Very helpful video for independent travels in Japan. It's a wonderful, interesting, historical and beautiful country, with the highest class infrastructure of anywhere we've ever been.

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching, Claudia, and you are right about the incredible infrastructure. We were amazed at how efficiently everything operated! We agree with your other points as well. We are eager to put together our video series, but there is so much to talk about that we need to prune it to a manageable number of topics and videos! -Judy

ATMs are often only open bank hours, and banks will have separate machines for foreign cards. 7-11 has their own bank, so withdrawals there have the same rates as most banks. Plus they have a much higher withdrawal limit.

@FindingGinaMarie

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for this distinction. We went to both bank ATMs and 7-11, but we didn't pay attention to what the withdrawal limits were at each. Thanks for watching! Here's a link to our entire series from our 40+ days in Japan -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

A different experience by all means. Many thanks for reigniting our own experience of visiting Japan. Hiroshima experience was so powerful. All the best Marie

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching, Himadri! We visited Hiroshima and plan to do an episode on it as well as several others from Tokyo, Kyoto, and a ryokan. Stay tuned! -Judy

A number of places I've seen, such as Ryokans, have said you can wear the Yukata (robe/kimono thing) around the area outdoors. Probably not a big city, but a smaller town or "neighborhood" where you might walk down the block to the hot springs, etc. It's relaxing after dinner kind of thing.

@FindingGinaMarie

4 ай бұрын

That's correct, Kate. Our Ryokan would have allowed it, but our hotels did not. They specifically said not to wear them outside of their property. Thank you so much for watching! We have an entire series from our time in Japan, including our stay in a Ryokan, which is linked below. -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

These guys are the best! So relaxed humble and NOT in Egypt! Love them!😅

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

We do like Egypt, but we also loved our time in Japan. We have an entire series from our 40+ days there, James. We hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for watching! -Judy 🎥 Egypt travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF1WcH9GxfK4ngH49MXf5oOv

This was a super interesting video! I learned so many new things about travel in Japan I never knew!!!

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thanks so much, Rebecca. We were surprised by so many things. One thing we'll probably cover in one of our other videos is how many workers there are everywhere and how helpful they all are. We definitely felt like we were in good and kind hands for everything! -Judy

I recently returned from a trip to Japan. I absolutely loved my time there. I did plenty of youtube research prior to my trip and continue on my return for nostalgic purposes. I love the format of your videos. Of the many I have reviewed, you are the only ones who advised on the 2 tickets for the Shinkansen. I ran into this issue on my holiday and it's great to see someone finally mention it. Thank you.

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching, Stephen, and for the very kind comment! We had encountered something similar on our Glacier Express train ride and a few trains getting to and from that area. We hoped it would benefit people to know before they showed up and had to scramble. We have an entire series from our 40+ days there. In the event you want to relive any of it, I'll include a link below. We had a great time in Japan. We were not prepared for how different it would be to arrive in Saigon immediately afterwards! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Thank you 🙏 for this incredibly informative video. We are off to Japan end of Autumn and greatly looking forward. Have liked and subscribed. Greetings from London.

@FindingGinaMarie

2 ай бұрын

We are so glad to hear that this was helpful for you, Robbie! I'll leave a link below to the rest of our Japan videos. We spent 40+ days there. Thank you so much for subscribing. London is one of our all-time favorite places. It's the first place I traveled to internationally and before being full-time travelers, we would visit once or twice per year. ♥️♥️♥️ -Judy 🎥 Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

I can't wait to visit Japan one of these years. This was super informative. Thanks!!

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Hi David, so glad this video was helpful. There were so many things we didn't know to expect and thought it might help our viewers as well. We're excited to be bringing you a new episode about Tokyo on Saturday! -Judy

Excellent information! Japan recently went on our bucket list, and this video is so helpful! It is so interesting to learn about each culture's idiosyncrasies. Looking forward to your future videos. Thanks so much,

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, Linda! We have loads of information to share. We just need to prune it down so we don’t begin to bore people. We had so many great experiences to share! ♥️-Judy

I just returned from two months in Japan. This I titled my trip Castles, colors and Shinkansens. I used my JR pass and literally went from one end of Japan to the other and crisscrossed the country several times. I spent time in rural areas where there were NO westerners and took multiple classes in various fields using my Timekettle translator. Have a wonderful journey. Japan is a magical place. I’d be jealous if I wasn’t leaving for Italy and Vienna. Fingers crossed, I think I found a little house to buy in Italy, after years of searching. I just know someday our paths will cross in a departure lounge somewhere. Enjoy each other! I miss my KC so much.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Aww, Cherie. I can't imagine how hard it is to lose the love of your life. We are trying not to think about that too much for ourselves. We'll be celebrating 40 years of marriage next month, so impossible to fathom. You are in our prayers. Your itinerary in Japan sounds amazing. Weren't the fall colors fabulous?! We did a lot, but it was not enough! And we are missing Italy, so have a wonderful time. What part of Italy will you be visiting? Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experiences! -Judy

This is excellent, well done!!

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, Dan. We appreciate you! -Judy

I can’t wait to go back to Japan! Your video reminded me of what a wonderful country it is and how much more I have to see.

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Same, Carolina! We barely scratched the surface of what there is to see. We are so excited to share our videos from this beautiful country! Thank you for being a faithful follower and commenter on our channel. We appreciate you! -Judy

Love🥰 the way you two are touring Europe + Asia! You must be grateful that you got to have this experience, and I'm grateful that you are both sharing it here!

@lightsaver7785

6 ай бұрын

P.S. Subscribed!

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! -Judy

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much. You are absolutely right; we are pretty thrilled to be living our lives this way. Sharing our travels with others brings us so much joy, and it's as though you all are traveling along with us. It's also satisfying to be able to help others not make the mistakes we did or prepare for a successful trip, and even bring people to places they might never travel to themselves. Thank you for watching and for taking the time to leave us this great comment. -Judy

Awesome couple who enjoys life !!! Very helpful videos !!! Arigato Gozaimasu !

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching, Ed! We had an incredible 42 days in Japan and made some very special memories. Our daughter joined us for a week or so, so we retraced some of our steps with her. You can see our video series linked below if you're interested! -Judy 🎥 Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Loved the Saki story :)

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and for reminding us of this! I can't help but chuckle every time I think of the look on Kevin's face when the waiter overfilled his glass. Priceless! 🤣🤣🤣 Have you seen the rest of our Japan series? We just released an episode from Kyoto, which I'll link below. -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Great advice.

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching, Daria, and for validating our experience! You might enjoy our entire series from Japan. We were there for 40+ days this fall. It was incredible! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

@dariamancini963

3 ай бұрын

@@FindingGinaMarie I'm going to have to explore your channel. 40 days sounds fantastic to me!

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much, Daria! It was great, and we would have loved even more time. Japan has so much to see and do!

Great Japan trip.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Thanks, Mario! We have more episodes that we are looking forward to bringing you from Japan! -Judy

You definitely need to do the math on the JR pass depending on your trip length and train rides, it can pay for itself with a few Shinkansen trips close together but if you stay in a city for a week (which is easy to do) the pass makes less sense.

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

I think it always used to be a no-brainer, but now you really need to check very carefully. -Judy

@objc

7 ай бұрын

@@FindingGinaMarie I used a pass in May before the price hike and the two week pass with a few high speed rides was close to break even, if we had done a couple more trips it would start to save significantly but then you’re moving around a lot. I see you were in Kyoto, looking forward to that footage! I really loved it there

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experience. We moved around more than we normally would to account for our daughter's last minute desire to visit. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, a ryokan in Kyoto, then more of Kyoto, and then back to Tokyo! We are looking forward to sharing it all with you! -Judy

Thanks for all the tips cuz we are going this July.

@FindingGinaMarie

4 ай бұрын

We hope you have an amazing time, Kelly! Have you seen our other videos from Japan. We had such a great experience there and wish the same for you. We'd love to know what you think of it when you return! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

@nobodynothing00000

4 ай бұрын

wow, I hope you like sweating

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

@fr0O0 It will be hot, but I think August will be even worse. -Judy

Outtakes cracked me up! The video was so well-done and informative. Have Cash!!! (number 1 take away) and get at the ATM first. Having a small towel to dry hands is also something I made note of. But biggest encouragement for me was to PACK LESS! After seeing all those stairs and knowing I will be responsible for my own luggage. (traveling solo in a tour group) Thanks for a great video and I am looking forward to more in your Japan series. ❤

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Thanks, Tanya! Not everybody takes the time to view them, so we appreciate you! And great summary as well. Granted, there are elevators and escalators, but you have to search for them and they create extra walking. When we first arrived, we were so overwhelmed that we just took the stairs. Eventually we found the other things, but it's a little more of a hassle and you can easily get caught in the crowd. We're excited to bring you more from Japan! -Judy

23:51 Oh. There is a chart full of recycle and throw away items, when is the correct day to throw them out for residential living in Japan. Just to give you an example. For plastic bottle, we need to separate them in 3 different ways. The cap, the wrapper and the naked bottle.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

This is encouraging to hear. There was no separation in our hotels beyond incinerate and plastic bottles, so this is good news. I wonder if they don't trust hotel guests to do it properly! Thanks so much for watching! Have you seen our episode from Tokyo that appeared last week? We have another four episodes that we'll be adding beginning this Saturday from Kyoto. Thanks for sharing this information with us. -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

You forgot to mention that the toilets in Japan have bede unlike in the US and that is why their apples are clean .

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

We actually did mention the bidets and have a section about them here: link.findingginamarie.com/96s We were impressed that nearly everywhere we went-restaurants, airport, train station, temples, all had bidets built into the toilets. Impressive! Thanks for watching! -Judy

There are a ton of small single bed hotel rooms but larger rooms are not impossible, a number of hotels offer family rooms with 3-6 beds which I found extremely convenient and affordable for three of us.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

We agree that they exist, but when we were rejiggering our rooms to accommodate our daughter's travel close to her arrival date and in high season (autumn), it was very hard to find affordable hotels that had two beds or a suite, which is what we really preferred (we snore, and our daughter is a light sleeper). We went through pages and pages of hotels looking for a suite somewhere with zero luck and even hotels with two beds were mostly sold out. We couldn't use a Japanese style room because we need to work while we're traveling, so having no furniture or just a desk and chair was not ideal. -Judy

Love the info. A very nice summary! Didn’t it feel really safe?

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

It felt so safe, Erin. Although you think you know what to expect, we were surprised by so many things. We are eager to share so much more about our time in Japan. Thanks as always for watching! -Judy

@objc

6 ай бұрын

It felt incredibly safe, waking around late in the dark the scariest thing that happened was when a young woman walking alone screamed and it was a dead rat on the sidewalk lol

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

@objc We agree! And I don't blame that woman, because we saw one (outdoors in Tokyo) as well! But of course, they are in every city. -Judy

Some restaurant chains I highly recommend: 1. Curry House Coco Ichibanya 2. Marugame Seimen 3. Pepper Lunch 4. Go Go Curry 5. Sukiya 6. Komeda's Coffee 7. Yomenya Goemon 8. Excelsior Coffee 9. St. Marc's Cafe 10. Doutor I usually avoid McDonald's, as they're always overcrowded with tourists. As for ramen, Ichiran is overrated; the smaller ramen shops are much better and cheaper.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

We really liked CoCo Curry House. We were underwhelmed at the breakfast offerings at Douter. Excelsior Coffee looked interesting, but we didn't go there. We went to Ichiran in Kyoto and actually really enjoyed it (much better than Ippudo in our opinion). Thanks for sharing your recommendations! We have a Kyoto episode landing this weekend! -Judy

Japanese convinent stores are not just for food but for everything including payment for bills, copy, fax, sending pacakages, charging IC cards, or even paying for tickets including Disneyland.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

We didn't show it, but we did print out our Vietnam visas in a 7-11! You are right. They are significant for everything, including even an ATM! Thanks so much for watching! Have you seen the other episodes from our series in Japan? We'd love your take on our episode regarding differences in Japan, and your comment above is a perfect point for that! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Thank you for another wonderful, informative video. You clearly did not interact with any Japanese people since you did not mention it. I understand that language can be a barrier.

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

We should have mentioned it, but we didn’t. Thanks for the question and for watching. In 42 days we interacted quite a bit. People did not speak a lot of English, but they’re prepared for dealing with English speaking people. There was plenty of pointing/gesturing and locals use Google Translate just like we do when we needed to book train tickets. At stores and restaurants they also have a series of laminated cards regarding commonly asked questions and the answers to them. Also, next to Japanese, there are English subtitles on menus, on signage, and on public transportation announcements often are made in Japanese and then English. That last part is not always done in Japanese and then English, so you should be watching for your station! -Judy

"They don't like to ring bells, they don't like to be impolite"?? Just as a general note (not specific to Japan, but applicable to anywhere), I'd suggest it is most courteous, when approaching pedestrians from behind on a bicycle, to give a quick ring of the bell. Not to suggest "get out of my way", but more to say "there's a bike coming up to pass you, please stay to the side of the path that you're currently on".

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Hi Nicholas, we completely agree. The bicycle culture was actually a bit unnerving because I didn't always know when someone was behind me. (And we love bicycling!) Here's a link to our latest video from Kyoto if you are interested! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Love your videos! I hope you can provide me with some tips for our first trip. We are taking a cruise in April 2024. It will depart from Tokyo. We want to arrive 2-weeks earlier a travel around Japan. The problem is, we need a lot of clothes in a cruise but we don’t want to carry large suitcases as we tour around Japan. Any advice on storage of suitcases?

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Hi Oscar, Thank you so much for watching! I'd first like to debunk your first point that you need a lot of clothes on a cruise. We travel full-time with only a carry-on suitcase and a backpack for three seasons. If you pack more of a capsule wardrobe, you can get away with fewer clothes. People are very consumed with how they look that they're really not paying attention to you. Beyond that, you will not want to be lugging luggage everywhere. Will you be living out of backpacks for this land travel period and only want to store your big luggage for those two weeks? If you're planning to bring all your luggage to all your hotels, etc., most hotels will hold your luggage for you while you explore for the day. Fortunately there are lockers in the train stations you can use. We stored items in lockers in Hiroshima station for several hours while we explored Miyajima. We paid ¥700 for a large locker for the day which held both our carry-on rolling suitcases (one on top of the other) and then our backpacks in front of them (on top of each other) and that worked out well. If you are bringing bigger size luggage, your mileage will vary. In Kyoto Station there are lockers, but I also read about a Baggage Room on the B1 floor that you can use for 1-4 days; after that they charge about double for days 5-15. We didn't use these storage options to give you more specific details about pricing or how well they worked. I haven't used this company personally, either, but here's one additional option: kyoto.handsfree-japan.com/en/service/baggage-room/. I hope these ideas help. Also, we have an entire ongoing series from our time in Japan. Here's a link to our full playlist, which still has a couple more episodes to come! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

@Oscarthegreat290

6 ай бұрын

@@FindingGinaMarie Thank you very much for your prompt response.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

We hope it helps! -Judy

Great video! Can you share the url for the air b and b? My wife and I are thinking about going to Japan next year.

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

We actually didn't end up staying in any Airbnbs while we were in Japan. Our decision to go during a busy time of year (autumn) meant that a lot of them were booked by the time we decided to visit. Our favorite hotel was in Kyoto, and it's linked below. The room is pretty small, but we enjoyed it otherwise, and it had great wi-fi, which we really needed. They even offer a free glass of sake each night. Here's a link: Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi (www.hotels.com/affiliate/24II1bv)

@King-Kazma

5 ай бұрын

Airbnbs are severely restricted in a lot of the neighbourhoods where tourists like to stay. You are better off booking in Japanese traveller hotels. They are super basic and rooms are small, but they are clean, and food outlets are everywhere. Brands are APA, Dormy Inn, Mystays etc. look for accomodation on Agoda, which has a better range of East Asian hotels.

@FindingGinaMarie

5 ай бұрын

@King-Kazma We did end up booking at Japanese traveler hotels. However, we cannot recommend APA because of their extremist views and actions. but we agree with using Agoda, which helped us a lot. We juggled between Agoda, Booking.com, and Hotels.com in order to find the best deals. -Judy

My uncle who lived in nerima Japan ( I was born there too) told me he never goes to main parts of Tokyo because he gets lost. And when I did get to go back I actually stayed away from big cities. It’s almost overwhelming for a country dude.

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

How interesting, Keith. I can appreciate that parts of Tokyo can be quite overwhelming! It also can be overstimulating, and we typically enjoy busy cities. In the case of Japan, we definitely preferred Kyoto. Thank you so much for sharing a little about your family. We enjoy getting to know our viewers! -Judy

@nobodynothing00000

4 ай бұрын

I predict you would hate Osaka. I went to Osaka from Nara and as soon as I stepped off the train I was like "I want to go back to Nara!" but Osaka is worth it just to see the castle.

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

You may be right, @fr0O0, but we'd eventually like to see Osaka, if only for a few days. We're glad we didn't add it to this trip because we didn't need to see any more cities or move any faster. Now that we've had a broader view of the main cities we were interested in, we're able to put a little less pressure on seeing only what we think we'll absolutely love and experience it more to get a richer and broader experience. But Nara is pretty hard to beat! -Judy

Were you able to use Suica transit card?

@FindingGinaMarie

2 ай бұрын

When we first arrived at the Tokyo airport, the only cards we found to purchase were the PASMO 30-day for Tourists ones. After those expired, we looked at purchasing the Suica or the ICOCA cards and then found a machine for the latter and went with ICOCA. We didn't avoid the Suica card, but instead bought what we could find available at the time we needed them. Thanks for asking! - Kevin

What do you recommend for cycling trips in Tokyo or Kyoto, what places have you found to be the most beautiful by bike?

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

We took an e-bike guided tour in Tokyo, which was very pretty, but I'm not sure if that's what you have in mind (link.findingginamarie.com/Tokyo-ebike). Otherwise, we can't speak to any other tours or explorations we did ourselves. HOWEVER, we really loved this idea of an e-bike tour to the bamboo forest in Kyoto. Here's a link to the one that interested us: link.findingginamarie.com/Kyoto-ebike-bamboo. We didn't ride around ourselves, but I've seen a few biking tours you can do on your own as well, but I'm not familiar enough with the routes to recommend them. Thanks for watching, Luca, and for the great question! -Judy Here's a link to our episode from Tokyo that references the tour we took: Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Tray go Kurdistan north iraq...it's modern and very good food..nice bergs sites...and very save

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the suggestion and for watching. We are working on our 2024 travel plans now! -Judy

Regarding duty free shopping, you are required to carry your passport with you at all times anyways. Japanese police can stop you any time to check identification, this is not to be alarmist, by law they can and it’d be a huge inconvenience if you decided not to carry it and got detained.

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

That’s true almost anywhere, actually. We have an electronic version on our phones. It’s not always the best solution, but walking around with our passports everywhere also poses risks of its own, especially as full-time travelers. But it’s a valid point. -Judy

I have a plan to visit Japan, this area you visit is sufficent for 10 days ?

@FindingGinaMarie

5 ай бұрын

We were in Japan for 42 days, but we're digital nomads and were working part of the time. Our daughter joined us for 7 days and we weren't working during that time. We only covered two cities with her-Tokyo and Kyoto-but we think you could round it to 10 days by including Hiroshima. We have an episode coming out on Sat., Dec. 29 from there! I think in 10 days you can get a nice mix of places. It will take much longer to see the best parts of the country, but you'll definitely be able to make a dent in these three cities. I'd propose 3.5 days in Tokyo, 2 days in Hiroshima, and 4.5 days in Kyoto. That includes a half day for travel to/from the airport and getting settled. We have an entire playlist you might want to watch that covers everything we did. Thanks for watching and for this great question! -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

Hello! you can add money to your IC card (at least to Suica) with Mastercard

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Hi Boris, Unfortunately, we could not find a single machine that would take our credit card. That's not saying they don't exist but we looked and couldn't find any. They all wanted cash. 🤷‍♀️ Thanks for watching! Have you seen our episode from Tokyo yet? I'll link it below if you are interested. -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

@borisb4603

6 ай бұрын

@@FindingGinaMariethanks, I’ll watch that soon. I’ve added digital Suica card to the Wallet and charged it with my Mastercard. Perhaps you are right and the possibility of it can depend on an issuing bank an a country. It’ll be my first trip to Japan and I hope it’s possible to use digital Suica without any problems

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

@@borisb4603 Hi Boris, We only tried when we were in Japan and it wouldn't work for us. But if you could charge it from your home country, that would be ideal. I think once you have it, you should be okay, but I'm not sure. I'd love for you to let us know when you return. -Judy

You didn’t use the luggage shipping service? Goes from your hotel to your next hotel and is very reasonably priced. So worth it!

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

Hi Marilyn, As full-time travelers with no home base, literally everything we own is in our suitcases and we just didn't want to risk losing everything in the event of a glitch! We'd love to hear what you think of Japan. Thanks so much for watching. Have you seen our Tokyo video that we released last week? Here's a link to our series, which will be spanning another four episodes. Here's a link that will be updated as we add them!-Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

@marilyndesantos4806

6 ай бұрын

Ah! I understand! I visited for a fortnight in May and just love Japan. I hope to go again next year. I was mostly in Tokyo but took a short trip to Hakone but based myself in Odawara where I hired a samurai costume for an hour much to the amusement ( politely expressed of course) of the locals. Still trying to decide where else in Japan to visit whilst still having so much of Tokyo to experience. I’m afraid I’ve watched your videos in the wrong order 🙃but that’s ok - I’m still absorbing your so helpful information! All the best! Marilyn (Scotland)

@FindingGinaMarie

6 ай бұрын

@@marilyndesantos4806There's no wrong or right way to watch our videos! How fun for you to become a samurai for a day. I think worrying about what other people think is completely overrated. It's your life; do what YOU want! We have episodes coming from Kyoto and Nara and also Hiroshima. It's a beautiful country and I know we barely scratched the surface. -Judy (P.S. We love Scotland!)

@objc

6 ай бұрын

I don’t understand the appeal of the luggage shipping service unless you have brought a ton of stuff. I opted to pack light and do laundry at hotels, one hotel had a machine in the room.

@marilyndesantos4806

6 ай бұрын

I bought gifts for all m😢 family and still had room in my case. The shipping serv😅ce meant that as a 72 yesterday old traveller I didn’t have to lug it about all over the place looking for an escalator The service is reasonably priced and reliable. Travellers don’t have all the same needs

What is the IC card ?

@objc

7 ай бұрын

It’s a preloaded cash card, you use them on subways and a lot of vending machines and convenience stores accept them. They’re a very good substitute for carrying cash and coins. You can cash them out for yen at the end of your trip.

@user-po6ok3pt5u

7 ай бұрын

@@objc So why do I need to go through that instead of paying with a credit card or cash ?

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching. It’s one of three cards that is accepted on all public transportation, including trains. Although you can use exact change on buses, if you are commuting to anywhere in Japan you need a “transportation pass.” I hope this clarifies things. Thanks for watching! -Judy

@FindingGinaMarie

7 ай бұрын

You use it because the subway and trains don’t allow you to pay with cash. It’s got a “tap to pay” system using one of three required cards. And as a “perk,” the card can be loaded with additional cash as well so you can use it in stores. If cash burns a hole in your pocket, you can use the card for occasions when you run out of cash. Thanks for the question! -Judy

@objc

7 ай бұрын

@@user-po6ok3pt5uthe cash is very small amounts, things are cheap!, so the IC card saves carrying coins which becomes annoying and not a lot of small amount purchases can be done with an American credit card. Credit cards do not work everywhere worldwide! $100+ purchases tend to work with CCs in Japan but small amounts much less (probably due to CC fees)

Tokyo is getting slammed with tourists and the look of dismay on the Tokyo people was visible and palpable. Next time skip Tokyo head straight to Kyoto.

@FindingGinaMarie

4 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, Kyoto is overtouristed as well. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/10/18/japan/society/overtourism-prevention-plan/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20the%20majority%20of%20tourists,a%20strain%20on%20transportation%20systems. It was initially overwhelming dealing with the trains in Tokyo, but it got easier. If you avoid peak travel times like rush hour and certain times on Sundays, it's not bad. It's an important city, but you're right. We much preferred Kyoto. -Judy Japan travel series: kzread.info/head/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT

@nobodynothing00000

4 ай бұрын

@@FindingGinaMarie I had awesome experience in Nara, eating shopping. I went to the K'netsu high rise store, and there was a mens shop on the 4th floor. They didn't have my size in this jacket I wanted but the lady asked if I could come back in 2 days from Osaka. I made the side trip from Osaka to complete the purchase and she was overjoyed a foreigner had kept their promise.

@FindingGinaMarie

3 ай бұрын

Good job! It's great when guests in a country follow up and keep their word. It lifts up all travelers and their hosts alike. Thanks so much for sharing this! -Judy