This post would not be about my experience in Japan so far (it is plain awesome) but more of HOW to get to Japan. Basically, the necessary preparations and arrangements that you would need to make prior to arriving.
It is my 4th day in Tokyo today and I'm taking a break from all that walking to do up this blog post! So that I won't neglect any important details. This is going to serve as a reminder to myself for my future trips to Japan and also as a guide for the ones who are interested to coming over too!
(I googled a lot prior to this trip and nothing was nicely put into a "guide", some with lots of unnecessary details - about how the train systems came about … or just plain vague with all the usual tourist attractions. Many thanks to the friends who gave assistance to me!)
Here's a summarized list of what you would need before arriving in Tokyo:
1. Airplane Ticket
2. Accommodation
3. Portable Wifi
4. Printed Documents
5. Transport Arrangements
(This list is not exhaustive and only contains the 5 most important things to note - in my opinion)
Getting your Airplane Ticket
Most airlines provide flights from Singapore to Japan, but which one is better and most cost efficient?
The mandatory airplane window shots^ (lol - there's more actually)
I didn't want to take a flight provided by a budget airline this time round in due with the baggage limits and well its a 7 hour flight and I would much prefer it to be more comfortable! However, the difference is not as much as you would expect it to be!
I made use of Skyscanner to look through the different flight prices first. Skyscanner provides a comparison among all the travel booking sites so you can look for the cheapest on over there. However, I place my faith in Expedia so I did the booking on it (the prices among the different websites were only a few dollars anyway).
Delta Airlines was the choice I made this time. I am extremely pleased with their efficiency and there service was pretty adequate too! Online- check in was available 24 hours prior to my flight and when I got to the airport, everything was so fast and it took me less than 10mins to get my luggage checked in.
Additionally, the other cheaper choices - budget flights and transit flights were in the 600 range too so…. I might as well spend a bit more for the comfort of not having to waste time in the Hong Kong airport! (About two hours extra at least if your book a transit flight!)
Of course you could book Singapore Airlines too if there's a promotion going on! But if you're considering other airlines, I heard that Cathay Pacific is pretty decent too and based on my experience this time round, I'm more than happy with Delta!
The flight was actually a transfer flight to Seattle so there was lots of caucasians on it. However, the flight was not fully booked hence I got an empty seat beside mine! Yay to extra space!
I was given the choices of Chicken Noodles & Omelette, so well I picked Omelette and it tasted pretty good! Although I had mild food poisoning prior to leaving Singapore but… I still finished most of it! There was a chicken sandwich (croissant) & cake given at the later part of the flight too.
After you book your flights on your choice of site, remember to print out the confirmation email sent to you! Just in case. A reminder to bring your passport too cause I don't know why I have a friend who had to ask whether a passport is needed (last year during a school trip lol).
Definitely recommend everyone to make use of the Online Check-in function if you're booking a Delta flight! So fuss-free!
- Weight limit for check in baggage is 20kg
Yay! Reached Narita ft. the back view of the nice man who sat at the aisle seat beside me - kinda apologetic to inconvenience him so often during the flight due to my tummy problems ):
Please remember to fill in the immigration and baggage forms before exiting the plane so that you don't have to spend extra time filling them in at the counter! Clearing the customs is just the usual so.. I don't think i'd need to to elaborate on that…
2. Accommodation
My accommodation this time round has been kindly provided by my friend, Sumire! Her place is near central tokyo, Ikebukuro which is a major train station so it is extremely convenient!
Since I'm super in love with Harajuku ever since the start of time (exaggeration), if I am going to book an apartment myself, I would definitely get one in that area. When that opportunity comes, I'd surely use AirBnb as there's so many apartments to choose from and all of them look so well furnished. Seems like a pretty trustworthy site too!
Prices would range from the SGD60 range to the hundreds depending on the size and location of the apartment. Older apartments would be cheaper but personally, the furnishing is more important than the exterior!
Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya would definitely be places you should consider when renting an apartment as it would be much more convenient as most of the sights are in the area. (more like most of the shopping is in this area! hur hur) Please check the surroundings as you definitely wouldn't want to end up in a dodgy place with lots of host clubs/ pachinko (a type of gambling), safety should be greatly considered too!
However, if you would like a more "rustic" quieter place, Asakusa is a good choice too as it is near the famous temple Sensoji and there's many sights in that area too!
Choose your accommodation based on your itinerary so that you don't have to spend extra effort getting around! Wished I could provide more suggestions for this…. hmmmmm….. well, if possible, make some Japanese friends! Haha >///<
3. Portable Wifi (TeleCommunication)
I am definitely overly attached to social networking sites, so WiFi is a must!
I'd definitely recommend renting Portable WiFi instead of purchasing a sim card, especially if you're traveling in a group (can be shared among all of you) or if you're like me, traveling solo but with a laptop.
The site, Global Advanced Communications was recommended by one of my friends, Andrea and the rates are pretty good as compared to the other sites that did the search engine optimization things and show up at the top of google (lol).
The instructions are clearly stated on their site and everything is extremely straightforward! You book, pay, wait for confirmation then they mail it out before you arrive at the airport, then you collect your parcel from the post office (present your passport to the staff)!
This is how the parcel looks. Inside is the portable wifi, charger, a pouch and a return envelop.
I was being a nervous wreck prior to arriving, was super afraid of losing my way but well, their airport isn't as massive as Singapore's so… … it was pretty easy to figure my way out. They would also email you the link to the map to where the post office in the airport terminals so… you can print them out if you want to! :)
Nothing too confusing, maps are available at the airport!
Set up is pretty easy too, the instructions are given in the package.
This costs me 9450yen for my 20 days. HEIL WIFI!
4. Printed Documents
Picked this move from Andrea too, organize all your travel documents into a clear folder. Inclusive of your booking receipts, confirmation emails, transport arrangements and maps to your apartment. Additionally, I printed out the addresses of place I would like to visit (eg. cat cafes).
Though I still have my laptop with me to do the research here, you'd never know if you'd need that piece of information.. so just print!
Also, I bought a map of Tokyo from Kinokuniya (in singapore) and it serves its purpose pretty well as it includes train maps and everything. When I headed out without the company of my friend yesterday, it really helped me! But well, you can still be reliant on wifi, google maps or gut feeling.
(also filed the money that my friends passed me when they request me to get stuff )
5. Transport Arrangements
This is for me, the hardest to plan part of the trip. There's many ways to get from the airport to central Tokyo; Skyliner, Train and the Limousine Bus.
Normal Trains being the cheapest, followed by the Skyliner & Limousine Bus. The price difference between the Skyliner and Limousine Bus is not extremely significant though! I
I intended to take the Keisei Skyliner at first as it seem more common but my friend Andrea (again), recommended me to take the Limo Bus instead and its definitely a great decision. Main consideration here is : Fuss-free > Price cause I have a heavy luggage with me.
If I were to take the train or the skyliner, it would require me to change a few train lines and I definitely have no confidence of pulling that off as Tokyo's train lines are 10x hella more as compared to Singapore's! (however, its not as scary as I thought as I figured most of it out during my first few days here.)
Getting bus/train tickets are pretty straightforward, the counters are located right outside the arrival gates. The staff are pretty fluent with english too, so if you don't know japanese, you'd be safe too!
There's many locations to choose from and they basically have spots to pick in every region in Tokyo. For me, I am heading to Ikebukuro so it left me with two choices; Sunshine City Prince Hotel and Metropolitan Tokyo Hotel. I picked Metropolitan Tokyo as it is closer to the train station!
Bus frequencies are also shown on their website so you just have to gauge how long you'd need to collect your portable wifi then get on the bus. For me, I bought the tickets after I collected my wifi so … I missed the earlier one and had to wait about 30mins but it went by quickly. I ripped my package apart during the wait and head to the washroom as my ride to Ikebukuro is about 2 hours long.
They store your luggage at the bottom part of the bus so you don't have to lug it up. The bus wasn't fully packed so I had two seats to myself.
After reaching Metropolitan Tokyo Hotel, I lugged my heavy luggage to the train station with much effort and boarded the train on Fukutoshin Line to meet my friend at Zoshigaya.
Train passes are also available at the train station (not available at airport) so you can just buy them when you reach. Pasmo and Suica are the two passes that are available but I feel that there's not a huge difference between them (actually idk whats the diff) so I went ahead to purchase Pasmo.
Click here for a guide to how to purchase the train passes. Signages at the train stations are extremely clear and they include the english translations so… you'd be fine. ;)
--
So that was the five things that needs planning prior to your trip! Of course there's still things like… exchanging your money and packing your luggage but that's the obvious and I don't think a guide is needed for those! Also there's things like Travel VISA application but.. its not needed for the Singaporean passport so.. I have no idea how that goes. (Singaporeans are allowed to stay 90 days max)
Remember not to panic like me and end up exhausted - cause I was too excited and slept like 2 hours in 2 days hahahaha.
Also, pack some souvenirs to pass to your Japanese friends or just in case you meet anybody new!
Feel free to contact me on any of my social media. @kiripaca everywhere
Cheers and all the best! Hope this guide helped and I promise a more visually appealing blog post soon. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment