Things to take note before planning your trip to Japan

Hello dearest readers ! Finally back to my blogging journey after so many years abandoned . Long story cut short , I just got back from Tokyo last April and i never been sharing my total experiences and amazing journey during my trips. Today i'm going to share to you guys all the useful tips before and during the trips, especially for those first time to Japan and travelling in budget. This is my personal preferences and i hope it does helps all of you in planning and things to consider before you purchasing the air ticket. Actually visit to Japan can really be reasonable in  cost depending on your spending power and your personal choices . Everyone first thought about Japan was like wow thats expensive country . No , i would say it is not true tho. Just because Malaysia currency dropped badly and we are having the thoughts of its so costly to travel to this country.

#Air ticket and seasons in Japan

First thing first , normally before we plan for our trips . The very first step is always looking for promotion cheap tickets , then followed by the dates that you wanted to travel. You need to be very clear in which months you are planning to go . Japan is a country with four seasons in a year. If you're the fan of Sakura , March and April definitely the perfect month to visit . But Sakura is kind of special , they might bloom early this year and bloom later next year . So , my advise is always check on google first . I been to Japan twice , both on April (beginning and end of month) . I'm lucky that i got to see the perfectly bloomed Sakura along the streets , literally everywhere ! But the last time was a bit too late . Certain areas they might still blooming but most of them already withered. But lucky me i'm able to catch the last bloom near to Mount Fuji . If you love winter , then December to Feb will be good . No sakura but there's alot of winter activities to do like skiing and Wakasagi fishing (you may google it if you're not sure , this is something quite interesting!) . I'm not a summer kind of person , i hate hot sun. Who's with me ? LOL . Generally , there's a lot of activities you can do during summer .Summer in much of Japan is hot and can be unrelentingly humid, but it’s also the season for top festivals, mass folk dancing, mountain hikes, and enjoying a cold beer on a city rooftop .Their summer lasts from about June to mid-September, depending on the location . I personally prefer Autumn , my favourite of all , it is still cold and chilly but not snowing anymore . So we doesnt need to wrap our self with super bulky winter clothes like a popiah . Autumn in Japan is from September to November . Colourful autumn leaves are the main attraction in this time of the year as the whole country turns into colourful warm colours. 

I been to Japan by Airasia and ANA , so there's comparison and differences I can tell. During my first visit , i bought the AA ticket to Tokyo Haneda for RM1000+ return ticket (inclusive my transit ticket PG to KL and baggage) . They are doing the free seats so i managed to gab it at such low price , but you need to be fast . But of course , there's pros and cons with budget airline. Plane to Tokyo is the bigger one which is the AAX. I would say the seat is small and narrow legroom. If you're tall , then sorry . It will be a tough 7 hours for you.  There's no food and drinks provided unless you order it separately . No entertainment nothing , no blanket . Its all on your own if you need it. After that i decided to give ANA  try during my trip this year to Tokyo . Well , i always believe that Japan is the best , they gave the best services ever to their passengers. The answer is YES . I bought my ticket around RM1800+ to Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur . I remember we actually chose the afternoon flight around 1pm as it is cheaper compared to the morning ones. I really like ANA so much , the stewardess was very helpful during the boarding and very polite . This is not a budget airline but i think its quite reasonable with 23kg luggage allowance for each passengers with meals included . Super worth it . I will show you guys the calculation below .

Estimation cost for Air ticket :

Airasia : Base Fare RM1472 , value pack RM311 = Total RM1783
ANA : Everything for RM1856

Above was calculated based on April 2019 air fare , as you can see the price gap not much different from budget airline vs the economy airline . So its not true that AA is cheap all the time. ANA or JAL can really be affordable too depending on the months you choose to go. Must really do your own homework on the survey and use skyscanner to check on the comparison between other airlines. Ok , let me share to you my experiences with ANA .

We are given a menu to choose our drinks , seriously there are more than 10 choices from juices , teas and alcohols. Alcoholic can get drunk during the entire flight ! You name it , they have it . Me and my partner we tried almost everything in the menu , because its really attractive and fun to get to try many different drinks . Even tea also they have many types . After that we are served with rice crackers as snacks . Because we took afternoon flight , they serve our dinner quite early . There's only 2 choices for set lunch. It's really huge for me alone. Later on we are served Haagen Dasz ice cream too. One hour before we touch down , we are served with crossaint again ! Really non stop eating in the plane and totally no chance for us to get hungry . Overall we really enjoyed the 7 hours in the flight , its so comfortable and i would say its a pleasant trip for the both of us. I'm not the kind of person that able to sleep all the way in the plane. The small screen in front of my seat really well entertained me , all the dramas and tv shows screened on the plane is very updated and i watched ' A Star Is Born ' . What's happier than watching a nice movie with a cup of hojicha. Lol .

#Transportation in Japan

It should be the most complicated subway map that i ever seen and experienced in my life . It took me some time to digest and discover on how to take the subway in Tokyo. Seems easy but its not , i need to study before i travel to another area or else am going to miss the train or take the wrong train . Japan is really really so convenient in transport wise , you can access almost everywhere especially those attraction spots . Always remember to download a copy of the subway map in your phone for the easy access. So , you dont have to carry the paper map all around with you .

Note : Recommended to plan your itinerary before you purchase the tag card , or else you will be wasting money and time .

I actually borrowed the PASMO card from my friend , and just reload the credit . You may read below for more info .To me , you dont have to worry on how much to reload whether you will reload excessive or not , as you can use the credit in it to purchase anything from the convenient stores like Lawson / Vending machines and Family mart . It’s just like your wallet .

http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/types/pasmo/index.html

But if you need to stop at the station which is located at JR line , then this Tokyo subway pass cannot be used here. That’s the time you need to use your PASMO or SUICA card (its the same usage like PASMO , just that its from different railway company).

My trip to Japan is 10 days 9 nights , so we did purchased this Tokyo Subway Ticket (All Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines) . Available for 24h / 48h or 72h . That’s why always plan your trip before purchase any tickets . We touched down Tokyo as our first stop , and we planned to stay for 2 days before we move to Osaka and Kyoto . So we decided to get the unlimited day pass instead. We bought single ticket for the 24h as the first day we touched down quite late and we dont really need any train ride on our first day . We save the ticket for the next day .You can purchase this ticket at Information Counter at Haneda Airport Arrival Lobby, Limousine Bus ticket counters at Shinjuku Station West Exit and Tokyo City Air Terminal (TCAT) 3F, and Tokyo Metro pass offices (except at Nakano, Nishi-funabashi and Shibuya (Fukutoshin Line) Stations) .

Get your ticket here from https://www.klook.com/en-MY/ , Klook is my all time favourite website to hunt for promo tickets . Sometimes they do have FREE voucher to grab and its really worth it compare you buy the ticket on the spot . Save on the exchange rate ! Not only that , on and off they are having those special promo codes for new user and also discount code . This is one of the tips that you need to take note . It really helps me a lot during the planning of itinerary . From Klook , you can read on the reviews from previous traveller on their experience for that trip . Think of travel, think of Klook !

*Note: These tickets are only sold to overseas visitors on tourist visas.

Everyone thinks that travel in Japan is expensive , but i would say No , its actually depends on how you arrange your trip . JR pass is not a must unless you need to travel in Shinkansens line because it quite costly ,  7 days for MYR1079 (the ordinary pass) .  I need to repeat it here , please please check out Klook for their promo ticket. Guess what , i got mine at RM999 only !!!

JR pass is strictly only for tourists  , and only able to purchase out of Japan. Once we purchased the tickets , after two days we received our tickets at doorstep ! Extremely good service , that's the good thing i really love about Klook . You may check out their website for details and ticketing . Since we will be travelling to Osaka and Kyoto this round , so we got the JR pass . After doing several surveys , this pass is way more cheaper than their domestic flight (sometimes you might get at RM600+ also , always keep an eye for the flight fare) .If you do not have a Japan Rail Pass then the fare will be 13,620 yen one way. There are three types of train on the Tokaido Shinkansen line: the Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. The Nozomi is the most frequent and the fastest train as it travels between Shin-Osaka and Tokyo in just 2 hours and 30 minutes.

#Portable wifi 

Ok , for portable wifi you may rent through Klook too ! So convenient right? Another option , you can rent it from selected telco provider and collect it from the airport. Personally , i booked mine through Travel Recommends . It costs us about RM120 for 10 days , this is a promo price if im not mistaken. It can connect up to 5 devices which i think quite worth it . The more friends to share around , the cheaper it is. The pocket wifi is very small in size , and battery lasts about 6 to 7 hours . So please be prepared to bring your power bank along . You would'nt want to stay disconnected after half a day right ? We are too attached to social medias nowadays , we got to post in IG story and post , share in Facebook . Some doing LIVE streaming when they're travelling . But most importantly , you need the internet connection for your google map . Japan is super convenient with their map , all the directions can be so so clear. Dont worry you wont be lost in Japan even you doesnt speak their language. My advise is choose according to your needs and number of members travelling before deciding which one to select.

I guess that's all for now and I hope you love everything I shared on this post.  In my next post , i will be sharing more detailed of the food , itinerary and also hot spot to visit in Japan. Make sure to check everything on this blog post and I shall see you on my next post. Love, xoxo.