Tokyo/Kyoto trip

suica cards arent that useful beyond transit and you can use apple pay for most of it, pretty much all combini, supermarkets or rail will take credit card. Most shops will also do; Anything more traditional will want cash, we took 5.000.000 with us. Also if you're buying stuff make sure to ask for foregner discount; I got 10-15% discound in Akihabra
 
sithlord said:
Because FOREIGN credit cards are not widely accepted, sure suicca and other IC cards are accepted but who wants to go through the hassle for 7 days.

When you convert to cash before hand at least you can pick and choose when to do your conversion your rate.
Pay by card and get whatever the rate is on the day is ok if your rich and can afford to lose money.

You can argue against the government :

www.gov.uk

Japan travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Japan. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

"Japan is mainly a cash society."
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There’s a chip shortage on Suica so you can’t get them easily now. I believe you need to get one at the airport and it lasts around a month.
 
Xelene said:
Especially for a short stay try to get a flight to Haneda, it’s 30 minutes to downtown. Tokyo is chopped into two main sides, you’ve got the palace, park, akihabra and akusa to the east and shinjuka etc to the west; they are quite far apart.

Kyoto is absolutely tourist trap, you will be wall to wall with foreigners there and unless you know where to go the food will be overpriced and crap.

I haven’t been since they reopened the country so maybe I’m off base.
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If in doubt go to the train station.

We got lucky and found a queue, which we joined not really knowing what it is. Ended up being some of the best ramen I had on my trip.
 
Xelene said:
suica cards arent that useful beyond transit and you can use apple pay for most of it, pretty much all combini, supermarkets or rail will take credit card. Most shops will also do; Anything more traditional will want cash, we took 5.000.000 with us. Also if you're buying stuff make sure to ask for foregner discount; I got 10-15% discound in Akihabra
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I use my Suica app at a bakery inside a department store in Kanazawa. I also used it to pay for a temple ticket machine in Nikko (which didn’t take cash!), I also used Suica to pay to enter the Kanazawa castle grounds.

I have to confess that I take cash with me, I use it to budget my days, if there are more left over I carry over to next day. But my secondary payment is Suica. I only use my card for large (£50+) purchases.

The places that you end up spending £50+ in almost always take cards and I have that covered with VISA, MasterCard and Amex.

Anyway, Suica for transit, conbini, snacks, even ramen machines. I use it like a top up card in Japan.
 
delta0 said:
There’s a chip shortage on Suica so you can’t get them easily now. I believe you need to get one at the airport and it lasts around a month.
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This. The travel version, the red one, call Welcome Suica is still sold but not the others.

Yeah, if you don’t get that one then you will have to spend a lot of time every day at the ticketing machine and carry more change than ever before.

If you have an iPhone, use the Wallet app, but the snag is you can only top up via Amex I believe.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
This. The travel version, the red one, call Welcome Suica is still sold but not the others.

Yeah, if you don’t get that one then you will have to spend a lot of time every day at the ticketing machine and carry more change than ever before.

If you have an iPhone, use the Wallet app, but the snag is you can only top up via Amex I believe.
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odd, I found Apple Pay worked everywhere except independent stores that prefered cash.
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Well it's booked!

The lads told me they listened to what was said and realised 1 week isn't enough. They are doing 9 days Tokyo and 6 days Kyoto :eek:

Feel free to post any tips or must do's - 2 teens into their gaming and want to see a bit of culture too.
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Have they booked accommodations yet?
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Apparently so. I daren't ask what they have booked though!

I do know they have booked a capsule for one night as they wanted to experience it.
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on Escalators, Tokyo, Stand Right, in Kyoto and Osaka, stand LEFT. Don't ask me why lol

Akihabara is where the nerdy stuff are, the manga and anime, and figures. Ikebukuro also has a district for this, but Ikebukuro has more material for girls. The muscle bar is in Ikebukuro :p

As for gaming, there is Super Potato, but the last few years has been absolute rinsed by westerners after it got famous and its stock is not as good and also very expensive. What is better but harder to find retro stuff would be Hard Off and Book Off, they are used Hardware Stores which carries games. Book Off is Used Books (and CDs and media, and also games), so check both.

For new games and electronics, Yodabashi is the world's largest electronic store? i think? Take a gander there.

Osaka has Den Den Town, which is their version of Akihabara. Kyoto is less of this stuff.

I am not sure what else to recommend but I would suggest pick a district in Tokyo or Kyoto and spend a day hitting all the shops/temples etc in that area. Since you have 9 and 6 days. Spend like a day in Shinjuku/Harajuku/Shubuiya area. A day in Akihabara/Asakusa/Uneo area. A day in Odiba etc. Don't go between them, it will save money and also a lot of time.

Same for Kyoto, since Kyoto transport sucks, Get to a district and spend a day walking around the temples in that area. Literally just open Google maps and then pick a temple, there are more UNESCO sites there than you can shake a stick at.

And I am sure i mentioned this before, Airalo for e-sim, iPhone wallet to add SUICA. Otherwise you will need a lot of change than ever before to get around.
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Well it's booked!

The lads told me they listened to what was said and realised 1 week isn't enough. They are doing 9 days Tokyo and 6 days Kyoto :eek:

Feel free to post any tips or must do's - 2 teens into their gaming and want to see a bit of culture too.
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They’ll get a decent experience in Japan with that amount of time. Well worth it!
 
Just seen the drinking age is 20. Both are 19 - is it very strict? They aren't big drinkers, so it won't be an issue, but of they wanted a drink, are you ID'd etc?

Food costs? They are students on budgets, so interested in what they could expect to be spending daily on food please.
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Just seen the drinking age is 20. Both are 19 - is it very strict? They aren't big drinkers, so it won't be an issue, but of they wanted a drink, are you ID'd etc?

Food costs? They are students on budgets, so interested in what they could expect to be spending daily on food please.
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I have never got ID-ed, but when you buy alcohol at the convenience store, the screen will pop up for YOU to confirm you are old enough to purchase. Weird. There are vending machines on the street that sells alcohol, the ones in the cities you need an ID card to swipe, but the ones in the countrysides do not. You can stock up lol

But if you want to go to a bar, I have no idea, I am old enough to be their dad.

As for food....budget wise.

In 7-11. etc.

Drinks are about 150yen, about 80p currently for like a bottle of water, or a can of coffee.
Sandwiches are about £1.50-£2.
Fried Chicken is about £1.20.

You can get a filling meal for £5. I actually go to convenience store often to get my breakfast.

These are all convenience store foods

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Lunch and dinner, ramen is your friend, they average at around 800yen from the basic, normal, to like 1500 yen for the more upmarket, perhaps in tourist area. since it is 184 yen to £1. 1500 yen is still only like £7, and it will be filling. It will also come with free tea or water usually.

This was 2000 yen total and I even had Gyoza

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Sushi like your conveyor belt - Suhiro, Kuro or Genki Sushi, all chain, you can stuff your face for £20 easily. Especially if you get a few plates of the cucumber ones for the rice, 150 yen a plate.

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There are also other things to try, don't be afraid to go to foodcourt at the station in Kyoto, or there is a food court in department store, like Yodabashi.

I literally opened a menu, point to pictures.

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If you want curry, Cocoichibanya is a chain, again, very affordable, £8 will you curry, rice and a fried piece of pork or chicken. You can select how much rice you want and how spicy you want.

There are also the de-facto Japanese fast food places like Sukiya, Matsuya and Yoshinoya and Nakau. Where they sell lots of beef rice bowls. from £4 up. I got this set for like £8, there is even a beer, and nobody asked my ID!

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bonus place, Japanese BBQ call Yakiniku Like! (including the exclamation mark in their logo).

You grill your own meat, super cheap. less than £20, order from a tablet, nobody ask for ID.

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Oh, have a watch these

www.youtube.com

How EXPENSIVE is Japanese Food Really? | Budget Travel Tips

Eating out in Japan can be incredibly cheap - if you know where to look. Use code "HANAMI" and get bonus snacks in your #Sakuraco box at: https://team.saku...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Remember, a lot of places have plastic food on the window, you can just take a photo and show it to the waiter if you are afraid to explain what you want or can't find it in the menu.
 
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Oh, I forgot to say, it is the law that you need to carry ID on you, so carry your passport at all times. If you buy things in a store that is tax free, you need to show it. And if the police happens to stop you, you also need to show it. They never stop me because I kinda blend in lol
 
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