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I will be in Tokyo for 9 real days with almost one day in Yokohama. My friends say that is too much time in Tokyo and believe i only need 5 days there in Tokyo and should go to Osaka or Kyoto too. However, this is my first time traveling to Tokyo and i think there will be a learning curve especially with transit(trains) . I just found out Visa credit cards won't work online there, thus i have to get a mastercard with no foreign transaction fees along with an atm card that doesn't charge fees too. I will try and load the mastercard to apple wallet in order to use the digital version of their transit app(SUICA). I also want to really explore the city more and go into the shops,restaurants, go to events(sumo, museums, etc.) along with taking pictures. Do you think that is too long in Tokyo?
I will be in Tokyo for 9 real days with almost one day in Yokohama. My friends say that is too much time in Tokyo and believe i only need 5 days there in Tokyo and should go to Osaka or Kyoto too. However, this is my first time traveling to Tokyo and i think there will be a learning curve especially with transit(trains) . I just found out Visa credit cards won't work online there, thus i have to get a mastercard with no foreign transaction fees along with an atm card that doesn't charge fees too. I will try and load the mastercard to apple wallet in order to use the digital version of their transit app(SUICA). I also want to really explore the city more and go into the shops,restaurants, go to events(sumo, museums, etc.) along with taking pictures. Do you think that is too long in Tokyo?
This is going to be very dependent on the person. You can spend 9 days in Tokyo and do a different thing every day or do something multiple days if you're very interested in something specific, but the question is are you interested in all those things?
I wouldn't worry too much about the transit payment part of it. Once you get SUICA on your phone, then it gets pretty easy. The shinkansen bullet trains you'll likely want to take if you go to Osaka and Kyoto won't be using SUICA, but those are easy to do as well.
If I were in your shoes, I'd probably figure out what kinds of things I like most and then also take into account the season I'll be going in in terms of weather and activities / events.
This is going to be very dependent on the person. You can spend 9 days in Tokyo and do a different thing every day or do something multiple days if you're very interested in something specific, but the question is are you interested in all those things?
I wouldn't worry too much about the transit payment part of it. Once you get SUICA on your phone, then it gets pretty easy. The shinkansen bullet trains you'll likely want to take if you go to Osaka and Kyoto won't be using SUICA, but those are easy to do as well.
If I were in your shoes, I'd probably figure out what kinds of things I like most and then also take into account the season I'll be going in in terms of weather and activities / events.
Last time I was there (about 5 years ago) I was still using the physical PASMO card which is r.eloadable by cash. For bullet trains you can go to the ticket office and buy with a credit card, and I would recommend paying extra for reserved seating. I learned that the hard way, lol. You would think with a train every 3-5 minutes there would be empty seats.
Another advice is to always have yen cash, as many restaurants and stores are still cash only. My go-to was 7-Eleven in which all their ATM's accept foreign debit cards, and it plays cool electronic Japanese music, lol
Last time I was there (about 5 years ago) I was still using the physical PASMO card which is r.eloadable by cash. For bullet trains you can go to the ticket office and buy with a credit card, and I would recommend paying extra for reserved seating. I learned that the hard way, lol. You would think with a train every 3-5 minutes there would be empty seats.
Another advice is to always have yen cash, as many restaurants and stores are still cash only. My go-to was 7-Eleven in which all their ATM's accept foreign debit cards, and it plays cool electronic Japanese music, lol
Definitely having some cash in hand is helpful as is paying extra for reserved seating especially if on a limited time trip.
One nice somewhat recent thing is that you can load a virtual SUICA on to your phone as part of your Apple Wallet and so you just tap you phone in. What you do is you link a credit card to it and then you purchase SUICA credits to load on to the virtual card and that's what gets deducted out when you tap through fare gates.
I will be in Tokyo for 9 real days with almost one day in Yokohama. My friends say that is too much time in Tokyo and believe i only need 5 days there in Tokyo and should go to Osaka or Kyoto too. However, this is my first time traveling to Tokyo and i think there will be a learning curve especially with transit(trains) . I just found out Visa credit cards won't work online there, thus i have to get a mastercard with no foreign transaction fees along with an atm card that doesn't charge fees too. I will try and load the mastercard to apple wallet in order to use the digital version of their transit app(SUICA). I also want to really explore the city more and go into the shops,restaurants, go to events(sumo, museums, etc.) along with taking pictures. Do you think that is too long in Tokyo?
Taking the trains is very easy in Japan. The station names, destination signs, ticket machines, platform signs, etc are not only in Japanese but in English as well. Should you need to talk to a station agent, he/she will whip out a translating device (or simply Google translate on a tablet) if necessary.
Some stations are huge and have multiple exits. I recommend looking for the right exit while you're still on the platform level rather than taking the first stairs that you see after getting off the train.
I suggest using the Jorudan website rather than Google maps when figuring out the train schedules as the former provides a more comprehensive list of available public transportation options. For example, Google maps doesn't show hikari trains for travels between Tokyo and Kyoto.
Some shinkansen trains offer both reserved and non-reserved seats in separate cars. Check the overhead boards to see which set of train cars are reserved or non- reserved so you know where to line up especially if you don't have a seat reservation. I should also add that there a few trains in which seat reservations are compulsory--for example, Hayabusa trains heading north and the limited express trains traveling to Yoshino.
The sale of physical pasmo and suica cards have been temporarily suspended due to a worldwide chip shortage, but one can still obtain the welcome suica card at the airport ticket machines.
I would agree with your friends that 9 days is too much to spend in one place. You can easily fit in Kyoto in your itinerary, or why not go on day trips? I recommend doing the Hakone loop as you get to try different modes of transportation. Nikko and Kamakura are also worth checking out.
I see people mentioning Yokohama, but I don't know why. From my perspective, it's not really any different from Tokyo other than that they have a Chinatown and an American-style cemetary.
On the other hand, you could stop there on the way to or from Kamakura. That would mean you'd get less time in Kamakura though.
Kyoto is awesome, but traveling around the country will run up travel costs. If somebody wants to stay around the Tokyo area, Kamakura is pretty nice too. It's smaller than Kyoto and doesn't have the gold temple, but it does have the famed Great Buddha statue.
I see people mentioning Yokohama, but I don't know why. From my perspective, it's not really any different from Tokyo other than that they have a Chinatown and an American-style cemetary.
On the other hand, you could stop there on the way to or from Kamakura. That would mean you'd get less time in Kamakura though.
No Japanese city is very different from another. They are all very samey. The only difference is their size.
I see people mentioning Yokohama, but I don't know why. From my perspective, it's not really any different from Tokyo other than that they have a Chinatown and an American-style cemetary.
On the other hand, you could stop there on the way to or from Kamakura. That would mean you'd get less time in Kamakura though.
I would think of Yokohama functionally as essentially part of traveling around in Tokyo as if it were a different neighborhood given that its adjacent to Tokyo proper and the surfeit of transport options. There are definitely parts of Tokyo where it's easier and faster to get to downtown Yokohama than it is to some other parts of Tokyo.
Kamakura is nice and I think the idea of doing a Tokyo region trip in general can be pretty good. The beach town vibe in summer is great. Contrasting with that, you can also go up north into the mountains to Nikko with its temples and some residential neighborhoods in traditional architectural style. It also has a lot of hot springs including some 80s boom years resorts and other attractions that can be interesting.
I would think of Yokohama functionally as essentially part of traveling around in Tokyo as if it were a different neighborhood given that its adjacent to Tokyo proper and the surfeit of transport options. There are definitely parts of Tokyo where it's easier and faster to get to downtown Yokohama than it is to some other parts of Tokyo.
Kamakura is nice and I think the idea of doing a Tokyo region trip in general can be pretty good. The beach town vibe in summer is great. Contrasting with that, you can also go up north into the mountains to Nikko with its temples and some residential neighborhoods in traditional architectural style. It also has a lot of hot springs including some 80s boom years resorts and other attractions that can be interesting.
Yeah, Yokohama is like the "24th special ward of Tokyo". I still recommend it though. It has a unique flavor and lots to see including Landmark Tower, Minato Mirai, Red Brick Warehouse, Yama****a Park, and Chinatown in that order which is a linear path and only takes a few hours. You may want to go up to Marine Tower as well which was the place for panoramic views of the bay, before Landmark Tower was built.
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