Travel

Japan Travel Thread

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  • Mar 18th, 2024 8:44 pm
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Nov 19, 2006
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SquirreI wrote: lol about awkwardness... my first three times in a restaurant in tokyo, were so... disrespectful of me. i didn't really have enough knowledge of etiquette and how things are done. i think next time i'll try to find japanese friends online, maybe reddit or something, that i can treat to a dinner and maybe show me some etiquette. i facepalm so hard just thinking about how awkward i was. i'm a really nice and friendly guy, and i've worked places with zero english, whilst i only know english, so i'm no stranger to strong language barriers, but in japan i never felt more of a jerk ever because of generally how polite and disciplined the society is.

but i did have a japanese coworker before and he told me even in those situations arigatou gozaimas is suitable. even domo. but idk because i know domo is casual. but my japanese coworker said there's no problem with it. he is in his 20's though, maybe the older generation is more strict on speech than the current generation.
Most Asian cultures will forgive you if you can't speak the language. It's just something they don't expect everyone who visit to know. If you memorize some phrases, they would be very grateful. I won't worry too much about it but if you want to educate yourself in that aspect, you can even watch YouTube (alot of information there).
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White Comet wrote: AC has direct flight sale to Tokyo $1285...is this a good deal or just wait?
The absolute cheapest you can expect is 650-700$ so that is a potential 600$ loss.

I don't recommend booking any ticket to Japan over 900$, direct or not.
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kenze wrote: The absolute cheapest you can expect is 650-700$ so that is a potential 600$ loss.

I don't recommend booking any ticket to Japan over 900$, direct or not.
Unless you really have to go.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
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Mar 29, 2012
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White Comet wrote: AC has direct flight sale to Tokyo $1285...is this a good deal or just wait?
i think it depends when the flight is, if it's in december it's an amazing deal.
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Pingu in the city
SquirreI wrote: Thanks. How about buying something from stores, my Japanese friend said saying domo or arigatou is OK, but my other friend, who is not Japanese but has worked in Japan for years say you're not supposed to say anything when you buy things.

Also what about the people on the streets offering things, I just smile and keep walking usually, but it feels so rude.

I bought a little japanese phrasebook, but I can't remember the phrases every time I read it. And I don't know if it's correct, my friend who has worked in Japan says some of the stuff is too formal.
People on the streets offering things : Your reaction is right. Shake your head with a smile is good enough. You don't have to say a thing. Just remember to not making any eye contact with them.
And for buying stuff, it's part of their job and they usually don't expect customer to reply them too expressively, so both of your friends are right. Domo and arigatougozaimasu are both enough.
If you do it too formally, they would need more mental energy and SOP steps to react with you which sometimes make the situation slightly worse and tiresome for them.

I think the only situation where you have to reply with care is when you made some huge mistakes. (ie. Stepped on others foot on train)

Phrasebook could only help a bit in real world conversations. There are tons of places that speak Japanese in different dialects with completely different ways to say thank you. Just have fun, relax and learn as you go. Smiling Face With Open Mouth
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Nov 18, 2010
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Is it better exchange rate buying yen in Canada or better rate buying in Japan ?
Also, how much cash you recommend per person (10 days)

Thanks
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Nov 15, 2013
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iPhoneSTER wrote: Is it better exchange rate buying yen in Canada or better rate buying in Japan ?
Also, how much cash you recommend per person (10 days)

Thanks
I would love to know this as well! My wife and I are visiting for 9 days in Oct/Nov, currently thinking $500 CAD per person (plus credit card), just not sure where and when to convert.
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iPhoneSTER wrote: Is it better exchange rate buying yen in Canada or better rate buying in Japan ?
Also, how much cash you recommend per person (10 days)

Thanks
SynGamer wrote: I would love to know this as well! My wife and I are visiting for 9 days in Oct/Nov, currently thinking $500 CAD per person (plus credit card), just not sure where and when to convert.
I went for about 10 days as well, and $1000 was more than enough to eat and go around, I ended buying a lot of souvenirs though, so I did have to withdraw a couple times just for security. Food is really cheap compared to Canada. I highly recommend to use your credit card wherever you can, a lot of places didn't accept cards though, I ended up with about at least 5lbs of coins going home. They rack up really quickly which is annoying. I didn't really understand but I think most of the time you should be giving the exact amount when buying something. If something is like 137 yen then that's how much you should give. I have no idea if that's correct etiquette though.
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SquirreI wrote: I went for about 10 days as well, and $1000 was more than enough to eat and go around, I ended buying a lot of souvenirs though, so I did have to withdraw a couple times just for security. Food is really cheap compared to Canada. I highly recommend to use your credit card wherever you can, a lot of places didn't accept cards though, I ended up with about at least 5lbs of coins going home. They rack up really quickly which is annoying. I didn't really understand but I think most of the time you should be giving the exact amount when buying something. If something is like 137 yen then that's how much you should give. I have no idea if that's correct etiquette though.
I'd disagree about food being really cheap compared to Canada... Overall I think you'll find it to be on par at best. The exchange rate's not amazing but I guess that makes up for the lack of sales tax and tip. Given that, there's so many places to eat and I the floor is still pretty high for food in Japan so you could definitely go to a lot more of the fast food/chain places often and eat there quite cheap. I think that's a bit of an overrated take though as there's a lot of really GOOD food that you WILL need to pay for but is totally worth it (vacation spending lol).

Credit cards are becoming more and more accepted, especially in and around Tokyo as tourism is still booming. How much money you'll need to budget for yourself or as a couple/family really depends on your spending habits. Japan isn't cheap. If you want to buy things other than small souvenirs you'll need more money for sure. I'm of the view that the Japan is great for shopping mainly because of the variety and quality, but certainly not the price (unless you're comparing the exact same goods from Japan and trying to buy them here with crazy markups from importing). If you have a no-fx credit card, it's best to withdraw cash when you arrive in Japan from either the 7-11 (7 bank) ATMs or the post office. It's been asked a billion times before but there are other small charges (flat fees) that apply to your withdrawal so generally larger withdrawals less often are better than smaller/more often. Obviously you'll still need some cash for your arrival but I wouldn't grab more than $100 as the 7-11's are ubiquitous (at this amount or less it doesn't really matter that much where you get it).
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Mar 29, 2012
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malaujai wrote: I'd disagree about food being really cheap compared to Canada... Overall I think you'll find it to be on par at best. The exchange rate's not amazing but I guess that makes up for the lack of sales tax and tip. Given that, there's so many places to eat and I the floor is still pretty high for food in Japan so you could definitely go to a lot more of the fast food/chain places often and eat there quite cheap. I think that's a bit of an overrated take though as there's a lot of really GOOD food that you WILL need to pay for but is totally worth it (vacation spending lol).
I guess compared to Vancouver? lol. Minimum is like $12 tax incl. over here for like a decent meal at a fast food joint. I don't know, I found a lot of good deals in stores, but at the same time yeah I found some overpriced restaurants, mainly because of the portion, but the food still tasted like heaven. A good sized karaage + fries meal was like 530 yen in some malls. And I think it was a 1lb chicken breast ready to eat in 711 was like 230 yen. Was eating like two of those every morning lol. Really cheap 25g of protein. But yeah actually restaurants are pretty pricey there for what you get as well, outside of restaurants it's pretty cheap compared to here, i've found anyways.

But I also feel like, regarding portion, I felt full faster over there, like more satisfied, I don't know what it was, but I lost 10lb on the scale over there in just a week without even trying or feeling hungry.
Last edited by SquirreI on Jul 18th, 2018 4:32 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Nov 18, 2010
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FYI ...

Another thread mentioned prepaying into the Home Trust Visa (No FX charge) and then use foreign ATMs to avoid cash advance interest charges.
I will do this in Japan.
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Anyone have experience with the Scotiabank Passport™  Visa Infinite* Card ?
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May 3, 2011
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SynGamer wrote: Anyone have experience with the Scotiabank Passport™  Visa Infinite* Card ?
I used it while i was in korea. Works fine, with no fx fee. Just make sure you update with a travel notice for the card on your account. Didnt use it in Japan though, i just used cash.
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Get a Suica or Passmo card. A lot of places accept that instead of credit card and cash. So you can avoid coins as much as possible.

Cash.. bring $500 worth of yen, but also bring your debit card, and withdraw cash from the 7-11 ATMs (they're in English) when you need it. The fee is like $2-$3 per transaction.
:confused:
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iEyeCaptain wrote: Cash.. bring $500 worth of yen, but also bring your debit card, and withdraw cash from the 7-11 ATMs (they're in English) when you need it. The fee is like $2-$3 per transaction.
just adding onto this. i think Captain is referring the $2-$3 per transaction cost is what 7-11 charge u. Myself and another fellow about 10 pages back or so reported that 7-11 atm now charges a 110-ish yen fee. From my experience, AEON Bank ATMs (they're pink/purple) did not charge any fee.

Your bank will charge you for whatever fee per your banking plan for using an Oversea ATM. Then there's a foreign exchange rate markup from your bank as well (typically 2.5%).

Here's a List of Canadian bank accounts for foreign ATM withdrawals
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Mar 29, 2012
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I would bring one of those old fashioned coin purses too. Coins add up insanely fast. I was only there for 10 days and must've acquired around 5lbs worth of coins total.
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Nov 19, 2006
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SquirreI wrote: I would bring one of those old fashioned coin purses too. Coins add up insanely fast. I was only there for 10 days and must've acquired around 5lbs worth of coins total.
I always bring a coin purse on my trips to Japan. You get alot of coins back even though it's the custom to pay with exact change when you purchase something.
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SquirreI wrote: I would bring one of those old fashioned coin purses too. Coins add up insanely fast. I was only there for 10 days and must've acquired around 5lbs worth of coins total.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

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