I'm just curious for the veterans of travel, what's the best time of year, how much money would be adequate for travel, how long should a person stay to have a proper visit, how much money should I have for toy purchases, what are some things that a person visiting should never miss. I'm mulling the idea of traveling there for pleasure, and I've never been outside of the US (hell I haven't left Michigan in 5 years). I have a savings, but I'm also rather conservative with money (apart from my toy habit). Does anyone have any good advice?
Late October through early May? Late April? Depends what you want - fall colors, cold & sunny (or snowy), or spring/cherry blossoms. Winter is their "dry season" and summer is the "wet season". Don't go in the summer. I've only been once, and went late Oct/early Nov - we had a couple days of rain, but otherwise the weather was perfect. Hoping to go next spring. I'd also love a chance to go in the winter, and do some snowboarding, and just generally see Hokkaido in winter. I think, given the distance and how much there is to do, I need at least 2 weeks to make the trip worthwhile. I can't really help with how much money you need. It's been 5ish years since I went. Also depends on your standards. At the time we found fairly low priced Airbnbs, but I wonder if those still exist, or if price gouging isn't going on there like it is here. I also didn't really care for our Airbnbs, except for one (Osaka), and will probably do hotels when we go back. My info might be outdated, but I'd budget $10-20/day for the subway. I'm not sure what a JR pass (train) goes for these days, but from what I remember it's only good for 1 week - so probably budget at least $300 for train tickets, depending on where you want to travel to. You can eat pretty cheaply if you want to. Research places you want to go, and find out what the admission cost is ahead of time. One thing that caught us off guard was that the cities don't really "open" until 11am. When we travel we're use to getting up early, hitting the streets at 8 or 9, and coming back exhausted around 10 or 11. Next time we go, we'll sleep in and stay out later.
* Shrines, Temples and Castles are cheap to visit, and endlessly fascinating. It depends where you're planning to stay. * Buy a JR railpass if you plan on travelling by train a lot. Its not just about saving money, we just waved it at station staff and they let us through without having to wait, most of the time. Plus, you don't have to figure out how to buy tickets. It's valid for most local trains as well as Shinkansen. I visited Himeji, Osaka and Hiroshima using mine, whilst based in Kyoto. Also, never underestimate the punctuality of the trains, you gotta be exactly on time. No phone calls are allowed on carriages and you can buy beer and snacks from a trolley on the train. * Most 7-11 Convenience stores sell delicious Bento boxes half price, early evening. There's a big variety of them. It's a good way to save money. * If you plan on visiting the Ghibli Museum you have to book tickets from a 7-11 ahead of your visit. * The Japanese are mostly polite and helpful, so the language barrier is not a big problem. I did OK most of the time with gestures. I also took photos of certain items I was searching for (Manga) so I could show them to shop staff to save time. * I took a simple compass, so I could keep my bearings when exploring places like Akihabara. The streets are very similar looking, so it's easy to get turned around. I found the compass easier than relying on a phone etc.
What they said. Buy a railpass. Eat at Lawsons and 7-11 and family mart for at least one of your meals each day walk a lot and visit temples and shrines and you can get away with $20 a day for foods funs. Still tons of affordable ramen and other eats Spring is most fun for me being in the PNW can be a bit gloomy by the time March ends so knowing I will be going in late April always keeps my spirits up. time your trip around a festival/toy show or two. I'd give yourself whatever you feel like you can afford timewise. a solid week there (9 day trip) would be a good minimum.
Seconding don't go in summer. About the JR Pass, if you're doing a trip where you're just going to Tokyo and not taking the shinkansen anywhere, it may not be worth it. The price is going way up soon: https://www.japan-guide.com/news/japan-rail-pass-cost-increase.html
Springtime is the best time to go for sure. Given a choice I'd shoot for after Sakura season, but before the heat kicks in . . . probably around May, and as Bwana says, if you can time it around a show or event then do it. That said, there's always something new to see or check out regardless, and a lot of stuff is only announced real close to the actual event. With regards budget - TAKE ALL YOU HAVE. It's easy enough to bring home and convert back! And whilst CC are becoming more widely accepted - cash is still king!
This is great advice, and something I do whenever I travel! Especially when coming up out of subways, it's a great way to get your bearings quickly. Another general travel (or life!) tip, is to always carry a bandana/handkerchief. I mainly use it for drying my hands after washing in a public restroom (no need to use paper towels, or hot air blowers). But also comes in handy if you get your hands dirty. Or need to tie a tourniquet! Japan-specific: there are no garbage cans anywhere. Be prepared to pack your trash around with you until you get back to "home base" or are lucky enough to stumble upon a trash can somewhere. Wear velcro shoes, for easy on/off!
I always carry a flashlight a pocket knife and a handkerchief wherever Im travelling to. The velcro shoes is a really great tip! I've also found giant binder paperclips to be useful when staying a hotels (use them to clip sensitive information to areas people don't normally look for things.) I have a real habit of picking up garbage to throw away, so the trash comment is actually helpful as well lol.. These are all genuinely good tips, and I really appreciate the thought that's going into them.
re:trash - every convenience store has recycling and trash cans, as well as most major train stations now. its not like NYC where theres bins on every corner, but its not an inconvenience at all anymore. also, you wont really be picking up peoples trash in tokyo as people respect their cities, osaka can get pretty messy with litter but its nothing like america shops are catching on these days to foreigners coming in and buying stuff , this mostly applies to smaller independent stores- but be weary of that. just having got back from my 3rd trip this year, and i saw prices higher on the same toys in the same stores than last trip, and the same before that. i was speaking with a record store clerk and he was saying the weak yen was the reason for higher prices in his shop too, i guess you could call it the gaijin tax haha stay for at least a week- the flight will be the most expensive thing but everything else (besides toys) is very affordable- it was the most surprising realization on my first trip there. where ramen would be $20 plus tip here- a better and bigger version would be $8 in japan
Just curious, if buying toys directly from the shops, would you experienced experts say it's a savings of 20%? Or more? Compared to buying online or through auctions? I'm mainly thinking of vintage toys (Still looking for the impossible grail of a vintage Bullmark Suphenodon).
it depends on which shops you go to- a lot of the "veteran collector" shops know what they have and prices are astronomical. mandarake is pretty wiped out all the time, whats online is usually a good indicator or whats left in stores. you might get lucky and stumble onto something that hasnt been uploaded yet. i still buy on yahoo auctions mostly, as its hard to come by exactly what i want when im in japan. i did buy some original art this last trip, and because the yen was so weak, it was less of a blow to my mental health
Thank you @michael ! Prices on vintage in general are absolutely insane on JYA. I was hoping they'd just be crazy expensive from the shops, not insane
Japans knife laws are very strict. It’s illegal to carry a knife over 2” and even then there is the issue of justifying why you have it.
If you get unruly, the Police may burritofy you! https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-pacific-38534288 Fast forward to the end to see the burritofication. There used to be a YouTube vid of the police wrapping a person in a thick futon, can't find it unfortunately. Can you imagine the police wrapping Godzilla in a futon for being unruly on the streets?
I went in February for Wonder Fest, and it was my only trip, but I went with someone who has been there 15ish times, so ha a lot of help. Lots of what's here I can echo. * Before you go you can download Google Maps and Google Translate for use offline. This makes it so you can talk to anyone / navigate as long as your phone has battery. Just download the language and cities you want. I have AT&T for cell service and paid for their international upgrade. It was $15 for me to get wifi and cell service while I was there. Couldn't tell you about other carriers. The weather was great to a bit cold while we were there. Probably low 30s a few nights / early morning - 60s-70 most days. Felt great in the sun. Cold in the shade. I wear shorts and sweatshirts / hoodies year round, and I was fine in that attire. I did by some gloves as my hands really got cold one day. * Definitely eat at the 7-11s for cheap, and solid quality stuff. Food in general is waaaay cheaper than the U.S. * I carried my trash in my backpack in one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H44PRQZ/ and then just threw it away when I got to the hotel. They were also handy for WF. They fold up really small so they were pretty convenient. * We were only traveling around Tokyo so instead of a rail pass we just got a Suica card and used that. It's basically a chargeable card that you add funds to and then just swipe when you get on and off the trains. If you're traveling between cities the rail pass is what you want. * The trains absolutely run on time, and they are quiet. Almost no one talks or if they do it's very quietly. * We stayed in a "business hotel" called APA Hotel and it was about $80ish a night. Room was small, but had everything I needed and was clean. I had to google to remember the name and it looks like rooms are booking right now at about $60. *If we weren't riding the trains we were walking. Invest in a good pair of shoes before you go if you're not used to walking a lot. Tokyo had very few places to just sit down if you weren't sitting down to eat. Also, apparently it's rude to eat / drink while you're on the move. So you eat right outside the 7-11 or you take it with you and eat at the hotel for example. * Absolutely just leave your pocket knife at home. I carry one every day, but I'm not trying to wind up on "Locked Up Abroad" either. Also, they have different restrictions on meds. I take Adderall and that was on their no entry list so check your meds before you go and get in trouble. * If Seibuen Amusement Park is on your list, no visible tattoos are allowed. If you want to see some pictures... Toys: https://photos.app.goo.gl/deiouBBmpUJgZpP88 - Big mix of everything here. Food: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1gshkR721L3FCYGW7 - I forget to take photos of some the food before I dug in, so if half eaten food bothers you, you've been warned. The place with the grill was super cheap, and while I love trying new things, I'd be tempted to every meal possible there. The mixed meat plate was somewhere that we thought was beef and turned out to be an all horse restaurant. The horse sushi was the single best bite of food I had while I was there. Sightseeing: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MaaeRBKZzQEqQ5VHA
For the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka and the Ghibli Park in Nagoya you can now buy online tickets international. Advance sales for tickets are on the 10th Japan time of each month. If you are a Ghibli fan and can only do one, I highly recommend to do the park in Nagoya. I was just there in the park last Sunday and the Monday before at the museum. No photography inside the museum. But for most of the park inside and outside you can take photographs.
For what it's worth, my toy map that hasn't been updated since early 2019: https://maps.app.goo.gl/r1ECGZTaEYAS7Fc47 - any suggested edits are welcome.
I love that your handle is Horsefeathers, and you've eaten the forbidden meat lol. I have no tattoos, so I won't be sparking any violence this trip. I'm diving into these photos now thanks!
Oh here's a question is it better to arrange shipping for the toys from Japan to the states vs fly them back home? I have no experience with international flights.
Shipping can be a hassle, I usually just travel with a separate bag, like a canvas duffel, and throw my clothes into it at the end of the trip, keeping the toys safe in my suitcase. You can also buy a box with bubble wrap, pack toys into that, and check it as an extra piece of luggage.
I agree with Roger, shipping is a hassle. I did that on my first trip. Easier just to bring the items back with you. When I flew over I packed a mid size suit case into a larger empty suit case. Coming back home, I use the larger suit case to throw items I had purchase. If you plan to stay at more than one hotel, I recommend having the hotel ship your luggage to the other hotel you will be staying at. It's not fun carrying suitcases on the subway/train and through busy crowded Japan. Clothes for your trip. You don't need to pack clothes for each day of your stay in Japan. You can always wash your clothes at the hotel. The washing machine prices are about 200 to 400 yen and dryer are usually 100 yen for 30 minutes. Also I place my clean clothes in zip lock bags. This helped compress my clothes to give me plenty of room in my suitcase to pack other things. Also, learn some basic Japanese words and sentences like sumimasen (excuse me), arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much), doko wa (where is), etc.
