📌 itinerary | hotels | places visited | best eats | train schedule | japanese phrases | resources
💳 transportation cards | suica & pasmo transportation cards are no longer available at the airport. as you travel, you will need to purchase a virtual suica or passmo through apple pay. head into your apple wallet, hit transit card, type in suica or passmo, select amount & you’re all set! tap to pay at any vendor or transit hub. for android users, i was able to get a traveler’s suica at the airport — but that may no longer be available.
📶 wi-fi
wi-fi was invaluable throughout my stay! i grabbed wi-fi at the airport arrivals hall called ninja. it was a portable box that also included a phone charging port & i paid about $165 USD for speedy access while on the go throughout the two weeks i was in japan.
✈️ flights jfk & haneda allow premium economy japan airlines customers to utilize their airport lounges. after TSA, find the primeclass lounge at JFK or the sakura lounge post-customs in haneda airport. on board, JAL has a limited number of seats that accommodate (2) seats instead of three (!), so definitely grab those early on! you will be served (2) meals, a snack box & can order beverages, alcohol & hot ramen noodle cups throughout.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/34sOCfAk0PzVQrX1TGxPrH?si=396e55b7e928433d
japan airlines • premium economy
↳ departure: jfk airport | sat @ 1:30AM et
↳ lounge: primeclass lounge | 9:00a-1:00a et
❤️✈️
↳ arrival: haneda airport | sun @ 4:45a jt
↳ location: arrivals hall (customs ~15-30m)
<aside> <img src="/icons/report_red.svg" alt="/icons/report_red.svg" width="40px" /> please note that the flight leaves friday @ 1:30a, not saturday! i almost missed my flight because that means you need to get to the airport by 10p. silly detail — but watch out! 👀
upon arrival, grab food at the food hall! the food was so delicious after a long flight. i ate at mos cafe, which was such a refreshing take on fast food compared to the US.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/checklist_pink.svg" alt="/icons/checklist_pink.svg" width="40px" /> make sure you tackle the below ahead of leaving the airport!
<aside> <img src="/icons/thought-alert_gray.svg" alt="/icons/thought-alert_gray.svg" width="40px" /> **what i learned along the way about our itinerary…
tokyo**: massive city. expect it to take you ~30-40mins to get anywhere in the city on public transport! this was such a shock to me despite careful planning, so definitely pick the district you like the most to stay in.
kawaguchiko: ****it’s extremely difficult to navigate the shinjuku train station + bullet trains with luggage! please ensure that you’re transporting your luggage from city-to-city with the help of yamato luggage services. also, try to travel with one carry-on size luggage for the majority of your trip if you don’t utilize luggage services, as a lot of trains do not have ample storage space.
kyoto: extremely steep & hilly! make sure to get your stamina up ahead of your japan trip. 👀
nara: i stayed overnight — but this isn’t necessary (take a day trip). once you get over the deer (which are aggressive!) you’ll be ready to leave.
osaka: don’t plan too much! i had soooo much fun here just walking around & discovering shopping malls, arcades & delicious street food.
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to book these hotels, i used a combination of agoda + expedia — wherever the hotels had the best rates. it’s difficult to book direct as most hotel websites are in japanese.
❣️ i highly recommend checking out hotel walkthroughs on youtube before you book!
i planned to go specific places — but i also wandered around a lot of cities to see what i’d stumble upon. i recommend both approaches!
i utilized klook to pre-book most train tickets & i highly recommend doing so at least (3) months in advance, as several routes quickly sell out ahead of time! the route i recommend doing this for most is from any city → kawaguchiko. klook sometimes takes 1-2 business days to confirm a booking, so please be patient.
❣️ please note that tokyo station is for normal transit, while tokyo shinjuku is for the ‘shin’ — or bullet trains. don’t get these mixed up!
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💡 travel tips
taxis: definitely take a taxi from the airport to your hotel! i promise you’ll be tired & unfamiliar with your surroundings. do yourself this one favor!
metro: the metro seemed intimidating at first, but it’s extremely easy to navigate. prepare for lots of stairs & few elevators. 😬
ubers: they are available & so clean! they are actually taxis that get hailed — but that was fine with us.
bullet trains: definitely upgrade to first class if you can! grab an ekiben before you board (be warned they are not hot). first class trains also have tray tables, snack service & reclining seats. so relaxing.
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