Essential JAPAN Travel Must Know Questions Answered

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Support the channel: www.ninjasaru.com.

[@jimross7648]

This is the one stop general Japan video I wish I had found I had watched before my first trip to Japan. It answers 95% of the basic questions people want in an easy straight forward manner. No one video can answer all the questions, because Japan is a big country with variations between cities, rural areas, and the travellers wants, needs, and personality. The best source is becoming a Ninja Monkey and Happy Gaijin Channel subscriber and member.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Thanks Jim! I tried to make it as simple as possible to answer .. Hope it will help a lot of people

[@Alliscrazy.]

Very nice tips and advice to travel. Great thanks for sharing !

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Thanks for watching!

[@tobiasbrizuela1312]

Loved it. Your tip about luggage forwarding was awesome, I needed it. Appreciate it .

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Glad it was helpful! Luggage forwarding for longer parts of your trip really is a game changer!

[@froglady4360]

Lots of good tips in there for 1st time visitors. Another great video Nathan! Thanks for sharing your knowledge to help others enjoy their time in Japan ♥️

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

That is the aim! helping :)

[@sisterblissuk9253]

I love this video! Best time to travel, when YOU can get there 😍

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Yes! this is my motto! screw what everyone says .. go when you can!

[@mhaskard6517]

I was in Japan in September with the family and couldn't get over how relatively cheap it was, trains, buses, 711, FamilyMart, Lawsons, restaurants, food and drinks. We used the Suica card app on our Iphones which worked well and I got a Wise card which I preloaded with Japanese yen and used this to top Suica card up. Hotels in Tokyo are more expensive than Osaka, Kyoto hotels were cheapest on the trip. All our hotels were basically on top of the train lines or less than 5 minute walk. Cannot wait to go back again. A preconception was I thought Japan was expensive but it wasn't.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Sounds like you did everything correctly on your trip! digital suica, wise, and close by hotels to stations .. great trip!

[@henrychew235]

Good tip. The only one i would add is probably do watch simple videos on how to get through the shinkansen ticket machine especially if you are a first timer and during peak times. Getting rejected at the gate can be both an inconvenience and embrassing experience. More so if you end up delaying the people behind you. If you board at tokyo, please do check carefully, tohoku, tokaido, sanyo hokuriku bullet trains are not all together. You may have a shinkansen ticket but if you go to the wrong gate, it will reject you. (Example having a hokuriku shinkansen ticket wont get you through tokaido gate.) As such, do go early and not leave it to the last minute. Panic will set in and you may end up missing train , disrupting your day.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Yes this is a good tip, i do cover a lot of train travel via my train guide which I mention in this video..even if it's not fully Shinkansen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZewc5abi8t6oq8 But I agree there are so many more tips to include in the future

[@toshgreenfunko]

Awesome🔥going back to Japan nextweek❤

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Exciting!

[@michaelj2528]

Always interesting and informative and entertaining, this is very helpful for those travelling there, I am not sure I be brave enough to go there not much chance for me now anyway. Well done

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

I really appreciate your feedback! I'm glad you found the video helpful. Traveling can be daunting, but it’s also so rewarding!

[@LetsExplore307]

Another great informed video, I'm traveling in late November and this is so helpful. My question is if I want to get the regular suit with the green mascot I need to put my name on it even if I get it at the JR east ticket center??

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

No, the named suica is available at ticket machines in major stations with telephone registration but you can still get a normal suica from JR East travel center. hope this helps

[@LetsExplore307]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy yes that helps a lot

[@FollowTheSunAustralia]

Yes these are definitely the most asked😅 they all look familiar!!

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Familiar because they are asked so many times right? lol

[@jessesnyder5105]

This feels like one of your livestreams condensed into 15 minutes 😂 Thanks Nathan, very helpful!

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

that was my inspiration! .. those questions so many many people keep on asking must be worth covering right? .. this video was actually 20 minutes long and I condensed it (I might share the rest at another time or with Patreons)

[@exuae1]

hey Nathan another good video you have , and yes about halal food I can help in a simple answer, its easy to find big cities but litgtle hard in ruaral area but it's available if you look for it

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Thanks! 🙏 as I’m not halal I simply try to help point people in the right direction with ideas

[@exuae1]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy thank you for that

[@larock0wns]

Good video. Quick question. Do you still need to fill out the Visit Japan Web, and getting the QR code, before getting to Japan?

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

you need to fill in the info regardless of weather its physically by paper at arrival or using the Visit Japan web, using visit japan web means you can do it before your trip and make sure everything is ok

[@XingRuiTan]

If i buy a shinkansen ticket online, do i need to redeem the physical ticket to get into the shinkansen station or a e-ticket will be provided via email?

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

in most situations you will need to redeem the ticket from the station's ticket machine/desk. There are some routes that now accept Qr Code to go through the gate

[@Bobsyagod]

I've booked quite a few things through Klook and they're generally good. But had a very bad experience the other day. Had pre-booked tickets in the cockpit lounge of the Spacia X to Nikko a month and a half ahead of the release day. On the day the tickets got release and Klook needed to book them for me, they didn't show as processing for over an hour after the tickets went on sale, then finally changed status to Processing the tickets, you'll get them soon. It sat like that for 9 hours and I got nervous. Messaged them and they said they were still waiting to see if they could book them, 5 minutes later my tickets were cancelled and they said I'd missed out. But by then all the other seats on the same train had sold out. If they'd processed in a timely manor I could've gone for a different seat, but 9 hours? And if they don't have a special deal with the company for things like that with extremely limited seats that sell out in minutes like the cockpit lounge, they shouldn't offer it without some kind of warning as if they don't have a special deal, it'll never get those seats.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Thank you for sharing your experience and for continuing to book through Klook! It’s great to hear that you’ve generally had positive experiences, but I’m really sorry about the frustration with the Spacia X tickets. I completely understand how disappointing it must have been, especially with such a long wait and then missing out on the seats you wanted. I hope Klook takes this feedback seriously to improve how they handle high-demand bookings in the future as this will help everyone in a similar position. I still think they’re a great platform overall, and hopefully, your feedback will help them make some improvements!

[@kevinhowells1147]

I thought you could now add Shinkansen Tickets to a designated IC card and then use that to enter the platform ?

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Yep I mention the Smart Ex in this video but it’s not straightforward and you cannot simply tap in using a suica card which is what most people get confused about

[@kevinhowells1147]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy Ok. Thank you. Excellent videos by the way - extremely helpful

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

@@kevinhowells1147 I’m glad! 😌

[@Curious-traveler]

I have a question for you! I’m coming to Tokyo November 19th. I was planning on getting the Tohoku Regional 5 day pass when I get to Tokyo on the 19th. I have a reservation for my 60th bday at Nyuto Onsen Friday the 22nd. I was planning on activating my 5 day pass on November 22nd. I just watched your video and now I’m concerned about waiting until the Nov 22nd to activate my pass and make sure I have a seat. If I purchase that one ticket in advance it’s like $100 and that would negate the benefit of the regional pass. I’m not sure how to use the regional pass in this situation and secure a ticket for my bday trip to Nyuto onsen.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Hey, Firstly Tohoku is amongst some of the least visited tourist routes so you likey wont have a huge issue additionally you can reserve Seats Immediately After Purchasing: Even if your pass activation date is later (e.g., the 22nd), once you’ve purchased the pass, you can make seat reservations for your birthday trip right away. JR East allows you to book seats for trains once you have the pass in hand, even if it’s not yet activated (at least the last time I did it was like that)

[@Curious-traveler]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy thank you

[@Curious-traveler]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy ok I’ll buy it the 19th when I arrive and book my ticket to Nyuto onsen at the same time. I have to transfer in morioka and there seems to be several trains headed that way on the half hour etc. and I’ll make sure I bring cash because I’ll be in Inaka 😊👍

[@pangalan9424]

If you have a regional pass(hiroshima-kansai area pass) and did not reserve seats,should i just insert my pass in the ticket machine and just choose any shinkansen and go to non reserve cars?or do i still need a separate ticket for non reserve seats?

[@phillydisco-h1r]

If you already have a pass, no extra ticket is needed for a non-reserve seat. At least that's how the JR pass works, so I'm assuming that logic applies to regional ones too.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

You can simply jump into a non-reserved cart with a regional pass, but don't forget that you have access to free seat reservations! (do this at the counter or the ticket machine) you might aswel!

[@pangalan9424]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy thanks! also, if i am going to use the pass on a JR local train(okayama to kurashiki) should i just insert my pass in the ticket machine or go through the booth to show my pass?

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

@@pangalan9424 you can pass it through the gate machine

[@pangalan9424]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy thanks!

[@towada1066]

ww! ... Japan Summer is below Hell (>_

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

haha yes .. unless its the only time you can go!

[@towada1066]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy w! ... better for foreigners to just stay away! (^_^)

[@towada1066]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy ww! ... I only go back to visit relatives and take care of my home but otherwise Japan is terrible ... foreign tourists just make things worse ...

[@nateshf9303]

If you're wondering what happens to your mobile ic cards and account balances when you get a new iPhone, rest assured: they're stored in iCloud and will automatically be transferred when you set up your new device.

[@NinjaMonkeyguy]

Yea! this is another great reason to have digital suica huh! I just updated my phone and my wallet came along with it :)

[@nateshf9303]

@@NinjaMonkeyguy Yes, everything transferred over to my new phone that I just got a few days ago.