How to Travel throughout Tokyo
Hands down, we loved Tokyo. Although Tokyo is a lot of "City," escaping the rush hours arent that bad. People are extremely friendly, extremely helpful, and treat tourist with respect. When traveling to the Tokyo area, there are certain places to visit. Definitely check out a lot of their tourist locations but, there are a lot of hidden gems to stumble across, most locations have English menus however, the further away from the city you travel, the less likely you will find translated menus. Dont be alarmed though, when it comes to food, I think theres a common language. David and I have a wonderful story to tell about the elder lady who helped us with our Okonomiyaki! :)
Here is a complete Survival List on Tokyo/ Japan (if I missed anything, Please feel free to contact us! )
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What Airport to Fly into
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Traveling to and From the AirportS
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Wifi in Japan
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Meals
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This section is designed to help you get from the airport to your hotel and to all your other destinations in the Tokyo area. I have included buttons that will take you directly to the sites that have additional information.
Have fun and GET LOST
What Airport to fly into:
Some of you might be thinking about traveling to Japan and are curious about which airport to fly into. Wait there are more than one international airport in Japan? YES! Depending where you are interested in, you will fly into a few airports, but if you are interested in Tokyo region, you’ll have TWO choices. If you want to get into the city ASAP, please fly into Haneda International Airport, it is much closer to Tokyo than Narita International Airport. We flew into Narita and took a 1 hours limousine bus near our hotel but it was only because the package we selected flew into Narita and it was the cheapest. So it depends on your time crunch, funds, and pure curiosity.
How to get WiFi in Japan:
If you are considering on traveling without a tour guide, do not speak any Japanese, or just want to discover Japan on your own, a Pocket WiFi is a great investment. Its about 3USD/Day but totally worth it. The link I’ve provided below is the company we used throughout our time in Tokyo. When you arrive in Japan your phone carrier may charge you for roaming, and no one likes to get charged more than they already do. In order to avoid this issue, simply turn your phone on airplane mode and turn your WiFi Settings on. The set up with Pocket WiFi is very easy. You have the option to pick up the wifi from the airport you land at, pick ups are at the post offices they have in designated airports, or have the wifi mailed to your hotel. All you need to do is pick it up, turn it on, sign on and use. Simple right? To drop off all you need to do is return everything in the designated packaging that the company provides and drop it off at any postal box. The web page can tell you more about their services. But we were more than happy with the service we received from our Pocket Wifi. We were able to SnapChat our adventures, post to Instagram, and Message people via iMessage/ Facebook Messenger. David and I were able to get everywhere we needed with complete ease, and up to date train arrival times via Google Maps. If you choose not to spend the 3USD/day, most coffee shops offer free wifi however, they have limited range on bandwidth and of course restrictions on how far way you are before the wifi cuts out.
Transportation from Airport to the City and Around the City
As I mentioned earlier you have the Airport Limousine Bus which takes you from the airport to your hotel. If your hotel is not a designated pick up/drop off location, you could choose one close to your hotel and walk, like we did. It’s a great way to explore what’s around you, and places you may want to go to when you have no plans. Prices may vary depending on how far away you are from the airport and the specific district you are being dropped off and picked up at. I highly suggest the round-trip option since it will be at a discounted price than paying for another one-way ticket. The Staff is friendly and most of their English is well spoken, and are willing to help. Another option would be the NEX if you fly into Narita Airport. The NEX is a bullet train that will take you from Narita Airport to various stops including Tokyo Station and a few stations in the Tokyo circle. This option is a bit more expensive because you are taking a faster mode of transportation however, you could get stuck in rail traffic during certain hours of the day. Tokyo’s rush hour begins at 7am till 9am and resumes at 5pm till 7pm. So if you have flights within those windows, its best to just catch the limobus. If you are traveling with large luggage its best to take the limobus since you store all large luggage on the bottom of the bus. No hassle, and you get to the right hotel drop off, pending you gave them the right address drop off location.
Once you’re in the city of Tokyo you’ll quickly find yourself in a fast paced environment. The best way to explore Tokyo is via Train. Seriously INVEST IN A SUICA “IC” Card. It’s a pre-paid card that you tap as you go, like a Metro Card if you know how Washington DC works but, the great thing about the Suica card is that you can use it at various convenience stores like Family Mart, vending machines, and even some restaurants just ask your waiter. The down payment for the card is 5USD but can be refundable if you return the card. My recommendation is to load your card with 100USD, this way you don't have to worry about running out of money on the card and don't have to deal with recharging the card. Don't worry any additional money left on the card can be exchanged for Yen but I like to use mines at Family Mart and I kept the card as a souvenir. Another brand out there is a PASMO card. It works the same as the SUICA but, since I was introduced to SUICA before PASMO, I used SUICA throughout the trip. I think this is a great concept that the US needs to incorporate. :)
Meals in Japan:
Now if you’re like David, and have never been to Japan you’ve probably heard the rumors about Japan being expensive. This maybe true in some regions of the city however, you can find great food for real cheap. We allocated about 10USD per meal, this allowed us to work with 30USD per day; most days we didn’t even need to spend that much. We found great food at the temples we visited (Asakua’s Crab meat on a stick for 500Yen…yummmm) local foods owned by families (okonomiyaki for 20USD for two full course meals in Ikebukuro cooked by a very polite grandma <3) and great snacks throughout the walking streets of Ginza. So despite the common misconception, Japan can be affordable, you just wont be able to eat at 5 star restaurants, You’ll most likely need reservations for those type of restaurants anyways. Check with your hotel, most hotels offer breakfast packages with your stay but if not, I suggest you going to your nearest Family Mart convenience store as stock up on yogurt and such. Japan is not huge on breakfast like most nations. Some coffee shops will specialize in breakfast like Hoshino’s Coffee Shop with their AMAZING Matcha Soufflé pancakes, but don’t think you’ll find a Hoshino’s on every corner. Another thing to think about is Japan loves their Tabaco so, if you don’t like the smell of smoke, ask for smoke free parts of the coffee shops if you’re not already in a smoke free area. In places like Harajuku, you will find unique sweets like flower shaped cotton candy. Eating great food in Japan is easy but being open minded to eating them and venturing out to find them is completely depended on you.
