blackmons

Hi, everyone. I'm back with more questions. Hope your summer is going well. If you think I should start another thread with any of these questions, just let me know. Thanks so much for your patience.

1. I have seen the recommendation on these boards to rent a pocket wifi. I believe my husband has unlimited data on his work phone. I know I'm showing some ignorance here, but is there any advantage to using a pocket wifi versus just using his phone insofar as quality of reception goes? If we use his phone, do we need to have it unlocked and get a SIM card? With family medical issues going on at home, we want to be as completely and easily reachable as possible.

2. And while we're on the subject of iphones, my Cannon point and shoot digital camera stopped working on our last trip. I don't take many photos at home and have just been using my iphone 6. Would you recommend purchasing a new point and shoot for this trip, or is the quality pretty much the same as an iphone these days? I intend to print them and possibly enlarge some for framing.

3. A friend of mine spent a week in Tokyo and said her husband pretty much used Google Maps the entire trip for walking and showing taxi drivers their destination. He didn't print out any maps. I like to have a print back up. Any recommendations for good maps that have both English and Japanese on it? I plan on printing out maps from the hotel internet sites, but it would be nice to have city maps for Kyoto and Tokyo.

That's about it for now. Thank you so much for all your time and expertise.
Laurie

Kavey

I can't comment on the wifi versus your husband's data roaming as no idea on his phone or deal. You'd have to research that with his specific provider and the model of phone I guess.

I ended up getting a new phone, the Samsung Galaxy S7, just a few days before our last trip in March/ April. I did take my Canon DSLR but actually I hardly used it, taking the majority of my photos on my phone. The exception was for some restaurant dinners where I used a f1.8 50mm lens. But I'd have been fine without it.

We never had any printed maps for Tokyo either but we never used google maps for taxi drivers, just for ourselves when walking. For taxi drivers we had the destination address written in Japanese and English PLUS the destination's telephone address, which is how most Japanese GPS are programmed.

blackmons

Sorry for the belated thank you, Kavey. Looks like we can purchase a passport plan with att for the iPhone 6. Verizon has plans too. Apparently the iPhone 6 doesn't need to be unlocked.
Laurie

Kavey

No worries, you are very welcome.

blackmons

Can someone please advise me on what the best way would be to get from Koyasan to Kyoto. When I check on Hyperdia, they are giving me itineraries to Shinimamiya, JR Yamatoji Rapid Service to Osaka and then JR Special Rapid Service to Kyoto. Some of the itineraries have a transfer in Hashimoto before Shinimamiya too.

Other sites suggest taking the Nankai Koya line, Ltd Express, to Namba, Midosuji subway to Osaka, and then JR to Kyoto

Another site says to take the shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto, but I’m not sure how I would get to Shin-Osaka from Kyosan, unless this somehow involves a subway from Namba? I’m not sure.

In using Hyperdia, I’m not sure if I should search for Koyasan to Kyoto, or if it would be better to break it down into steps. I’m trying to figure out if I should get a one-week or two-week JR Pass so I’d like to be able to figure this out.

I’ve been sort of spinning my wheels all afternoon. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks,
Laurie

mrwunrfl

You will take Nankai trains to Shinimamiya. Then a JR rapid to Osaka and the JR rapid train to Kyoto.

The JR part is only 920 yen so not a big factor towards a JR pass.

>>Nankai Koya line, Ltd Express, to Namba, Midosuji subway to Osaka, and then JR to Kyoto.

That will work too. That ltd express is the train you want. You could take it to Shinimamiya and then JR from there.

Those JR rapid trains are frequent enough that you don't need to stress about the schedule unless you are traveling late at night.

mrwunrfl

You aren't doing anything wrong. That Hashimoto stop is so thta you can connect the two ordinary trains. That would be less expensive but a longer trip than taking the limited express.

If you want to see the ltd exp train schedule then un-check Ordinary Train and search GOKURAKUBASHI -> SHINIMAMIYA

There is a Koyasan pass that you should consider. Might not cover the ltd exp.

blackmons

Thanks, Mrwunrfl, for simplifying it for me!

amy_torres_sd

We just got back from our trip to Japan. We stayed at the Shibuya Excel Hotel which is directly across the street from the train station. Extremely convenient, you don't even have to go outside to get to the station (there's a mall and walkway over the street) and the limousine bus drops directly at Excel also. We upgraded from our 8th floor room to a 22nd floor corner room after we returned to Tokyo, totally worth the extra $50 for more space and a birds-eye view of the Shibuya scramble day and night.

The line for JR passes at the Narita Airport was LONG and we were glad to skip it. The JR office opens at 10 a.m. in Shibuya station.

Verizon didn't have a package deal for internet so we rented a pocket wifi and were happy to have it. Google maps and Hyperdia were indispensable.

I took my heavy Nikon because I wasn't happy with the quality of pictures that I got from a new Lumix point and shoot earlier in the summer. However, the Nikon rarely left the hotel room. My iPhone 6+ did a fine job and was always with me.

Have fun!

blackmons

Hi, Amy
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! How wonderful to have such a fantastic view of all the craziness below! I'm all for hassle-free on the day of our arrival since I know we'll be exhausted.
My husband's phone is through AT&T. Mine is Verizon. They offered me the Preferential Pricing Plan
$40 – 100 minutes voice, 100 messages, 100 mg data. I'm assuming 100 mg won't be enough. AT&T offered my husband 300mg data for $60, .50/mg if we go over. I think I may have to do the Verizon plan so I can have the minutes in case of emergency. (We have learned this lesson the hard way.) For data, I'm still trying to decide between pocket wifi, where we can use both our devices, or the AT&T plan. So many decisions...
I've been following your thread and am in awe over how quickly you were able to pull your trip together!! I've been planning mine for a year.
Thanks,
Laurie

blackmons

Amy, forgot to ask, were you able to make seat reservations at the JR office in Shibuya station?

mrwunrfl

If Amy answers "yes" then that means that she visited one of these offices at Shibuya station.

1) Travel Service Center (View Plaza)
Weekdays
11:00-20:00
Weekends and Holidays
11:00-18:00

2) JR Ticket Office (Midori-no-madoguchi)
5:30-23:00

You can do the JR Pass exchange and get reserved seat tickets at the Travel Service Center.

The green logo on this image is what to look for if you want seat reservations:
https://thomasgittel.files.wordpress...-madoguchi.jpg

At a JR Ticket Office, look for a separate counter/window with that logo (and the words "Reserved Tickets" . It is there just to issue seat reservations (if you have a pass or a fare ticket). You don't have to get into the line(s) to the fare ticket window.

blackmons

Again, thank you! I really appreciate it!

I'm working on the Kyoto section of my itinerary and will be running it by all you experts as soon as I have it simplified (and abbreviated so we can actually enjoy without killing ourselves.)

amy_torres_sd

Thank you for clarifying, mrwunrful. Yes, I visited the Travel Service Center. It's outside and around a couple of corners from the Hachiko statue. We had to ask a few times to get to the right place, merely because the area is much larger that I expected.

Laurie... We had a fantastic time! Traveling with a teenager can be challenging (she really loves being in bed!) but I adapt to my daughter's speed rather than hound her into doing more in a day than would make her happy. We saved several "treats" to enjoy when I go with my hubby someday, like Kabuki and baseball.

blackmons

So glad to hear you had such a good time, Amy! I've been following your trip report and taking note.

Question for everyone regarding getting Yen before your trip. How does the exchange rate compare changing dollars to Yen here in the U.S. versus doing it in Japan? I always like to have cash on hand before I leave, but am trying to figure out how much we should bring. It's nice to not have to immediately worry about getting cash, but I suspect the exchange rate I would get from my bank might not be very good. What was your experience?
Arigato (practicing!),
Laurie

Mara

The one time I got yen from my bank in NYC - it was a number of years ago - the exchange rate was really horrible....nothing like the interbank rate that you see on financial websites or xe.com....lol.

You really shouldn't have a problem using ATMs in the airport - I always call my card issuer to tell them my travel plans.....

The only issue I know of is that Post Office ATMs don't like Master/Maestro ATM cards with chips, but you can use those at 7 Eleven.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2208.html

Kathie

Don't get any yen in the US. The best (least expensive, best exchange rate) is to get it from an ATM in Japan. The bank ATMs at the airport will accept your card, as will ATMs inside convenience stores Like 7-11 and inside post offices.

Do notify your bank that you will be traveling, and check to see what your bank will charge you to use a foreign ATM. Many big banks in the US charge $5 per use plus a 3% premium on foreign exchange. While that isn't a great deal, you'll be paying less for your yen that way than buying yen from your bank in the US. It may be late to recommend this, but if your bank charges that much, you might benefit from opening a bank account at a credit union or using your brokerage account. My brokerage charges just 1% on foreign exchange and no charge per use of a foreign ATM. Many people have a travel bank account different from their regular account. It's worth looking into.

We got several hundred dollars worth of yen from the ATM, and had to change most of it back before we left Japan. More places accepted credit cards than I had anticipated.

Have a wonderful trip!

blackmons

Wow, thanks! I really could not do this trip without all of your fantastic and generous advice. I actually have a debit card from Schwab that supposedly doesn't charge foreign fees. I'll wait and get cash at the airport.
Thanks again.

kja

Mara has already given you the very informative japan-guide link, and she and Kathie have given you some great info! Just to add a bit, there is a difference between exchange fees (which you bank might charge) and fees for use of an ATM, and the later, can come from either YOUR bank or the bank to which the ATM is attached.

mrwunrfl

Two things to do with extra yen:

1) Pay down your hotel bill at the last place you stay. Or there and the next-to-last hotel.

2) Keep it for your next trip. You can exchange yen for any currency. Of course, the value of the yen could vary, but so could the USD that you would exchange them for.

I usually carry a couple of USD $100 bills in case I need them to exchange for cash for some reason. Next trip they will be CAD bills.

Unwise, I bought some JPY months before my first trip to Japan. The dollar then dropped in value after 9/11 and I sold the yen at a tiny profit above the cost of both exchanges. By the time I took the trip in November the USD was up to 125 JPY - and I just got the cash at an ATM at NRT.