Souter Sightseeing

Just wanted to share some travel tips.

Before you leave

Buy a JRail pass. Our itinerary was planned around a 14 day JRAIL pass which commenced on our 3rd day in Japan. Fortunately we got in before the big price rise. The airport JR office wasn't open for our early arrival but we found a JR office at Ueno to trade our vouchers for passes. Also try to book seats on the Shinkansen as early as possible as the window seats are popular. Bookings can be made at JR Offices or via a machine.

Organise a WiFi router. This proved invaluable to navigate public transport, walking routes and for Google translate. We just made sure it was charged overnight and then carried it with us for shared hotspot. Then with our usual Messenger and Whatsapp there was no need for a Japanese sim. We used Fox WiFi and had it delivered before arrival at our first hotel. We hired ours for 21 days and it cost ¥10742 which was about $A110 in Oct 2023.

Accomodation Bookings
We booked all our hotels before we left for Japan and usually stayed 2 nights or more in one place. This gave us full days at destinations to explore. Check in at hotels isn't until 3pm but all hotels we used were happy to store our luggage if we arrived early.

Cash
Get some Japanese Yen before you go. We travelled with about ¥97000 about $A1000 which worked well for us for the 3 weeks along with an HSBC global debit card. Many attractions, shops, restaurants and Suica recharge only accept cash.

In Japan

Suica Card
Suica and Pasmo cards are rechargeable cards which can be used for public transport, convenience stores and vending machines. We got a Welcome Suica card at the airport and charged it with ¥4000. We topped it up a couple of times. We used it for the monorail/train journey from Haneda airport to our first hotel. If you have a balance at the end use it at the airport.

Coin Lockers
These are great for stowing luggage while you explore if you haven't reached your hotel. There are banks of them at stations and popular tourist spots. Save your 100yen coins to use for them. Some also take Suica cards.

Convenience Stores
There are 3 major brands of convenience stores, 7 Eleven, Lawsons and Family Mart. These are great for purchasing ready made meals (they will heat them for you or your motel may have a microwave to use). Also a great selection of hot food, danishes, noodles, ice creams, alcohol and snacks. Some have an eating area as eating as you walk is considered very poor manners. Bring your own enviro bag.

Transport
Utilise Google maps including platform and exit information to navigate subways and public transport. There are different train lines owners so check which line your station is on, especially in Tokyo where there is JR, Toei and Metro. In Tokyo we purchased a 48hr and 72 hr Tourist Subway Pass for the metro and Toei subway from the Tourist Information office at Ueno. We used our Suica card once our JR pass expired and for the lines the Metro pass didn't cover. Try to keep your luggage as small and as light as possible to easily stow in the Shinkansen luggage racks.

Discounts
There are often discounts for Seniors (over 65) at tourist attractions. All you need to do is show your passport. There are also some discounts available in the tourist brochures.
Also look out for passes for the area you are in eg Hakone Free Pass.

Accomodation
We mostly stayed in large chain hotels such as APA, Livemax, Wing, The One Five and Mystays. All provided good quality shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Hotel rooms in Japan are small so try to pack as light as possible as there's not a lot of space.

Toilets
There are plenty of public toilets at tourist sites, shopping areas and train stations. All had western style, most with the added extras of heated seats, bidet cleaning, auto flush etc. In the ladies toilets they even had little seats for Mothers to put their babies!

Hope these tips help!Read more

It was a very chilly morning as we left our Kyoto hotel to catch the Shinkansen to Odawara to see the sights of Hakone. We caught our first glimpse of Mt Fuji from the train. It took about 2 hours to reach Odawara station where we stored our luggage in coin lockers then bought a Hakone pass. First we caught a train and then a bus to the port where we boarded the Pirate style ship for a cruise across Lake Ashi. It cruised past a Tori gate to the start of the Hakone Ropeway. The ropeway's gondolas depart every minute and fit around ten people each. Traveling the full length of the ropeway takes around 30 minutes. Along the journey, we had amazing views of Mt Fuji as well as the active, sulfuric hot spring sources. After the ropeway we caught the very slow cable car back to the station. We collected our luggage and were able to catch an earlier Shinkansen to Tokyo where we transferred to a local line to get to our hotel in Asakusa. Our hotel has the usual tiny room but lovely river and skytree views.Read more