5 Tips To Know Before You Travel To Tokyo

I have been doing research about Tokyo for my upcoming travel with my family. Tokyo, with its world-class efficiency in public transports, low crime rates, interesting culture and with one of the most polite people in the world, has many things to learn and see. So, the following are what I have learnt during my research about Tokyo.

What apps to use during Tokyo stay

Japan Official Travel App is very useful when you are travelling to Japan. The most useful one is the route planning for using the taxi or public transports like subway trains or buses. For example, I would like to go to Ueno Park from my hotel in the Ginza area. The app shows four options to get from Ginza to Ueno. First one is using the taxi, with the distance, time and fare for the journey. The other options are using the different subway trains. It shows the train line names and colours, platform numbers, towards which directions, time and fares. 

Besides that, it also has warning tips like earthquakes and weather warnings, provides free wifi hotspots, tourist information counters, discount tickets and passes and other info like getting around in Tokyo. 

Download the Japan Official Travel App in iTunes Store or Google Play  

Where to stay in Tokyo

I have planned to travel to Hakone for a 2 days trip to enjoy onsen. So this trip will have 3 different hotels stay. I planned to stay somewhere near the big train stations where transports are easily accessible. The best is staying near the Yamanote train line. Most of the major city centres are located on this line such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo, Akihabara, Ueno, Ikebukuro etc.

•  Shinjuku

Shinjuku is one of the major transport hub in Tokyo. It has a direct train from Narita Airport and it is one of the main subway stations. This western part of central Tokyo has lots of entertainment centers, restaurants, big department stores and plenty of hotels to choose from. So this becomes my first choice of where to stay in Tokyo.

After much research from hotel reviews, I have decided to book Hundred Stays Tokyo Shinjuku. This hotel offers a new hybrid hotel-style serviced apartment. It has what a hotel offers to guests and more such as a small kitchenette, living room with sofa and washer-cum-dryer for guests to use. It is just one subway station away from Shinjuku main hub. If you wish to find out more about this hotel, click here.

• Ginza

Located at the eastern side of central Tokyo, this is also another famous shopping and entertainment area. There are lots of hotels in this area and plenty of restaurants and eateries around this area that you will never get hungry. 

My choice of stay in Ginza is Hotel Musse Ginza Meitetsu. The biggest draw of this hotel is it has connecting rooms for our family of two adults and two schooling children. Another plus point is it is a new hotel, just opened in March 2018. Click here to find out more about this hotel.

How to travel from Narita Airport to the hotel

There are a few ways of doing this. Of course, the most convenient way is to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel. However, I decided to use the public transport for budget reason. Anyway, the public transport system in Tokyo is one of the most efficient in the world. The public transport options are limousine bus and special rapid train service. Because I have decided to stay at hotels near train stations, so taking the train is my best choice. 

JR East has a special rapid train service called N’EX TOKYO between Narita Airport and major Tokyo stations such as Shinjuku station and Tokyo station. Roundtrip fare for an adult is 4000 Yen and a child fare is 2000 Yen. It is advisable to buy the train tickets from JR East Travel Service Centers after arriving at Tokyo Narita Airport.

How to travel within Tokyo

One of the best ways of travelling to Tokyo is by subway or private trains. Japan is known to have efficient and on time train services. Because we are going to stay in Tokyo for 9 days, so we decided to use the charged card like Suica and Pasmo for convenience. Suica/Pasmo card is a charged card which you can use it on public and private transport such as buses and trains, and also can use for buying drinks from vending machines and some stores such as Lawsons and Family Mart. The card is easy to use and easy to top up too. You can top up in any of the train stations. For an adult, you need to pay 500 Yen for the card deposit and it is refundable. You can easily buy from train stations ticketing counter or ticket machines.

For kids under 12 years old, you can only get the child fare charged card from manned ticketing counters such as JR East Travel Service. You need to fill up a form and show you child’s passport in order to prove his/her age. 

How to stay connected while travelling in Tokyo

Free and easy travel comes with a problem, that is you are dependable on the internet to get info, for example, using Google Map to navigate around the city when you are lost, searching for places to eat when you are hungry, looking for the train platform for the next destination etc. 

There are a few ways of staying connect but the most popular and convenient way is to rent a pocket wifi router. You can order online and collect from airports you are departing or when you arrive in Tokyo. What I like the most is it can be shared by multiple devices. But of course, it has its limitation, i.e. the devices have to be closed to the pocket wifi router in order for you to stay connected. 

My choice is to rent the pocket wifi router from my departure airport, i.e. Singapore Changi Airport. The rental costs S$5 per day and you can have unlimited data access in Japan. If you are interested to find out more, click this link.

There is another option is through Klook.com which has a similar rental plan as the above. Want to find out more, click here. 

There you go. These are some of the tips I gathered before going to Tokyo. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please leave your comment below. 

If you are interested to find out more about my travel adventures in other places around the world, click the following links.

• 5-day itinerary in Osaka
• A day trip to Kyoto from Osaka
• A day trip to Nara from Osaka
• Top 5 Florence Places To Visit
• Places To Visit In Barcelona

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