Japan was already my destination in spring, but on one hand the plane ticket was expensive, and on the other hand I found a cheap ticket to China. However, I decided that in autumn, come what may, I would travel to Japan.
During the summer I was looking at plane tickets and found a multi-city route for €600: to Osaka, back from Tokyo with China Eastern. Although I don’t usually spend this much on plane tickets, this was an acceptable price. I departed on November 1st and returned home on the 13th.
China Eastern operates daily between Budapest and Shanghai with Boeing 787s. I was satisfied with all the services: comfortable seats with pillows and blankets, decent food. And all four flights were on time, boarding was smooth as well. In both Budapest and Tokyo I received both boarding passes, so I didn’t have to deal with this during the transfer.
As is my habit, I visited several places this time too. The itinerary looked like this in order:
- Osaka
- Kobe
- Nara
- Kyoto
- Nagoya
- Tokyo
Table of Contents
What was Japan like through my eyes?
I can now say that I’ve been to quite a few countries, but for me this one took the prize! I can really only spout clichés: you have to come here once to experience the whole thing.
I usually characterize Japan with five words: organization, discipline, punctuality, kindness, cleanliness. These describe well what you can expect if you travel here!
And not incidentally, the yen-forint exchange rate has weakened significantly in recent times, making the country expressly cheap. Food and services (with a few exceptions) are at Hungarian price levels. So now is the time for a trip to Japan! 🙂
Entry
As Hungarian citizens, we can travel to Japan visa-free for up to 90 days. I transferred in Shanghai, where transit is also currently visa-free.
Entry at the Japanese airport is a bit cumbersome and time-consuming. You need to go to the immigration officer with an entry document (basic information must be provided). On the plane, the flight attendants go around once showing a QR code with which we can fill it out on our mobile phones. After completing it, we receive a QR code, with which we need to go to a machine at the airport that issues the document. If we don’t do this, we have to fill out the paper by hand at the airport.
After immigration, we can pick up our luggage, and we still need to fill out another paper document (custom form). If we have nothing to declare, they just take the form and we can go.
Mobile applications
For navigation I used Google Maps, it showed everything perfectly. Public transportation also worked in real time, there were only one or two cases where it differed from reality.
Many people said that they don’t really speak English in Japan. Actually, I hardly had to use a translation program, compared to China more people spoke English. But it’s still good to have Google Translate on your phone.
I used the trips.com application several times for ticket purchases (except for public transportation tickets). They were at the same price here as on the attraction’s own website. Very reliable, we get the ticket by email immediately, I’ve never had a problem with it.
Payment, cash withdrawal
It’s interesting that in such a developed country you can use bank cards in fewer places than, for example, in our country. For instance, metro machines only accept cash.
For this reason, it’s worth having cash on hand. I exchanged yen on Revolut and withdrew it from an ATM there. The 7-Eleven chain has its own ATM, up to 10,000 yen it costs 110 yen, above that 220 yen. Totally fair.
Prices
I already wrote above that travel has become cheaper due to the weakening of the yen. This is also visible in local prices when converted to forints, you should expect Hungarian prices.
I’ll write down some prices that I noted:
- large bowl of ramen: 1100-1300 yen
- half liter of cola in a store: 190 yen
- long coffee at Starbucks, largest size: 490 yen
- half liter of water from a vending machine: 120 yen
Internet
As in China, I bought a daily 1 GB internet eSIM on trip.com here too. For 12 days it was €6, it worked perfectly everywhere. Activation is also very simple. (eSIM means you don’t have to buy a physical card, but can activate it on your mobile phone without one.)
Actually there’s very fast wifi in many places, the daily 1 GB was more than enough for me (I mostly used it for general browsing and maps). If by chance the internet isn’t enough, you can buy more.
Accommodation booking
I booked accommodations on trip.com and Booking. As usual, it was important that they be in good locations in terms of public transportation and have good reviews. All four accommodations met these criteria.
City public transportation
I used the metro in almost every major city, I only took the bus a few times. The metro is a bit tricky at first, but then you get used to it.
First of all, major metro stations are often in shopping centers or at large stations. It’s quite easy to get lost, the signs sometimes disappear. The metro line is marked with both color and letter. The stations are numbered, making navigation easier. At transfer stations, arrows in the appropriate color sometimes show the way. There are free restrooms at every station!
The exits are marked with numbers and sometimes also with letters. A station has multiple exits. Google Maps shows the exit numbers, it’s worth checking in advance which one is good for us, because the metro station has a very large floor area. If we start in the wrong direction, we have to walk several hundred extra meters on the surface to reach our destination.
I bought a day pass in each city with a metro (the system writes the start date and time on it at first use). The machines only accept cash. At the gate you have to put the ticket in the slot, and it gives it back when you pass through.
In Japan it’s customary to queue nicely at the metro, bus, train, escalator, etc. There’s no pushing, which is a bit strange for us at first. Arrows at the metro doors show that you should stand to the side and wait for passengers to disembark.
It’s not customary to talk on public transportation. There are warning signs about this everywhere. Most people are on their phones or sleeping. If they do talk, it’s very quietly.
Trains, long-distance buses
Most people naturally travel by Shinkansen. I traveled from Nagoya to Tokyo on it, the trip was about €60. Not cheap, but you must try it once. 🙂
Although there are many machines at the station, it’s worth buying online in advance with a seat reservation to ensure we have a seat. If we’re traveling to Tokyo, we should book on the left side by the window, because Fuji is in that direction. Unfortunately the weather was bad during the trip, so I didn’t see it.
This website is the official Shinkansen site, the booking process is simple. We get a QR code, which needs to be scanned at the entrance gate, which gives us a small ticket (with the train and our seat information on it). At the destination station the QR code is also needed at the exit. The seats are comfortable, there’s plenty of legroom.
I also traveled by regional train (e.g. Osaka-Nara), here you can buy tickets from machines at the stations. The ticket price depends on the distance, we can read this from the map on the wall. We need to select the price on the machine and we get the ticket. By the way, for regional trains you should roughly expect Hungarian prices.
I also traveled once by long-distance bus from Kyoto to Nagoya. The Willer express buses are comfortable and well-priced. Booking a week in advance, the trip was €12. When booking we can also choose a seat (included in the price) and we get a QR code. You can board with this.
Interesting facts
One of the most important things is that there are very few trash cans. The custom is that everyone takes their trash home and collects it selectively. Some can be found near vending machines, but even those are mostly for drink bottles. So let’s factor this in when we buy something.
There are tons of vending machines. There’s one on almost every street, often several next to each other. And there are some where the coffee or tea comes out hot. I was even surprised the first time when I took out the coffee can and it was nearly boiling hot. 🙂
There are also many grocery stores. The three largest chains are 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson. These can be found everywhere. Most grocery stores are also small eateries where there’s a lot of pre-prepared food. After payment we can heat it up in the microwave and we can also sit down there to eat it. We could do this at home too…
At the 7-Eleven store I saw a smoothie-making machine that you have to try. You take the fruit cup from the fridge, pay for it, and put it in the machine. The smoothie is ready in a minute. It’s a fun thing.