope this helps. Btw I am in California, USA
Thanks for the heads up! as Apple Cash is not available in Europe I could not verify this (I had heard this method worked and wanted someone to verify it!) so thanks!!
For the visit Japan website, I have a party of 6 (2 adults and 4 kids). Can I obtain 1 QR code for myself and 2 kids and my husband obtain a second QR code for himself and the other 2 kids . Or do we each need one separately? TIA!
Unfortunately Android phones bought outside Japan either lack the special chip used in Japan or have it locked for some reason with no way to unlock it as far as I'm aware. There is no way around this, no unlock, no fix as far as Im aware. It sucks because Digital Suica is amazing
Did you miss something, of course you did. Each traveller and group wants an easy, fully laid out answer to the their specific itinerary questions which is impossible in a general information video. You have covered all the generally commonly asked questions in a through manner. So great video, as always.
I’m American and traveling to Japan in October 2024. My passport will expire in March 2025 (~ 5 months after my trip ends). I’ve seen some sites saying your passport needs to be good for 6 months after your trip and some that say it just needs to be valid during that says of your trip. Help!!
I highly recommend you check any updated official info online as potentially it depends on your passport country (im not from the USA so it's hard for me to know) however, from the UK, as long as my passport is valid during the duration of my trip im fine. the important thing to note for me is that if im transiting some countries might have other rules
Do you use the IC card to buy a ticket to place onto the card, then scan it as you go through the gate or do you just walk through the gate scan the IC card, get to your destination, scan it as you walk out and it charges you dynamically whatever distance you went?
@@starkiller3995 I just turn on my iPhone, tap, and walk through gate without even launching the app. So no, you don't buy a ticket unless you're buying a Shinkansen ticket which I don't since I always buy a full JR pass.
Many tourists don't realise that the gokart street tours are very controversial in Tokyo, being much disliked due to the disruptions, danger and accidents that occur. When you see a string of them ploughing through a pedestrian crossing ignoring the red traffic light you start to understand why locals dislike the karts so much. Many are lobbying hard to get these gokart companies stopped and the karts off the streets. Just be aware of this when making your plans; what tourists consider a harmless, fun activity is not seen this way by many of the people around you.
What about talking the Shinkansen travelling north from Tokyo to Sendai, Morioka? Pasta or py as you go? Need more info on these RU-vid Videos re travelling north would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
I love travelling North, I spend most of my summer exploring Tohoku region and I totally recommend. If you are only visiting a few places then you wont likely need a pass, although it might be worth looking into the Tohoku regional Pass there is even one that would let you get to Hokkaido!
My wife and I have stayed in Sendai, Fukushima, Hachinohe, and even Niigata, etc each at least a dozen of time in the last 15 years on the way to and returning from Hakodate/Sapporo. In fact, we were just in underrated but gorgeous Shiobara and Naruko Onsens a month ago and the Tohoku/Chubu regions are now our preferred destinations.
ninja monkey 🙈 can u help many make a video how to travel with golden route from hanera airport tokyo and going to osaka then kyoto then back to tokyo whats best way for this most trip thank u 🙏 🇯🇵
I have a few videos that talk about some of those factors for example how to get to tokyo from Haneda video, and my 1 week itineary touches upon the golden route too
Okay...so this is really random...Is there any chance I can hire you to be my tour guide for an afternoon on my upcoming trip. I need a guide who speaks Japanese to help me book at Kisetsu Ryori Funayado for Nagashi-somen and then to help us navigate the restaurant and meal. I wouldn't be until July and I would absolutely pay you for your time, travel, and food to join us for lunch. Please let me know. If you can't assist, do you know of another way to go about this. Thank you!
I am arriving in Tokyo on April 17, going to Osaka on the 21, then Kyoto on the 24, and then all the way up to Aomori on the 27 before having to leave on April 30 from Haneda. Hopefully I can see some cherry blossoms when I'm up north. I will have to take advantage of luggage forwarding and the 7 day JR Pass from the 21-27 when I'm bouncing all over the place.
If I'm reading your itinerary correctly, using the 7- day JR pass to go from Osaka to Kyoto seems like a waste. It makes more sense to activate the pass when you leave Kyoto.
@nateshf9303 No, it would be from Tokyo to Osaka (and while I'm there I'm doing a day trip to Hiroshima), and then I will be in Kyoto (and I'm probably doing a day trip from there to do some of the Nakasendo Trail but not sure). After Kyoto, I will be taking shinkansen up to Aomori through Tokyo. All of that will be done in that 7 day window.
@@FluffyBunny9002 Got it. That's a lot to cover in 7 full days. Unless there is something you absolutely must see/do up in Aomori, I'd consider saving that for another trip when you go to Hokkaido because there are great stops between Tokyo and Aomori that you'd miss. Enjoy!
You seem to have perfect itinerary for blossom! you might want to recheck the JR pass.. as for the luggage forwarding just remember to send it the day before with plenty of time
All these questions are so easy ( a piece of cake ) Why will no 1 attack mine, even in Japan?? Absolutely why does Japan have no 24/7 bus, train service?? How can they get away with this??
I am not interested in excuses that RU-vidrs/ expertise people make, so I am correct, you can’t answer the question, instead you sugar coated it. Just say you have no idea
@@drewcorry5056 To start with I'm not sure what your question is? Regarding train service the easy answer is that the service goes down for maintenance due to the high volume of use during the day. Bus service maybe its as a result of lack of demand. I'm not too sure why you are so fixated in this but Yup I have no idea other than 'its not out country and therefore they can do things however they want' the don't get away with it.. this is simply their way.
Please do not stay longer than legally permitted in Japan. Find a way to legally do so even if it means leaving for some time and returning for the max 180 days. Falsifying, not returning to your home only makes it harder in the future for more relaxed visas because of this exact reason.