Japan help please

[Biki]

meta wrote:

This is the official website to book Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu shinkansen tickets

https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php

I’d avoid Klook no matter how attractive they are as if something goes wrong you’ll be stuck in never ending loops of who holds the information and then who is empowered to make a decision. You don’t want to be dealing with Japanese bureaucracy when on holiday.

And this is the official website for Kansai-Hiroshima Pass

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/

Remember that you cannot book seats for online reservations for any train company between 11:30pm and 5:30am Japan time. So that means that you will not be able to choose and will be allocated seats randomly, but you can change them later free of charge.

And get yourself Suica or IC card to load all the train tickets on and for other useful stuff.

Hi Meta, thanks for the links! yes, looks like i had the right website for the shinkansen, and thanks for the link to the other pass too.

I saw you can add Suica to your apple wallet, so will give that a try!

[hw-99]

Biki wrote:

Hi Meta, thanks for the links! yes, looks like i had the right website for the shinkansen, and thanks for the link to the other pass too.

I saw you can add Suica to your apple wallet, so will give that a try!

I’d definitely recommend adding your Suica to your Apple Wallet. Also, if you purchase your Shinkansen tickets online via the website Meta mentioned, you can link your Suica card number to the tickets you purchased, you can then just walk up to the blue Shinkansen gates, tap your Suica, the gates will open and out will pop your Shinkansen tickets. No need to wait in the god-awful queues for a ticket machine or ticket desk.

[hw-99]

Biki wrote:

meta wrote:

This is the official website to book Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu shinkansen tickets

https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php

I’d avoid Klook no matter how attractive they are as if something goes wrong you’ll be stuck in never ending loops of who holds the information and then who is empowered to make a decision. You don’t want to be dealing with Japanese bureaucracy when on holiday.

And this is the official website for Kansai-Hiroshima Pass

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/

Remember that you cannot book seats for online reservations for any train company between 11:30pm and 5:30am Japan time. So that means that you will not be able to choose and will be allocated seats randomly, but you can change them later free of charge.

And get yourself Suica or IC card to load all the train tickets on and for other useful stuff.

Hi Meta, thanks for the links! yes, looks like i had the right website for the shinkansen, and thanks for the link to the other pass too.

I saw you can add Suica to your apple wallet, so will give that a try!

I’d definitely recommend adding your Suica to your Apple Wallet. Also, if you purchase your Shinkansen tickets online via the website Meta mentioned, you can link your Suica card number to the tickets purchased on the website, you can then just walk up to the blue Shinkansen gates, tap your Suica, the gates will open and out will pop your Shinkansen tickets. No need to wait in the god-awful queues for a ticket machine or ticket desk.

Just find your platform/train carriage and you’re off! Just tap your Suica at the other end to get out and you’re all good.

[Biki]

hw-99 wrote:

Biki wrote:

meta wrote:

This is the official website to book Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu shinkansen tickets

https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php

I’d avoid Klook no matter how attractive they are as if something goes wrong you’ll be stuck in never ending loops of who holds the information and then who is empowered to make a decision. You don’t want to be dealing with Japanese bureaucracy when on holiday.

And this is the official website for Kansai-Hiroshima Pass

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/

Remember that you cannot book seats for online reservations for any train company between 11:30pm and 5:30am Japan time. So that means that you will not be able to choose and will be allocated seats randomly, but you can change them later free of charge.

And get yourself Suica or IC card to load all the train tickets on and for other useful stuff.

Hi Meta, thanks for the links! yes, looks like i had the right website for the shinkansen, and thanks for the link to the other pass too.

I saw you can add Suica to your apple wallet, so will give that a try!

I’d definitely recommend adding your Suica to your Apple Wallet. Also, if you purchase your Shinkansen tickets online via the website Meta mentioned, you can link your Suica card number to the tickets purchased on the website, you can then just walk up to the blue Shinkansen gates, tap your Suica, the gates will open and out will pop your Shinkansen tickets. No need to wait in the god-awful queues for a ticket machine or ticket desk.

Just find your platform/train carriage and you’re off! Just tap your Suica at the other end to get out and you’re all good.

that’s a great tip, thanks!

[Alex G]

Worth noting that you can fly from Tokyo to Osaka from as little as £63 with the JAL Explorer Pass fares

https://www.jal.co.jp/ukl/en/world/japan_explorer_pass/lp/

[meta]

Flying on that route will take significantly longer (twice as much as the check-in closes 30 minutes before, and you’ll need to get to Haneda rather than Tokyo Station/Shinagawa, plus travel from ITM to city).

I know Alex G you prefer to fly, but I wouldn’t recommend it to first timers. Misses the fun of train travel in Japan.

[Alex G]

meta wrote:

Flying on that route will take significantly longer (twice as much as the check-in closes 30 minutes before, and you’ll need to get to Haneda rather than Tokyo Station/Shinagawa, plus travel from ITM to city).

I know Alex G you prefer to fly, but I wouldn’t recommend it to first timers. Misses the fun of train travel in Japan.

Significantly longer? No.

Although I suppose it depends exactly where you are staying in each city.

The journey for me is about 3h40m, either flying or by train.

Personally, I didn’t particularly enjoy the Shinkansen. Narrow seats and small windows, and the scenery between Tokyo and Osaka is really nothing special (apart from the view of Mt Fuji, which you also get from the plane). But then I didn’t do it in Green class.

Of course if you staying near to Tokyo station and Shin-Osaka, the train will be quicker.

I think the local trains are more fun. As are the monorails. But each to their own.

Shinjuku to Haneda, 1 hr
Check in 30m
Flight 1:10
Itami airport to Osaka, 1 Hr

And of course I haven’t recommended anything, just flagged up another option that is worth considering.

[meta]

It will take longer than 3h40 by plane, you won’t be arriving at exactly the check-in deadline (you phyiscally can’t time it that way), recommended minimum is 60 minutes. You also don’t account for getting off the plane and exiting airport. I’ve done this journey by plane hundred times and it takes a minimum of 4h30 if not 5 hours.

Shinjuku to Tokyo station it’s 25 minutes maximum. That’s in total less than 3 hours. And if you flew JAL or even ANA, it’s significantly narrower seat with significantly less leg room than Nozomi.

[Alex G]

Obviously your opinion is infallible, and the only one that matters. I am not looking for an argument.

[Lady London]

?? Alex G. Unnecessary.

[cin3]

Unnecessary and also an odd opinion. Almost everyone will prefer the train over flying for that route for a multitude of reasons.

I’m not questioning that their position is genuinely held, but it’s completely bemusing to suggest others will share it.

[TJ]

After a brief stint in Japan I thought it might be helpful to provide a few general tips based on my recent experience.

Immigration
– Register with Visit Japan Web in advance with your planned trip details. You will be able to finalise the process 3 days before landing in Japan by completing the customs declaration. Once you have done this, you will be able the generate a single QR code which will be required for both immigration and customs.
– You can enter multiple passengers as part of the same trip, but you must generate a separate QR code for each passenger (you can share this with them by any means, e.g. screenshot).
– If it’s your first time in Japan you will need to go through the manned border gate to be finger printed. More importantly, the guard will also add a temporary visitor stamp in your passport which is required to collect an pre-booked JR passes and also to generate your tax free shopping QR code.
– Obviously always check the official entry requirement before travel in case of any changes.

Connectivity
– You will absolutely need data connectivity when in Japan so get an eSIM. I used Airalo as I needed an eSim covering several countries. Klook also have some good deals and actually provided a free eSim as part of a promo on JR passes.

Trains
– Unless you are travelling extensively across Japan the full JR Pass is unlikely to be cost effective. However, you can make considerable savings if you opt for one of the many area passes. Use the calculator at https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/ to input your various journeys to see if any passes might save you money.
– You can purchase directly from the train company although I found it easier to purchase via Klook (stacks with TCB). You get a voucher which you can exchange at a JR ticket office (usually the airport train station on arrival) or via a ticket machine. At this point, you can also make any seat reservations for trains included in your pass (Shinkansen for example). If you book direct with the JR train company you can reserve your seats in advance.
– If you are booking Shinkansen trains individually or those not included in you pass, it’s best to register with https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php and order your tickets directly. You will be able to reserve your seats at the point of purchase and also book seats in the Green cars (slightly better class of travel).
– Don’t leave reservations to the last minute on popular routes or busy times of the year.

Metro
– If you have a JR area pass, you may be able to use this to get to many destinations in a major city. For example, I had a Kansai-Hiroshima area pass and was able to get around Osaka by using the JR West Osaka Loop Line which circles 19 stations in central Osaka. However, you will at some stage need to get to grips with the extensive metro systems.
– By far the best way to use the metro system is with an IC card (Suica, Pasmo, Icoca). You can download the IC card into your phone wallet and load it up using any FX friendly card you have in your wallet (I used Revolut & Curve). There’s very little difference between the cards…Suica is probably the best know but they all work in the same way and you can also use in them to pay for stuff at convenience stores.

Taxis
– Can be expensive depending on the city and distance. The main ride hailing apps are Go and Uber. Despite what I was told, I actually found Uber cheaper to use than Go.

Money
– Despite credit cards and IC cards being widely accepted, you will still need cash for some food stalls and shrines. 7 Eleven ATMs are supposed to have no withdrawal fees but this depends on the card you are using.

Getting around
– Google is your best friend here. It provides pretty good directional mapping and is excellent for train/metro journeys (providing information on entry/exit gates plus platform number which is key).

Tours/Attractions
– I used GetYourGuide and Klook (stacked with TCB). Highly recommend doing a food tour if it’s your first time in Japan…we were taken to places we would never have found.

Restaurants
– By far my biggest frustration in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo was getting a seat at a restaurant. Many of the good ramen restaurants don’t take reservations so you may have to queue (and it can be a huge queue). If you have a particular place in mind (Ramen Beast is a good app), best to get there at opening time. For more traditional restaurants, your hotel concierge is your best friend as they will provide recommendations and make resevations for you.

Tax Free Shopping
– You need to generate a QR code from Japan Web to use in store (this is time stamped). You need to generate a code each time you visit a new store. Many stores still operate using the old method of scanning your passport and temporary visitor sticker.