Japan trip: Just some tips

Tips for Japan Trip

Okay, so this so-called  (or self-acclaimed) miss green had planned to do her travel log during her trip to Japan, but ended up not doing.. lalala~

This miss green has also planned to record all the budget and expenditure for that trip on daily basis but the record was only done up to day two. SO yeah. Miss green is quite good at planning but not so much on executing.

Maybe, what I can do is to give few random here and there tips for you if you are visiting Japan. (although i believe you can get better tips from other blogs or websites. haaa)

My one and only sister who's a real good travel-mate and manager ;p

Japan Rail Pass: 

Buy Japan Rail Pass if you are visiting more than one city. It would be good if you can sort of check the price of each train you'll be boarding and total up. If the total prices exceed the cost of Japan Rail Pass, then JRP is worth buying. Basically JRP is a pass you buy before you arrive in Japan to be used for a specific duration of time for unlimited ride of trains under JR (Japan rail). Just for you to take note, some trains are not under JR, example is Subway.

Shinkansen or bullet train is under JR. Yeay! You will be going to Japan, so lets not miss their bullet train! (check out JRP page for more info)

I, myself got a JRP which cost me RM980-ish from AppleFlex in KL. The agents which sell JRP are mentioned in JRP Page.

Friendly Japanese ladies who helped assist  us when we first boarded the trains

Shinkansen is no doubt, comfy :)

Get ready with your passport and JRP to be shown to the officer at the train station Thats my sister in her new shoe bought in Euno. (caption hang campur2 pasai apa?)

Suica Card: 

This suica card is like a Touch-n-Go card. You top up and you use the money charged to the card. Suica card can be used to buy rail tickets in Tokyo (I used suica to buy tickets for train not under JR), to purchase from vending machine, as well as from some of the shops. I think its more convenient to have a card to pay, than to count the cash or coins you have each time you are purchasing. Save time sikit. Especially when you need to buy train tickets and you are running out of time. 

If I'm not mistaken, I bought suica card from one of the shops at Tokyo Train Station which costs me 2000 yen. Basically, it's 500 yen for the card, which is readily topped up with 1500 yen. Oh, and they dont use the word top up for the card. They use "charge" instead. But anyhow, they don't speak english that much, so information centre is always the place to ask things. Alternatively, learn some Japanese words! It's not hard, trust me. And it's fun! :D

By the way, there are other cards which have the same functions in other cities in Japan.
Done using the card but still have some money left in it? Well, you can claim the money and return the card at the train station but there are charges for that service. Sobs, I know. Around 2000yen-ish.

Disney Sea:

You can buy ticket from the counters at the train station. Make effort to arrive at Disney Sea early. Yes Early. 9 am is considered late. We made a mistake as we went to Akihabara first and only got there at noon. Dont ask me why you have to go there early. You go there and you'll know why.

Disney sea ticket

You'll be given a booklet with map of the whole place. Refer to booklet for info on FastPass. Okay, i'm not giving the info here, but i'll highlight some of the points we missed and end up queueing for so longggggg at each ride due to this. 

Point number one: The Fast Pass is for Free. We thought we need to pay so didnt pay attention to it

Point number two: The Fast Pass let you to go for the most popular, major rides without having to queuing up for too long. You have no idea of how long you need to queue without this pass. Nangis.

Point number three: Before you try any ride, you first activity should be to collect fastpass for the major rides mentioned in the booklet, okay?

One of the shows at the park

I honestly enjoyed Disney Sea :D

Muhasabah: penat rupanya menunggu ni. Penat sangat. Patutlah kita patut doa Allah masukkan kita dalam syurganya tanpa hisab. Waiting here in dunya is tiresome. Can you imagine how much worse it would be in akhirah? Mahu fastpass in akhirah.

Apps:

It is extremely useful to have an apps which you can use to find japanese common phrases and to search for tickets info. I'm suggesting Tabimori- travel amulet . Extremely useful. There are also other features in the apps. Another useful apps is Hyperdia.

Hyperdia apps, useful for checking train times, track and prices.

Accomodation:

I booked my accomodation online from Agoda.com. My dad has an Agoda account, so he got emails on promotions by Agoda. Quite cheap all in all. To summarize (im hungry now, want to eat breakfast!), my sister and I stayed in Osaka Namba Washington Hotel Plaza for one night, Hostel Komatsu Ueno Station for four nights, then at my friend's house in Nara for a night. Basically our stay in Hostel allowed us to experience the traditional way of Japanese people. I mean, we slept on mattress on the floor, was given a yukata each, had shared bathroom (so we always had to look for time to shower when no one else is around!). The hostel is not a highly starred hotel, but it was a good stay and the people who served us were friendly. Oh, by the way the checkout time is 10am. We missed the time and the hostel good old man had to remind us. Erk. Sorry, we thought its at noon.

p/s : at the front door of the hostel, they even wrote "Welcome Nursyafizan Amalina Rahamzan" with a cute malaysia flag drawn. awh, terharu.

Yukata. Or was it Kimono? Haa.. forgot already

We cooked our own dinner in the hostel. Ingreadients: seafood, hot water, black pepper, and salts ;)

Food:

I am a Muslim so I do have some suggestions on Halal food or restaurants to visit. You can contact me personally if you wish to ask anything. I'll try to help if i can. To name one, you can enjoy halal chicken rice at Chicken Man stall in Euno. 

Had Udon noodles and tempura at Kansai Airport

This is a nice restaurant in Nara where Pujah brought us to. 

I dont really have the time to write about my whole trip, but if you ask me, i may be able to share some info on places i have visited i.e where to buy souvenirs, where can buy cheap electronic gadgets, where can eat halal bbq, etc.

Where you should buy souvenirs from. Real Cheap! it's in Asakusa.

Places I had visited include Tokyo, Ueno, Akihabara, Asakusa, Shibuya, Shin-Osaka, Namba, Nara.. So, I may have something to say if you ask me on those places.

Okay la, just sharing this because if it simply stays in my mind, it wouldn't be of good use to others. At least, if I share, hopefully someone by 1 in a billion chance may stumble upon these and benefit from the tips.

Am too lazy to proof read. Sorry for any typo, misspelt, grammatical errors. Most pictures are in our video cam which is far far away in Malaysia. So, there are not much to be shared. I only have few pictures captured at Osaka Aquarium in my phone.

Ferris Wheel near Osaka Aquarium

Thanks Pujah for being a good host to the two of us

Real large jelly fishes at Osaka Aquarium!

Lastly, Japan is an awesome country to visit. Seriously!! :D

Additional tips added by Taufiq Ersyad in FB:

Bring a coin purse, avoid wearing high heels,carry a sling bag to avoid excessive sweating,learn key words (niku (meat) and alcol (alcohol) je aku rasa penting). Kasut selesa tu penting :D