1. Grab a mobile 📡 hotspot.
It’s a tiny device you bring around to provide wifi to your phones. There’re quite a number of options to rent one before going, here’s two I’ve tried;
The speed and reliability are amazing. Though the price is a little steep, if you’re sharing with a couple of friends, it’s quite affordable.
This is a much cheaper option. But the speed can be a little frustrating at times. If you’re primary using it for navigation (see tip 3), it should be more than enough.
2. Set up your 🗺 Google maps.
I don’t know how I survived before using this.
Search through your guidebooks, blogs, articles and friends’ recommendations. Plonk all the addresses and details into your Google map.
This way, you get a nice looking, dotted map where you can see where are the concentration of spots you’ll like to visit and plan your day accordingly.
3. Google 🚇 your way around.
In combination with tip 1 and 2, you’ll be able to use Google maps to find your way around so much easier. In case you didn’t know, the subway system of Tokyo is madness and it looks like a huge spiderweb.
But with Google maps and especially YOUR Google map. You just click on the place you want to go, and it will tell you exactly which train to take, which stop to change, which exit and direction to walk towards.
Ah, 😍 technology.
Side tip, their lines are color and letter coded. Match them with your Google map’s instructions, try to watch out for the signs around and you’ll be fine.
4. Pasmo cards 🎟 to the rescue.
I remember the first time I was in Japan, every train ride involves trying to figure out the price of the ticket to purchase depending on the distance from one station to another… Screw that.
When you first get to a station, look for a machine (there should be one at every station) to purchase a Pasmo or Suica card. Then load in an obscene amount of money (you’ll see why) into the card.
When you travel on any subway line or through any station, just tap your card in and out of the gates and it’ll deduct the right amount automagically! At the end of your trip, you can return the card to the machine for a refund of unused funds too, so no worries there.
5. Pasmo the 💩 out of everything.
One thing I find really cumbersome in Japan is the crazy amount of coins they use. They have them to really big nominations too so you can almost always be sure to get a bunch of coins whenever you purchase something.
Well, you’ve guessed it, Pasmo cards to the rescue!
Almost everywhere you need to pay, you can pay using a tap of your Pasmo card. You did load in an obscene amount of money like I told you to, didn’t you? From convenience stores to vending machines to small restaurants to fast food to… Basically, anywhere you don’t have to ask for the bill I’ve seen a Pasmo reader.
6. Vending machines in 🍜 restaurants.
When you enter restaurants where you see the poor chefs or service staff boxed into an area behind the bar (with seemingly no means of coming out 😭), it usually means there’s a vending machine by the door.
You’ll need to order and pay for your food with the vending machine first. A small ticket will be dispensed after you’ve selected and paid. Pass this ticket to the staff and grab a seat, you’ll be served shortly.
Usually, the buttons on the machine will come with photos, but if you’ve come across one with only Japanese text, you can try to ask the staff for an English menu to help you demystify the buttons.
In the worst case scenario where they don’t have an English menu to accompany, look at the posters and pictures on the walls and play match the symbols with the machine’s text! That’s pretty fun too.
7. Vending 🍻🍫 machines on streets.
There are literally millions of vending machines in Japan. I’ve heard from a Japanese friend that it’s because anyone who owns a piece of land can request a vending machine to be placed on it for free! They’ll earn the commission for every sale. Win-win 🙌! I’d love to have a vending machine outside my door, or maybe even in my house.
Anyways, if you’re planning to buy any drinks or snacks from them, do note that from what I observed, they are of the mid-range price point. The same drink or snack can cost vastly different just a few steps away, depending on where you buy them from.
The most expensive being convenience stores like Seven-Eleven, Family Mart or Lawson. The second being vending machines. The cheapest being stores that are literally filled to the brink with products and signs. If you’ve seen Japanese newspapers before, it looks something like that, but really colorful. Text and images so cramped there’s hardly any space left. You’ll know one when you see one. I’ll usually stock up there.
8. Department store’s 🍱 food section.
There are tons of large departmental stores all over Tokyo and they usually (so far I haven’t come across one that doesn’t) have a food section at its basement. Did I mention, the quality and variety there is amazing!
But they are slightly pricier than normal restaurants on the streets. So the tip here is to buy them after 8 pm! The exact timing varies from department stores to department stores. Most, if not all food products will dip into a super sale after that time. I’ve seen some selling for 50% of its original price!
So if you’re looking for some supper or simply having a late dinner, remember to drop by the basement of department stores for some treasure hunting adventures.
9. Don’t be afraid of 😱 warm toilet seats.
A warm toilet seat in Japan and a warm toilet seat elsewhere means something totally different. In Japan, they actually warm the seat electronically! They also shoot water at your butt, blow dry, etc. It’s basically a mini robot with its own remote control!
10. Massage chairs 💆 ftw!
After a day of shopping and walking — look for electronics department stores. You know, stores that sell tons of different cameras on the ground floor, and other electronic gadgets on subsequent floors. They usually have a section with rows and rows of massage chairs which you can try for 30 minutes for free. You’ll thank me later.
No comments:
Post a Comment