ESSENTIAL Japan Tips for First-time Travelers | Your Ultimate Trip Planning Guide 🇯🇵

00:23:12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da8B_ubDj_Q

Sintesi

TLDRAllison's video offers practical guidance for planning a trip to Japan, emphasizing the importance of thorough research and preparation. She covers essential aspects such as choosing airports, navigating transportation options, selecting accommodations, handling luggage, maintaining communication, and crafting an itinerary. Key tips include preferring Haneda airport for easier access to Tokyo, using local trains for transport, booking a SIM or pocket Wi-Fi for communication, and considering both traditional inns and modern hotels for lodging. Allison also advises travelers to avoid peak holiday seasons and provides suggestions for enriching the travel experience with cultural activities. Overall, her insights aim to equip travelers with the knowledge to enjoy their stay in Japan fully.

Punti di forza

  • ✈️ Velg mellom Haneda og Narita flyplasser.
  • 🚆 Bruk lokale tog for transport i Tokyo.
  • 🏨 Vurder tradisjonelle gjestehus for en unik opplevelse.
  • 🧳 Benytt deg av bagasjeoppbevaringstjenester.
  • 📶 Få en data SIM for stabil internettforbindelse.
  • 🗺️ Lag en reiserute med både Tokyo og Kyoto.
  • 🚪 Unngå store høytider for en mer behagelig reise.
  • 👘 Forsøk kulturelle aktiviteter som å bruke kimono.
  • 📅 Planlegg underliggende reisemål for en bedre opplevelse.
  • 💡 Vær oppmerksom på togtidene, spesielt på natten.

Linea temporale

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    I denne videoen deler Allison tips for å forberede seg før en reise til Japan. Hun understreker viktigheten av forskning og forberedelse for en vellykket reise. Videoen dekker emner som transport, kommunikasjon, hoteller, bagasjehåndtering og generelle reiseplaner. Allison introduserer flyplasser i Tokyo, og forklarer forskjellene mellom Narita og Haneda, og anbefaler valget av flyplass avhengig av reisebehov.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Allison gir praktiske råd om offentlig transport i Japan, inkludert lokale, ekspress- og høyhastighetstog. Hun anbefaler å bruke transportkort, som er enklere enn papirbilletter, og minner om at togene slutter å gå tidlig om natten, noe som er viktig å planlegge for.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Hun diskuterer også hvordan man kan holde seg tilkoblet under oppholdet, med anbefalinger for å bruke eSIMs eller egne Wi-Fi-enheter. Allison fremhever at mange hoteller har god Wi-Fi, men at det er praktisk å ha internett tilgjengelig mens man er ute og reiser.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:23:12

    Allison avslutter med tips for hotellvalg i Japan, samt håndtering av bagasje. Hun foreslår å bruke bagasjehåndteringstjenester for å unngå stress med store kofferter. Til slutt beskriver hun hvordan man kan lage en reiseplan som inkluderer Tokyo, Kyoto og ukjente destinasjoner, og gir noen anbefalinger for steder å besøke.

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Video Domande e Risposte

  • What are the two main airports in Tokyo?

    The two main airports in Tokyo are Haneda and Narita.

  • How do I get from Haneda to Tokyo?

    You can take local trains, Highway buses, or taxis from Haneda to Tokyo, with trains available until about midnight.

  • What is the recommended way to stay connected in Japan?

    Using a data SIM card or pocket Wi-Fi is recommended for staying connected while traveling in Japan.

  • What type of accommodations are available in Japan?

    Japan has various types of accommodations, including hotels, capsule hotels, traditional inns, and Airbnbs.

  • How can I manage my luggage while traveling in Japan?

    You can use coin lockers at stations, ask hotels to keep your luggage, or utilize luggage forwarding services.

  • What is an efficient itinerary for a first-time visit to Japan?

    A suggested itinerary is to spend a few days in Tokyo, visit an off-the-beaten-path location, and then head to Kyoto.

  • When is the best time to travel to Japan?

    Avoid traveling during major holiday weekends like Golden Week due to crowds.

  • What are bullet trains known as in Japanese?

    Bullet trains are known as Shinkansen in Japanese.

  • What should I try to do during my stay in Japan?

    It's recommended to try varied activities, including cultural experiences like wearing a kimono.

  • How much is luggage forwarding service in Japan?

    Luggage forwarding service typically costs between 2500 to 3000 yen depending on the suitcase size.

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Scorrimento automatico:
  • 00:00:00
    don't go to Japan and expect your trip
  • 00:00:01
    to go perfectly without doing any
  • 00:00:03
    research or Preparation because there is
  • 00:00:05
    a lot to learn hi my name is Allison and
  • 00:00:07
    I have been living in Japan for over 6
  • 00:00:09
    years now but I get a lot of questions
  • 00:00:11
    from friends and family who are coming
  • 00:00:12
    to Japan and they just don't know where
  • 00:00:14
    to even start so I really hope that this
  • 00:00:16
    video will help like lay the groundwork
  • 00:00:18
    for your research for your trip and if
  • 00:00:19
    you watch this video to the end I think
  • 00:00:21
    you're going to walk away feeling a lot
  • 00:00:23
    more comfortable not just about how you
  • 00:00:25
    could start researching more but just
  • 00:00:26
    about your trip in general even so today
  • 00:00:28
    we are going to go over a reports
  • 00:00:31
    Transportation communication yes I'm
  • 00:00:33
    read off a list hotels luggage and the
  • 00:00:37
    overall itinerary so let's jump on into
  • 00:00:39
    it with airports so before you even
  • 00:00:42
    arrive in Japan you need to pick what
  • 00:00:44
    airport you're going to fly into I'm
  • 00:00:46
    going to assume most people are going to
  • 00:00:47
    be landing in Tokyo and Tokyo has two
  • 00:00:49
    airports Hana and Narita so Narita is
  • 00:00:52
    this like massive older airport a bit
  • 00:00:54
    out in the countryside it's not actually
  • 00:00:56
    even in Tokyo it's in a different
  • 00:00:57
    prefecture but this is still the one
  • 00:00:59
    today I think that most people end up
  • 00:01:01
    going through when they're coming to
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    Japan and it's kind of known as like the
  • 00:01:03
    International Airport while haneda up
  • 00:01:06
    until pretty recently was known for its
  • 00:01:08
    domestic flights but for the past few
  • 00:01:10
    years Hana has really been upping its
  • 00:01:11
    international flights it's got a nice
  • 00:01:13
    shiny new terminal so now you really
  • 00:01:15
    have two options so let's summarize the
  • 00:01:17
    differences between the two airports so
  • 00:01:19
    Hana is well first of all it's actually
  • 00:01:21
    in Tokyo it's within the Tokyo City
  • 00:01:23
    Limits and because of this you could
  • 00:01:25
    easily take local trains which are cheap
  • 00:01:27
    or even Highway buses even a taxi and
  • 00:01:29
    the trains are are going to run from
  • 00:01:30
    Hana into the city until about midnight
  • 00:01:33
    and from there it could take anywhere
  • 00:01:34
    from like 20 minutes to an hour to get
  • 00:01:36
    to your final destination assuming
  • 00:01:38
    you're staying in Tokyo but even if you
  • 00:01:40
    do miss the last train out of Hana taxis
  • 00:01:42
    will only run you back about 7,000 to
  • 00:01:45
    maybe 10,000 y just depending on where
  • 00:01:47
    you're going in Tokyo very important to
  • 00:01:49
    note if you have a late flight and
  • 00:01:50
    honestly the building is a lot nicer
  • 00:01:52
    than narita's buildings like Nar is not
  • 00:01:54
    bad but Han is just a lot newer it's a
  • 00:01:57
    lot cleaner it's very nice also they
  • 00:01:59
    have a really nice hotel attached to the
  • 00:02:01
    building like it's a huge airport hotel
  • 00:02:04
    so then Narita is actually quite far
  • 00:02:06
    from Tokyo as you can see so to get from
  • 00:02:09
    narut to Tokyo you're going to have to
  • 00:02:11
    take an Express train or an Express Bus
  • 00:02:13
    however these only run until about 10
  • 00:02:16
    p.m. is depends where you're going so if
  • 00:02:18
    you have a late flight you're going to
  • 00:02:19
    have to get a hotel nearby same for an
  • 00:02:22
    early flight out there is technically a
  • 00:02:23
    local train I will mention but I don't
  • 00:02:25
    recommend it for tourists unless you're
  • 00:02:27
    like really trying to budget travel this
  • 00:02:30
    taxis uh I see a lot of people online
  • 00:02:32
    who make this mistake about taxis from
  • 00:02:35
    Nar to airport so I know a lot of people
  • 00:02:37
    just want to hop into a taxi cuz it's
  • 00:02:39
    the easiest way but be prepared to spend
  • 00:02:42
    about 30,000 yen about
  • 00:02:45
    $300 it's it's far it's far from the
  • 00:02:48
    city so I don't recommend it the express
  • 00:02:51
    trains are very nice and Nar is just
  • 00:02:53
    it's an older airport in general and
  • 00:02:55
    it's really big it's not bad it's not a
  • 00:02:57
    bad airport I'm not trying to say like
  • 00:03:00
    don't go to Narita but if you have the
  • 00:03:01
    choice of like two equal flights choose
  • 00:03:03
    Han in my opinion it's it's what makes
  • 00:03:06
    sense next
  • 00:03:07
    Transportation so I have a whole video
  • 00:03:10
    dedicated just to trains so please watch
  • 00:03:12
    that for really in detail stuff but
  • 00:03:15
    basically you're going to have the short
  • 00:03:16
    distance local trains and then like
  • 00:03:18
    Express longdistance trains and bullet
  • 00:03:21
    trains so let's start with the local
  • 00:03:23
    trains so by local I do mean like
  • 00:03:25
    getting on the Metro around Tokyo things
  • 00:03:27
    like that so trains in general in Japan
  • 00:03:29
    are pretty I think reasonably priced you
  • 00:03:32
    could expect to spend anywhere between
  • 00:03:34
    like 200 to 250 in per ride it kind of
  • 00:03:37
    just depends how far you're going if
  • 00:03:39
    you're going to transfer most trains in
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    Japan do operate on charging you by the
  • 00:03:43
    distance you travel rather than a flat
  • 00:03:45
    rate ticket types so you could do Paper
  • 00:03:47
    Tickets like the ones you have to buy at
  • 00:03:49
    the machine at the station every time or
  • 00:03:51
    you could do a transportation card like
  • 00:03:53
    this or you could just load it on in
  • 00:03:55
    your phone wallet I really really really
  • 00:03:58
    recommend getting on your phone or just
  • 00:04:00
    the card the paper tickets are a lot to
  • 00:04:03
    keep track of and it's very annoying to
  • 00:04:06
    get so if you're curious about how to
  • 00:04:07
    get the transportation card on your
  • 00:04:09
    phone which you could do in advance
  • 00:04:10
    before coming to Japan by the way or a
  • 00:04:13
    physical card like this please see my
  • 00:04:15
    train video cuz I show you or you can
  • 00:04:17
    Google it after you watch the video oh
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    but by the way the physical cards are
  • 00:04:21
    coming back I heard we had a chip
  • 00:04:24
    shortage for a long time so they kind of
  • 00:04:25
    got rid of these cards or like a lot of
  • 00:04:27
    them but I here they're coming back from
  • 00:04:30
    this fall so and if you have a paper
  • 00:04:32
    ticket all you need to do is put it into
  • 00:04:34
    the gate and if you have your phone or
  • 00:04:36
    this card all you have to do is tap it
  • 00:04:38
    it's self-explanatory just watch what
  • 00:04:40
    the people around you are doing that's
  • 00:04:42
    why this is so much easier so you don't
  • 00:04:43
    have to think about the distance and the
  • 00:04:45
    money and and in Tokyo generally trains
  • 00:04:48
    are going to run pretty often probably
  • 00:04:50
    about every 3 to 10 minutes you're going
  • 00:04:52
    to have a train coming through do note
  • 00:04:54
    that trains stop running very very
  • 00:04:57
    important to note so trains in Tokyo
  • 00:04:59
    will stop running anytime between
  • 00:05:01
    midnight and 1:00 a.m. somewhere in
  • 00:05:04
    there sometimes earlier even it totally
  • 00:05:06
    just depends on the line and like where
  • 00:05:08
    your final destination is so if you're
  • 00:05:10
    going out drinking and you'd like to
  • 00:05:12
    sleep in your hotel room that night be
  • 00:05:14
    careful and look up the last train in
  • 00:05:16
    advance there is a function for this on
  • 00:05:18
    Google Maps by the way you can change it
  • 00:05:20
    to show you the last train otherwise
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    you're going to be stuck till about 5:00
  • 00:05:24
    a.m. which is when they start running
  • 00:05:25
    again now Japanese trains are famously
  • 00:05:28
    very clean and quiet this is true I just
  • 00:05:30
    ask that you respect the people around
  • 00:05:32
    you don't do anything
  • 00:05:34
    stupid and mind your speaking volume
  • 00:05:36
    with on the train again really the thing
  • 00:05:39
    you need to do in Japan for like every
  • 00:05:41
    situation is just be aware of what's
  • 00:05:43
    happening around you so like if the
  • 00:05:45
    train is dead silent maybe don't really
  • 00:05:47
    talk also just to note there is a
  • 00:05:49
    priority seating area for women elderly
  • 00:05:52
    disabled people Etc you can sit in this
  • 00:05:55
    area it's fine but I wouldn't do it if
  • 00:05:58
    like there's other open seats just cuz
  • 00:06:00
    it's annoying and if the Train's full
  • 00:06:02
    and you see someone who you know looks
  • 00:06:04
    like they need the seat please please
  • 00:06:06
    stand up and give it to them another
  • 00:06:08
    thing to note is there is a very very
  • 00:06:10
    bad rush hour in Tokyo so morning Rush
  • 00:06:13
    is going to be between about 7:30 to 9:
  • 00:06:16
    depends on the station while evening it
  • 00:06:18
    could be between about
  • 00:06:20
    530 to 7:30 I'll say note that the train
  • 00:06:24
    lines that go into the center of the
  • 00:06:26
    city are going to be packed in the
  • 00:06:27
    morning and then opposite at night right
  • 00:06:30
    just be aware cuz it's really not fun if
  • 00:06:32
    you get stuck on one of these trains I
  • 00:06:34
    had to commute on one of these for a few
  • 00:06:36
    months it was horrible especially if you
  • 00:06:38
    have kids I really wouldn't recommend
  • 00:06:40
    taking the rush hour train cuz the
  • 00:06:41
    Sardine thing it's real you will be
  • 00:06:44
    shoulder toh shoulder in all sides of
  • 00:06:47
    your body with people around you it's
  • 00:06:49
    not comfortable if you need to get
  • 00:06:50
    somewhere like in this time I would just
  • 00:06:52
    say just take a taxi all right next is
  • 00:06:55
    the longdistance express trains bullet
  • 00:06:58
    trains so yes there are a lot of
  • 00:07:00
    long-distance trains in Japan that are
  • 00:07:02
    not bullet trains but I'm only going to
  • 00:07:04
    focus on the bullet trains because I
  • 00:07:06
    think that's what most people are going
  • 00:07:07
    to ride and they're kind of the same
  • 00:07:08
    rules anyway so bullet trains are also
  • 00:07:10
    known as shinkansen in Japanese and if
  • 00:07:13
    you watch the bullet train movie let's
  • 00:07:14
    just erase it from your mind so they go
  • 00:07:16
    very fast you can get from Tokyo to
  • 00:07:18
    Kyoto in under 3 hours they're also
  • 00:07:21
    really comfortable their seats have a
  • 00:07:23
    lot of leg room and overall it's a
  • 00:07:25
    really good experience if you really
  • 00:07:26
    want to have the Japanese like
  • 00:07:28
    experience make sure you grab gra a
  • 00:07:30
    Bento eky bin before you boor it's like
  • 00:07:32
    a little packed lunch very cute usually
  • 00:07:35
    you can't eat on trains in Japan but
  • 00:07:37
    long-distance ones are an exception so I
  • 00:07:39
    really really really recommend riding a
  • 00:07:41
    bullet train if you can cuz it's kind of
  • 00:07:43
    part of the Japan experience right I
  • 00:07:45
    would say I really recommend booking a
  • 00:07:46
    seat just for Peace of Mind especially
  • 00:07:48
    if you're multiple people so some bullet
  • 00:07:50
    trains are going to be all reserved
  • 00:07:52
    seats and then some are going to be like
  • 00:07:54
    partially non-reserved and mostly
  • 00:07:56
    reserved but please note when you're
  • 00:07:58
    planning your trip that TRS and hotels
  • 00:08:01
    which we're going to talk about later
  • 00:08:02
    have a few weeks a year where they are
  • 00:08:05
    fully booked super crowded people stand
  • 00:08:07
    on the train it's a mess I actually just
  • 00:08:10
    rode on one of those for the Oban
  • 00:08:12
    holiday so H if you want to know what
  • 00:08:15
    these weeks are that I think you should
  • 00:08:17
    avoid I have a whole video just
  • 00:08:19
    dedicated on going through the calendar
  • 00:08:21
    so please watch that next I need to talk
  • 00:08:23
    about train passes chiefly the Jr pass
  • 00:08:26
    very famous if you've looked up anything
  • 00:08:28
    about train travel in Japan already
  • 00:08:31
    you've probably already come across it
  • 00:08:32
    and if you've been to Japan in the past
  • 00:08:34
    you probably even used this pass before
  • 00:08:36
    so basically what the pass is is that it
  • 00:08:38
    gives you unlimited rides on bullet
  • 00:08:40
    trains and all Jr trains for a certain
  • 00:08:43
    time period like you could choose a week
  • 00:08:45
    or 2 weeks or 3 weeks all for a set
  • 00:08:48
    price so it sounds great and it was it
  • 00:08:51
    was a really good deal but unfortunately
  • 00:08:54
    they changed the P last year I also have
  • 00:08:57
    a video on this if you want want to
  • 00:08:59
    learn about the changes but basically I
  • 00:09:01
    don't recommend it anymore for most
  • 00:09:03
    people because they like doubled the
  • 00:09:05
    price and now it's cheaper in most cases
  • 00:09:07
    for people to just buy the tickets as is
  • 00:09:09
    depends on where you're going so look it
  • 00:09:11
    up but yeah for Local transportation
  • 00:09:14
    passes they do exist there's uh quite a
  • 00:09:17
    lot of them actually I think it's worth
  • 00:09:19
    looking into depending on where you're
  • 00:09:20
    going like for example if you're going
  • 00:09:22
    to anara to see the deer there is a
  • 00:09:24
    transportation pass but in Tokyo itself
  • 00:09:26
    I think there's a few but they're kind
  • 00:09:28
    of a hassle like could save you some
  • 00:09:30
    money but it only be a few bucks I don't
  • 00:09:32
    know just look up like Transportation
  • 00:09:34
    pass and then where you're going and see
  • 00:09:35
    if it's worth it for you I wouldn't
  • 00:09:37
    really stress about them too much
  • 00:09:38
    instead make sure you get one of these
  • 00:09:40
    bad boys communication how to stay
  • 00:09:42
    connected while you are abroad so let me
  • 00:09:44
    start off by saying there is a fair
  • 00:09:47
    amount of public Wi-Fi in Tokyo and on
  • 00:09:49
    trains and buses and also in cafes and
  • 00:09:52
    things like that however most of them
  • 00:09:54
    are captive Wi-Fi where you have to like
  • 00:09:56
    log in and like verify your email or
  • 00:09:59
    sign up for an account or something and
  • 00:10:01
    it's really annoying to me I really
  • 00:10:03
    don't like doing it so that's why you
  • 00:10:05
    need to make sure you have good pocket
  • 00:10:08
    Wi-Fi or a data cell phone plan almost
  • 00:10:10
    all hotels have really decent Wi-Fi
  • 00:10:12
    nowadays unless you're staying like in
  • 00:10:14
    the countryside or some like traditional
  • 00:10:16
    hotels so really what you need to worry
  • 00:10:18
    about is staying connected while you're
  • 00:10:20
    traveling around so you basically have
  • 00:10:22
    two options pocket Wi-Fi or a data plan
  • 00:10:25
    for your cell phone so to start off
  • 00:10:27
    pocket Wi-Fi I'd say it's main Pro is
  • 00:10:29
    that you can use it with multiple people
  • 00:10:31
    multiple devices really easily but in my
  • 00:10:34
    opinion there's a lot of cons you have
  • 00:10:35
    to remember to charge it every day
  • 00:10:38
    basically and that means you also have
  • 00:10:39
    to remember to put it back into your bag
  • 00:10:41
    every day and when you have multiple
  • 00:10:43
    people in your party relying on one
  • 00:10:45
    thing you can't really separate as a
  • 00:10:47
    group and it's it's just something else
  • 00:10:48
    to carry around every day which is not
  • 00:10:51
    ideal and you also have to like pick it
  • 00:10:53
    up physically and return it physically
  • 00:10:55
    usually so pocket Wi-Fi it's an option
  • 00:10:58
    it's a viable option but I personally
  • 00:11:00
    prefer getting a data eim every time I
  • 00:11:03
    travel I've done this many many times so
  • 00:11:06
    before and if you do have an older phone
  • 00:11:08
    this still applies you needed to get a
  • 00:11:10
    physical SIM card a travel SIM card that
  • 00:11:13
    you'd have to physically put into your
  • 00:11:14
    phone and this would let you connect to
  • 00:11:16
    the local some local network but
  • 00:11:18
    nowadays most recent smartphones let you
  • 00:11:20
    use eims so no more physically dealing
  • 00:11:24
    with that look up your phone to see if
  • 00:11:26
    you can do it but if you can everything
  • 00:11:28
    gets so much easier and because I love
  • 00:11:31
    eims I'm really excited to announce that
  • 00:11:32
    the sponsor of today's video is s so s
  • 00:11:35
    is a new eim service brought to you by
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    Nord security and eims like s let you
  • 00:11:40
    stay connected without having to rely on
  • 00:11:42
    these spotty Wi-Fi services everywhere
  • 00:11:45
    and Japan has very good sell coverage by
  • 00:11:48
    the way so getting a travel eim like s
  • 00:11:50
    will let you connect to the local
  • 00:11:51
    network really quickly personally I feel
  • 00:11:53
    much safer in traveling when having an
  • 00:11:55
    eim cuz then if I separate from my
  • 00:11:57
    friends or something I don't need to
  • 00:11:59
    worry about it I'll always be connected
  • 00:12:01
    so s is super simple to use all you have
  • 00:12:03
    to do is download the app choose what
  • 00:12:05
    country you want so Japan United States
  • 00:12:07
    whatever they have tons of countries and
  • 00:12:09
    then choose your data plan after that
  • 00:12:11
    all you have to do is install the eim on
  • 00:12:13
    your phone and then activate it right
  • 00:12:15
    before you travel this way once you land
  • 00:12:16
    you'll already be able to easily connect
  • 00:12:18
    to the local networks and you won't have
  • 00:12:20
    to deal with trying to like find an
  • 00:12:21
    internet connection to set it up first
  • 00:12:23
    now it sounds daunting the first time I
  • 00:12:24
    know but I do this all the time and
  • 00:12:27
    trust me esims are so much better than
  • 00:12:29
    pocket Wi-Fi to me so if you're going to
  • 00:12:30
    be traveling soon use the link down
  • 00:12:32
    below at s.com Allison and Toyo and then
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    use the code Allison and Tokyo to get
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    15% off your first purchase so thank you
  • 00:12:40
    so much to s for sponsoring today's
  • 00:12:42
    video now let's move on to hotels okay I
  • 00:12:45
    don't have a dedicated video about
  • 00:12:46
    hotels yet let me know in the comments
  • 00:12:49
    down below if you want me to make one
  • 00:12:50
    but Japan has various kinds of hotels
  • 00:12:53
    right so we have normal hotels we have
  • 00:12:55
    capsule hotels we have hosts we have
  • 00:12:58
    weird ones like that dinosaur thing and
  • 00:13:00
    we have traditional Japanese ins etc etc
  • 00:13:03
    generally speaking stay where you want
  • 00:13:05
    right uh hotels in Japan are typically
  • 00:13:09
    very clean the staff are typically very
  • 00:13:11
    nice even hostiles here are really good
  • 00:13:14
    one thing I would like to say though is
  • 00:13:16
    I really recommend trying to stay at a
  • 00:13:18
    traditional Japanese Inn or Duan if you
  • 00:13:20
    can especially if you're going somewhere
  • 00:13:22
    that has hot springs or onen it's really
  • 00:13:25
    nice especially in Outdoors onen try it
  • 00:13:28
    try it I know you have to get naked for
  • 00:13:31
    the hot springs but it's so worth it
  • 00:13:33
    trust me and if you have tattoos or
  • 00:13:35
    you're like don't want to be seen naked
  • 00:13:37
    by other people that's fine a lot of
  • 00:13:39
    hotels will have private hot spring like
  • 00:13:42
    rooms that you can rent kind of from the
  • 00:13:44
    hotel or even attached to your hotel
  • 00:13:46
    room depends on how much you're paying
  • 00:13:48
    really recommend trying it it's great I
  • 00:13:51
    would like to say a note about araban
  • 00:13:53
    bees in Japan though so Japan still has
  • 00:13:55
    airbn bees in a lot of places but a few
  • 00:13:57
    years ago there was kind of a big
  • 00:13:59
    Crackdown especially like in Tokyo cuz
  • 00:14:01
    they wanted to stop it from overtaking
  • 00:14:03
    the housing market thank you so there
  • 00:14:05
    are still great options on there but
  • 00:14:07
    there's going to be a lot less than
  • 00:14:08
    there were a few years ago I think okay
  • 00:14:10
    that was just a note but to touch on
  • 00:14:12
    location I can't tell you exactly what
  • 00:14:14
    neighborhood to stay in cuz I don't know
  • 00:14:16
    you but I would like to give you a few
  • 00:14:19
    tips to keep in mind when choosing the
  • 00:14:21
    right hotel for you right so try to get
  • 00:14:24
    one an under a 10-minute walk to the
  • 00:14:25
    station if you can personally I think
  • 00:14:27
    about a 5minute walk is ideal over 10 it
  • 00:14:31
    doesn't sound that bad but you're
  • 00:14:32
    probably going to feel really annoyed
  • 00:14:34
    about it at the end of the day when you
  • 00:14:35
    have to walk back to it also staying in
  • 00:14:37
    a hub like Shinjuku is great if you want
  • 00:14:40
    to be super connected and have easy
  • 00:14:42
    access to like a very Lively shopping
  • 00:14:45
    district with nightlife but uh so Tokyo
  • 00:14:49
    is very clean City it's very safe but
  • 00:14:51
    parts of these hubs like Shinjuku
  • 00:14:53
    Shibuya ikuko do you have like kind of
  • 00:14:56
    grimy dirtier more dangerous parts right
  • 00:14:59
    right it's a city so I would just keep
  • 00:15:00
    that in mind if you notice that maybe
  • 00:15:02
    one hotel is weirdly lowly priced maybe
  • 00:15:05
    look at the area it's in it's just
  • 00:15:07
    something to keep in mind especially if
  • 00:15:09
    you're traveling with children also
  • 00:15:10
    great yeah Shinjuku is super connected
  • 00:15:12
    for example however that also means
  • 00:15:15
    you're going to have to navigate through
  • 00:15:17
    Shinjuku station every day it is a
  • 00:15:19
    nightmare a lot of these Transportation
  • 00:15:21
    hubs are really hard to navigate around
  • 00:15:24
    and it's one thing to do it once or
  • 00:15:25
    twice in your trip it's another to do it
  • 00:15:27
    twice a day every day there's also a lot
  • 00:15:29
    of great hotels around these hubs so
  • 00:15:31
    it's kind of a mixed bag I'd say it
  • 00:15:33
    really just depends on the location of
  • 00:15:34
    it but let me know Down Below in the
  • 00:15:36
    comments if you have a neighborhood that
  • 00:15:37
    you've stayed in in the past that you
  • 00:15:38
    really liked or even a hotel I'd love to
  • 00:15:40
    hear it cuz obviously I live in Tokyo so
  • 00:15:42
    I don't really stay in hotels that much
  • 00:15:44
    anymore here next up luggage so what do
  • 00:15:47
    you do with your mountain of suitcases
  • 00:15:50
    Japan is a country of many many stairs
  • 00:15:53
    and there are actually still a fair
  • 00:15:55
    number of stations today especially once
  • 00:15:57
    you have the city that don't have any
  • 00:15:58
    elevators or escalators I'd say Tokyo
  • 00:16:01
    has gotten a lot more accessible in the
  • 00:16:04
    past decade or so but it's really easy
  • 00:16:06
    to make the mistake of going into like
  • 00:16:07
    an entrance into the station that
  • 00:16:09
    doesn't have an elevator or anything
  • 00:16:11
    which really sucks if you have like 3 50
  • 00:16:14
    lb suitcases also sidewalks are really
  • 00:16:17
    narrow and there's a lot of people
  • 00:16:18
    everywhere so yeah in general I don't
  • 00:16:21
    recommend dragging around large
  • 00:16:22
    suitcases so if you're already walking
  • 00:16:24
    around with them but you want to ditch
  • 00:16:26
    them first off most hotels in Japan will
  • 00:16:29
    keep your suitcase for you behind the
  • 00:16:31
    counter or whatever after you check out
  • 00:16:33
    or before you check in even just try to
  • 00:16:35
    ask first I mean that's the easiest but
  • 00:16:38
    let's say you check out of your hotel
  • 00:16:40
    and you want to go somewhere else in
  • 00:16:41
    town and you don't want to have to deal
  • 00:16:43
    with going all the way back you have two
  • 00:16:46
    options first is finding a coin Locker
  • 00:16:49
    where you can put your luggage into it
  • 00:16:50
    this is the easiest of course you're
  • 00:16:52
    going to find these in almost all
  • 00:16:54
    stations in Tokyo especially the larger
  • 00:16:56
    ones have a lot however the locker that
  • 00:16:59
    can actually fit a big suitcase do get
  • 00:17:01
    taken up quite quickly so if you're not
  • 00:17:02
    there in the morning chances are it'll
  • 00:17:04
    be really hard to find one or you can
  • 00:17:06
    find a physical place that will like
  • 00:17:08
    keep your luggage for you so most
  • 00:17:11
    tourist centers will have some kind of
  • 00:17:14
    service for this or if they can't do it
  • 00:17:16
    there they can at least tell you where
  • 00:17:17
    to go so you could look that up on your
  • 00:17:19
    map or another thing you can do is use
  • 00:17:22
    an app that is full of different stores
  • 00:17:24
    and people who've registered their
  • 00:17:26
    information who are able to hold on to
  • 00:17:28
    the luggage for you some of the apps are
  • 00:17:30
    like bounce Nanny bag this is also a
  • 00:17:33
    good option especially if it's a store
  • 00:17:35
    you can really trust that they're it's
  • 00:17:36
    going to be fine it's going to be fine
  • 00:17:38
    but that's in the case that you already
  • 00:17:40
    have your luggage and you're walking
  • 00:17:41
    around with it so what do you do if you
  • 00:17:44
    are coming out of the airport and you
  • 00:17:46
    have all this luggage this is where I
  • 00:17:48
    really recommend looking up luggage
  • 00:17:49
    forwarding Services I use it every year
  • 00:17:53
    without fail every time I travel back
  • 00:17:54
    home to the US and there are a few
  • 00:17:56
    different companies that do this but the
  • 00:17:58
    biggest one is probably yato and
  • 00:17:59
    basically what they do is they just ship
  • 00:18:01
    your luggage through the mail and it is
  • 00:18:03
    fine trust me it's really good it's like
  • 00:18:05
    in America I guess it's like FedEx so
  • 00:18:07
    basically at any airport you go to in
  • 00:18:09
    Japan right when you come out of the
  • 00:18:11
    arrivals area there's going to be a
  • 00:18:13
    counter that's just for these luggage
  • 00:18:15
    forwarding services in Hana for example
  • 00:18:18
    it's like at the end of a hallway to
  • 00:18:20
    your right after you come out of
  • 00:18:22
    arrivals all you need is to have your
  • 00:18:24
    hotel address ready hand them your money
  • 00:18:26
    and they will send it there in 1 to 2
  • 00:18:28
    days if it's just going from Heda to
  • 00:18:30
    your hotel in Tokyo for example it
  • 00:18:32
    should be there the next day and the
  • 00:18:34
    price for this is honestly pretty
  • 00:18:35
    reasonable it's about 2500 to 3,000 yen
  • 00:18:39
    depends on the size of your suitcase but
  • 00:18:41
    I think this is so worth the money
  • 00:18:43
    because having to drag like the extra
  • 00:18:45
    large suitcases around in Tokyo is
  • 00:18:47
    really hard and of course you can also
  • 00:18:49
    do this when you go back most every
  • 00:18:51
    Hotel will be able to ship this just ask
  • 00:18:53
    at the front desk and they will help you
  • 00:18:55
    figure it out but in addition to the
  • 00:18:56
    airport I also recommend using it when
  • 00:18:58
    you're tra traveling long distances by
  • 00:19:00
    train if you have a big suitcase like
  • 00:19:02
    some trains now have luggage rules for
  • 00:19:04
    example the bullet trains now have a new
  • 00:19:07
    luggage rule as of a few years ago
  • 00:19:09
    during the pandemic they implemented it
  • 00:19:11
    where you have to like reserve the
  • 00:19:13
    luggage seat more on that in my train
  • 00:19:14
    video too but also just maneuvering
  • 00:19:16
    these giant suitcases on the local
  • 00:19:18
    trains as well is really hard and you're
  • 00:19:20
    going to get in a lot of people's way
  • 00:19:22
    and probably feel very awkward about it
  • 00:19:25
    okay so finally the itinerary how do you
  • 00:19:27
    make a good itinerary
  • 00:19:29
    okay I can't tell you the answer don't
  • 00:19:31
    click out yet I can't give you one
  • 00:19:32
    tailored to you of course right now
  • 00:19:34
    you're going to have to do some homework
  • 00:19:35
    if you want to you know craft the best
  • 00:19:37
    trip for you you could like follow
  • 00:19:39
    people on social media that's what I do
  • 00:19:41
    wink wink you could follow me on YouTube
  • 00:19:44
    and Instagram I post a lot of what I do
  • 00:19:46
    and if you know something seems
  • 00:19:47
    interesting to you just save it right
  • 00:19:49
    but what I really recommend doing for
  • 00:19:52
    the overall big picture of your trip is
  • 00:19:54
    kind of making a sandwich this is
  • 00:19:56
    assuming you are a first-time traveler
  • 00:19:57
    who wants to visit Tokyo and Kyoto and
  • 00:20:00
    you're going to be here for about 10
  • 00:20:01
    days or more so for the sandwich your
  • 00:20:04
    two slices of bread are Tokyo and Kyoto
  • 00:20:07
    and in the middle here you want a little
  • 00:20:09
    Jam or something you know and this Jam
  • 00:20:12
    should be like an off the beaten path
  • 00:20:14
    kind of tourist destination I really
  • 00:20:16
    really recommend this because a lot of
  • 00:20:19
    the times what people expect to find in
  • 00:20:21
    Kyoto for example they actually find
  • 00:20:24
    here where it's not quite so crowded
  • 00:20:26
    where you can actually talk to people so
  • 00:20:28
    the path from Tokyo to Kyoto is called
  • 00:20:30
    the Golden route it's just what people
  • 00:20:32
    refer to it as cuz it's the path that
  • 00:20:35
    most tourists in Japan take by far so
  • 00:20:37
    for the jam right The Detour is you just
  • 00:20:40
    need to go off the path somewhere in the
  • 00:20:42
    middle in there or or anywhere really
  • 00:20:44
    it's just easiest the first time I think
  • 00:20:46
    to stick to the middle because a lot of
  • 00:20:48
    these times you can get to this middle
  • 00:20:50
    destination in one quick train from
  • 00:20:52
    Tokyo or just one transfer and I think
  • 00:20:54
    this is a really good step especially
  • 00:20:56
    for people who are a bit nervous about
  • 00:20:58
    tra traveling in Japan they don't speak
  • 00:20:59
    any Japanese that's totally fine I think
  • 00:21:02
    this is just a good introductory like
  • 00:21:04
    Adventure so some of my recommendations
  • 00:21:06
    for this like jam location is Matsumoto
  • 00:21:10
    I really like Matsumoto there's kadu
  • 00:21:12
    zawa there's takayama and then there's
  • 00:21:14
    ghetto onen of course where I lived and
  • 00:21:17
    there's more than that but these are
  • 00:21:18
    just some to get you started of course
  • 00:21:20
    you don't have to stay in the middle in
  • 00:21:22
    between Tokyo and Kyoto you could go
  • 00:21:24
    north or south you can do whatever you
  • 00:21:26
    want it's just the easiest I also
  • 00:21:28
    recommend trying to do varied activities
  • 00:21:31
    so even if you don't think you're
  • 00:21:32
    interested in Japanese culture at all
  • 00:21:35
    just try one thing just try one thing I
  • 00:21:37
    promise it'll be fun wear the kimono
  • 00:21:41
    around aaxa it's fun you should do it
  • 00:21:44
    you should try it don't be embarrassed
  • 00:21:46
    so I know people kind of want some loose
  • 00:21:47
    itinerary recommendation so I just kind
  • 00:21:50
    of said it but basically let's say
  • 00:21:52
    you're taking a tennish day trip and you
  • 00:21:54
    do want to see Tokyo and Kyoto so what I
  • 00:21:57
    would do is I would spend the first 4
  • 00:21:58
    days in Tokyo then spend 2 or 3 days on
  • 00:22:03
    both Transit and the like off the beaten
  • 00:22:05
    path location and then do the end few
  • 00:22:08
    days of your trip in Kyoto of course
  • 00:22:10
    it's adjustable it's just a general idea
  • 00:22:12
    for you domestic travel is super easy in
  • 00:22:15
    Japan so I really think it's a waste if
  • 00:22:16
    you just limit your trip to one place if
  • 00:22:19
    you have the time and you know ability
  • 00:22:21
    to travel more and then there's the
  • 00:22:22
    question of when should you travel to
  • 00:22:25
    Japan in general so as I mentioned
  • 00:22:27
    earlier there's a few big holiday
  • 00:22:29
    weekends you really want to avoid again
  • 00:22:31
    please watch that video on it cuz it's
  • 00:22:34
    really important you do not want to come
  • 00:22:36
    to Japan during golden week if you can
  • 00:22:38
    help it for example okay so there's a
  • 00:22:40
    lot of things I have not touched on in
  • 00:22:42
    this video at all but I have a lot of
  • 00:22:43
    videos on my Channel about traveling in
  • 00:22:45
    Japan so please check those out I
  • 00:22:47
    probably answer your question one of
  • 00:22:48
    them and if I don't just you know leave
  • 00:22:50
    your comment down below and me or my
  • 00:22:52
    fellow Japan travel enthusiasts will
  • 00:22:55
    answer hopefully so thank you guys so
  • 00:22:57
    much for watching make sure you like the
  • 00:22:58
    video subscribe to my channel for more
  • 00:23:00
    content about traveling in Japan in the
  • 00:23:02
    future and I'll see you guys back again
  • 00:23:04
    soon bye
  • 00:23:09
    [Music]
Tag
  • Japan
  • travel tips
  • Tokyo
  • airports
  • transportation
  • hotels
  • communication
  • luggage management
  • itinerary
  • Shinkansen