Having Yen is always a good idea. I found that purchasing an IC card was also very helpful. For the week we stayed in Tokyo after our guided vacation tour around Japan, it made getting around on the trains painless and stress free.
In Kyoto in 2019, some cabs said that they did not accept credit cards and said that on the outside of the vehicle. Others had no problems with credit cards. Would always make sure that you have cash on you in Japan. Also a coin purse, as you don’t realize how many coins you get. I have had after a week 3500 yen in 100 yen coins
Thank You , Becki and Shawn: great tips. My wife and I are taking a guided Japan tour in 2024, June 21-July 6…. Rainy Season.This is the only time we can go ,and, being seniors, we might not get another opportunity… We don’t mind some rain;hopefully it isn’t hard and constant. Should we buy light, waterproof walking shoes? Are we better off getting an umbrella over there, or would we be better off with a poncho and hat?Again: Language,Chopsticks, 4-wheel luggage and money are very useful tips. Much different from our many European tours. Ciao, John
Thank you for another fantastic (and well explained) video! Quick question...is the Currency Exchange at Haneda open on weekends? We'll be arriving on a Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for all the great tips. I am scheduled to visit Tokyo the end of April 2024 for a week. While in Tokyo I plan to visit a baseball stadium. Are you familiar how difficult or ways to purchase a ticket to see a game. Thanks so much.
You can purchase event tickets from the kiosk machines at convenience stores like Family Mart, Lawson’s, or 7/11. If you want to pay a premium and have someone else take care of getting you tickets, you can use this service: www.japanballtickets.com/index.html Guests on our tours have been satisfied with their services, and they have a very good reputation.
No. The bank will buy your currency at a rate that is slightly lower than the current exchange rate. For example, if the current rate is 150 then they may buy your USD for 147 or 146. The 7/11 ATM will give you the exact rate, but will charge you a transaction fee. Your bank may also charge you a transaction fee. So contact your bank to find out what fees they charge for withdrawals in foreign countries.
The "most troubling" question for me actually is: how far in advance do I need to book for hotels and some attraction/places (example "The Roof" bar in Shibuya Sky or some "tourist train rides")???
Hotels do as early as possible usually 6 months is when Japanese hotels will open their rooms. Shibuya Sky and Team Lab Planets are at most a month out for their reservations.
@@jeremybrahm3326 many thanks! I will try to book flight and the main hotels aroud 6 or 5 months in advance and Shibuya and other attractions/places at least 1 month! I just hoped that, for the period I have chosen (from end of september/first days of october to the end of october in 2024) I would be able to "fine tune" some of my local trips trying to book something when in Japan.... but I have doubts.... do You think it could be doable or it will be "too late" to book something?
@@axios101 Just do the hotels first. Airfare watch it everyday, the routing that you would prefer. Price will fluctuate, and also I know that this sounds strange, but keep an excel file of the seats and price. that you can see if the number of seats is decreasing fast or slow and does the price really swing up or down.
@@axios101 I think that the biggest challenge you will have is typhoons in that time of the year (more September than October) As for the booking local trips, if you are getting the rail pass (saying the cost will go up in October 2023) the new version where you can book seats in advance is really nice, but you can only do those 30 days in advances of trip.
Hello. Thanks for the informative video. Does anyone know at what time does public transportation to the Narita airport ends? we have an early flight and are trying to figure out where to stay in Tokyo.
The last Monorail train to HND is at 11:45PM from Hamamatsucho station. The first Monorail train is at 4:59AM. The last Keikyu train to HND is at 11:59PM from Shinagawa station. The first Keikyu train is at 5:09AM. If your flight is really early, you could always stay at the airport. There are two hotels connected directly to Terminal 3.
Sounds correct to me. If you exchange at a bank, and there is a Mizuho Bank at Haneda, you’ll get about 3 to 5 points lower. So if the market rate is 147, I would expect an exchange of between 144 to 142. Travel Ex and the money exchange machines usually exchange at a rate of 7 to 10 points lower. So with a market rate of 147, they’ll sell yen to you at somewhere between 140 to 137. So if you’re exchanging $1,000, it can be a difference of nearly $100 worth of yen. I know this is counter intuitive to every country you and I have ever visited, but Japan is different on this and soooo many other levels.
@@JapanandMoreTours Also, you mentioned on another video that credit cards are not popular and cash is preferred and so I checked with my friend who is in Hokkaido right now and she says they take credit card everywhere, just told me to bring an ATM card in case I need more money but no need to exchange too much cash. I'll be leaving for Hokkaido on 12/15/2023 and will be looking forward to visit Japan. Thanks for all your tips.
They take credit card almost everywhere. We do tours of Japan, and we’ve been in many situations, especially smaller shops and restaurants, where all they accept is cash. It’s always a good idea to have cash on you. Enjoy your trip.
Japan is not like anywhere else in the world! 😃 Exchange your money at a Japanese bank money exchange counter for best rate. Don’t use private exchanges, like Travel Ex, they give a bad rate.
My wife and I are going to Japan this year for about a month. I think of myself as a polite guy, so I will do my best not to offend. However, all I see is yt videos about do's & don'ts in Japan like no other place on earth. It seems to me that the Japanese people have a lot of hangups, aren't too tolerant of "others" and are easily annoyed. Again, I will do my best not to offend, but having to walk on eggshells all trip will take away from our ability to just relax and enjoy ourselves.
The Japanese are extremely polite (overall) and tolerant. There are just a lot more social rules in Japan than there are in say the USA. It’s a society of mutual respect. Just keep being a polite guy and you’ll do fine. Just be aware of your surroundings and enjoy.
@@JapanandMoreTours Thanks for the reply and encouragement. My wife and I have traveled all over the world (dozens of times to Europe, multiple times to Asia including China, Singapore and Korea). This will be our 1st time to Japan and I am pretty stressed despite our extensive travel experience. Mostly I am worried about starving to death because of the language barrier trying to order a meal at a restaurant (I am half kidding, but I understand the Japanese aren't big on learning a second language like us Americans I suppose). As to their "social rules", this is my secondary concern. I appreciate the need to be orderly and not be loud (& rude) using public transportation...this is all positive IMO. What I don't much care for is this stuff about how I use my chopsticks or if I touch "my" food with "my" hands. Why does some stranger care? How is this impacting them? This all being said, we are looking forward to our Japan trip and all the wonderful sites there to experience.
