Going to Japan?!

appleorchard

We're going to Japan for our honeymoon, and I'm starting to panic a little bit about knowing very little japanese lol. Has anyone been, or have any tips?

We will be going in June (fun, typhoon season haha) so we have some time to get ourselves educated. I know Tokyo is pretty tourist friendly considering how many know English.. but we plan to also travel to Kyoto for a few days. Any insight is appreciated!

SBmini

Japan is wonderful. The people there are the nicest you will ever meet. Everyone takes English in school, but very few people speak it. That said, they don't get frustrated or angry at you like you see in Europe. Get a phrase book. The best thing to learn is "Sumimasen" (Sue-me-mah-sen) which means "excuse me" and of course "Arigato" which is thank you. 

Many restaurants have English language menus. Those that don't have photos. A lot of places you order via vending machine then give your order to the waitress, so you don't even need to interact. There's no tipping, so paying for things is easy. When we used the trains, when we showed them our Japan rail pass (a good investment, btw) we would say to the attendant the stop we wanted, and they'd hold up fingers to indicate the platform. So getting around wasn't too hard. 

The most challenging part of our trip was actually getting from the train station to our hotel. There was supposed to be a shuttle, but we could not find it. A man saw we needed help, called the hotel for us, handed his phone to a taxi driver, who got the address and drove us there. Those are the types of people you meet in Japan. If you look lost and American, those who speak English will seek you out and help you.

We stayed in Shinjuku, which is a wonderful neighborhood in Tokyo. Definitely do Kyoto for a few days. We stayed at the Hotel Grandvia at the train station in Kyoto and it was wonderful. Take the shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto, it is well worth it. 

jenna8984

I agree with previous poster. We had a nearly impossible time finding anyone that spoke any English. Do NOT rely on trains or public transportation because all the signs are in Japanese, all the ticket machines are in Japanese, it's impossible to navigate. We went to McDonald's daily (because my husband is scared to try new foods) and even there you have to just point to a picture of a cheeseburger then they point to the price on the register. But the people seriously were the friendliest and nicest, they will try to help if they can, they will move over on the sidewalk, they don't litter, they are really wonderful people. 

We took the bullet train to Kyoto and honestly I'm not trying to scare you but we would have been screwed without my friend who lives there helping us. She brought us to buy the tickets (which was really hard to find) then the guy only spoke Japanese and wouldn't accept my credit card because it wasn't signed on the back. I tried explaining it's ok with my ID. Then the credit card was rejected because it was over the daily limit and I was freaking out because I didn't have cash. My friend was able to work with him and charge it 2 separate times instead of one big amount so it worked out but without my friend speaking in Japanese we never would have been able to figure that out. Once in Kyoto, we booked a private tour for the day to all the temples and I highly recommend that because even fewer people speak English there so don't expect to take public transport there. But definitely see the Golden Pavilion, bamboo forest, and other shrines. They were seriously SO cool. We stayed at Citadines Karasuma Gojo in Kyoto which was perfect because it was a 10 minute walk to the bullet train station. Feel free to message me with more questions! 

Also have cash for emergencies. Our last day, we were supposed to take bullet train back to Tokyo, then switch trains to the airport (Narita is one hour from Tokyo). But a typhoon hit and all the bullet trains were backed up a few hours. Then all the trains from Tokyo to the airport were cancelled. We had no choice but to get a $250 taxi to make it to the airport on time. It was so stressful. I wish we had just paid for a transfer through our travel agency. 

SBmini

We didn't have any problems with public transportation, but the rail pass definitely helped. In Tokyo, all the signs are in Kanji and English, so it's fairly easy to figure out where to go. They also announce the stations before you arrive. So we looked at the pronunciation of the stop we needed and just listened careful. Only once did we get off at the wrong stop, but since the trains come so frequently, that was easy enough to correct.

There are trains everywhere in Tokyo, so it's a really easy way to get around. We also did the subway a few times and a bus once. Bus was the hardest to figure out. If you buy a guidebook, it will include a station map and typically, the descriptions include stop info. 

delujm0

I've only been to Tokyo but we didn't have any problems.  We would order food in English and by pointing at the menu and that got the job done.  We used the subway extensively and had zero issue with the lack of English...i mean the name of the stop you want will be written on the wall in English characters, just like it is in your map, or you can just count the stops on your map.  We also day tripped a few times and had no issue with the trains.

 

What we DID have issue with was ATM machines.  Bring some yen with you - get it from the bank before you go.  We were only able to find ATMs that would accept American debit cards at 7-11s.  The other convenience store machines wouldn't work, and our hotel was nowhere near an American bank with an ATM in it.  The machine in our hotel also wouldn't take it, but i imagine you'd be ok if you stayed at an American branc like Marriott or Hilton.  Just be aware of that.  There are 7-11s all over the place, so once we figured out that we could get cash there, we were good to go.

appleorchard

Oh wow, this is all HUGELY helpful!! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! We are planning to book with airbnb, but these hotels look great too.. I know my FI wants the full experience and doesn't want to do anything American lol. It might be nice to stay in an english speaking hotel after spending the day trying to decipher the signs and figure out where we are going.

It will be a challenge, and I'm surprised to learn that English is not as common as I heard/thought. 

We do plan to learn as much Japanese as possible before we go. I am so glad to hear everyone is kind and friendly there!

 

jenna8984

Oh, if you go to Tsukiji fish market (you definitely should) plan to get there at like 8am. The lines get insane later in the day. We got there around 11am and we stood in line for over two hours to get into a sit down sushi restaurant. There are like 50 of them, but they all have about 6 tables inside so it takes a looong time to get in. Was super worth it though! 

We didn't go in the Tokyo Tower but we google mapped and walked a few miles to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for FREE observation deck. There was no line, and the view was awesome! 

hutchsl

I have been to Japan about a half dozen times for work.

What I found useful was staring at the train map until someone asked it I needed help. Then I would tell them my destination and they helped me use the machine to buy my ticket. I learned this after thinking I had it figured out and ended up with the wrong ticket which they had to refund for me.

A lot of restaurants have plastic food models so yo can point to what you want to order if the menu is not in English. I am not adventuresome so I usually ordered Ton Katsu (their version of pork schnitzel or chicken fried pork cutlet).

As far as finding someone who speaks English I always had better luck asking a young person as they learn it in school and know it pretty well (better than they lead you to believe). As far as asking directions - they are very helpful to the point of trying to answer even if they do not know. So lesson is to ask 2 or 3 people just to make sure you get the same answer.

Kyoto is beautiful. A Japanese friend took me around.

There is lots to do in tokyo. I recommend the boat trip from Asakusa to the Detached Palace Gardens (or the reverse route) on the Sumida River. Kabuki theater has a reduced price day of ticket line where you can get a ticket for 1 act (they last a long time so 1 act is enough). If you go buy the program (in english) so you know what is going on. Senso-ji Temple with vendor stall, Harajuki for the young folks that dress up in wierd outfits - think that is sunday,

The airport has trinkets/souvenirs for sale at the same price as the stores such as oriental bazaar in Harajuku.

I took a day trip to Hakone to see Mt Fuji in the distance. It is a long day filled with multiple transport modes but really interesting.

Money - I found the exchange rate the same at the airport and ATMs. Yes some US cards only work in some ATMs. You need tocheck out your ATM network - ask your bank.