Soon, our nephew and his dad will be backpacking with us in Japan. Last Fall I did most of the planning and made the majority of the reservations. Throughout the process, I built the following list of planning details that needed attention as we got closer to our travel date.
Buy…
SIM Cards
SIM cards are easily purchased at the arrival airport or just about any convenience store in Japan. However, I prefer to purchase a SIM card ahead of time so there’s one less thing to do after a long flight.
I purchased 15GB data-only SIMs from Amazon for $35 each. This is more than enough for the adults, but the 15-year-old nephew might need a top-up!
National Japan Rail Passes
JR (Japan Rail) passes cover both the fare and seat reservation, making it easy to ride the rails all over Japan. Online purchases open up about one month ahead of travel.
Suica Cards
Suica stored-value cards are a convenient way to pay for transit in many parts of Japan. They can also be used to make purchases in convenience stores and pay for luggage lockers in train stations. When I visited Japan last November, I bought additional cards for our group. Cards can be topped up with cash at convenience stores or at machines in major train stations.
Install Apps
WhatsApp. While in Japan, we will not be using our regular SIMs. This means we will not be able to use text messaging to communicate. WhatsApp is a great alternative, as it is free to use and can be accessed over Wi-Fi. Additionally, messaging via WhatsApp is free on our Delta flights, so we can even digitally poke each other in-flight.
The Fly Delta app is a must as we will be flying Delta (nonstop A330neo) between Minneapolis/St.Paul MSP and Tokyo HND. It conveniently holds our boarding passes and credentials and allows us to quickly rebook if there is a disruption. There’s no charge for using the app while in-flight.
We’ll use the ANA (All Nippon Airways) app to check in for a two-hour flight from Tokyo to Kagoshima on the morning after we arrive in Tokyo from Minneapolis. I’ve selected seats on the right side of the plane (a 787) so we’ll get a good view of Mount Fuji if the weather complies.
Navitime, JapanTravel, and Tokyo OS transit applications make it easy to look up train and bus times and find departure platforms.
The Suicakeibo app reads our Suica cards so we can check balances. I want to avoid having insufficient funds on a card to complete a journey.
Google Translate does a fine job translating between Japanese and English. It can even read signs. I downloaded the Japanese package so it can still translate if there is no cell signal.
Google Maps and MAPS.me are my favorite mapping apps. I download maps for both apps so I can still navigate if there is no cell signal. MAPS.me maps are based on OpenStreetMap maps which are more likely to show hiking trails.
Mobile Passport Control (MPC) eliminates the need to fill out paper US Customs and Immigration forms. Our nephew and his dad will probably use this application; Dwight and I have Global Entry, so we’ll just walk up to a kiosk and re-enter the USA using facial recognition.
Review Japan Entry Requirements
Set up Immigration and Customs Forms
Instead of filling out paper forms with their tiny spaces for writing information, we entered our details at Visit Japan Web. We expect to sail through Customs and Immigration upon arrival in Haneda by scanning 2D barcodes.
Review Covid Restrictions
Japan has lifted all Covid restrictions for visitors from the United States.
Plan Day-of-Arrival Adventure
After hopefully sailing through Customs and Immigration we’ll take the Tokyo Monorail from our arrival terminal to Terminal 2. If all goes well it will be mid-afternoon when we check into a hotel directly connected to Terminal 2.
We won’t stick around the hotel. Instead, we’ll take the Keikyu Line to Kawasaki and transfer to a local train to get to a neighborhood with a large temple, Kawasaki Daishi.
Beyond the temple is a park with baseball diamonds where kids may be playing after school. Parents sitting in the bleachers will be a familiar sight.
Of course, if it’s raining, or if our flight arrives late, we’ll come up with an alternative plan.
Next morning we’ll fly down to Kagoshima for two days of hiking in Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park.
Set up Shimanami Kaido Cycling
We’ll cycle part of the Shimanami Kaido, a scenic cycling route that crosses bridges and islands in the Seto Inland Sea between two of Japan’s four main islands, Honshu and Shikoku. We’ll be treated to gorgeous views of the sea, the islands, and the bridges.
Book Hotel Cycle
We’ll stay at Hotel Cycle, Onomichi, in a repurposed historical warehouse on a wharf. I made reservations when they opened up about three months ahead.
Reserve Bicycles
The hotel has a Giant (brand) bicycle store that sells and rents high-quality bicycles. I made reservations two months ahead when they opened up. I’ve learned the hard way they have a limited supply of bicycles.
Book…
Chichu Art Museum
We’ll spend a day walking around Naoshima Island in the Inland Sea. We’ll see world-class art and architecture, including the Chichu Art Museum, where Tadao Ando’s architecture is very much a part of the exhibits. Only a few people are allowed into each gallery at a time, so I purchased tickets as soon as they became available about three months ahead.
Toyota Plant Tour
We had planned to tour a Toyota car plant in Nagoya and learn about the importance of quality management and six sigma. However, tours were stopped at the start of the pandemic and have not yet been restarted.
Choose Tokyo Neighborhood for Last Night
Book Tokyo Hotel for Last Night
We’ll arrive in Tokyo late afternoon, and fly home next day.
I wanted our 24 hours in Tokyo to be kid-friendly, so I opted for a hotel high above one of the world’s busiest train stations, Shibuya, with 2.4 million daily weekday passengers. There’s plenty to gawk at in the surrounding neighborhood, including the obligatory Shibuya Crossing.
Plan Day-of-Departure Adventure
Our flight home to Minneapolis leaves Tokyo Haneda late in the afternoon. This gives us time to explore a part of Tokyo I’ve never visited.
After checking out of the hotel we’ll ride the Yamanote Line from Shibuya to Hamamatsucho where we’ll stow our backpacks in lockers. From there, there’s a neighborhood and parks to explore. The Tokyo Tower will inject a kid-friendly element.
The Tokyo Monorail runs from Hamamatsucho directly to Haneda’s International Terminal 3. If it’s a really hot day, there’s free showers at the airport.