Hi all, what a useful forum this is. We are about to head off on our first trip to Japan. Please could soemone help with a few questions?

Do we need to take cash with us? Are there cash only food places for example? If we need cash, can we rely on Mastercard, Visa withdrawals from 7-11 bank rather than take cash with us?



Do we need to pre book airport limousine coach from HND to Hilton Tokyo? Or do we just turn up at a tickets desk in HND and get tickets for the next coach? or is there a metro or train which is better than the limousine bus?



We will go from Tokyo to Kyoto, is it better to have the hotel ship our large cases when we check out from Tokyo and just take backpacks on the train?



We will go from Kyoto to Osaka, as this looks to be only 30 mins, could we take our large cases on this train? Or again is case delivery recommended?



For the JR pass, can we order that online from the official site once we arrive in Tokyo or does it need to be ordered whilst still in the UK? We won't activate it for about 5 days after we arrive. We think it looks just about worth buying as we will do a trip to Hiroshima as well as Kyoto and Osaka and understand we can prebook seats with the pass.



For a trip to Mount Fuji and Hakone from Tokyo, is this something easy to do on our own or should we look on tripadvisor or the hotel concierge for an organised tour?



For a trip to Nara from Kyoto, this looks simple to do on the train, or are we missing something and should look to take an organised tour?



Do the hotels typically have English breakfast tea, decaf tea etc? I saw one hotel review where they only had Earl grey and herbal teas.

Quick tip - You'll find answers to all your questions if you use the search function.

There are a few restaurants that only take cash. You could probably manage without cash, but I guess you'll find it inconvenient once or twice over the course of a week or so. You can get cash from a 7-Bank ATM in Japan.

No need to reserve transport from HND in advance. Check train and monorail options with Google maps transit directions.

Delivery won't arrive same day but it makes for a less encumbered trip. If you want to take large luggage on the Shinkansen you must reserve space when you buy your tickets..

My preference is not to change hotels - Make a day trip from one city to the other. Leave the suitcase at the hotel.

Don't bother with the JR pass. Since the prices increased it is only a cost saver in extreme scenarios (e.g. if you make long distance train journeys every day).

You don't need to join a tour.

Ditto.

More likely to find green tea or hojicha at a Japanese hotel. You can find Twinings EBT at most Supermarkets. Not sure about decaf. Bring your own if you need Yorkshire Gold or Barry's.

Couple of additional points.
Depending on where you are, public transportation may be cash only as well. Restaurants are usually good about taking cards, but sometimes they have high minimums. Having 10-20k jpy on you at all times is probably a good idea though. It feels like a lot but it won't paint a target on you.

Luggage reservation on Shinkansen is only needed for 'oversize' bags according to their sizing chart. Smaller bags and suitcases can just go on the rack above your seat.
Day trip between Kyoto/Osaka I'd stay in the same hotel as well. Traveling between the cities, I would just take the luggage with me on the train.

Yes, the JR pass price increase hurts. I could never find a way to break even on that pass now unless I spend over half of my vacation traveling, less actually doing something.

>> We will go from Tokyo to Kyoto, is it better to have the hotel ship our large cases when we check out from Tokyo and just take backpacks on the train?

Yes. Depending on how long youm are staying in Kyoto, you could send luggage from Tokyo to Kyoto and to Osaka. Then maybe you just have one bag to carry from Kyoto to Osaka.

Get creative: ship from Kyoro to Osaka/Hiroshima, from Osaka to Hiroshima or departure airport. At some point you combine fresh clothing into one bag. used clothing to another bag and send that one to the airport.

Thanks for all the answers! Very helpful. We are going for two weeks so were going to spend a few days in Osaka but we will have a think about staying in Kyoto instead, we're staying in the new Doubletree Kyoto station so should be a good base.

Re the JLR pass, their calculator shows the pass costing 50,000 and tokyo - kyoto, kyoto - hirsohima, hiroshima - kyoto, kyoto - Tokyo trips as 52,380, so it seems it's a bit cheaper even without any Osaka or Nara trips unless I'm missing something.

I can't speak for your financial situations, but personally I found it's more of a hassle to get the pass to save <5000jpy.
The line is a good 1-2 hour wait at Haneda Airport when I was there to pick it up. They give alternate locations, but you do have to pay and travel possibly out of your way to get there as well.
Previously it used to be a paper pass you showed to a station agent, but now it's a magnetic one you have to put through a turnstile so you have to look for a non IC-card only turnstile.
Prior to the increase, it was 30,000jpy for a 7 day and I've rode about 60,000jpy in Shinkansen a visit which made it very worth the effort to get it, now, not so much.
Just my 2 cents tho.

Boogle
We've used a debit card (don't use a credit card-it will be a cash advance with interest charges) to withdraw cash at 7-11 stores and at Post Offices.
A SUICA card (stored value card) has been handy for train/subway/bus fares. As long as the cards have a stored value remaining, you won't have to buy tickets for individual trips.
Nara: You can do it on your own, but we've found Goodwill Guides to be very helpful. Without an explanation, the temples are look alike. The tours are free and the guides are knowledgeable and the service is available in many cities all over Japan. Our Nara guide was allowed to enter the "tourist areas" without any fees. Offer to buy refreshments and lunch. In our experience, token gifts (omiyage) presented at the end of a tour have been well received.

I would definitely plan on using some cash, in the tourist areas you'll visit as part-timers, you'll mostly be able to use cards but many small shops and restaurants may not take them.
Just withdraw from the 7-11.

I disagree with the "stay in Kyoto or Osaka, not both" crew, if you stay only in Kyoto, you miss out on Osaka at night when it's at it's best, likewise not staying in Kyoto means you miss out on easy morning advantage in seeing busy places as well as the atmosphere. Both cities are great but are very different in the morning and at night, enjoy them both fully.
Also, day tripping several times adds plenty of wasted time, it's not "just 30 mins", it's time from hotel to station + waiting time + 30 mins + time to get to destination., twice in one day.

IDK what calculator you used, but that 52,380 total ticket price sounds like it includes Nozomi shinkansen which you can't use (with JR Pass) without paying a supplement. For Tokyo <-> Kyoto with the pass you will have a choice of 2 Hikari trains per hour. Without the pass you could choose between 12 Nozomi trains per hour plus the 2 Hikari trains.

I got these fares from the JR West website for travel April 17

on Nozomi shinkansen
13,970 Tokyo -> Kyoto
11,740 Kyoto -> Hiroshima
25,710 one way
x2
51,420

with the pass, exclude Nozomi and get:
13,650
11,100
24750 one way
x2
49,500
You probably would have to change trains between Kyoto and Hiroshima. That was the case in olden days with the pass. You can probably find a Hikari that does that trip, maybe one or two per day. But there are plenty of Nozomi departures that you can use - if you don't use the JR Pass.

Here is a 5-day pass that could save a bit, but it has the issue of no shinkansen between Kyoto and Shin Osaka:
JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass (japan-guide.com)

I agree that staying in both Kyoto and Osaka is worthwile.

Am not clear on your plan but it sounds like Tokyo- Kyoto- Osaka- Hiroshima- Kyoto- Tokyo

If you aren't making (don't make) that second stop in Kyoto then you could just fly back to Tokyo from Hiroshima.

ok, leaving soon, 5 days in Tokyo, etc I picked April 30 as Hiroshima departure day and see that - right now- jal.co.jp has economy fares of 17,090 and J-class fares of 19,290 for the one-way 1hr 20min flight HIJ-HND. Other carriers could be less expensive.

Just realized that you are leaving soon and staying 2 weeks which means you will be there for at least part of Golden Week, Mon, Apr 29, 2024 – Sun, May 5, 2024

Yes - If you do all of those trips within 7 calendar days, you'll save a couple of thousand yen. More if you include trips to Nara and Osaka within the 7 days. On the Shinkansen, JR pass users must pay a surcharge to ride Nozomi trains, which are the fastest and most frequent services between Tokyo and Osaka, so you sacrifice some convenience for the savings.

An alternative approach to save some money would be to fly one way. For example, using trains to go Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Hiroshima, and take a domestic flight from Hiroshima to connect with your international flight home. Or Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Hiroshima-Fukuoka and fly back to HND from there. Domestic flights can be very good value compared with trains - especially if you book in advance.

Hints for first time visitors to Japan + search in thread might also help you find some other answers to questions you haven't yet posted


Also take a look at Google Maps to see if there are stairs on your way to and from shinkansen stations/subway connections and if you'll be looking for locker space if you want to sightsee near the destination station before check-in if your hotel is a bit further from the station.

If you want use coin lockers, the major train station lockers usually take IC card but I also like to keep some 100 and 500 yen coins just in case. 100 and 10 yen coins are useful for vending machines further from train stations and 100 yen coins for business hotel washer/dryer. I bring a coin pouch even after primarily using suica/credit card for in-store payments.

Thanks for all the hints and tips, very helpful. Our plan is 5 nights Tokyo (include a Mt Fuji day trip), 5 nights Kyoto (include a nara trip and we will go to Hiroshima for 1 night mid way through the Kyoto stay keeping the room on in Kyoto), 2 nights in Osaka, 1 night in Yokohama to finish. We will be there over the golden week so I guess that might not be ideal but I'm sure we will manage. Now we have to plan what we are going to see in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, not done that part yet!

In that case, you definitely don't want a 7-day JR Pass. Those 7 nights make for an 8-day trip.

The pass days are calendar days, each day ending at midnight. If day 1 was the day you traveled Tokyo to Kyoto then the travel from Osaka to Yokohama would be day 8.