Going to Japan
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Well, I just got back from 4 days in Tokyo, and for not speaking the language well, I managed to survive and get around well enough.
I can confirm the usual tips:
Try not to go in the summer, unless you REALLY like the heat and humidity.
In the city, the subway is your best friend. Pasmo card was a life saver.
If you get a craving for mass produced American food, McD's are everywhere and KFC can be found too (including Akihabara).
Watch out in crosswalks. Drivers are VERY impatient.
If you want a quiet part of town to stay, Koujimachi is a great place to consider.
If you need to pull money from a bank outside Japan, you'll be spending some time trying to find an ATM that will do it. One option is the Japan Post Office Bank. There is also an HSBC bank in Marunouchi.
Try not to go to Roppongi alone, especially if you get off the main road. That's where you'll find the guys trying to get you in their bars to drug and rob you. I gave them a flat out "NO".
Enjoy Akihabara and expect to be broke by the time you leave. Too much cool stuff.
That's about it for now.
Enjoy the trip!
I can confirm the usual tips:
Try not to go in the summer, unless you REALLY like the heat and humidity.
In the city, the subway is your best friend. Pasmo card was a life saver.
If you get a craving for mass produced American food, McD's are everywhere and KFC can be found too (including Akihabara).
Watch out in crosswalks. Drivers are VERY impatient.
If you want a quiet part of town to stay, Koujimachi is a great place to consider.
If you need to pull money from a bank outside Japan, you'll be spending some time trying to find an ATM that will do it. One option is the Japan Post Office Bank. There is also an HSBC bank in Marunouchi.
Try not to go to Roppongi alone, especially if you get off the main road. That's where you'll find the guys trying to get you in their bars to drug and rob you. I gave them a flat out "NO".
Enjoy Akihabara and expect to be broke by the time you leave. Too much cool stuff.
That's about it for now.
Enjoy the trip!
Glad you had fun!
If you thought now was hot, you just missed out on the late-summer heat wave due in a few weeks, so consider yourself lucky.
You can also now use ATMs at 7-11 to withdraw money from either a debit card or cash advance credit card. Menus are available in English (and some other languages), and fees are about $2-3 per transaction (plus any additional foreign fees your bank/cc might charge).
If you're flying into Narita airport and staying in Tokyo (or Kanto area), consider the N'EX+Suica combo. For ￥3500 you get a one-way ride on Narita Express (N'EX) to Tokyo station plus a Suica card (same as Pasmo) pre-loaded with ￥2000. If you plan on traveling beyond Tokyo, skip Suica/Pasmo and get a JR pass instead.
If you thought now was hot, you just missed out on the late-summer heat wave due in a few weeks, so consider yourself lucky.
You can also now use ATMs at 7-11 to withdraw money from either a debit card or cash advance credit card. Menus are available in English (and some other languages), and fees are about $2-3 per transaction (plus any additional foreign fees your bank/cc might charge).
If you're flying into Narita airport and staying in Tokyo (or Kanto area), consider the N'EX+Suica combo. For ￥3500 you get a one-way ride on Narita Express (N'EX) to Tokyo station plus a Suica card (same as Pasmo) pre-loaded with ￥2000. If you plan on traveling beyond Tokyo, skip Suica/Pasmo and get a JR pass instead.
:happy:
Yeah...I don't even want to contemplate anything hotter than when I went (Mid-July). Not so nice leave you hotel at 6:30 in the morning and being drenched in sweat after only a block. Nor was the border-line heat stroke on the first day.:burningheat: Now I wish I brought aspirin.:murder:
Didn't try the 7-11 ATM since I didn't blow my cash that fast, but there was one at the end of the block. Great for getting munchies, too.:happy:
NEX was a nice ride, though getting to and from it inside Tokyo Station seemed like a pain. Didn't go on JR this time, just the Metro. I like how they link lines so you don't have to go to the surface streets, though getting from one to the other was a hike. I'm glad they tell you the distance.
For myself, I've already determined that going back will be a question of 'when', no 'if'.
:goodboy:
Yeah...I don't even want to contemplate anything hotter than when I went (Mid-July). Not so nice leave you hotel at 6:30 in the morning and being drenched in sweat after only a block. Nor was the border-line heat stroke on the first day.:burningheat: Now I wish I brought aspirin.:murder:
Didn't try the 7-11 ATM since I didn't blow my cash that fast, but there was one at the end of the block. Great for getting munchies, too.:happy:
NEX was a nice ride, though getting to and from it inside Tokyo Station seemed like a pain. Didn't go on JR this time, just the Metro. I like how they link lines so you don't have to go to the surface streets, though getting from one to the other was a hike. I'm glad they tell you the distance.
For myself, I've already determined that going back will be a question of 'when', no 'if'.
:goodboy:
It's a typhoon, not just a rain storm 
Go to World Porters in Sakuragicho.
Do some shopping in Shibuya with a small umbrella.
Go to Sakuragicho and take the world's fastest elevator to the 69th floor, which is also Japan's tallest lookout point (or adverse to that, go to Sangenjaya and go to the top of Carrot Tower).
How long are you here for?
Go to World Porters in Sakuragicho.
Do some shopping in Shibuya with a small umbrella.
Go to Sakuragicho and take the world's fastest elevator to the 69th floor, which is also Japan's tallest lookout point (or adverse to that, go to Sangenjaya and go to the top of Carrot Tower).
How long are you here for?
Excellent advice Guy.
For those who want more details, you can go here... http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/
Unlimited JR passes can be very useful because they allow you to reserve a seat at a moment's notice and travel as much as you want within the allotted time. If you're a spontaneous type then a JR pass can be the perfect way to travel. However, if you're not in a hurry or if you're willing to plan your trip ahead of time you can probably beat the cost of a JR pass. Also, it can still benefit you to carry a Suica/Pasmo card even if you already have a JR pass. For instance, you might want to use the Suica/Pasmo card during the time you're exploring Tokyo and wait to start using a time-limited JR pass until you're ready to head out of town. And of course some trains and subways simply won't accept JR passes because they're part of a different system.
Japanese aspirin does nothing for me, even though it obviously works fine for Japanese folks. Anybody else ever notice this?
Technically, N'EX itself is part of JR East.
I thought the world's fastest elevator was inside of Taipei 101? Regardless of where it is, I'd probably rather ride in an elevator that wasn't fast enough to be capable of rupturing ear drums without employing specialized pressurization technologies. Glass elevators give me far more of a thrill than fast opaque ones.
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