First time trip to Tokyo have a couple questions 🙂

Tokyo Traveller Questions
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Hi all myself and 3 others are travelling to Tokyo from Sydney in February. We are landing in Haneda staying in Shibuya please help me with the cheapest way to get to Shibuya from Haneda airport where and how do I go about tickets.

I am in Japan for three weeks staying in Shibuya for 2 weeks visiting harajuku , Shinjuku wanting to also see akibara & Kyoto and the last week in Osaka? Is this a good choice is there anywhere else or better I could stay? If I do plan to stay in Osaka my flight back to sydney is from Narita not Haneda for some reason it was like that on my flight itinerary how do I go about going to Narita airport my flight back is at 3:00pm.

One of the main reasons for my travels to Japan is the Anime and Manga culture the owl cafes the maid cafes the Pokémon centres etc etc

Any tips or suggestions I’m so excited but so scared about the trip

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Hi Nicole!

For getting from Haneda to Shibuya, first buy a SUICA (or PASSMO) card at the airport train station(s) - JR sells the Suica, Keikyu (should) have a PASSMO. See our Tokyo travel primer: Getting Around | Tokyo Cheapo

For the train route to Shibuya, it’s probably simplest to take the JR monorail, then change at Hamamatsucho to the JR Yamanote line. See our article on getting from Haneda to Tokyo here:
Haneda Airport to Tokyo: See Which Trains & Buses to Catch | Tokyo Cheapo.

Sorry, I didn’t quite get what your second question could you rephrase it?

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Hi Nicole !

First of all don’t be scared … it’s going to be a wonderful trip … people are so friendly that you’ll want more ! Although Japanese people don’t really speak English, it’s really easy to find what you’re looking for in a city like Tokyo.

Landing in Haneda is (according to me) the best airport since it’s so close to Tokyo.

I agree with Mr Kirkland… best way to get to Shibuya…

As for the tickets, you don’t have to actually buy a card but it’s easier to move around since you don’t have to worry about the price of the ticket.

If you don’t want to buy a card right away, you can always buy a ticket to Shibuya and it should cost around 500-600 yens.

Also, in Haneda, just after the customs, you’ll find a tourist information … they’re wonderful and will help you if you need anything.

Be careful as Narita is further away from Tokyo … it takes longer and it’s also much more expensive to go there. I’ve never left from there but I think it takes around 1hour and a half to get there…

As for the rest, I would absolutely recommend you to try to stay longer in Kyoto while you’re in Japan… Tokyo’s great, Osaka’s ok but Kyoto is one of my favorites.

I wouldn’t spend a week in Osaka … 2-3 days are plenty enough (if you ask me) and Kyoto is SO different from Tokyo… you also have the Golden Pavilion and so many old and great places such as the Manda museum (worth a look if you know a lot about mangas)

You can also go to Himeji for a day, Nara, etc…but of course it depends on what you want to do.

As for Pokemon centers: Ikkebukuro is where you want to go (big big one), Sky tree has a new one, Tokyo Station (underground) has one and of course Osaka. There’s also a new one in Kyoto… what’s great is that you can actually find some exclusives from each of the centers.

Enjoy !
Pascal

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Oh okay the ticket information makes more sense.

Is there anything I should see or do whilst in Shibuya ? I think I will stay in Kyoto for the last week and just visit Osaka.

Also how did you go about international SIM cards ? Is it worth getting or should I just use my phone off wifi ?

I was also planning to bring all my money on and travel card from my bank rather than bring cash into Japan and just withdraw as much as I need every couple of days ?

Last question how was your flights ? I have 11hrs to Beijing then 4 hour stop over

Thanks guys

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In Shibuya you will be entertained by just walking around and watching the crowd. The famous crossing will be without a doubt already on your list.
I can recommend some other places in Shibuya:

  • A restaurant called Gyukatsu Motomura to eat beefkatsu. Close to the crossing. There is a long waiting line though.
  • A restaurant called Kuumba du Falafel. It is a vegeterian restaurant with nice and big lunch sets. It is not typical Japanese food at all but everytime I go there, I eat very well.
  • Walking through Shoto, an upscale area in Shibuya.
  • Tsutsumi Factory, a shop with cute cards, stickers,…
  • JBS, a cosy café where the owner plays the music on vinyl.

For Tokyo, I would recommend you in the first place to go to the fish market in Tsukiji. For me, that is the number 1 activity in Tokyo. You can also do some nice trips (Enoshima, Kamakura) or hikes (Nokogiriyama, Takaosan, Tsukubasan) around Tokyo.

Personally I would skip Osaka and do something else instead. When I was in Osaka in September, it didn’t really impress me. I would rather go to Nara, Koyasan, Miyajima,… in that area.
Another option is going to Kanazawa to see the traditional tea house districts, the gardens and the samourai area.

I was on a holiday in Brazil and to come back to Tokyo last week, I flew 14 hours + 11.5 hours layover in Dubai + 9 hours to Tokyo. Move your legs, drink enough, bring noise-cancelling headphones if you have them, wear sweatpants and layers, bring easy-reading magazines, download a game on your smartphone, download a playlist on Spotify,…
I also dislike the in-flight entertainment systems because of the adapted screen ratio, bad sound quality, interruptions for announcemens,… So I normally bring my charged laptop with movies or series,… As long as you prepare and you have enough options, you won’t be too bored I think. I remember on my first flight to Tokyo, I revised hiragana, katakana and the first chapters in my Japanese book for hours…

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