Visiting Japan

published 2024-07-19

Connectivity

Airalo/Ubiqi work quite well for foreigner e-sims. Wifi hotspots are plenty, but tend to be annoying (either requiring constant logins, being generally flaky, or just not being powerful enough to provide stable enough connection)

Money

Apple Pay tends to work in almost all convenience stores and other places that accept card. Some places don’t accept touch-to-pay, in which case a physical card is required. Some smaller restaurants and stores only accept cash.

For cash withdrawals 7/11 ATM was the best choice, since there are no extra fees (using Curve). As an added bonus, the 7/11 ATMs are the most aesthetically pleasing to use (with UI sound effects composed by the pianist Maki Hirasawa).

Suica card seems to be the most reliable non-cash method of using vending machines.

Transportation

Take a train/bus from the airport. Taxis not really worth it.

Setup Apple Wallet to use Suica card with iPhone. Suica can be used in effectively every method of transport (except pre-reserved Shinkansen?), and with Apple Wallet you can see the balance and add money to it at any time.

Shinkansen is a somewhat expensive, but convenient (Wifi, spacious, lots of luggage space) method of travel. Buy tickets from ticket machines beforehand (read about fare + limited express tickets; you need both to travel). JR Pass used to be much cheaper, but can still be cost-effective for e.g. Osaka⇔Hiroshima travels.

Uber works but there’s plenty of taxis around. Red led light in bottom corner of windscreen means vacant.

Hotels

Ryokans

Ryokans have “Japanese-style rooms” with tatami floor and futon beds. Worth experiencing. Try to book it with a traditional dinner service with yukatas for the full experience. Remember to take off shoes when entering rooms.

Capsule hotels

These vary in quality and can often be more expensive than a hotel room. Sleep quality is also affected annoyingly much by where your capsule will be located. Having a capsule near the entrance or a hallway that connects multiple rooms, or having a neighbour that likes to snore can all affect sleep. Prepare with earplugs or buy them from the lobby.

Tourist spots

teamLab exhibitions

Interesting ways to combine technology with senses (see, hear, touch, smell) to produce immersive art.

Planets > Borderless > Botanical garden (but all are different and worth visiting)

Ultrasubjective space is an interesting concept to read about and is somewhat visible in teamLab work.

Tokyo Tower 🗼

Has a decent view, glass floors, a screen showing the history of Tokyo, and souvenir stores if you’re into those kinds of things.

Fushimi Inari Taisha ⛩️

It’s somewhat of a hike. If you want to take the generic “I was in Japan” -picture, hike up a few sets of stairs and you’ll be sure to find a spot with no other people (or alternative there is a split into an entrance and an exit at the beginning; the exit path has few people on it and can be used for a quick picture). However, don’t wait too long as you will probably get sweaty on the way up.

The price of water bottle vending machines is a straight up function of how high up you are; buy water beforehand (or don’t; it’s a difference of ~100 yen).

Food recommendation: Salmon Noodle Kyoto

Hiroshima Peace Museum

Recommended for the historical perspective from Japanese point of view

Ghibli park

(note: park, not museum)

Worth a visit for big Ghibli fans. Kind of far away from anything else and not super interactive. Ghibli warehouse was interesting and merch store was quite big.

Food

Many places take their orders through a website accessible with QR code you scan at the table. If nobody is taking your order after being seated, it is probably due to them expecting the order to be made via the website.

Sushi 🍣

Tons of places and you can likely find good sushi almost anywhere. Try a small place that clearly does not see too many tourists and you’ll surely find not only good sushi but also amazingly good service.

Kura Sushi is an okay chain revolving sushi restaurant. Try it for a gamified sushi experience. Might need a reservation.

Other foods to try

Wagyu
Okonomiyaki
Ramen 🍜
Tonkatsu
Tempura
Onigiri 🍙 (I recommend trying non-convenience store ones)

Desserts

Matcha ice cream
Matcha tiramisu (Maccha House is quite good and accessible)
Daifuku
Shaved ice 🍧

Drinks

Matcha tea 🍵
Sake 🍶 (try Yuzu sake)
Umeshu
Tea-based mixed drinks

Cities

Tokyo

You could spend a week in each district of Tokyo and still not have enough time to understand what exactly is going on. Overwhelming.

Can’t go wrong staying at Shinjuku near a subway station.

For otaku culture, Akihabara and club MOGRA are places to visit.

Osaka

In some ways Osaka is a smaller version of Tokyo.

Osaka castle (and the surrounding park) are quite nice.

Shinsaibashi was a nice area to stay in.

Try OKO Takoyaki and OKO Okonomiyaki for the food and the experience.

For otaku culture, Nipponbashi has lots of stores to visit.

Kyoto

Nice city, lots of gardens, cool imperial palace area.

Try Katsukura for delicious tonkatsu (and DIY sesame sauce).

Hiroshima

Peace museum is worth a visit and an emotional experience. The focus is largely on the victims, the decisionmaking process, and how the experience made Hiroshima a city for peace.

Hiroshima Full Focus building has a full fourth floor dedicated to okonomiyaki places. They’re probably all good but there was service (and food) were excellent at Momichan.

Itsukushima/Miyajima is worth a visit. Has deer, shrines, and a chance to relax a bit.

People

Japanese people are super friendly and tend to return positive energy shown towards them with 10x intensity. It wasn’t just once we had someone wave goodbye at us for almost an awkwardly long time after leaving a restaurant.

People are generally not that good at English, but Google Translate works well.

Shopping

Fragrances: Nose Shop
Souvenirs/random stuff: Don Quijote