SevenEleven ATMs generally take foreign interac debit cards if you need cash (yen). Most places accept credit cards. When given the option on the debit card machine to pay in yen or convert to USD / CAD etc always choose yen, to avoid high conversion rates charged by the processor. Allow your credit card company to convert to your home currency at a much better rate. Get a Japan Rail pass. Pack lightly and hit a Uniqlo on arrival. Call hotels to book rather than using western-based online booking platforms whose prices are a lot higher, or use Jalan.net. Remember you’re a guest in a foreign country, stay humble and be polite, it’ll get you further. Seriously, get a Japan rail pass. Get an esim for your phone upon arrival using an app like Ubigi or similar (1 month with 10gb for ~$20). Be prepared for reverse culture shock when you return home.
- Most bank ATMs in Japan now accept foreign cards.
- Credit card acceptance remains low by international standards, although things have improved a bit with the "cashless" drive. Carry cash (yen), you'll need it at many restaurants and even some hotels.
- Most rail companies now sell discounted advance fares and LCC airlines are competitive as well, so a Japan Rail Pass is no longer the no-brainer it used to be, although it's still a good deal if you plan to travel a lot by train (say, Tokyo-Hiroshima and back).
- Instead of calling hotels, which will be a struggle because they often won't speak much English, use Japanese booking sites like Rakuten or Jalan.net, which have thorough coverage, the best rates and functional English interfaces.
Have a read through https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Japan, it goes into too much detail at times but is a pretty good primer for all the things in Japan.
Sorry, but it’s not out of date. Based on very recent extensive travel and living there. But yes of course there are additional places to get cash (yubinkyoku etc) and various rail passes. The JR pass really is a nobrainer though.
I really recommend doing the math based on your particular itinerary. I've been to Japan twice, 14 days each time, and, at best, I would have broken even on a JR rail pass based on the traveling did. For longer trips, like Tokyo <-> Sapporo airplanes are both quicker and cheaper.
It's more for flexiblilty and peace of mind, with a all-you-can-ride ticket, you can book all itinerary/reserved-seat tickets(when available) right when you land, and have the flexibility to bail on any single train connection when you couldn't make it, either because of emergencies, or you just like the place you're visiting so much that you'd like to move your tour schedule around a bit.
And it's not like you have to get the pass for all region, there are dozens of types of regional jr passes depending on the region you're visiting. Those are the ones that's of better value when travelling in-region, and covers most touristy places.
Personally I'd say tokyo-wide, kaisai, and hokkaido are the ones that's pretty no-brainer when in those regions.
Mizuho, SMBC, Aeon, MUFJ ATMs all accept foreign cards these days. Inaka Ginko still probably won't though.
I've been to Japan tens of times for work, family and holiday reasons, and I've never found a use case where the JR pass would have paid off for me. Then again, I tend to fly in and stick with a single region; if you're doing the tourist trail thing where you're going (eg.) Tokyo-Kyoto-Himeji-Hiroshima-Tokyo in a straight line in one week, than sure, it makes sense.
This is all great and relevant advice! I have actually considering moving there, any tips with respect to that? For example could I, as a US citizen, work remotely for a US company while living in Japan indefinitely (not necessarily permanently, but at least as an option)?
Visas will be your challenge. Unless you’re married to a Japanese person, it will be hard for you to get a work visa without being employed by a Japanese company. Any way to try to get around that is gonna be a lot of work (and a bit of money too).
However, if you wanted to take a 1 year sabbatical, you could get a job as an engineer with a Japanese company, work for a year, apply for fast track permanent residency at the end of that year (you’ll need to meet some education/income requirements), then go back to your old job remotely. There are software jobs that hire people who don’t speak Japanese.
Basically no. But if your company has a Japanese branch and is willing to transfer you there, then maybe. But be aware that visiting Japan as a tourist vs living and working there are very different experiences, and plenty of expats burn out within a year. Visit first, maybe do the digital nomad thing for a bit.
>For example could I, as a US citizen, work remotely for a US company while living in Japan indefinitely (not necessarily permanently, but at least as an option)?
NO.
You must have a work visa to live here, and you won't get that unless a Japanese company sponsors your visa. A US company can't do that for obvious reasons, unless it's a company with a Japanese branch office.
The only way to do what you ask is to get permanent residence first, but that means living here for a while on a work visa or spouse visa.
Also, on top of this, the US company may have issues with you living outside the US while working for them, but that'll be the case for any other country. This was discussed within the last week or so here on HN.
I figured that might be the case, thank you for the information. I think I would struggle to adjust to the Japanese work culture in order to establish residence within these constraints.
I also pretty much exclusively have software experience in government contracting so the jump to commercial would be pretty big too.
Just out of curiosity, why are you considering moving to Japan?
I am not trying to discourage you, but if you really want to live in Japan, you have to learn Japanese, which is not an easy language to learn, especially for English speakers, even if you live in Tokyo.
I am going next month, the Japan Rail pass sounds like a big saving, can I also use Shinkansen trains with the Rail Pass? Specifically the Tokyo to Kyoto route (JR central)?
Look carefully at it; probably you won't be able to use the fastest trains with the JR pass.
Also, if you're just going to Kyoto from Tokyo, it really is not worth it to get the pass. Just buy regular tickets. The pass is useful if you're doing a lot of train travel in a short time.
That's fine, but if you spend more money to go slower, that's just stupid. The point is that the pass is a really bad deal, or at best, break-even, unless you're traveling a long distance and within a short-ish timespan. Tokyo-Kyoto is not a long distance and isn't worth the pass at all.
Just use your own bank card from a major US bank at ATMs, they dispense cash extremely close to spot rate, compared to converting at a currency exchange place.
In Tokyo, hit up harajuku and omotesando for awesome fashion. I'm really curious how well those boutiques have survived (around the world hasn't been pretty over the last year).
but aside from that, Tokyo is a day trip for me, the real cosmopolitan action is in Osaka.
The airlines frequently have extreme discounts on tourist flights - similar to rail passes you need to buy these before you arrive in Japan.
As everyone has mentioned, the trains in Japan are wonderful, but if you get a tourist rail pass you might consider taking a long flight for your first leg (eg. Haneda to Hokkaido or Kyushu), then firing up the rail pass when you finish there and meander your way back on the train.
As a footnote, the rail pass is also good for a large number of bus lines, ferries, etc, so don't assume that you will have to stay in city centers.
