Heyho, dreamers! It's been a while since my last Japan post, right? That's why I'm back with a MUST READ post for all of you. I regretted some things during the trip and I don't want you to experience the same. I learned a lot from this trip and gonna share it for you! Here are some useful tips you should know before going to Japan (from my experience):
Get a suica/pasmo card can make your trip much more convenient! As I've already mentioned in my
preparation post, by getting a suica/pasmo card will save you a lot of time. The transport fare is not much cheaper, but you can just f*ckin tap the card on the ticket gate and get in without queuing to buy the train ticket. You know what, I DIDN'T BUY ANY SUICA/PASMO and ended up super regretting it.
Don't you dare do guest house/hotel hopping. JUST DON'T!!! I warned you, hahaha. I wanted to cry and swore I won't move from one guest house to another on my next trip. It really wasted time and energy. I thought it'd be boring to just stay in one guest house at one city so I just went booking some guest houses T.T
Wear comfortable shoes or sneakers because you'll walk a lot. My legs gave up on first day from too much walking, lol. I legit couldn't walk properly at the end of the day, all I wanted was a car to pick me up or just flew to the guest house, but it's just impossible. My guest house was 10 minutes away from the station, ha! Luckily I wore my most-comfortable-sneakers-ever so I still could bear it.
Do your best to research your destination/public transportation system/everything because it can help you save time and money. I didn't do any research about public transportation in Kyoto and ended up wasting 500 yen for a bus pass. I thought I'd need it for 2 days but turned out it's easier to get to Fushimi Inari by train, not bus. But then again, another places in Kyoto requires bus much more than train, that's why you need to do research about those things. Sure it's a lot of work but trust me you'll thank it later.
The earlier you come to tourist attractions, the better. Even one hour is huge difference! Come at 6 or 7 in the morning so you can enjoy the site to the fullest. From my observation, tourists start to come around 9 AM and they are the travel groups who ride big travel bus. OMG.
Don't be afraid to ask Japanese about direction or anything, although you can't speak Japanese or they can't speak English. They will help you no matter what even if you don't understand each other, lol. They're kind enough to find it on Google Maps and show it to you. I was fascinated when a lady and her cute son decided to show me the way by taking the train with me in Osaka. They didn't even go to the same direction with me. Oh, not to forget most (or all) of the train officer on the gate can speak English.
Whatever happens, don't freak out! You may take the wrong train, you may get out on the wrong bus stop, you may lost your way, but don't freak out. I'm usually easily panic in any situation but I tried to always stay calm because when you freak out, you can't think properly. I took the wrong train and it's almost midnight there plus I must walk quite far from station to the guest house. I was like, "okay, it's just WEIRD if I don't do this kind of stupidness, so take it easy. Pray!" hahaha because I was kinda afraid of walking alone in the middle of the night. Thankfully Japan is super safe :")
Rent wi-fi router, XL pass, or local sim card because you'll need it for a lot of things especially Google Maps (if you're traveling alone without tour guide). Google maps drains the phone battery quite fast, so you also need to bring power bank/extra battery. You also need to stay connected with the world, don't ya? :p
Know where to get cash, in case you're running out of Yen like me lol. You can withdraw money from your country local bank at Seven Bank, which can be found at most train stations and konbini (Seven Eleven). In my case, I'm from Indonesia so I tried to withdraw money from BCA (with additional charge) without minimum amount. But Mandiri has minimum amount to withdraw, which is 10.000 yen. You can also withdraw money from Japanese Bank named
Yucho Bank.
Take note of your guest house address, important contacts, etc in case bad things happen. I almost lost my phone at Disneyland but thankfully a kind Japanese guy return it to me T.T If not I didn't know what could I do without the phone. I put every single information about the trip on the phone without any backup, including the guest house address. OMG HOW CAN I GO BACK WITHOUT THOSE INFO cryyy...
Most hotel/hostel/guest houses in Japan start checking in at afternoon (3 or 4 P.M.), bringing luggage while strolling around the city is not convenient, right? You can easily find coin locker at most stations, especially big stations like Tokyo Station, Ueno, etc. The large ones usually full so you need to come earlier or just go around all the lockers wishing there's some available. There are also luggage picking up service but I didn't try it so I don't really know how to.
Bring plastic bag or waterproof pouch with you, because you can rarely find any trash bin in Japan. I brought my trashes around until I found trash bin in the station/konbini.
This is not a mandatory tips, but why not getting yourself a disposable camera during the trip? You can read my post about why you should get one on your Japan trip here.
