Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a
few more, brief travel trips for anyone who might make their own exploration of
Japan:
- Umbrellas are a must – even though I brought my own, traditionally American style one, I often ended up borrowing one from the hotel instead. The more common Japanese style involves a transparent umbrella with a curved handle (extremely useful for hanging it out of the way on a backpack strap when not in use). The transparency of the umbrella ensures visibility even when fully encased in it. The domes of Japanese umbrellas tend to be deeper as well, presumably to offer more complete body coverage, and also be more resistant to back bending/reversal due to strong winds.
- Be sure to research the most up to date currency exchange rates prior to your departure – we found different rates at each American bank, each airport, and the local ATM’s. Although the ATM’s at 7-Eleven’s in Japan tend to work with most American bank issued Visa cards, mine did not (I bank with Chase). The only ATM’s I could get to work were those located in post offices sponsored by Japan Post Bank. According to Dr. Katz, this particular branch of ATM’s tends to be the most reliable for all foreign issued cards.
- If you plan to make lots of purchases while exploring any given city, I think a reusable shoulder tote bag is a must. As mentioned in another post, excessive gift wrapping of any purchased items is pretty common in most areas, but can be reduced by showing a reusable bag. Moreover, the tote bags tend to be more comfortable to carry during a long day of walking or public transportation through a city.
- Wifi is not as common in Japan as in the States. The Kansai International Airport in Kobe (KIX) and our hotel were the only two places that consistently had free Wifi available for use. Thus, if Wifi is a must for you, be sure to research local establishments in the areas you’ll be visiting to see which places might have Wifi available. Or, if the added cost is not an issue, portable Wifi devices are available for rent at a daily rate of about $15 (Dr. Katz rented one for the duration of our trip).
- If you happen to come across a 2000-yen bill during your travels, take a picture, or better yet, keep it! These bills, analogous to the $2 bill in the States, have been discontinued and mostly removed from circulation. Finding one is a rare treat – I ended up with a few, and many of the students were pleasantly surprised when they saw them in my wallet! As a great lover of mementos, I kept them all!
- While you are still in your local country, look into purchasing a JR Pass before you travel to Japan. These passes are only available for purchase outside of the country, and offer a 7, 14, or 21-day pass to cover all JR transportation lines, including most of the shinkansen (bullet train) and all of the JR subway routes. Depending on how much you’ll be traveling via the JR systems, this pass can be a time and cost-efficient means of getting around the country.
- Finally, again for those of you big shoppers out there, you should know that many shops and businesses do not open until 10 am or later on any given day. When I went to Sannomiya for some last minute shopping on our last day in the country, I was dismayed to find that the only thing open at 9:30 am was the local McDonald’s. Most of the other shops did not open until 11 am! Also, many of the tourist and souvenir shops located near temples and shrines tend to close at the same time as the attractions do – if you want to shop after touring a monument, be sure to leave a little time before they close to catch all of the local shops!
JR Pass Sites:
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