Hi!
Travelling to Japan in June with Qantas ~ They allow a 30kg baggage allowance.
As i am travelling solo that should be enough, but what items are a must to pack with me?
Also with the 30kg allowance, can that be split into 2 bags, eg 23 in one and 7 in the carry on?
Thanks!
Cash. Cash Cash.
Cards are rarely used in Japan. Especially when buying food at restaurants (which is done via vending machine at the entrance).
empty suitcase and cash. you:ll get a better exchange rate in japan. do you research for where, before you go.
A mirror. To stick to the end of your shoe.
I've seen it in movies
Travelling Solo?
Condoms. Especially if you are good looking
Lol… It's not like Japanese women are waiting with open legs at the airport.
In brothels you'll usually find Chinese, phillipino ladies. You can get them in Australia too.
Medication, and only because there are too many choices over there it'd confuse you, and the pharmacists probably can't speak too much English. I even had a hard time finding normal dosage of vitamin c. If you use specific type of eye drops or allergic to anything, it's better to stock some with you from Australia.
Otherwise, everything else you can easily buy over there.
Just came back from Japan two weeks ago! Make sure you bring comfortable walking shoes, a powerbank or two and a backpack for day trips. I had a citibank debit card to withdraw money at the Prestia SMBC ATMs in Japan where there are no transaction fees for citibank cardholders, but I also exchanged money beforehand as well. Make sure you pack light, as I over packed and didn't end up wearing half of what a brought with me.
There are often no elevators/escalators/ramps at train stations and the like. Only take what you can comfortably carry up and down several flights of stairs. Codeine is a tightly controlled substance there AFAIK, so don't take that.
Souvenirs to give to nice people you meet: Tim Tams, macadamia nuts (esp. honey coated), el cheapo little koala toys. Esp. the Tim Tams. Japanese very much buy into brand names (generally).
Seriously, who gives souvenirs to random people? And who accepts souvenirs from random people.
Once you get to know them, it is different story but op is going for travel and will hardly have time to befriend someone local.
obviously youve never experienced japanese hospitality
Lived in Japan for a few years, guess I missed out.
I agree and always take souvenirs for a wonderful driver or hotel staff to share or anyone we feel we want to give to.
take 10kgs of crap and buy 20kgs of crap in Japan.
If you get cold sores then purchase your Zovirax in Australia. You need a prescription to purchase it in Japan. We found out the hard way a month ago.
note to self : never kiss deivu.
If you have to bring cash, get it as USD as when we went, AUD had a much lower exchange rate to the FE rate whereas USD had a comparable rate to the actual FE rate. Most of the time I used my ING card at 7/11s and the rates were also comparable(from recollection). Just make sure your account is active as I only ever use it on holidays and didn't realise the money I moved over to that account was not accessible and had to ring them to reactivate (via LINE so was a cheap call but a nuisance as took a little while for me to access that money)
Agree with everyone else, pack as light as possible. Shopping is actually quite affordable to my surprise as I had anticipated everything to be expensive and overpacked. Many of the local lines don't have lifts/escalators so at times was a mission to lug all our luggage, stroller and child lol I also used luggage transfer enroute to the airport for the flight home as it was too much work otherwise. Next time I will fly in and out of Haneda so that I can just get a taxi as for a family it would probably cost the same as sending luggage and train tickets.
Def get a portable wifi if you can, they were a lifesaver as we always got lost without it haha if you are staying at an Airbnb they usually supply one for free!
Enjoy your trip! Such an amazing place and I'm currently planning our next trip there already!
In Tokyo, stand on the left if using escalator. In Osaka, stand on the right.
If you suffer from hayfever, ask for medicine for kahunsho at the chemist. If you have herpes/cold sores etc take your medicine with you. Get the flu shots done.
definitely stand on the left when you take the escalator up Mt Fuji.
You are allowed to sit on the left.
In regards to cash;
Citibank has given me a mastercard for my CB+ account should i be asking for a visa if that's even an option?
And I've seen people say withdraw in aus first and others say wait till Japan, so where should i withdraw from kind peoples?
It's been a while since I went, but I found that 7/11's were just fine. None at the airport but they were everywhere else
At Haneda there wasn't a 7-Eleven but there was a 7-Eleven branded ATM.
Hey, me too!
Mine also says its a checking account - is this going to be a problem?
Bring one of these!
http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/30330508/
Good for checking in dirty clothes, towels etc. You will need the extra storage space in your suitcase for your goodies.
I usually buy a years supply of Sunscreens. The Biore SPF 50+ ones are amazing! Not icky and greesy like what we have here. Plus its really affordable.
https://fiftyshadesofsnail.com/2015/03/18/review-the-new-201…
Just bring what you need and leave the allowance for the souvenirs you bring back.
if yo see your bones on the wall it is too late! Seriously the place is full of nerds and they know how to measure it!
scary!
@payless69: Yup especially considering the problem is getting WORSE not better but mainstream won't tell you that.
Not sure if its been said but definitely get (or buy one over there in the hundreds of Daisos and 100 Y shops) a coin pouch or purse. It's the first thing I pack and recommend when I'm over there - so many God damn coins!
Use pasmo/suica wherever possible. They are accepted in most convenience stores and some other shops.
3ds…that is all.
The amount of streetpass hits there is amazing.
Despite the high tech toilets, most public restrooms don't have paper towels, hand dryers or in a lot of cases, hand soap.
Most people carry around a small hand towel, so you may want to bring one along.
For hand soap we bought some small squeeze bottles from Daiso and filled them with body wash from the hotel, although it might be easier to just buy some paper soap for $1 off eBay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcG-tYYh7dA
train before you leave! We ate perhaps a hundred of them. I used to wear glasses, after 3 weeks in Japan I was cured from shortsightedness!
You really don't need much at all. I travelled to Japan for 4 weeks with only carry-on to avoid paying for 20kg baggage, and I've done that twice now without issue.
Just take some clothes, charger, travel adaptor, hygiene items and you're pretty set.
Only thing worth thinking about really is the JR Pass, definitely have to do that before you go.
Stupid question - how does withdrawing money work in Japan?
To elaborate, are the ATMS in Yen?
So if I withdraw money, it's in Yen on the screen and I just calculate the AUD?
Sorry if this is a dumb question, fellow future traveler here.
You're correct, they are all in Yen which is also displayed on the screen so when you withdraw cash it will give you Yen and charge you the equivalent amount in AUD (not shown on screen).
Just take as little as you can, you can buy anything you need and you're definitely going to want more space on the way back for all the shit you bought.
Have a rad time, bring me back some animu keychains or something : )
I lived in Japan for 4 years. went again last year and am going again in June.
June is hot. wear any "cool weather" gear on the plane - trousers and long sleeve shirt. every thing you pack should be warm weather gear. especially as you are going fro Melb winter (stupid cold + rainy) to Tokyo Summer ( stupid hot + humid). unless you go up mt fuji then you won't need cool weather gear.
socks, jocks, t-shirts, long sleeve shirt (watch the sun!!! -don't literally watch it, be careful of sunburn), shorts, hat, phone, phone charger (japan uses american style plugs). one pair of sensible shoes (to wear on plane +comfortable for walking) take some thongs!! , minimal packing. you can buy stuff over there.
clothing sizing - I wear size 11 shoes, 34/36" inch waist jeans and large size tshirts/shirts. I had a great deal of difficultly finding clothes in my sizes. plus japanese shirts have shorter arms than western sizes.
buying stuff in Japan - if you have time then go to the Giga Daiso at Funabashi at funasbashi in Chiba ( east of tokyo) . it is a mega 6 storey 100 yen store (well 108 with tax). I used to live 2 stops away and it was my go to place (aside from the 88 yen at shimosa nakayama).
also check out Don Quijote stores. sort of a department store but everything is crammed in. (Nishi-Funabashi don quijote was my favourite. especially for random shit and fireworks as well checking out the locals - a lot of supra/ skyline drivers with girlfriends used to hang out there..
bringing back booze to australia- buy your booze at a supermarket and put it in your packed luggage on the way back. you can pick up some great japanese whiskies for <$1000. every japanese whisky I bought in japan was good- great. it was the inexpensive imported crap that tasted like crap. Japanese manufacturers pride them selves on quality. inexpensive japanese whiskey does not mean bad quality (unlike in Aus)
cash and cards- times have changed since I lived there 12 years ago when bank ATMs used to close at 10pm. and over the weekend!?!?! 7/11, lawson convenience stores - literally every 300 meters- have cash withdrawal available for foreign cards. also most post offices have ATMs for foreign cards. most restaurants and departments take credit cards. you will need cash for public transport and taxis (avoid in big cities as traffic can suck and they are expensive. I got a midnight taxi from Narita to my house in Baracki Nakayama 50kms $275).
always carry some cash, like you would in Aus. but as for changing over $500 into yen before you go? I wouldn't bother. get cash from ATMs at the airport.
Awesome thanks for the tips, few questions but if i may!
Aren't thongs and shorts a kind of no no there in Japan or am i wrong?
What would your recommendation for me in regards to public transport, i intend to take the Keisei Main Line (Access Express) from the airport into Tokyo, then spending all my time in Tokyo, PASMO would this be best in my case?
And you reckon withdrawing cash either here in aus or there has insignificant difference?
thongs and shorts are fine. (but I'd usually wear sneakers when I'm out). thongs are accepted in summer but I wouldn't be rocking up to a nice restaurant in them. Just round the place, heading to the supermarket/convenience store. short trips are fine.
PT - last time I used the narita express to Ueno. ~3,190yen. there is also the Kasei express which is a similar price or even bus. there is also the JR Sobu Line (Rapid Service) which takes 90 minutes and costs ~1300 yen. (I'll be taking that next time I go). As for travelng around Tokyo, when I lived there I always had a monthly JR pass thanks to work so I never bought a ticket and actually have no idea what is good or not. last time we were there we just bought tickets when we needed them as we usually walked randomly from our airbnb house and then bought tickets to get back.
Cash - do it there. there are convenience stores and ATMs in the airport (and near the trains).
what time are you arriving at Narita?
Alright awesome thanks for the tips!
I depart at 9:30am and arrive at 7pm
Take me.
You will definitely need a 2 prong power adaptor.
If you are struggling to find one, head to your nearest Daiso store (100¥ shop) they will have them for 108¥ after taxes. These stores will pretty much cover all your basic snacks, random items and gifts etc.
Money + Credit Card + Phone. You are all set
Visit GU or Uniqlo to buy your clothes
good info.. tahnks experts.. goin in june..
any vegetarians who might have visited japan? Is it a big problem to get veg food? I am thinking of carrying packed food from here… altho i reckon i should be able to get veg noodles at any ramen/needle shops.
can we withdraw cash with 28 degrees master card?
can we withdraw cash with 28 degrees master card?
If you want to pay a cash advance fee, sure you can.
yeah i called up there call center and asked some time back. So what are the other cards people are talking about withdrawing cash in 7/11?
usual bank debit cards?
Citibank Plus Debit MasterCard
any reason to use cash instead of credit card?
we spent over a week touring small towns around hokkaido, plus another week in tokyo. brought $1k aud equivalent in cash but rarely used it as credit cards were accepted in most places (some ramen/sushi places and trains were cash only)
i intend to pay with 28 degrees CC at all possible places. wanted to cover all other places where only cash is accepted. i will carry AUD to get it coneverted there.. wanted to see if getting cash by atms will give me better rate as somoene mentioned exchange rates can be a bit low..
regarding vegetarian, depends on how strict you are (fish?eggs?chicken stock?). All ramen soups are made from chicken and pork. If you don't mind that, you can try ask the staff to exclude the slices of pork ('Niku o tabenai' = I don't eat meat)
All other noodle soups (eg soba, udon) are usually made from fish stock, but if you don't mind that most of them have vegetarian toppings.
Otherwise the convenient stores in Japan (which are plentiful) have a lot of vegetarian options like some onigiri (rice triangles, if you can figure out the flavour), sandwiches, bread.
Definitely a NISMO sticker!
What I found very helpful was to print out a solid itinerary with mini maps of places we were going to in advance - We stayed at mostly airbnb's and it made things much easier to find. Also include costs of things you might be going to or places in the area. Research some good food places on tripadvisor, etc - for me this was finding some of the best ramen in Japan
Bring mobile battery packs too.
Buy your Japan railpass in advance and bring that if you plan to move around the country a bit. Its cheaper to buy here than to wait till you are over there.
My advice is to not bring that much there if you have a 30kg limit. I left with 20kg of my 30kg limit and bought a lot of clothes and stuff over there which had me near 27kg on my trip home. Clothes are much cheaper there than they are here.
In terms of money I had a citibank account to try and minimise ATM fees while over there. The ATMs that are in 7-11s are usually free for you then and will not cost you an arm or a leg. Try and bring some cash over if you can get a good exchange rate - the more cash you change the better rate they will offer usually. As they use cash and many places wont accept card its not a bad idea to bring a fair amount over.