Lessons Learned while Travelling in Japan
Internet
During our trip we learned that the most important asset to have during traveling is the solid INTERNET access with you all the time, not just while you are in hotel or in internet cafe. Without internet you have to plan everything very carefully before the trip. You have to book all your lodging in advance. You have to check all time tables beforehand traveling and then you have to follow your planning unless you are willing to have a different kind of adventure that might get a bit chaotic unless you are very familiar about how things go in Japan.
With internet in your pocket, traveling in Japan is much smoother ride. If you use your home country SIM card in japan it will be very expensive if you use a lot of google maps for example...
Luckily there is a very easy solution available. Get a Japanese prepaid SIM card in advance. You can easily order a sim card for your mobile phone or for your tablet. The sim card will be delivered to your arrival airport post office or to your hotel/ryokan where you are going to stay.
I got ours from here https://www.econnectjapan.com/
Just make sure that your phone will work in Japan and make sure that you get the correct type SIM card (standard/micro/nano). Phones that work in EU should work in Japan as well but I am not sure about phones from USA. You can also rent a portable Wi-Fi router if you like or even a Japanese mobile phone. I prefer the to have the internet in my own mobile phone because I can always use it as a Wi-Fi router for my laptop and i have my own app selection set as I like.
You cannot make normal phone calls with Japanese prepaid sim card and if you are foreigner it is not possible you to get a normal SIM card in Japan. It is only for internet. You can use Skype, Whatsapp, Facebook or email to get in contact to friends or home.
I can also recommend that for your travels take the phone that has a very long battery life time if possible. I have Samsung Note 3, Oona has OnePlusOne and her phone had 50% of battery left when my shut down at around 6pm every day... You can buy external backup battery pack easily from any SevenEleven stores in japan which is highly recommended unless you already have one.
If you wonder about what kind of data package you need I recommend that get at least the amount you estimate. A month before your trip just reset your phones mobile data counter and keep using your phone as you would use it during the trip and after a week check how much you have used data. Then multiply that with lets say 1.5 or 2 to make sure because you probably use google maps a lot in Japan and it is rather heavy on data. Our trip was three weeks and i used 2 gigabytes of data. We had 3 gigabyte data for 30 days. The cost was about 40€ per sim card which is quite cheap actually if you think about how much it helps you every day.
Few apps that i can recommend for traveling japan
- Tripadvisor with extras for Osaka and Tokyo
- Google translate helps you in shopping and checking in ryokans
- Google maps is very good help in Japan. Mark your important spots to the map. The electronic compass in your phone is not reliable at all in cities in japan so you must navigate with landmarks and shops such as SevenEleven.
- Japanese phrase book. It really helps a lot if you can say "good morning", "hello", "Good evening" and "Thank you" in japanese.
- HyperDia app is a life saver if you travel with JR railway pass
Japan Railway Pass
The easiest and fastest way to move around in Japan is by train. Foreigners can buy a Japan Railway Pass before entering Japan, so make sure you order it well before (at two weeks in advance) your trip. You can buy it online or from some travel agencies. You will get the JR Pass by mail to your home address.
When you buy the pass you have to select the time how long it is valid in japan. The time period is between one week to three weeks per pass. Japan rail pass is personal, only you can use it. If you stay at one location for a long time and then you start moving again and then you stay again somewhere some time it may make sense to buy more than one pass and then you activate them whenever you need to travel a lot for one week for example. You can easily plan and estimate train travel costs with HyperDia. If you travel just randomly all over it may not be wroth to buy the Japan rail pass as all.
When you get in Japan you have to exchange the Japan Rail Pass voucher to the actual pass in JR train office before you can use it in any train or buss. After it is activated in Japan it is not valid anymore after midnight on its last day. If your last train trip starts before midnight on the last day pass is valid and ends in the next morning the pass is still valid for that whole trip.
Check more information from http://www.japanrailpass.net/
The railway system in Japan is amazing and it's probably the only country where you can travel so comfortably, easily and fast several hundreds of kilometers a day. The trains are always on time and it's easy to find the correct one.
When you have the internet in your mobile phone then download an app called HyperDia and it will tell you all train time tables, train station and dock locations/numbers and absolutely everything you need to know. You can also use the online version but then you always have to click few checkboxes to make sure that the route it gives you is compatible with JR railway pass.
Hyperdia app is Android and iPhone compatible
In my case i could not download it directly from google play because it is sold only in japan but i was able to install it with a bit googling. The language in my version was english so it was easy to use. When you get the app and if you want to use the easy Japan rail Pass search feature then you have to pay 300¥ (2.5€) monthly fee the unlock the feature. This is the best train table app by far i have ever used! The Finnish railway company should really check this one....
Laptop and windows phone users can use the website http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
IC Card
Several vendors offer an IC Card, which you can use in most Japan's largest cities, for traveling in trains, subways and buses. It's easy to add more value on the card from automats found in metro stations. You can also use the card for paying in 7-Eleven style shops.
For me there was a bit confusion in the beginning. In Japan there is several IC cards available such as Suica and Pasmo. I knew that those are compatible together but today most of the IC cards in japan are compatible together. They just have different names in different cities. So if you travel around japan just get the local IC card and it should work everywhere. I really wish if this would happen in Finland as well....
Cash
Cash is still the primary way of payment, but there isn't that many vending machines where you can get cash with foreign cards. During daytime you can get money from the cash vending machines at the post office. From SevenEleven you can get money all the time.
As an advice I want to say that in Japan there is SevenElevens a lot but not in every city. Some cities has mainly FamilyMarts. Even that the concept in SevenEleven and Familymart are exactly same and they even look same and the both have cash vending machines you cannot get money with foreign card from Familymart before 2016. More info
Food in Tokyo
Tokyo is filled with restaurants and food areas. It's a bit difficult to spot the good restaurants that are favoured by locals, so we did some research and here are a couple of places we liked or are a bit different. In general, everything is good, but some places are great (quality, innovation, atmosphere, service etc.).
Kuumba du Falafel
We had a craving for vegan food and found many good things said about Kuumba du Falafel and we agree. The place is a wonderful oasis with relaxing atmosphere (great music too). The food is so good that we became overwhelmed with happiness. Ingredients are fresh and generous and everything is home made. You can feel that the food has been prepared with love. Highly recommended!
Address: 23-1 Shinsencho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Webpage: http://kuumbainternational.com/kuumbashop/KUUMBA/LOCATION.html
Nagi Shokudo
The vegan food craving continued next day, so we decided to visit Nagi Shokudo. The place and food is excellent! We took a set including brown rice (wonderful), miso soup and three dishes that you get to pick from the menu. The home made ginger ale was refreshing with real ginger in it. Everything was perfect and you will leave this place with a big smile on your face. Highly recommended!
Address: 15-10 Uguisudanicho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Webpage: http://nagishokudo.com/
Yakitori at Asakusa Toriyoshi
Traditional simple yakitori. Make sure to order also their salad, which was crispy and had crunchy, dried mini fish in it. We learned that you should put the empty yakitory sticks in a ceramic fish holder with a gaping mouth. The restaurant's chop stick resters are ingenious and simple, a piece of wood charcoal.
Address: 1-8-2, Asakusa, Taitou-ku, Tokyo, 111-0032
Okonomiyaki
When in Japan, you need to eat okonomiyaki! There's places where you can fry your own or enjoy watching how okonomiyaki is made. The dish consist of cabbage, different toppings and batter.
A genuine local place can be found at 7 Chome-22-34 Nishishinjuku, Tokyo.
The 3rd Burger
When you crave for a burger/fast food in Tokyo, pick one of the local chains (MOS Burger, Hotto Motto, Matsuya) or go to one of the better burger places. We discovered The 3rd Burger by chance, when walking in Omotesando. It's a fancier version of the basic burger restaurant and they use quality ingredients and imagination in their burgers. We tested The 3rd Burger's signature burger and the avocado wasabi burger. Both delicious!
Webpage: http://www.the3rdburger.com/
Muji restaurant at flagship store in Yurakutcho
The Muji restaurant is slightly similar to IKEA restaurants, but with far better quality and many vegetable choises. It was a delightful experience.
Matsuya
Matsyua is a Japanese fast food chain that can be found everywhere. You choose what you want and pay at a menu vending machine. It's easy to use, since there is pictures of the portions. We had their guydon rice bowls with miso soup. Simple and tasty especially when almost everything else is closed.
5-15 € Fruit
For some reason fruit seems to be expensive in Japan. One apple can be 5 -15 euros in a regular grocery store, but there is more exclusive fruit for 75 euros in the market and special grocery boutiques.
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market
The Tsukiji fish market is the world's biggest whole sale and fish market. It's open for visitors from 9 am onwards. There is two main parts of the market, the factor like fish processing building and an area with smaller stalls selling various produce.
The streets are filled with people, scooters and turret trucks zipping around delivering fresh fish for clients. These people are on a mission and you should watch out for them.
The same rule applies at the big fish processing building. There is lots of interesting things to see, but it's really not a friendly place to visit. You will be pushed around if you happen to be in someone's path. It's a factory like place and you should be careful there.
The market place is much friendlier with food stalls selling the day's catch. You should definitely eat sushi here. Some restaurants seem to be more popuar than others, but just pick a place. The local fish is amazing and melts in your mouth. It's proof of that you should eat only local products and not something that has been shipped thousands of kilometers.
Tokyo by night from Tokyo Tower
On Sunday evening, after visiting Harajuku, we decided to walk towards our hotel. Around 9:30 pm, we reached Tokyo Tower and noticed that it was still open. There was no queue on both levels (150 and 250 meters) were almost empty. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect!
The view is unreal and stunning! The town continues as far as you can see and beyond. It looks like the mega cities in Blade Runner and Judge Dredd...but a lot safer.
Everything is man made as far as you can see and you can't help but wonder how much energy, effort and resources it has required. In Finland we put a lot of effort into moving towards a more sustainable future, but here you realize that our efforts are a speck of dust in this universe. Admirable yes, but the impact is very small.
The tower attracts small butterflies, which is surprising at that height. They seem to be flying around the structures effortlessly, glowing in the spotlights.
Buying prescription glasses in Tokyo
Dark ones are from one of Zoff's shops and the upper ones (made in Japan) from a boutique in Shibuya. Both are good, but I recommend the Japanese glasses. Support local workforce!
Buying prescription glasses in Tokyo couldn't be any easier. I had my eye doctor's prescription with me and got from two different places the glasses in 30 min. The only thing the shops want to chech additionally us your pupil's distance, which takes just some seconds.
There seems to be some restrictions though, I wanted to get the extra durable lenses, which was not possible at the moment and it would have taken 2-3 days to get prescription sunglasses.
Service is great, so go for it if you have a chance!
Grasshopper
On the train back from Koyasan to Osaka, we met a man who made magic tricks and grasshoppers out of straw to the passengers. He was really cool and funny. He seemed to have good stories and it's a pitty we couldn't understand him, but you could feel his good wibes. Thanks for the grasshopper!
1200th anniversary at Koyasan
Koyasan is Japan's oldest monastic retreat with history going back 1200 years. It is a sanctuary of the Shingon Buddhism founded by Kukai, posthumously known as Kobo-Daishi. Koyasan is located in the Kii mountains and is one of three sacred places in the area that are part of UNESCO world heritage sites.
There is lots to see in Koyasan at least for two days. In the early 19th century, there were 1812 temples, but due to fires and smaller temples merging to larger ones, there are now 117 temples of which 52 provide lodgings.
The old building are beautiful and well kept. The main buildings in Danjo Garan Complex are jaw droppingly big made mainly out of wood. Konpon Daito (Great Pagoda) has been burnt down, by lightning, and rebuilt five times.
Our favorite site was the massive 2 km long cemetery, Okunoin, with over 200000 moss covered grave stones and pagodas. There are huge cedar trees on the area, which are several hundreds of years old.
The cemetery is calm, even during the anniversary festivities, and the air is fresh and cool. You can hear frogs crowing in the streams that are criss crossing between the grave stones. The frogs are quite loud, but we couldn't spot them, no matter how hard we looked.
At night, the cemetery becomes deserted, except for the frogs and owls. The place is always open, so make sure to visit it at night too. The main paths are dimly lit, but it's pretty dark and it feels creepy to walk with the smaller and bigger statues staring at you.
Yakushima forest trails
Shiratani Unsuikyo area has several trails in a magical moss covered forest. Parts of the trails are ancient pilgrim routes, which is why it's good be respectful in the forest. The best way to enjoy the experience is to go to the woods with a guide. You will learn about and see many interesting things, which would have gone unnoticed if you would be there on your own.
Our guide for the hike was Haize from Yes Yakusima and a lovely couple from Australia joined us for the day too.
Again, it was an early start with Steve and Haize picking us up from our lodge. The weather was perfect for hiking, no rain and light clouds. Solid footwear and proper hiking clothes are highly recommended, since there are slippery tree roots, rocks, and water on the trails. Take also one small water bottle with you and you will be able to fill it at regular spots, where rainwater has created smaller and bigger streams. The water at Yakushima is very soft and taisty. You should definitely try it out!
Haize led us through the woods, stopping at regular intervals to show us different types of plants/trees. She told us also about different historical events that have impacted the forest. We felt that Haize is closely connected to the forest and by being 100% herself, she was able to captivate our minds and imagination.
Yakushima island tour
The next day, after arriving to Yakushima and passing on the way a couple of active volcanos, we took a brilliant island tour with Steve from Yes Yakushima. He picked us up from our lodge early in the morning and we took off on a day trip around the entire island.
First a short introduction of Yakushima
The island has been inhabited for several thousands of years and the islanders have lived in harmony with nature, but this delicate balance has been disrupted by outsiders several times during the history.
Yakushima's people believe that their Gods exist in the trees, rocks and mountains, which is why you need to be respectful when moving in the nature. There are sacred places and trails, that are used still today.
Almost the entire island is covered with forest and the view is dominated by majestic mountains, with the highest peak (Mt. Miyanoura) reaching up to 1936 meters above the sea level. As there are no high mountains in Finland, I'm mistaking them constantly for thunder clouds, since there is nothing else big and dark in our horizons.
The climate ranges from subtropical zone to a subarctic zone, with several types of micro climates. It rains a lot on Yakushima, twice as much as on the main land. This is why there is plenty of fresh water available on Yakushima and there are more than 200 rivers and many powerful waterfalls. The mountain tops are covered in snow during winter.
Waterfalls, onsens, wild animals and much more
Back to the tour. The morning was rainy, which was perfect for visiting waterfalls. Luckily we had our rain ponchos with us and Steve lent us umbrellas, so we could enjoy the waterfalls to the fullest. Standing right at the root of a raiging waterfall is a very strong experience. The sound is overwhelming and the mist can be seen rising up the mountain slope, looking more like smoke than water.
After the rain stopped, Steve took us to an open air onsen located by the sea. The entrance is guarded by red fresh water crabs, but you need to approach them gently, since they are quite shy. We decided to seize the opportunity and took a bath in the pleasantly warm, slightly sulphurous water and enjoyed an amazing view over the sea where big waves crushed against the shore covered in big, sharp rocks. Two kites, a type of hawk I think, hovered over our heads in the warm sea breeze, making the moment perfect.
God lives in the rocks, that's why there is a rock inside this shrine.
We continued the tour with visiting an organic tea plantation and a man who makes beautiful clay objects with special glazing technicues. After that, we headed to the mountain roads, rising high over the landscape. The views are spectacular and the slopes lush and green. We were also very lucky and saw Yaku-deer and Yaku-monkeys from a close range.
Organic tea growing in neat rows.
The high grade tea consists only of the newest shoots. Green and black tea comes from the same plant and the process will create the different types of tea.
But the best part of the island tour was Steve and all the things and stories he shared us! The tour was intimate and Steve's passion towards and knowledge of the island's nature, history, culture, current affairs, and people gives you an extensive picture of Yakushima. Thank you Steve!
Ps. Yes Yakushima helped us a lot already before our trip to Japan. We got for example info about how to get to Yakushima, and help with transportation and accommodation bookings.
