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Travel Tips
Practical know-how that makes a Japan trip run smoothly — visas and entry, money and payments, eSIM, the departure tax, and local etiquette. The essentials so you are never stuck at the airport, a restaurant, or a shop.
Things to DoTravel TipsIshigaki Island, Okinawa: Kabira Bay, Ferries, Beaches and FlightsIshigaki is the base for the Yaeyama Islands. What the glass boat costs, which ferry routes cancel first, how to reach Taketomi and Iri…Things to DoTravel TipsWhat to Do in Umeda, Osaka: Sky Building, Ferris Wheel, Food HallsThe airport express now stops at Osaka Station. What the Floating Garden and the ferris wheel cost, which gate to use, and how the unde…Travel TipsWhy Japan?The Two Times Japan’s Trash Cans Vanished: The 1995 Attack and the 2022 RemovalEveryone blames the 1995 sarin attack. But the bins came back in 1997, then vanished again in January 2022, and this time nobody is put…Getting AroundThings to DoTravel TipsNaha, Okinawa Travel Guide: Shuri Castle, Kokusai-dori and the MonorailShuri Castle's main hall opens 23 November and admission rises to 1,000 yen. Monorail fares and times, what each Naha sight costs, and…Things to DoTravel TipsDon Quijote Japan: The Free Discount Coupon, Tax-Free and Opening HoursThe Don Quijote discount coupon is free: 5% from 10,000 yen before tax and 7% from 30,000, but only on a tax-free purchase. How to use…Things to DoTravel TipsNamba & Dotonbori Guide: Which Namba Station, River Cruise Fares and the Glico SignSix stations are called Namba and only one is far from the rest. Which exit for Dotonbori, what the river cruise costs, and when the Gl…Things to DoTravel TipsShizuoka Travel Guide: Things to Do, Mt Fuji Views, Gunpla and Black OdenNozomi skips Shizuoka, so take a Hikari or Kodama. The airport bus, the five districts, where to eat black oden and sakura shrimp, and…Travel TipsWhere to StayWhere to Stay in Takamatsu: Station, Arcades, Yashima and Shionoe OnsenIn Takamatsu the area you pick is settled by whether you are catching a morning boat. The ferry berths are three minutes from the JR st…Things to DoTravel TipsAkihabara Guide: Which Building, Which Floor and What Time It OpensWhich building and floor for manga, figures, retro games and parts in Akihabara, when each one opens, what a maid cafe really costs, an…Things to DoTravel TipsArashiyama Guide: Bamboo Grove Night Tickets, Sagano Train, Hozugawa BoatWhich of Arashiyama's three stations to use, when the bamboo grove starts charging after dark, which Wednesdays the Sagano train runs,…