The basics of travelling in Japan

Assalamualaikum and Ohayou gozaimasu!!

This post is to share to you all, my friends out there about what I have learned in Japan and some travel tips if you are interested to go there one day. (I know I want to go again..and again.. and again..)

Just a quick disclaimer: I have been obsessed with Japan for more than a decade now, so excuse me if I sound over zealous in this post!

First of all, it all started when my good olde buddy, Amy, mentioned to me that she would be going to Japan in April 2015 to see the sakuras' with her officemates. Since I just started working and all, I said  to myself, 'just do it', and hope for the best. I had no reason not to go and materialise my childhood dream! So, I bought the ticket for RM1900 with MAS airlines. My husband could not go as he was really tied up with his job.

And so time passed and I have not really planned anything yet by then. Well, other than watching a bunch of 'Begin Japanology', 'Ochikeron', and 'Sharla in Japan' videos in Youtube. I don't think those count, tbh! Hahaha. 

Accommodation

A week before going to Japan (which was last minute), I booked to stay at several places since there were not many options left. The first 2 days, I stayed at SAKURA GUEST HOUSE (for females only) and the owner is Matsumoto-san. I booked his hostel through Agoda.com. I met several other Malay girls there and it was so much fun sharing our experiences with each other! The location of the guest house is in Namba, which is considered the most frequent place that my friends and I visited for the whole of 7 days. Namba is connected to the main line ( red line - Midosuji), which is one of the most useful line everrrr... In Namba, most eateries and scenic life of Osaka are just a walk a way. The beds are like baby cots, equipped with heated blankets. Sugoiiine!! ^_^ Btw, the kitty-chan is mine, not provided by the guest house. Cost: RM71 per night.

The next place I stayed was at a Ryokan ( a traditional Japanese hotel with Onsen). Onsen is a natural/manmade public shower and hot spring. My friends and I were very lucky because it seems that we were the only people there at that time and we are supposedly asked to bathe naked. *blush*

The idea to bathe without clothing, unlike in the swimming pool, is to keep the place hygienic and tighten the kinship between family and friends. However, the Onsen is gender separated. *phewww*. I did not book this place as my friend, Pika-san is the one who is better at this. Haha. 

She and her colleagues tend to frequent ryokan and Onsen to relax and have fun, so she is comfortable booking the ryokan for me and Amy. I think it costs about 7150 Yen per night/per person which is around RM250. I would really recommend anyone for this experience while visiting Japan. A must try for the 'bold' ones, at least. Teehee! Cost: Rm 750 per night

Other than spending a night at Pika's place, which was spacious and modern, Mashallah! *Thank you Pika for your graciousness!*, I booked the remaining days in Japan at Misa's place through Airbnb.com! I later found out that the place is owned by YUKI, a male host and also an avid surfer.. *ehem* He pointed out happily his surfing picture at the kitchen to me, which was super impressive. A lil side tracked, so where were we.. yes..the place was a traditional house, complete with the old furniture and traditions. Traditions like, using different slippers for inside and outside use, bathroom ethic, etc.. I had a room/cave all to myself and it was convenient as it was just 20 mins to the Kansai Airport. There was a lot of free teas, bread, jam etc.. that was provided and Yuki and Misa were very kind and they spoke excellent English! I wish them well and hope to see them again, Inshallah.. The location is near Wakayama prefecture. An excellent place to observe the Marine side of Japan, which I did not get the opportunity to do so, yet! Inshallah. Hahaha. Oops and before I forget, the station to this place is called Tannowa station. Cost: RM139 per night.

Transportation and getting around

First of all, let's take a look at the map of the Kansai area that includes several prefectures which are Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara and Wakayama.

Okay, heyyhoo, this is the over simplified form. So, because I wanted to see many places, I decided to opt for the Kansai pass which allows me unlimited access via train ( excluding JR) and several buses to see Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, and Wakayama. The catch is that it is valid for 3 days. The 3 days does not have to be consecutive nor in a short period of time frame. You could pick any 3 days you want in the span of 6 months from the purchased date. So I used it on the days that I felt like seeing many places. 

It costs 5200 YEN, which is around RM 161. Since I was there for 7 days, the remaining 4 days were mostly going to specific places to shop or I was on a road trip via a car. I would say, since my plan was pretty flexible, it was a suitable option for me. Please find out the best option for you at the information centre at the Kansai airport. They are super helpful and will help you plan your trip better. 

On the side note, the train lines can be confusing at first, but there will always be a person at the counter at each station to help you navigate. I would personally say that based on my experience from using the tube in London, the train lines in Japan is quite similar, except, have a look out for the 'express' and 'local' options on the trains. Express means the train will skip a few places along the way while the local will go through each station. 

I took the Taxi twice there. Once, when I got lost finding my sakura guest house, and also because it was raining. The second one was when I was so tired walking in the Osaka castle, omg its humongous!! The meter starts at 680 yen, which was RM 18.. hahaha... so go figure babe!! Make sure you build some nice muscles before you start seriously walking in Japan! XD

All in all, get a pass, or something, because, the train itself was not that cheap either. My other friend that I met in Japan told me that Tokyo is even worse. Way more expensive. 

Lastly is the:

Communication

I had the privilege of studying basic Japanese at my boarding school for 4 years. And so, I could read, write and speak basic Japanese. *hashtag*alhamdulillah. I would highly suggest that you equip yourself with the language before entering the country unless you have a translator/group leader that could eloquently converse in the language. The Japs are still in progress in learning and using English. Please be patient.. =)

The other thing that is worth highlighting is having the internet available to you at all times. At the airport, there are many mobile stores that provide phone with internet, portable wifi, and also simcards. I took the simcard option for 7 days and 100mb internet per day for RM 99 which is about 3200 yen. I am totally grateful because the 'free wifi' around the city was not accessible to my phone. Since I was on a half solo trip and the other half trip with friends, it was really helpful as it made contacting my friends easier and I could update my family and friends in Malaysia 24/7. I could also easily google help when needed. And to locate my Airbnb stay location, I had to use google map, which was not possible if I had not have subscribed my own internet. 

Okay, these are the basic tips to travel in Japan! Will update more on the places to visit and food to eat in my next post! Sayonara!!