Japan Travel 101 - Things to know when planning a trip to Japan

These are slides from an informational presentation on traveling to Japan. This version was presented at Tora-Con 2013. Here's the original description of the presentation: "This is an informative and practical talk from two people who have visited and even spent time living in Japan. Topics include planning and preparing for your trip, exchanging money, getting around, suggested tourist sites, and useful cultural knowledge."

Transcript

1. HOW TO VISIT JAPAN Japan Travel 101: By Adam & Jessie Cornwell cornwell.adam@gmail.com Japanjouhou.com
2. OVERVIEW  Before You Go:  Planning your visit  Packing List  Hotels  Flights  Emergency Preparedness  When You Get There:  Money  Transportation  Communicating with home  Japanese  Culture Clash  Food & Drink  General things to do & see  Anime tourism  Resources
3. BEFORE YOU GO: Planning Your Visit  Determine priorities  Are there specific things you want to see/do?  Are you interested in history? Culture? Anime tourism?  Pick a season  4 Seasons in Japan  Rainy season during summer  Pick a trip length  Tourist visas prohibit trips longer than 90 days
4. BEFORE YOU GO: Packing List  Valid passport  Apply at least 2 months in advance  Tourist visa is valid for 90 days in Japan  Keep with you at all times during trip  Driver’s license or other photo ID is also recommended  Japan Rail Pass  Maps in Romaji  Very useful… unless you are very good at reading Japanese!  Back up files on any electronics that you are bringing
5. BEFORE YOU GO: Hotels  Book ahead to get the days you want & possibly lower rates  Types of hotels  Western-style hotels  Capsule hotels  Love hotels  Hostels  Ryokan & onsen resorts  Be aware of high cost & cultural customs  Booking  Third-party booking websites (Aisa Rooms, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc.)  Specialty booking websites (japaneseguesthouses.com, hostelworld.com)  Many hotels have their own English websites for booking  Some small hotels may book through e-mail
6. BEFORE YOU GO: Flights  Reduce costs by…  Booking early  Comparing airline prices  Take stopover flights  Using credit card reward points
7. BEFORE YOU GO: Flights  Japanese airlines  All-Nippon Airways (ANA)  Japan Air Lines (JAL)  Japanese airports  Narita – close to Tokyo, train directly into Tokyo  Haneda – even closer to Tokyo but fewer international flights, monorail directly into Tokyo  Chubu  Kansai  Hokkaido
9. BEFORE YOU GO: Emergency Preparedness  Natural disasters, accidents, illnesses… Even simple plane delays may throw off your plans  Register with the US Embassy in Japan  Have communication plan  Have a plan & know what to do in advance! DON’T PANIC
10. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Money  Cards  Credit cards accepted at most places, but not all  Cash  Exchange at a bank or airport currency exchange counter  Good idea for places that do not take cards  ATMs  Found in banks, post offices, convenience stores, etc.  Can withdraw cash in yen  Check your bank’s international transaction fees
11. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Transportation  Trains  Subways  Busses  Taxis  Rental bike  Rental car  Walking
12. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Trains & Subways  Japan Rail Pass  For all JR trains in Tokyo & surrounding cities  May save money if you visit several cities in a short time  Must have tourist visa to use  Must be purchased BEFORE arriving in Japan  You receive a voucher in the mail which must be exchanged for the actual pass after you arrive in Japan  Subway Cards  Suica & Pasmo Cards For Tokyo subways & trains  Icocoa For Kansai region
13. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Communication  Pay phones + calling cards  Cell phones  Pre-paid phones can be rented at airports  Smartphones may work but may require plan add-ons and expensive international roaming fees  Internet  Wi-Fi in hotels or internet cafes  Internet-based call services (i.e. Skype, Google Voice)
14. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Japanese  Think you know Japanese? Think again!  Try not to say something if you don’t know what it really means or how it is normally used  Try to learn some basic phrases  Greetings  Ordering food in restaurants  Asking directions  Describing medical, allergy, or dietary issues  Become familiar with hiragana & katakana  Most words in katakana are transliterated English:  マクドナルド, ゲームセンター
15. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Japanese  Transportation  Signs & maps in English may not exist or be hard to find  Good to have subway, rail, and city area maps in English  Know both the English & Japanese names of your destination  Restaurants  Most chain restaurants & tourist hotspot restaurants have English menus
16. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Culture Clash One of these & some hand sanitizer is a good idea
17. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Food & Drink  Food  Convenience stores (conbini)  Street food  Fast food  Conveyor belt restaurants (kaitenzushi)  American chain restaurants  “Famous” restaurants & regional specialties  Dessert buffets  Maid cafes
18. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Food & Drink  Drink  Vending machines… everywhere!  Western “bars”  Japanese “izakaya”  Be aware of table & service charges
19. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Things to Do  Cultural Events  Festivals  Parades  Bon  Cherry blossom, fireworks, and autumn leaf viewing  Local traditions  Shopping  Tours
20. WHEN YOU GET THERE: Things to See  Museums  Zoos & aquariums  Temples & shrines  Castles  Landmarks (Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower, etc.)  Sporting events  Concerts  Chinatowns  Arcades  Tours DisneySea Ueno Zoo Nara Park Nagoya Aquarium Kobe Chinatown Tokyo Tower Fushimi-Inari Shrine Kinkakuji Nagoya Castle
21. OTAKU TRAVEL PACKAGES  Pop Japan Travel  Pop culture themed tours (anime, ninjas, etc.)  You arrange your own airfare & they arrange everything else  Popjapantravel.com  JTB  Occasionally offers anime tours  Many anime are set in real locations – do your own research!
22. ANIME TOURISM: General  Museums  Ghibli Museum  Annual Events  Comiket (Comic Market)  World Cosplay Fest  Tokyo Shopping  Akihabara  Den Den Town  Otome Road  Chain stores  Mandarake  Book Off  Hard Off  “Recycle shops”
23. The Promised Land: Used Anime Merchandise Stores
24. ANIME TOURISM: Anime IRL  Lucky Star  Washinomiya shrine  Evangelion  Hakone  K-On  Toyosato Elementary School  Tenchi  Demon Offering Rock & Mt. Yosho Shrine  Pompoko  Tama  Ranma ½ & Nerima Daikon Brothers  Nerima Many anime are set in real locations… Do your own research! Below are just a few examples:
25. CONSIDERING AN EXTENDED STAY?  JET Programme  Teach English to Japanese students for 1-5 years  Eligible for work visa  Yamasa Institute  Learn Japanese with students from all over the world  Eligible for student visa  WWOOF  Work on a Japanese farm in return for room & board  Can use tourist visa
26. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES - BOOKS  “Etiquette Guide to Japan” by Boye De Mente  “Dining Guide to Japan” by Boye De Mente  “Instant Japanese” by Boye De Mente (or some other phrase book)  “Japan” (Travel Guide) by Lonely Planet  “Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese” series by Eri Banno (great for teaching yourself Japanese)
27. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES - ONLINE  Japan Tourism Guides:  http://www.japantravelinfo.com/top/index.php  http://www.japan-guide.com/  http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/  US Department of State website for passports:  http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html  Japan Rail Pass:  http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html  US Embassy in Japan:  http://japan.usembassy.gov/  Hotel booking websites:  Japanese Guest Houses: http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm  Hostel World: http://www.hostelworld.com/  Asia Rooms: http://www.asiarooms.com/  Long-term stay options:  JET Program: http://www.jetprogramme.org/  Yamasa Institute: http://www.yamasa.org/  WWOOF Japan: http://www.wwoofjapan.com/main/index.php?lang=en  Adam’s website  http://japanjouhou.com/  E-mail us with questions – cornwell.adam@gmail.com