What exactly is the process of traveling by plane from US (where I am) to Japan for a few weeks?
What exactly is the process of traveling by plane from US (where I am) to Japan for a few weeks?
I'm 29, never left the country. My bucket list is visiting Japan at the very top. I have no idea what you do or if you have to go through travel agencies, how much money you should bring etc
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Get passport
Buy Ticket (kayak, price alert, etc)
Book Hotel (cheap is fine, hostel is fine, japan is generally good)
Pack Bag (only one bag, carry on is best, you need far less then you think you do)
While waiting for your flight learn some basic Japanese, Use Tinder, or Hello Talk to make some contacts where your going.
Arrange Cell Phone data (google fi, Arelo, etc), Get a International Drivers License ($20 at AAA), Travel Insurance (international sos is good), install google translate and google lens, practice translation. Learn how to use Chrome built in translation of websites (restaurant ordering through japanese QR code menus.... its really helpful)
Money you will need $20-$50 (above hotel fees) a day walking around money, plus access to emergency funds (Schwab investor checking has a great international atm card)
Fly, once your on the plane keep japan time, don't sleep unless its night in japan.
Arrive in Japan, wait in Customs, they will stamp your shiny new passport, and you will be in Japan. Use public transportation, or hire a taxi (uber works) to go to hotel.
Enjoy!
Rent a Car, Visit museums, Find new friends to explore with, invite people to dinner!
Eat food at the convenience stores, or go out and explore, meet people, have a great adventure.
..... time passes ......
Pack up your stuff, and fly back..... plan your next trip and post a journal entry about it.
Visit [email protected]
Speaking of plane tickets. As a man who flies to Korea to visit family every other year or so.
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Always brows tickets in incognito. Airlines may change rates based on whether you're a return visitor to their site and not having cookies can help.
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Start with Google flights. This will give you an idea of when (what days and times) tickets are cheapest. Though generally Tuesday or Thursday are the answer.
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Once you have your time frame use kayak or some other ticket agregator. This will let you find the airline and flight that you want.
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Take that flight number and time and go directly to the airlines website. Aggregate sites like kayak rates are generally slightly higher that the airline because they gotta make dollars somehow.
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Though not always I've found that some foreign Airlines charge native fliers less. E.g. if you're flying Korea air change .Com in your web address to .kr. This makes the site in Korean but Google translate page can help here
It's a bit of a process but I generally pay less than 1,000 round trip for flight to Korea and I live in a state with no international airport so I always have layovers.
Speaking of layovers. Use them. See a cheap ticket but it has a 24 hour layover in Paris? Fuck it, that's a day in Paris :). Just be aware that you need roughly 3 hours in customs depending on your destination. So a 5 hour layover is gonna be a boring 5 hours. Long enough to wait, not long enough to do anything.
Bonus tip!! If you have good credit. Look for a credit card that offers a huge bonus or mile's up front then immediately cash those in for a cheaper flight. Side note though on the ones that give you 5% cash back or whatever. You always have to book through them and it's almost always, in my experience, like 5% more expensive. Fuck you Chase.
Man, I flew to a Korean last year for around $800 a ticket but I CANNOT find anything under 1k this year so far. And I've been looking all year, I even use most of these tricks... I'm afraid flying there is just a lot more expensive now 😞
It can be. I'm actually headed there in 4 days. Tickets this time around were definitely higher than usual but I managed to get them for $940 ish. Not ideal since the whole family is going and my bank account is hurting. Also not ideal was having to choose a 3am flight with a trash layover in dfw... but fingers crossed cheap shopping while were there makes up for it.
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Great list! The only thing I'd add is to check with your credit card company if you plan to use it abroad. Some require you to notify them if you're traveling, otherwise they may flag your transactions as fraud and deny them.
This is all very helpful thank you so much. Also is it true Japan isnt very liking towards tourists? I'm just your typical white guy..
Japanese people are great, if your polite and don't have expectations, you will be treated nice in return... just like every other country I've ever visited.
There are some people who don't like tourists, but they will just pretend you don't exist, so you can ignore them right back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRIklga9IBQ
This video matches my experiences in Japan, people are curious, helpful, if you have a mission and purpose the whole world is open to you. Be interesting, dig into some small fun detail, history, mission and people will pop out of the wood work.
Sadly that black streamer who was rude af probably embarrassed Americans being in Japan
Dont focus on a single person, have your own experiences, and treat everyone nicely and with respect. You Reap what you Sow.
Try and match the overall body language and energy of the calmest people around you.
Japan’s big on people paying attention to one another and accommodating one another, without making a big deal out of it.
Tokyo’s got the best sidewalk flow I’ve ever seen.
Overall, be circumspect. Keep your eyes open and notice what everyone is doing. Don’t be boisterous or gregarious. Quietly respectful is your best approach.
You'll come across good and bad wherever you travel. When we travelled in Japan a few years ago we found pretty much everyone we dealt with was friendly and helpful. We didn't speak any Japanese.
I wouldn't bother renting a car unless you've got a specific plan for it - their public transit is excellent and will still take you out into the countryside if you want.