Travel to Tokyo

Travel to Tokyo

Where to eat, sleep and play

Suzanne Lowe

Silvergum Publishing

Copyright © 2024 Suzanne Lowe

All rights reserved

Copywrite Suzanne Lowe 2024 The moral right of the author has been asserted

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-0-6-48904977

ISBN-10: 0-6-48904977

Cover design by: Silvergum Publishing

Subject, Travel, Asia, Japan

Thank you to my family, Steve, Tahlia and Emilie, my travelling companions.

A special thanks to Tahlia for translating for us and all the times we asked her, What does this say? and Are we on the right train?! You made our Japan adventures a lot easier!

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Acknowledgement

About The Author

Books By This Author

Foreword

How to have a stress-free holiday

So, you want to take a holiday to Japan; however, you’re not sure where to begin? What do you pack? Will you like the food? How will you get around? Well, you are not alone in asking these questions and Travel to Tokyo is here to help you.

I took my first trip overseas to New Zealand with my family when I was twelve years old and from that moment on, the travel bug bit. As I grew into adulthood, I began to travel regularly, learning through many experiences both good and bad, what to pack, when to book and what generally makes a trip overseas less stressful. Because who wants a holiday to be stressful, right? Holidays are your time to enjoy yourself. Whether it be lazing on the beach, looking at museums and temples, or ziplining down a mountain, an enjoyable holiday needs some thought and planning.

There will always be times when things go wrong on holiday, and sometimes these things, like bad weather or lost luggage, are out of your control. Most times, you can prevent disaster by being organised. If you follow a few simple guidelines, then the chances of your trip being a whole lot less stressful, are increased.

The tips and guidelines I provide in this book are there for you to use during and before your holiday to Japan, to help make your trip easier. They are derived from my own experiences as a traveller. I have been to Japan on holiday many times with my family, and although sometimes challenging, Japan remains one of my favourite places to visit, and yes, I would definitely go back again!  

Look out for the handy TIPS throughout the book. They are my own personal hints to make your trip to Japan fun.

My first trip to Japan in 2006 was quite challenging as no one in our family spoke any Japanese and minimal tourist facilities were available at that time. However, travel in Japan in recent years has become much easier. Many signs are now in English, WI-FI is available, and although the language barrier can still be difficult, you can use a translator app on your phone such as Google translator to translate menus, signs etc.

Travel in Japan is great fun and a lot easier than you might think. So, if you are thinking of taking a holiday to Japan, go ahead and do it, you will love it!

Oki o tskukete! (Safe travels!)

Preface

Disclaimer:

Japan is changing all the time with some restaurants or attractions closing and new ones opening. Prices may increase, and new trends emerge.

I have based this book on my own personal experiences of the times I have visited Japan with my own family. Some of the information provided may become outdated, and I will revise as I become aware of any changes, for example, admission costs or opening hours. Please take the time to check opening and closing times, prices, addresses etc. yourselves on the websites I have provided to confirm information.

Australian spelling and the metric system are used throughout this book.

If you have any constructive feedback, suggestions or would like to ask me about my family trips to Japan or any other places I have travelled, please contact me through my website www.suzanneloweauthor.com  

I would love to hear from you.

Suzanne

Chapter One

Why travel to Japan?

I found Japan to be an amazing travel destination. A beguiling mixture of old and modern, futuristic cities and traditional temples all rolled into one. There is always something interesting and quirky to see, whether it be Geishas wandering the streets of Kyoto in traditional kimonos, futuristic robots in Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science or eating rainbow-coloured toasted sandwiches in Harajuku.

We always felt safe when travelling in Japan. The people are tremendously polite, and the transport system is extremely efficient, making it easy to get around. I once left my handbag sitting on a seat in a subway train whilst travelling to Shinjuku, and a local Japanese lady exited the train and hurriedly ran after us to ensure I didn’t lose it.

Another aspect of Japan that we found gratifying was the customer service ethic. Customers are always treated in high regard, and every effort is made to ensure your happiness. We were always made to feel welcome. On our first trip to Japan when our children were younger, we sat down at a restaurant to eat an evening meal. We suddenly realised that the restaurant only had chopsticks available, no knives and forks and were wondering how the children would eat. Suddenly, we saw one of the restaurant’s waiters running down the street, returning a few moments later with a set of knives and forks he had purchased from a nearby convenience store! We hadn’t asked for the cutlery; however, he could see we would probably need it. We felt a little embarrassed but also grateful as customers.

If you enjoy photography and posting on social media sites, Tokyo is a wonderful place to snap some interesting photos. From the cute food and toys, amazing science and technology, beautiful temples, and gardens, and quirky nick-nacks, you will find something interesting to photograph. I have many remember when moments from Japan and lots of fun stories.

If you are looking for a safe place to go on holiday that can provide some culture, history, innovativeness, and fun then Tokyo is an amazing place to visit.

Japan at a glance

Climate

I have been to Japan in the winter, spring and autumn, and each season has been completely different. My eldest daughter has travelled to Japan in summer, and the humidity can be extremely challenging!

December–February is winter and is generally cold and mostly dry. This is a great time for ski-ing and to see the many Christmas light displays around the major cities. There is also the Sapporo snow festival held in February with ice sculptures and ice slides. Temperatures range from 12 degrees C (54 degrees F) to -1 degrees C (30 degrees F). Temperatures in the mountains can be colder.

March–May is spring and a wonderful time to see displays of cherry blossoms. Golden week (May) also falls during this time. The temperature in spring is a milder 13 degrees C (55 degrees F) to 26 degrees C (79 degrees F).

June–August is summer and can be hot and humid. This is the rainy season for Japan. Temperatures range from 31 degrees C (88 F) to 21 degrees C (70 F). Summer is a good time to visit Hokkaido and Okinawa as they receive less rain. Typhoons can occur in August.

September–November is autumn and a wonderful time to see the reds and oranges of the autumn leaves.  Typhoons can occur in September and the temperatures remain hot and humid. By October the weather is warm; however, no longer humid. Temperatures range from 8 degrees C (46 degrees F) to 28 degrees C (82 degrees F).

Language

The official language is Japanese with the three different writing systems of Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. While we found that most people in the cities such as Tokyo and Osaka spoke English, once we headed out into the countryside and smaller towns, communication became more difficult. The Japanese people were always very friendly; however, a phrasebook was extremely useful. For several handy phrases, see the section on Useful phrases in the rear of this book.

Religion

The main religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. The Torii, bright red vermillion painted wood gates marking the entrance to a shrine, are the most recognisable icons of Shinto. We saw amazing displays of Torii at Inari Fushimi near Osaka, where hundreds of the red gates lined the mountainside. Good luck charms called omamori are often for sale at Shinto shrines.

Most pagodas and temples in Japan, such as the Senso-Ji Temple in Tokyo are Buddhist places of worship. The Kinkaku-Ji or Golden Temple in Kyoto is a famous Buddhist temple covered entirely in gold leaf.

Geography

The country of Japan is situated in Eastern Asia between the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean. Japan is made up of four major islands which are Hokkaido in the north, Honshu, the main central island, Kyushu, and Shikoku. There are also several other smaller islands including Okinawa in the south.

Time

Japan runs on a single time zone which is very useful. There is no daylight saving. The time zone is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean time, 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard time and 17 hours ahead of Pacific standard time. In Australia, Japan is one hour ahead of Western Australia, half an hour behind Southern Australia and one hour behind Eastern Australia.   

What to pack

So, what should you take with you? On our first trip to Japan, I packed way too many items and trying to coax several overloaded suitcases up the numerous steps of Tokyo Station in the middle of peak hour (which is something to behold!) was like watching an oxygen deprived climbed stagger up mount Everest!

To make your holiday a little less strenuous, these are my suggestions for what to pack when travelling in Japan. It does depend on the time of year you are going and what you will be doing, for example in winter it can get very cold, so you are going to need to bring warm jackets, however, these suggestions will give you some idea on what we packed the second time we travelled!

Wear good socks!  You will be taking your shoes off a lot, for example, when you are visiting temples, some restaurants and if staying in a Ryokan (Japanese Inn). You don’t want to have socks with holes in them. It’s not a good look!

Pack light. You will probably be doing a lot of walking, using public transport, and moving between places. Lugging heavy baggage when you are tired or trying to find your hotel is not a happy situation, especially when you must navigate busy train stations bursting with commuters or carry your belongings up large flights of stairs. Most subways and some train stations, especially those in smaller towns, do not have elevators for public use.

Bring comfortable walking shoes. You will be walking a lot! Some places, such as gaming centres require closed-in shoes for safety reasons.

Wear shoes you can take on and off easily. If you are travelling with children, use Velcro shoes or slip ons. It is not always easy to remove and replace your shoes perched on the steps of a temple or restaurant, so you want to make this as easy as possible, especially for younger children.

Bring a light jacket or wrap even in summer as the department stores, trains and hotels have their air-conditioning on high, and I often found myself getting cold when shopping. However, because the temperature outside is warm, you will find yourself constantly putting your jacket on and taking it off so bring something light and easy to carry.

Pack casual, neat clothing that doesn’t require ironing, such as jeans, skirts, t-shirts or tops, light dresses. Again, it depends upon the time of year you will be visiting. When we went in winter, we also brought boots and a light rain jacket. Umbrellas are easily purchased from the many convenience stores around the city.

Bring any medication you require with you as it may not be available and trying to explain what you want may be difficult.

We used either a small day bag or handbag with wide comfortable straps to carry around during the day. Something medium-sized without being too cumbersome.

Bring any charging cords for cameras, iPads, phones etc. with you, plus several adapters. Japan uses 100 volts, 50 Hz. (See the section on electricity, for more information). I always pack these together in a separate small packing cell or zip lock bag and carry them in my hand luggage on the plane just in case my luggage goes missing or I want to charge something at the airport. Spare batteries need to be carried in your hand luggage when flying.

Many cafes have power points available to charge your phone; however, they are obviously for Japanese plugs so you will need to carry an adapter if you want to use them.

If you are travelling with children or find it difficult to use chopsticks, a useful item is a small knife and fork set. Most restaurants only supply chopsticks so these can be very handy. Don’t pack them in your carry-on baggage when flying or you will be asked to leave them behind!

Don’t forget your passports for everyone in your group, plus any credit card or travel cards you are taking. I always make a copy of my passport to leave with a family member or friend at home in case mine is lost or stolen when