2023-01 Tokyo-Niigata Winter Snow 22-day Travel

 Posted on 2023-01-11  (Last modified on 2023-04-16)  |  3 minutes  |  513 words  |  androchentw  • Other languages: <a href="https://blog.androchen.tw/2023-01-travel-tokyo-snow/" lang="zh-tw">πŸ‡ΉπŸ‡Ό 繁體中文</a>, <a href="https://blog.androchen.tw/ja/2023-01-travel-tokyo-snow/" lang="ja">πŸ‡―πŸ‡΅ ζ—₯本θͺž</a>

Photo by androchentw

Post-pandemic, returning to Japan immediately! πŸ˜†

Sharing some tips for planning my trips~

(2023/04/16) I’m an IT engineer from Taiwan πŸ‡ΉπŸ‡Ό. I’m using ChatGPT and other software to help translate the original and future valuable articles. If there are any unclear expressions, please feel free to let me know. I’m also working hard to learn English and Japanese!

Information

  1. Google My Maps for marking itinerary outline
    1. Actually, it’s just a cover thumbnail (also edited with Evernote, Skitch)
    2. Came up with this method this year. You can use Google My Maps to create different layers first and then arrange the general moving direction. It is clearer for itinerary control than text description.
  2. Google Docs for itinerary planning
    1. Schedule: daily itinerary + morning, afternoon, evening sections, making it easy to arrange trips in modules. Different days are also easy to swap.
    2. Preparation (accommodation, luggage): listing luggage items to avoid forgetting when leaving.
    3. Shopping: Create a shopping list with Amazon.co.jp, super convenient for price comparison!
    4. Tourist Attractions information: have some nearby tourist attractions information on hand, making it easy to check other fun places when you arrive.
  3. Google Spreadsheet for keeping accounts
    1. A must-have for accounting enthusiasts πŸ˜‚
    2. Afterward, you can analyze which category you spent the most money on in charts (and continue buying πŸ˜†)
    3. The main advantage is to see how much is spent on credit cards & cash separately, making it easy to evaluate when going abroad.

Travel Tips

  1. Transportation
    1. Some people would recommend downloading transfer apps, but I’m lazy, so I just use Google Maps. It’s very accurate and has fares.
    2. Tokyo Metro Detailed Route Map (2020-06) pdf
    3. Tokyo Metro Tokyo subway ticket - Klook sells them, so you can buy directly.
    4. NRT Airport round trip: I prefer the cheaper SkyAccess γ‚’γ‚―γ‚»γ‚Ήη‰Ήζ€₯, as the difference time spent isn’t significant. No need to wait for specific times or get tickets, just use Suica.
    5. eki-net for booking Shinkansen tickets. There is a Chinese international version page, but 70% / 90% early bird tickets are only available on the Japanese page.
  2. Accommodation: Booking.com fan
  3. Tickets, restaurant reservations
    1. Compare prices on kkday, klook
    2. Japanese reservation websites are getting simpler. I also used TableCheck this time to book some restaurants I wanted to eat at.
  4. SUICA + iPhone settings
  5. esim: Bought esim on kkday this time, will see how the reception is~
  6. Currency exchange
    1. This time, I used Taishin Bank to exchange currency to JPY account, and then withdraw with a white dog card/financial card at a foreign currency ATM (+ NTD $100 fee, up to 150,000 TWD). Currently, there are only 5,000 JPY banknotes.
    2. Another option is E.SUN Bank with a single withdrawal fee of NTD $100, up to 50,000 TWD, and a maximum of 50 banknotes.
    3. Both banks have similar exchange rates. It’s just because I wanted to withdraw more at once (though it seems I didn’t need that much πŸ˜†).
  7. Visit Japan Web
    1. Essential for entry, recommend organizing all QR codes in Google Doc and enabling offline access in case there is no internet.

Murmur

  • 2023-01-11: It’s been 3 years 😭
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