Quote:
Originally Posted by SakeSan
Konnichiwa!
I'm going to Japan this summer. I really love Japan, and it has been my dream to go there since a was a little kid. Now I've saved enough money to travel to Asia on my own.
Besides that I'm really excited about my trip in July, I'm also quite nervous, because it is my first time that I'm traveling alone by plane.
I have been planning my trip since January, and I also into learning the Japanese language and knowing more about it's culture.
I think understanding the Japanese culture and be capable of speak the Japanese language a bit, is a very important step, but even with a real good planning things can still turn out differently, neeh?!
I will be staying in a hotel in the Iidabashi area, and i really want to invesigate Tokyo on my own.
So, I really want to know if that is a difficult thing to do. 
I have bought a map to guide me trough, but is it still hard to orientate in Tokyo, or do you could get lost easily?
Also, I really want to take the train, or metro to Akihabara [Akiba].
Akihabara itself would be my main target to visit, and I was wondering if it's difficult [as a tourist] to buy a train/metro ticket, get on board and move yourself around.
Another question I'd really want to ask is if I can bring along a lot of cash money, instead of travel cheques. I read that, because Japan is a really safe country you can easily take 100.000 Yen with you without having to be on guard all the time.
I rather prefer to take cash with me. If you have travel chques with you, you need to find a bank first to change it into paper money and coins.
I hope you can answer this questions for me.^^
Thank you very much, arigato gozaimass!
Matane! |
Sakesan,
Since this is the first time you come to Japan, the transportation system can be quite complicated. But, Tokyo's train system is really good, meaning you can basically go everywhere with the train or shinkansen. But, it is quite complicated, so, make sure you get a train map as soon as you come to tokyo. they are available in any stations.
Also, one thing you may think about getting is the Japan train pass where you can use specific shinkansen to go to places further out. The pass is much cheaper than if you buy the tickets separately. However, this pass must be purchased outside japan.
Learning some Japanese is a very good idea becoz generally people don't speak any here and street signs and shop signs are mostly in japanese.
Yeah, cash is fine. But, it's better if you bring a credit card with you since many places accept credit cards (just in case).
Hope you have a great time!