Urgent Questions
Sep 22nd, 2005, 11:24 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Urgent Questions
We are 3 friends going on a 2 week independent tour of Japan in November.
There are a few things we need to know:
How much cash should we carry and can we withdraw money from post-office ATMs easily?
We ordered a rail-pass as we will be travelling to Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Himeji and Tokyo (where we will take day-trips). Do we need to reserve seats beforehand and would we need to do that for all trips?
Thanks for the help.
There are a few things we need to know:
How much cash should we carry and can we withdraw money from post-office ATMs easily?
We ordered a rail-pass as we will be travelling to Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Himeji and Tokyo (where we will take day-trips). Do we need to reserve seats beforehand and would we need to do that for all trips?
Thanks for the help.
Sep 22nd, 2005, 11:37 AM
#2
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,282
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It is not easy to get money in Japan especially outside of Tokyo. ATM machines that take american cards are few and far between and have restricted hours.
You should reserve your seats as soon as you get to Japan.
You should reserve your seats as soon as you get to Japan.
Sep 22nd, 2005, 11:46 AM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,267
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My experience was completely different on the ATMs. I had no problem at all. Every post office we went into had machines that took my ATM card during their normal opening hours. I just made sure on the days I needed cash that I knew where the closest post office was and we walked a block or two there first to use the ATM. Maybe it is different in areas more off the beaten track, but in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Osaka we had no problems at all using ATMs at the post office. And we used one at Narita right when we got off the plane without any problem.
I beleive that ALL post offices in Japan have ATMs that take American ATM cards now.
I beleive that ALL post offices in Japan have ATMs that take American ATM cards now.
Sep 22nd, 2005, 11:51 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,267
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I looked back in my research and it is the ATM cards that are affiliated w/the PLUS system and Cirrus that you can use at Japanese ATMs. Look on the back of your ATM card and see if it has one of those on it.
Google "Japan ATMs post offices" and you'll see.
Google "Japan ATMs post offices" and you'll see.
Sep 22nd, 2005, 01:58 PM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,034
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No problem at all to find Post Office ATM machines that take foreign cards. They are in post offices (of course), many department stores, some convenience stores, most supermarkets, and randomly located on street corners on occasion. If you do a search here on Fodors for ATM Japan or japan post office you'll surely find the link to the post office pages.
Limit...the limit for Japanese cards is something huge like 300,000 yen or 400,000 yen, with multiple transactions allowed. Your limit will be set by your home bank and will in all likelihood be much lower. Check with your bank for your daily limit as well as the charge to use foreign ATM machines. Though there are many machines, they do have restricted hours...most are 9 to 5, some are open at night, a very few are 24 hours.
Reseving seats on trains is always a good idea, but don't fret too much if you can't get seat reservations. There are non-reserved cars where you line up to get the seats, up to about an hour before the train is scheduled to depart. Worst case, you have to stand. You can still travel though.
Limit...the limit for Japanese cards is something huge like 300,000 yen or 400,000 yen, with multiple transactions allowed. Your limit will be set by your home bank and will in all likelihood be much lower. Check with your bank for your daily limit as well as the charge to use foreign ATM machines. Though there are many machines, they do have restricted hours...most are 9 to 5, some are open at night, a very few are 24 hours.
Reseving seats on trains is always a good idea, but don't fret too much if you can't get seat reservations. There are non-reserved cars where you line up to get the seats, up to about an hour before the train is scheduled to depart. Worst case, you have to stand. You can still travel though.
Sep 23rd, 2005, 02:23 AM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We're not from the U.S.A. even though we have the usual types (Mastercard, Visa). Hope that is not a problem.
Also: I just read a post about luggage and I'm thinking we'll be doing some weight-lifting as our luggage will be quite large due to the length of our trip and the number of train journeys.
Also: I just read a post about luggage and I'm thinking we'll be doing some weight-lifting as our luggage will be quite large due to the length of our trip and the number of train journeys.
Sep 23rd, 2005, 02:42 AM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,034
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Doesn't matter where you are from. Your card needs to be part of the network...http://www.yu-cho.japanpost.jp/e_a0000000/aa200000.htm will tell you what you need to know.
Sep 23rd, 2005, 02:44 AM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,034
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
About your luggage...pack light, and be sure you are able to carry all of your stuff up and down several flights of crowded stairs. Don't count on escalators going in the down direction, and don't count on elevators - elevators are reserved for disabled or strollers...though most mothers with strollers can't be bothered to wait for someone to come unlock the elevator for them and use the stairs or escalator even with a stroller.
Sep 25th, 2005, 11:00 AM
#9
ATM machines are not as common in Japan as in the USA, but you should have no trouble finding ATMs at the shinansen stations that you will be using. I usually get 80,000 or 90,000 yen from the ATM when I get there and then 50,000 at points on the way. I am not at all concerned about theft or robbery in Japan.
To get your seats together, you ought to get your reserved seats a day or so in advance. If you are good about keeping to your schedule, then when you arrive in a new city you could get your reserved sets for your departure before you leave the station. Riding in the reserved seat cars is much preferred to the unreserved.
To get your seats together, you ought to get your reserved seats a day or so in advance. If you are good about keeping to your schedule, then when you arrive in a new city you could get your reserved sets for your departure before you leave the station. Riding in the reserved seat cars is much preferred to the unreserved.
Sep 25th, 2005, 01:59 PM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 263
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Post office ATMs accept foreign ATM cards. I used US ATM cards. You might have better luck with yours using non Japanese, non US ATM cards.
Re reservation, for Shinkansen, you should reserve a day in advance, at least half a day, except for holiday times, in which case much earlier. With passes, it does not cost you any money to do this and you can change your reservations. Avoid reserving in the late afternoon when there are long lines at ticket windows, I mean long lines, esp at big stations.
Here is another tidbit why you should reserve. The unreserved sections on Hikari (which you probably use) are cars #1-#5. When you enter the platform, you usually come out middle of the train, around car #8. Although I always travelled with reservations (on Shinkansen), looking at the trains pulling into the platforms, unreserved sections always seemed to be more crowded even when reserved section are nearly emptly.
Here is the composition of a 16 car long distance Hikari according to info I have:
cars #1-#2 unreserved no-smoking
cars #3-#4 unreserved smoking
car #5 unreserved no-smoking
cars #6-#7 reserved ordinary class no-smoking
cars #8-#9 green car no-smoking
car #10 green car smoking
cars #11-#14 reserved ordinary class no-smoking
cars #15-#16 reserved ordinary class smoking
car #1 points to Hakata direction
car #16 points to Tokyo direction
On Hikari Railstar trains that run Hakata-Shin Osaka, cars #1-#3 are unreserved while cars #4-#8 are reserved.
Kodama slow trains have more unreserved seats.
Shinkansen trains make very brief stops so pay close attention to the car marker on the platform as well as near rail tracks. The multi-color digital displays show the next few arriving trains and the number of cars making up the train. There are several different marks on the platform floor indicating the car number of that location depending on the number of cars making up the train. E.g. car #5 for 16 car long Shinkansen is NOT the same location on the platform as car #5 of 8 car long Shinkansen.
Re reservation, for Shinkansen, you should reserve a day in advance, at least half a day, except for holiday times, in which case much earlier. With passes, it does not cost you any money to do this and you can change your reservations. Avoid reserving in the late afternoon when there are long lines at ticket windows, I mean long lines, esp at big stations.
Here is another tidbit why you should reserve. The unreserved sections on Hikari (which you probably use) are cars #1-#5. When you enter the platform, you usually come out middle of the train, around car #8. Although I always travelled with reservations (on Shinkansen), looking at the trains pulling into the platforms, unreserved sections always seemed to be more crowded even when reserved section are nearly emptly.
Here is the composition of a 16 car long distance Hikari according to info I have:
cars #1-#2 unreserved no-smoking
cars #3-#4 unreserved smoking
car #5 unreserved no-smoking
cars #6-#7 reserved ordinary class no-smoking
cars #8-#9 green car no-smoking
car #10 green car smoking
cars #11-#14 reserved ordinary class no-smoking
cars #15-#16 reserved ordinary class smoking
car #1 points to Hakata direction
car #16 points to Tokyo direction
On Hikari Railstar trains that run Hakata-Shin Osaka, cars #1-#3 are unreserved while cars #4-#8 are reserved.
Kodama slow trains have more unreserved seats.
Shinkansen trains make very brief stops so pay close attention to the car marker on the platform as well as near rail tracks. The multi-color digital displays show the next few arriving trains and the number of cars making up the train. There are several different marks on the platform floor indicating the car number of that location depending on the number of cars making up the train. E.g. car #5 for 16 car long Shinkansen is NOT the same location on the platform as car #5 of 8 car long Shinkansen.
