Tokyo, Japan - Tsukiji Fish Market, Disneyland

If you like sushi and you want it fresh, you need to head down to the Tsukiji Fish Market. But first, let's clear some things up about the Fish Market. The area you'll most likely be visiting is the outside market, which is completely open to the public. Stalls sell fish, beans, seafood so fresh it's still moving around, produce, knick knacks, and there are of course sushi restaurants. Most of the rest of the market is off limits, as you can see from the map below.

Map from Japan-guide.com

Outside Market street

If you do want to see the big fish being sold,  you need to attend the tuna auction and there's only one way to do it. You need to apply at the Osakana Fukyu Center (Fish Information Center, purple square, on the map). Only 120 visitors are permitted each day, 60 between 5:25 and 5:50 am, and another 60 between 5:50 and 6:15 am. People start lining up for "tickets" well before 5 am on busy days and this is all on a first come first serve basis.

If you want to get up a little later, you can always visit the wholesale area after 9 am. Here fish stands are set up for buyers and tourists are allowed in. However, be mindful of what you're doing and don't get in the way of people rushing around trying to do business. And don't get run over, because carts are zooming around everywhere!

Namiyoke Inari

And if all of that just sounds too hectic and complicated, you can just visit the outside market, a tourist friendly area best visited between 5 am and noon. While you're there you can grab that sushi breakfast you wanted. We had sushi at 8 in the morning at Sushizanmai, in a crowd of other people having fish and beer for breakfast.

Nearby you'll also find the Namiyoke Inari Shrine, meaning "protection from waves." This shrine stands as guardian to the market and traders and as a place to pray for safety on the waters.

I'll be honest, Tokyo Disneyland is not that different from America's Disney World or Disneyland. But...it's Disneyland so who cares! The park, set up much like Orlando's Magic Kingdom, is all the fun and flair of Disney, in a foreign country.


The rides are pretty much the same, but you'll find most with any sort of dialogue are only in Japanese. Some, like the Haunted Mansion, switch back and forth between Japanese and English. Shows, like in the Enchanted Tiki Room, have translators (little handheld screens) available if you ask. Otherwise, it's Disney all the way.

There are fast passes, which are nice. I missed the photography spots like Disney World has where you can hand a cast member a card which holds a picture they take on it so you can later access it online. You'll be taking all of your own pictures in Tokyo. There's also no pin trading that I could tell. They do sell a very limited number of pins, but the selection is scarce.

It rained the entire day I was there, so I did not see any characters walking around. The only time we saw them was in the parade. If you want to see one of the parades get to a designated spot early and stay there. Once the parade starts staff will not let you stand around and watch from outside of designated areas, unless you happen to be standing in line for a ride.

Tokyo, Japan - Kichijoji, Shibuya, Odaiba

There are several small cities around Tokyo that offer plentiful dining, shopping, drinking, karaoke, and just whatever you want to do. I visited (and loved) Kichijoji and Shibuya.

Overlooking Tokyo

Kichi (for short) has so much packed all together. It's a great night life spot. My favorite stores included The 100 Yen Store (everything except what's marked is 100 Yen...so it's a Dollar Tree basically) and Don Quixote. The 100 Yen Store is great for souvenirs because no one will ever guess what you paid. Don Quixote, to me, was like a Japanese Walmart. There are 5 floors, each with a different shopping section. The first floor is a grocery store, and after that you never know what you might find: clothes, designer bags, costumes, dishes, electronics, shoes, cosmetics, pet stuff, everything! But the whole store is slightly weird. It's a great shopping experience.

Also in Kichi is the bar Ziso Ziso. I'm not sure how to explain how to find it, other than it's on the second floor of some building. That's incredibly helpful, I know. It's just a tiny bar, 7 or 8 seats, with karaoke. Had some great fruity drink with oolong tea and some sort of alcohol. My descriptions are seriously lacking. The owner is great, and very nice. And he has a nice voice too!

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya is home to Shibuya Crossing, the world's busiest intersection (foot traffic). When the pedestrian light turns green people cross the street in every direction - straight across, diagonal, in a circle if they want I suppose. It's pretty cramped most nights. But certainly worth walking through. Just to say you did it. Or you can just stand around in a store overlooking the Crossing and watch everyone like they're little confused ants.


Shibuya is also home to The Lock Up, a prison themed restaurant. It's not that easy to find. It's front door is down a flight of steps and under an arcade. It might also be hard to find someone who knows what you're talking about if you're asking for directions. I think we had to ask four or five people. But we did find it, and it ended up being rather fun. Don't go if you're in a hurry, just go to enjoy the theme and the theatrics, and the food and drinks aren't bad either.

Along the walkway at Meiji Shrine

A large srhine located in Shibuya is the Meiji Shrine. Back in the woods, accessed by walking through a 40 foot tall torri gate and then walking down a long, wide dirt walking path the walk to Meiji is as beautiful as the main hall and surrounding buildings. The grounds also contain the Inner Garden, the only area requiring payment to visit.

You could easily and happily spend an entire afternoon/evening in either Kichijojo or Shibuya. I would suggest doing some research to find out about the shrines, temples, and other sights to be seen in both of these awesome cities, as well as the many other areas of Tokyo.

Now one city I actually wished we had skipped out on is Odaiba. Nothing against it, there's just not a whole bunch to do. What drew us there was the ferris wheel and descriptions of Palette Town. So the ferris wheel was alright, it is quite large and does sit sort of high up off the ground. But there's not a whole lot to see other than the shipping areas in the harbor.

Rainbow Bridge

Palette Town is made up of several sections, but mainly the Venus Fort Mall. The inside is designed to look like the outside of an old Greek or Roman town. The ceiling is painted and lit like the sky, and each store front is a building. It's pretty, and has a large Roman fountain, but it's like several places in Las Vegas and wasn't anything new to me. It was interesting that in another mall next door, that we cut through, there was someone standing at the door of every store who did nothing but bow as you walked by, whether you were looking at them or not. Sort of strange. Felt like I should bow or wave to them all or something.

Aside from the mall there's a large arcade, a Toyota showroom and test drive facility (need a Japanese or international license), and several other areas for car junkies. Odaiba also has a mini Statue of Liberty, a giant gold needle statue, and the Rainbow Bridge. I've seen amazing pictures of Rainbow Bridge at night, and it was still cool in the day, but I wish if we hadn't decided not to go at all, that we had gone at night. You also have to take subways to get to Odaiba, which isn't covered by the JR Pass.

Tokyo, Japan - Yanaka

Now what we've pretty much covered the basics of travel to Japan (language, money, food, accommodation, transportation) I'm ready to discuss some of the amazing places I went.

Japan is divided into a bunch of sub-areas: prefectures and municipalities, which are then further divided into villages, cities, and towns. So when talking about Tokyo, I'm more likely to reference a specific town or city within Tokyo, such as Shibuya, or Kichijoji. You can never really just say "what's there to do in Tokyo?". It's just too big.

Yanaka:

Yanaka Cemetery

Buddha at Tennoji Teample

Yanaka is an older area of Japan rich with shrines and lighter on the sky scrapers, easily accessible from Nippori Station. The biggest draw to Yanaka may be the Yanaka Cemetery. Around 7 thousand graves are beautifully decorated and surrounded by walking paths and flora. The area is quiet and relaxing and definitely worth a stroll. The Cemetery also houses the ruins of a Five Story Pagoda, made famous by it's burning in 1957 during the Double-Suicide Arson Case.

At the edge of the cemetery closest to Nippori station, and at the end of Sakura-dori Street, is the Tennoji Temple. The cemetery used to be a part of this temple, but was confiscated in 1872 to be made into a public resting ground. A large bronze statue of Buddha sits to the left of the Temple grounds and the area is beautiful. With this being our first visit to a Temple we worried we may do something inadvertently offensive or go the wrong way somewhere. But the worries were unfounded, and two older Japanese men even tried to have a conversation with us, asking where we were from and how we were enjoying the town.

Leaving the Cemetery you can walk to Yanaka Ginza, a shopping street, at the bottom of a a long set of stairs, with an old feel and plenty to choose from. Several restaurants also line the street. There's a great mix of practical stores, food shops, and souvenir/trinket stores.

Buddha at Zensho-en Temple

Walking throughout Yanaka will bring you to a multitude of shrines and temples. Among them are Kannonji Temple, dedicated to the 47 Ronin who plotted revenge on their master's killer. It's alleged that some of their plotting took place at this temple. The Zensho-en Temple is home to a twenty-foot, golden Buddha. The largest area belongs to the Nezu Shrine, one of Japan's oldest. This beautiful woodsy area creates a beautiful stroll. Within the Shrine is another, smaller Shrine, the Otome Inari Shrine, led to by a path covered with small torii gates.

Torii Gates at Nezu Shrine

The entrence to the Nezu Shrine

There are many, many more small and large temples and shrines located in Yanaka alone. Although they're all accessible through a walk, it would take an entire day to visit them all. While that wouldn't be a bad way to spend a day, there are lots of suggestions for walking tours online that hit highlights of the city.

Otome Inari Shrine

Japan - The Basics: Money

Money in Japan is the Japanese Yen. And it's very easy to get used to. Especially if you read the following!

One US dollar = 101.5 Yen (for now). So if you want to have an idea of how much something costs, you're pretty safe using the exchange of 100 Yen to a dollar. Makes the math very easy, and pretty accurate. So if a vending machine Coke is 180 Yen, you're spending about $1.80. Simple enough. The other rule of thumb, move the decimal point over two places. 1,000.00 Yen is about $10.00.

In the above picture, you can see coins go from 1 Yen, to 500 Yen. Beneath the coins you see the numeral followed by the kanji (written language) symbol for Yen. You'll need to remember that. Yen is also written as ¥. The very bottom is the numerical word. 1 = ichi, 5 = go, 10 = juu, etc. and yen. (Ichi en = one yen)

So on the far left is basically a penny. You won't use it much, but I did use a few. The golden coin with a hole is about 5 cents, the bronze 10 is about a dime, the silver coin with a hole is about 50 cents, the silver 100 is about a dollar, and the goldenish 500 is about $5. You'll use coins a lot! Especially for transportation.

Anything larger than 500 Yen is a bill - 1,000 Yen, 2,000 Yen, 5,000 Yen, and 10,000 Yen (or about $10, $20, $50, and $100).

When you pay for something there will probably be a small tray on the counter. Set the money in that tray rather than handing it to the person. If you don't want your receipt there may also be a small box on the counter that you can put it in to be recycled. Which after receiving a few hundred, mile-long receipts, I think is a brilliant idea!

That should about cover you for what you need to know about money. Other than to have fun spending it!

Japan - The Basics: Accomodation

When planning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that hotels don't have to be that expensive in Japan. I stayed in 3 different ones and I'm pretty sure they were all between $70 and $90 a night. Two of the hotels were in great spots, and the third didn't matter because we were only there to catch the train the next morning.

Desk clerks at hotels speak enough English to check you in or out, but most of them weren't going to be carrying on a conversation with me. When you check in you will need to present the passport of everyone in your group and then fill out a short form. There's a good chance you'll be given an actual key, and not a plastic card.

Hotel rooms are smaller than they are in America, but other than that are mostly the same. Except for the toilets. Japan has some space age, robot toilets. Sometimes there's a normal flusher, but usually there are buttons. A bunch of buttons. I wouldn't sit down and then push them. Stand away from the toilet and push with a stick, cause you can't tell what all of them do. One's to flush. One's a bidet. Two don't seem to do anything. One might heat the seat. One might make flushing noises but not actually flush. It's trial and error. Sometimes showers are a bit weird too. There's a just a bar with two twisty knobs on either side and a spout.. The left knob controls temperature, the right knob controls whether water comes from the spout or the shower head. And if you have a mirror in your shower...well, we couldn't figure that one out either.

All of our hotels had free wi-fi in the lobby, but no where else. One hotel had computers to use in the lobby too. If you need internet you might as well use it while you're in the hotel, because you aren't going to find it anywhere else. At least not free and unlocked wi-fi.

If you arrive at your hotel early, or have to check out but aren't leaving the area, chances are good that your hotel will store your luggage and give you a claim ticket. It's a great resource, which we used at two of the hotels.

I was really worried about being able to find the hotels from whatever train station we were getting off of. And I never really found a solution to the problem. Once we had a taxi take us (not in Tokyo), once we had to ask several people for directions and wander somewhat aimlessly a time or two, and once we found it easily because it was across the street from a major attraction. I would suggest you get a hotel right at a train station or major attraction. Strongly suggest.

I'll give short reviews of the hotels we used in Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka. We were lucky enough to use a relative's apartment building in Tokyo. All of the following hotels were great places that I would stay in again.

Kyoto: Kyoto Kokusai Hotel

This was a great hotel! Very clean, quite pretty. It was only a couple of blocks from a subway station that had direct access to Kyoto Station. It's directly across the street from the Nijo Castle (a major historical attraction) so it's easy to find and buses stop right in front of it.

The rooms were nice. Both western and traditional Japanese rooms available. There's a beautiful garden with a pond and swans (babies when I was there). There's a large gift shop that has some really nice and traditional gifts, as well as one of the few places I saw single post cards for sale. Nice and air conditioned lobby with lots of places to sit and enjoy the free wi-fi (lobby only), plus computers available for use in the lobby.

Pay upon arrival, not upon booking. One night was $75 - which is of course subject to change based on time of the year and promotions.

Hiroshima: Sunroute Hotel

View of the Atomic Dome from our window.

Another great hotel with a great location. Two or three blocks from a streetcar stop, and only one block from the Peace Memorial Museum and Park. We could actually see the Atomic Dome from our room.

Wi-fi available in lobby only. Small gift table in lobby. The rooms were nice. Check in was easy. Around $60 a night. Primarily, this hotel was fantastic for its location.

Fukuoka: Hotel Monterey La Soeur

Since we weren't planning to do anything in Fukuoka, we didn't pay much attention to where the hotel was located. Had I been planning to stay in the city, this might not have been the best location, but I'm really not sure. It wasn't close to a train station, but a taxi ride was around $10.

The hotel was beautiful. By far the fanciest we visited. Our room had a little lobby area. You open your door and you still aren't in. The weird thing was the lights. We could not get any of them to come on, except for the ones by the bed. We flicked every switch to no avail. We finally located a key slot in the lobby area by our front door. Once the key was inserted we were able to turn lights on. When the key was removed, all the lights went off and we could no longer operate them. So, the key card must be inserted to work the lights, but it makes it very easy to turn off all the lights when you leave.

The room was spacious, and beautifully decorated. A little over $80 a night, so we were certainly paying for the fancy. So basically, see what's around the hotel and if it's a good location before you book, but if you want some luxury without paying the price, this is the hotel!

Japan - The Basics: Food

In case you see yourself in Japan having some Hibachi chicken, rice, carrots and shrimp sauce...don't. That is American Japanese food. Shrimp sauce isn't even a thing outside of the US. They do have chicken though, and lots of fish, and rice. And slimy noodles...

Dairuma - restaurant in Tokyo without a scrap of English

For starters, restaurants in Japan are very small. Some that I went to only sat about ten people And they're tucked in all over the place, very often down a narrow ally off the main road. When you find the ally crowded with red lanterns, you've found the food. You'll also know when you've found a place because many restaurants have a display window with plastic food. There are entire stores devoted to selling restaurants plastic food. But, it'll give you a pretty good idea of what you might be eating.

Restaurant doors are usually covered with a 'noren.' Those are the curtains that seem to cover the top half of the doorway. Just find the slit and walk on through. Most doors slide. It's doesn't matter how hard you push or pull, you need to slide. The person who greets you inside will ask how many in the party, just use your fingers to indicate, and then seat you. Upon being seated you'll be handed an 'oshibori' - a hot towel used to clean your hands and your face if you want.

Menus can be a little daunting. Many places have a menu posted outside so you can see before you even go inside if any of it is in English. Just because it says 'menu' at the top in English, doesn't mean the rest of it won't all be Japanese. They're tricky. It's not too difficult to find somewhere that has a Japanese menu with English translations. Just point to what you want, and the waiter can read the Japanese where you're pointing. Some menus also have pictures instead of or in addition to English.

There are several rules to keep in mind regarding chopsticks. They aren't just an eating utensil. Most places have chopsticks laid out or in a box on the table. Most often they are wooden, disposable ones that need to be broken apart. Some places will provide forks. At least try to use the chopsticks. If you have to ask for a fork, ask for 'foku.'

Don't ever stick your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice. It resembles incense at a funeral and you can understand why people don't want to see that from the next table over. Don't wave your chopsticks around. If you're not using them, just lay them on the edge of your plate. And don't drum with your chopsticks, although I feel if this needs to be pointed out you probably shouldn't even be in Japan.

When you're ready to order and pay you can wait for your waiter, or look on the table for a button to push. That will signal the waiter to come to your table. The button can be used if you need something, or when you're finished and ready for the check. If you see your waiter you can also put your pointer fingers across each other like an X and they'll know you want your check. Some places you pay at the table, some up front. Tipping is not practiced.

Tea ('ocha') and water ('mizu') are usually complimentary drinks, or can be asked for for free. Some places will have soda and other drinks. Be aware that even though sodas in vending machines are normal price, they can be upwards of 300-400 Yen in a restaurant. And no refills. At least not for free. Don't be surprised to see people drinking beer at 8 in the morning, or to stumble upon a beer vending machine as we did.

Sake (pronounced sa-kay), or nihonshu, is a common alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. It is served cold, hot, or room temperature and sometimes in different flavors. We ordered a single glass, while a friend who ordered hot sake got a ceramic flask and small cups ('choko') to pour it into. It's worth a try.

And food. Sushi. Any time day or night. All sorts. I had it at 8 in the morning at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Chicken on skewers, known as yakitori, is also popular and very delicious. Usually served with grilled onions as well. There's rice, which comes as white sticky rice and fried rice. There are ramen shops and noodle shops. Sometimes there is just a bar outside the restaurant where you stand and eat, but you can also find places to go in and sit down. I found Japanese noodles to be very slimy, and although they tasted good, I had a hard time eating them. I also tried bamboo (quit eating it very quickly when I found out what it was as I'm allergic), Japanese pickles, dumplings, sweet and sour pork, and mostly other normal stuff. And in case you need something American there's McDonald's, KFC, Denny's, Hard Rock and even some Japanese places that just serve burgers and other American staples.

drink menu at The Lock Up

Theme restaurants are popular in Japan, and they do them up. We visited one called The Lock Up in Shibuya. The entire place looked like a dungeon with jail cells where you sat. Hostesses were dressed as police and in order to be seated someone in the party must be arrested. Mid-meal all the lights shut off and a prison break began. This entailed flashing red lights, black lights, spooky sounds, and an angry sounding man shouting Japanese over the intercom. Various escaped prisoners also roamed around until the guards caught up with them. It was a lot of fun and from the food and drinks, to the staff everything was spot on.



Check out these other themed places. I wish I'd had more time - I think I would have tried them all!

I'd honestly say out of everything finding places to eat and things to eat was the most difficult - and even it wasn't difficult. Sometimes we'd just have to pass a few before we found one with English. And I wasn't always 100% sure what I was eating. But like I said...there's always McDonald's.

Japan - The Basics: Transportation

Good news everyone, most transportation in Japan has lots of printed English! That's great because transportation in a large city is confusing enough even when you can understand the language perfectly. I shiver just thinking back to the Great Atlanta Bus Confrontation of 2008. By the end of the trip to Japan we had perfected the art of: trains, subways, buses, taxis, street cars, ferries, and ferris wheel. I'd say the ferris wheel was least effective.

So let's break it down...bear with me, I know this is long but it's information I would have wanted to know...

Taxis are expensive in Japan. Avoid them. There's really no need to use them. Of the two times we did once was because we had very, very little time to get somewhere and once was because we were exhausted, dragging luggage, and just flat couldn't figure out how to get to the train station (brain exhaustion too).

Just as an aside - brain exhaustion looks like this: You're standing there, one arm limp at your side, the other arm dragged down past your knee with the weight of your luggage. You're probably in the way and don't even realize it. You're looking around, or at least vaguely left to right but not actually seeing anything. You might even spin around in a slow circle once or twice. And in your mind you're thinking several things "I can't do this anymore...If I just sit down in the middle of the sidewalk someone will stop to help me...I'll pay a taxi everything in my wallet to just take me...and hmmm I haven't had any lettuce in awhile."

Back to taxis. A five-ten minute ride in Nagasaki cost us about 1,100 Yen. Which is just over 11 dollars and average for a cab ride in any other city. I really don't think that's typical. The meter starts out at over 500 Yen (about $5) as soon as you get in the cab. So maybe other cities are ok for cabs, but I've been told multiple times NOT to take a taxi in Tokyo.

Outside the train station in Nagasaki, by the taxi queue was a board that showed popular, nearby attractions, the time needed to get there by taxi, and the approximate cost. That was handy. I assume they can be found at other taxi stands as well. Since we were going to popular destinations the drivers knew what we were saying in English. But I wouldn't say they were fluent. And low and behold...they use GPS. Smart, right?

Here's a great way to check taxi fares between destinations prior to your trip - http://www.taxifarefinder.com

Buses are something I actively try to avoid, but in Kyoto it was the most logical way to get around. There were plenty of bus stops along main roads, and they went to or close to all the major temples. The furthest we had to walk after getting off a bus to get to a temple was maybe ten minutes.

The bus routes are fairly easy to follow. Most stops have a map for reference. Each route is its own color and number, and the numbers are displayed prominently on the front of each bus. Each bus stop also has a board that lists the numbers of the buses that are going to stop there, and which major stops they're going to. That's where you'll need the map. It may list three major stops, and your destination may be in between two of those. But you need to know what your destination falls between, so you can make sure the bus that you get onto is going in the direction you need.

So yes, the easiest way to foul up is getting on a bus going the wrong way. Not a huge deal. You just need to cross the street and catch the bus on the other side. Once you're on a bus a tv screen displays the next stop, a list of the next five or six stops, and other useful things in English. Announcements of stops are also in English.

In Kyoto (this all may change slightly city to city) there's a flat fare no matter how far you're going (around 200 yen, I can't remember exactly - also applies in Tokyo), you pay when you get off the bus, and you  must pay in exact change. If you don't have it, prior to your stop you need to go to the front of the bus and use the bill changer. Don't wait until your stop to do this, do it before! You also generally enter through the back door and exit through the front. Just follow someone's lead.

Streetcars are good for a few heart attacks while touring the city. The Japanese drive on the left side of the road, so several times as the streetcar turned I thought we were going to plow headfirst into oncoming traffic. We only used and saw streetcars in Hiroshima, but they were great.

A flat fare of around 160 Yen gets you most anywhere on the streetcar line  (list of exceptions http://bit.ly/1mRxc94). You will need a streetcar map. You can get it at information in the Hiroshima train station, or find maps at the stops. Better yet, screenshot one before you go. Trains are designated by number and color, with each number running a slightly different route. Stops are then designated by letter and number.

So you see the No. 5 Green line leaves Hiroshima station goes to stop M3, and then turns. The stops then are designated by the letter H because the final stop on that route is Hiroshima Port. The M stops are because the last stop is Miyajima, and so on.

The big purple spots are stops where you can transfer to a different car.So if you need to go to Hakushima (top left) you'd get off at Hatchobori (left purple dot) and change to the No. 9 Brown car. When you transfer tell the ticket man that you are transferring. You will pay and he will give you a transfer card, which you turn in instead of payment when you get off the second streetcar. You have 30 minutes from time of issue to use the transfer card.

You pay when you get off the car, in a little box by the door. If you need change see the man who is sticking his head out the window at stops and looks to be wearing a black purse. Make sure you get on these going the right way too. Signs will tell you what stop the train is going to next, so look at your map and see if it's in the direction you need.

Trains, Subways and the JR Railpass are definitely the most common form of travel. If you are going to be in Japan for 7 days or more, and/or if you are planning on using the Shinkansen (bullet train) to travel to other cities you should invest in a JR Railpass. This pass allows unlimited access to the JR Railway Line, which covered nearly everywhere we went.

The Pass has to be purchased and delivered to an address outside Japan. Once there you can't buy one. You will receive an Exchange Order in the mail. Take that to the airport where you arrive and find the JR office to redeem the Exchange Order for your actual ticket. Yes, that's the only way to obtain a pass.

It was fantastic for inner-city travel in Tokyo. There are far fewer JR Lines than regular metro or subway lines, which makes it far easier to understand. Each line is colored and named and the easiest thing to do is find a good map, like this one, find your start and end point, and trace the colored lines until you find a line that goes between the two - you may have to switch lines to get where you want.

Go ahead and open that map above. The little white dots on the lines are stations, with the names written beside it. You can switch from one Line to another when two Lines are parallel to each other, both with a white dot. For example, on the bottom left, the blue Chuo Line - if you get on at Nirasaki and are going to Shinjuku there in the middle of the map...you get on the Chuo Line to the Otsuki Station (the first white dot on the orange line running parallel to the blue Chuo Line. Get off the train there, find the track for the Chuo Line (Rapid Service) and get on that. You can see that line runs right to Shinjuku.

the station you are in is in the middle, the next station in either direction listed to the side

The JR Pass is easy to use. Instead of going through the ticket wicket just find the little office to the side of the wickets with the glass window and show them the back page of your pass. Do this when entering the platforms and exiting. The pass is also good for some buses and the Ferry in Hiroshima that goes to Miyajima.

If you need to take a train that's not part of the JR system, you just need to buy a ticket. There are automated machines, which have buttons for English. You have to pay an upfront price, so once you've found English find the 'search by station' button. Then follow directions to purchase a ticket. Once you've put the ticket in the ticket wicket to get onto the platform, make sure you get it back out of the machine, and don't lose it! You'll need that ticket to get out of the train station too.

If you end up going further than you bought the ticket for, don't worry. When you try to exit through the ticket wicket you'll see someone behind a glass window to the side of the gates (same place you show your JR Pass). You'll just need to pay them the additional fare.

Make sure you get on the trains going the right way! Stations are insanely clean and well stocked with food/drink options and shopping. Getting on and off trains is pretty organized. Lines form to either side of the doors for people to get on, after letting people off through the center of the door. Trains get extremely crowded, there are many times you will have to stand. And you'll be getting to know your neighbors.

The Shinkansen is a must if you're visiting more than one city. It's covered by the JR Pass except for the Nozomi Line and the Mizuho Line. The map on this page best shows the Shinkansen Lines and what stations they visit. Click on each Line to see the specific stops that train makes.

Shinkansen trains are divided into reserved (or green cars) and non-reserved. Reserved tickets and passes cost more, but you'll be sure to have a seat. The first three or five cars (depending on the Line) are non-reserved. They're cheaper, but seats fill up quickly and you could end up standing.

At a train's last stop before heading back the way it came you'll see a cleaning crew waiting to board the train. They take about five minutes to very efficiently clean and turn the seats around so they're facing the right direction. Lines will form at the boarding doors, so fall in. Luggage can be stored in overhead bins, large luggage can be stored in the empty area at the back of each car. There are bathrooms and snack/drink service on these Lines.

You may have to change Shinkansen Lines to get where you're going as well. An information counter in the station will be very helpful. Tell them your destination and they'll write you out an itinerary, complete with departure times, Line names, and platform numbers. And those trains pull out on the dot, so don't lolly gag.



Phew - I know that was a lot, but sometimes transportation once on vacation can be the biggest headache. Hopefully this will save you some time and some guessing!

Japan - The Basics: Language

First of all, don't be daunted by traveling to Japan. It's really not that hard! And my job here is to make it even easier - at least that's what I'm striving to do. There's a lot of information I have to impart, so there will be a series of blogs regarding my trip to Japan, the experiences I had, and what I think you should know about this amazing country.

To start, let's get out of the way the things that everyone should consider when traveling to a foreign country: language, money, transportation, accommodation, food, and general cultural knowledge.

Language:

Japanese. Obviously. And the vast majority of people only speak Japanese. Plus you haven't got a prayer of reading Japanese unless you've studied it. The written language is a combination of Kanji (Chinese characters) and two other things called hiragana and katakana. You don't need to know this.

English isn't a common spoken language, but you will see English writing fairly often. Major cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima) have enough written English to get an English-speaking traveler by. You may find someone every now and then who can speak English, at least a word or two (hotel receptionists, train station employees, etc), but even then - no difficult questions and not much more than can be answered with a gesture. Once you're outside of a major city, don't count on finding any English. Learn to pantomime. It never hurts to ask someone for help in English though, if they don't understand you they'll just say "no" or "sorry."

The Japanese also have a funny habit of titling things with English (Lunch Menu at the top of a menu) and then listing everything else in Japanese. So you know it's a lunch menu, but you won't be actually ordering any food off of it. They also have a habit of rambling to you even after it's incredibly apparent you don't understand them.

Train stations always have the train stops and locations written out in English and the announcements of upcoming stations once on a train are in English (80% of the time). Some maps are in Japanese, but you can usually find an English one nearby. Signage in many buildings and transportation centers will usually be in English so you know what to do/where to go.

This menu has pictures and English - double win!

And lastly, if you look lost enough, for long enough, someone may come up to you ask ask in perfect or broken English what you need help with. One day in the train station after we stared blankly at a map on the wall for several minutes a nice gentleman came up and asked where we wanted to go. I told him the train we were looking for and he motioned for us to stay put (he was willing to help us even though he spoke little English). He went to an information counter and got directions. He then personally walked us about three minutes through several floors of the train station right to the platform we needed. On the way he asked where we were from. I told him, and next thing I know he's excitedly playing us The Star Spangled Banner from his phone. People over there really made me happy.

Another day a man who was enjoying a day at the park with some friends/family came and offered us cookies. He didn't speak any English. Just stuck the bag out in front of us and said "free." When neither of us moved except to look at each other with confused expressions, he just took a cookie out of the bag for each of us. We knew it would be rude not to accept, and further more not to eat. Plus all those other people were eating them, so we figured it was safe. Plus, rude! You can't be rude in Japan. The cookies tasted like fish. But I made sure that man thought it was the best thing I'd ever had.

So there you have it. Most people will be content to "communicate" with you no matter who speaks what language. An old woman had a conversation with me on a train one day without me ever speaking back to her. She might have been going off about bananas for all I knew. They want to be helpful and friendly, so just try your best to do the same!

Here are some words I learned...whether or not they are useful is up to you!

Itai (e-tie) - ouch
Arigato (just as it's spelled) - thank you, familiar
Arigato gozaimasu (just as it's spelled) - thank you very much, formal
Mizu (me-zoo) - water
Sumimasen (sue-me-ma-sane) - excuse me (to get someone's attention)
Gomen nasai (go-men-a-sigh) - sorry
Hai (hi) - yes

My pronunciation may be a bit off, but you get the gist. Another good idea is to use Google translate on your phone to translate some key phrases like, "Can you help me get here", "I need the police", or "Where can I find a big piece of chocolate cake?" Once the translation with the original text is on your screen take a screen shot. We showed a man a screenshot of "How do I get here" and then pointed to a map and he pointed (literally) us in the right direction.