Falling asleep on a train

(image source here)

1. Debit Card and $100 - Many people say bring cash because many places don’t accept credit cards. This is only kind of true. I say bring $100 and your debit card instead. At the airport you can minimize  exchange rate fees by changing only $100 into Yen. This way you’ll have cash on hand and can buy some things from the vending machines and pay for transportation when you arrive. Major stores will take a debit card if it has the Visa or Mastercard logo on it. To get money, you can withdrawal using your Visa or Mastercard from almost any Japan Post Office (no ATM fee) or 7-11 (~250 Yen ATM fee). Very fair exchange rates are set each day by Visa or MasterCard, and depending where you bank you’ll be charged 1% from Visa or Mastercard, and 1% or more from your bank. And you’ll have a withdrawal limit of $500 USD per day most likely. And many major stores will accept credit cards as payment.
2. Deodorant - It gets hot and humid during the summer, and sometimes public transportation cranks up the heat in the winter. To stay dry, you should bring some antiperspirant/deodorant. I haven’t seen it for sale that frequently in Japan. When I did buy it in Japan I had to go to a few pharmacies until I found a Ban Rollon for about 500 Yen. It’s small and lasts maybe 3-4 weeks. Costco sells Speed Stick deodorant (non antiperspirant) but I don’t think it works very well.
3. Hand Sanitizer - I haven’t seen this for sale in Japan. You’ll be touching a lot of things including doorways, bus or subway handles, money, and then it’ll be time to eat! Sometimes it’s hard to find places to wash your hands. Many bathrooms are missing two things… soap and paper towels. When you go to a restaurant they’ll usually give you a wet towel, but I think bringing a small bottle of hand sanitizer will help you stay healthy and give you a piece of mind.
4. Handkerchief - There’s usually no towel or air dryer in the public bathrooms, and you might need it to wipe sweat from your face in the summer. Something cheap is fine. When you’re in Japan you can hit the shops and find a nice one for 500 yen or a Burberry or Calvin Klein for 1000 yen or less.
5. Digital Camera - Sure, Japan is known for electronics and gadgets, but they’re not cheap. I find that many things in Japan cost the same or more than in the US. And all Sony products have only Japanese language menus. When you’re capturing memories, it’s better safe than sorry.
6. 3 Prong Outlet Adapter – Almost all outlets are 2 prong only. So if you have any 3 prong electronics like your laptop, bring an adapter. You could buy one here, but you’re exploring Japan so why waste time looking for one?
7. Over the counter allergy meds - Seasonal allergies? Allergic to dust, or anything else? You should bring some Clariton or Zyrtec. It’s not sold OTC here, and the OTC meds are expensive and cause drowsiness.
8. Aspirin - You should bring a small bottle of aspirin or Tylenol. It costs maybe $1-2 in the US for a travel size. If you need to buy it in Japan it’ll cost you around 700 Yen for 20 aspirin pills. If you need to buy some here, look for “Bufferin” or ask for it by the brand name.
9. Earplugs and Facemask - I recommend this because walls are thin in most buildings, so it might be hard to sleep at times.

Along with some tips I’m going to share some pictures I took of the subway on a rainy, cold, Friday afternoon around 2pm. It wasn’t a busy time and the station I was at doesn’t seem to be as busy as bigger stations.

Tip #1 – If somebody falls onto the track, hit this button! (Press the red button below in case a person fall sinto the track area. Trains will stop automatically. FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY!)

Tips beyond “Tip #1″ in no particular order:

Getting a ticket:
Look at the fare chart above the machine. Find your destination, the number below the destination is how much Yen it’ll cost you. Put in your money in the machine and click the button that shows that amount. There’s usually an English option on the machine. Get your ticket and change from the tray. If your purchase a wrong ticket by mistake you can insert the ticket into the refund slot and your money will be returned. I think in Tokyo you can buy the ticket at a ticket counter. Also: See if you have to make any connections (meaning you start at point A, change trains at point B, change again at point C, and arrive at the final destination). If you make a train change you might want to write down the names of those places so you don’t forget.

Next, take your ticket, put it into this machine that’s a gate area (or Automatic Ticket Gate, usually green) and grab the ticket when it spits it out at the end. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you should watch other people do it. It’s pretty simple.

Now head to your track number. You’ll know which track number you should take by looking at the station names under the number or on the wall. They’ll say which direction that train is heading by giving names of upcoming stations. If you’re going to the aiport you’ll see CITYNAME Kuko… I think… wait behind the white line with arrows pointing to where the train doors will be. When the train arrives let people out and then go in.

( Oh yeah, this information board above also shows the estimated arrival time, and a picture of the train which changes position and reflects it’s progress)

Some tips on riding in the train -

• Don’t eat or drink in the train.
• If you have an ipod, turn down the volume so others can’t hear it.
• If you’re uncomfortable, just stand the whole time.
• Don’t sit in the designated areas for elderly, pregnant, etc. There’s a sign showing this.
• Designated areas are in the waiting area for the train as well.

If you need additional help, you can call the Japan Railways’s English-language telephone service at 03-3423-0111 or visit their website.
Operation time can vary. Usually early morning to late at night (something like 5:30am – 11:30pm). And the time between trains can run 3-4 minutes during rush/peak times and 4-9 minutes during the off peak times.

Fares usually depend on distance travelled. You can expect to spend 200-400 Yen one way. Here’s an example fare chart:

• 200 Yen – 0 – 3 km
• 250 Yen – 3 – 7 km
• 290 Yen – 7 – 11 km
• 320 Yen – 11- 14 km
• 360 Yen – 14+ km

You can also buy prepaid cards and 1-Day passes. A one day pass can cost as little as 600 yen, or up to 1600 yen for the Tokyo super duper combo all transport one day pass. (Don’t ask for a super duper combo, I made that name up).

You can get a map of the Tokyo subway system here (PDF version of the 1st picture I posted)
You can get a subway map of Fukuoka here
If you’re looking for a different city, I recommend searching google using a phrase similar to “CITYNAME japan metro subway map” or visiting UrbanRail.net

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I miss snowboarding so I thought I’d share a video from last season. I had my ipod blaring, I was thinking about the next stretch of the mountain, and I was wondering why there was a crowd of Ski Patrol. I didn’t see her until it was too late. By the way I hope to book a secret trip soon for me and my fiancee, so if anybody is in Fukuoka and wants to hit a mountain let me know!

For just 4,000 Yen per night you can sleep in a capsule which looks like the size of a coffin. A coffin with a shit load of stuff packed inside so you can feel trapped in a hole. Even though each capsule is small as hell it comes with TV, radio, alarm clock, adjustable lighting. I wonder if I’d fit in there being 190 cm tall. They have a lounge area with internet and have 100 Yen coffee. I’ve been searching for a cheap ass cafe here in Fukuoka with 100 Yen coffee so I’m a little bit jealous of that. So far I’ve found 300+ yen coffee which is ridiculous because I could get 350ml of coffee for 320 Yen or for just 80 Yen more I could enjoy some bomb ass ramen. Seriously, what’s up with that?

The site says “Everybody that travels to Japan should experience this unique accommodation, at least once” but I don’t get it… they have a men’s section and a women’s section. How are you supposed to get it on with your woman with this setup?

Check out their site and make your reservation today! Then email me and tell me what it’s like because I’ll probably never hit one up. CapsuleInn.com

Here are a few videos so you can tour a capsule hotel (but it’s not the one from capsuleinn)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamFnYCtylo[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWGvHV2rQE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9iYqnGGSxE[/youtube]

I took a quick screenshot of what I was looking at:

Taken from their site:

About <Tokyo VR Project> … We have tried data-ization for the main area in Tokyo by QuickTimeVR. But it is the reckless project. A new information interface is proposed by connecting much QuickTimeVR movies, data-izing the space, rows of houses, and a building, and constituting false space. By our original know-how, execution of this project was attained only after becoming possible to carry out extensive creation of the QuickTimeVR quickly. By making scenery an interface as it is, the state with a house, a store, a park, a building, and the living information of a there could be sent. It will be useful to barrier-free, safety and the measure against crime prevention and information dispatch of an area and a walk, or an adventure. We are waiting for cooperation of those who can consent to our trial from the heart.

(If you want to read about reviews with different airlines check out the topic Airline Review.)

Using SeatGuru and checking online exactly 24 hours in advance could score you the ultimate seat at the regular price! I always set my alarm 24 hours in advance (even if it’s 4am…) to make sure I can change my seat if needed and this has definitely made my flights more pleasurable.

From the About SeatGuru page:

The SeatGuru staff flies over 250,000 miles each year, but we still can’t fly on every single plane, which is why our visitors are so important. Through a “Submit Comments” link on each aircraft web page, thousands of reviews have been submitted to the SeatGuru database by other flyers who enjoy a great seat. The SeatGuru staff utilizes these comments to maintain the accuracy of our airplane seat information and updates the site weekly with both user submitted reviews and independent research.

In addition to the incredible response from all our contributing gurus, we also receive a great deal of information from pilots, flight attendants, and airline personnel who’ve taken the time to write in and share insider tidbits with us. Thank you – we smile every time we sit in a “green” seat.

It’s worth checking out. And if you’re looking for information about airlines in Japan you can this page which includes Japan Airlines.

United Airlines – My rating: 5/5
I’ve flown with this airline one time.
Exit row gave me tons of leg room. Personal TV screen to watch movies was nice. Adjustable head rest was awesome! I was comfortable. I was not bored. Flight attendants were curtius and helpful. The ticket counter was friendly as well. Food was okay.

US Airways – My rating: 4/5
I’ve flown with this airline a few times.
Overall decent. First class seats are great. Leather, lots of room. Friendly staff.

Northwest Airlines – My rating: 3/5
I’ve flown with this airline many many times.
Customer service is nice, but the seats are pretty ghetto. Fabric is usually busted up, feels like you’re on a plane they never clean or update. First class is basically the busted up economy class with more leg room. It’s better to save the money and get an economy exit row seat. They’ve always been on time for me though which is nice. The international flight from Thailand sucked because you’re stuck in a busted up seat for hours.

ATA Airlines -My rating: 3/5
I’ve flown with this airline a few times.
Cheap as hell! Same satisfaction as NWA but a fraction of the cost!

Frontier Airlines – My rating: 3/5
I’ve flown with this airline once.
Average. Comparable to ATA Airlines.

Southwest Airlines -My rating:2/5
I’ve flown with this airline a few times.
Flight attendents are a bit strange and too talkative when I take this ariline (which is way early or way late in the day). Also about 50% of the time there are some drunk obnoxious passengers that get out of control with yelling and screaming and having a good time.

Want more information about United? Here you go!

Airline Code:UA
Website:www.united.com
Frequent Flyer Program:Mileage Plus
Lounge:Red Carpet Club
Airline Alliance:Star Alliance
Magazine:Hemispheres

If you are interested in finding the perfect seat, check out my posting:Airplane Seats and Airline Information and here’s a page about Japanese airlines.

** I highly recommend checking in online exactly 24 hours in advance. I was able to change my seat to an exit row which gave me plenty of leg room.

When we arrived at the Nagoya Airport we had to rush to catch out plane to Fukuoka. Here’s what you can expect…

1. Go through immigration, hand them the completed form (Customs Declaration Form) that the airline had you fill out, and they’ll give you landing permission.
2. Pick up your luggage, go through customs, answer questions, possibly get searched.
3. Go to your connecting airline, go through a luggage security check point, check the luggage.
4. Go through a personal security check point, and then go to your gate and you’re all set.

What happened to us? Well it wasn’t an easy 1,2,3,4.
Here’s the long story made short. We went through immigration first. Then we headed to our gate and when we asked for directions from the airline counter we found out our luggage does not follow us, we had to grab it and go through customs and check it again! The airline was really helpful and hauled ass to get our luggage. We picked it up and went through customs, checked our luggage after waiting in the long slow line, and headed to our gate and boarded our plane 5 minutes later. It was stressful because we had limited time, heavy bags, nothing was in English, nobody spoke English, and some weird salaryman approached my fiancee while we were in line to which I responded with a “WTF MOFO!” look. He jumped a little bit back and then left. That was my first strange experience in Japan. In the end it all worked out perfectly and went as smoother than we could have hoped in that situation.

Our connecting flight from Nagoya to Fukuoka was through ANA (All Nippon Airlines). The flight attendants were nice, the flight was short, but I didn’t really fit. I’m 6’2″ (190cm) and I’m about 3 inches (7.6cm) to tall. I had to sit awkward for 1 hour on this ride because I really didn’t fit. I currently have to duck a lot when going through doorways too.

Some pics of the Nagoya Airport
(credit to: ヨシキ)

A few things I noticed when I arrived in Japan

• Very few things are in English besides signs
• Very few people I encounter speak English fluently or are too self conscious about speaking it.
• Compared to the U.S. everything in Japan seems small. People, doors, seats, more on this later…
• The toilets are different [pic] in some stalls. You just have to pop a squat to get the job done!
• Japan is very clean which is hard to believe because it’s hard to find a trash can sometimes.
• In bigger cities people dress trendy, employees look good no matter what their job is.
• Most people are shorter than I am. I can usually see over a crowd of people.
• People seem to be very nice, customer service is great.
• Tax is always included in the posted prices whenever you shop or eat
• No tipping anywhere
• Rice fields are sneaky and seem to pop up in random places

And that sums up my flight to Japan. Konichiwa and all that good stuff.

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