Traveling in (And Out) of Japan

Traveling In (and Out) of Japan

Alma Jennings- Fukushima ALT (2008-2010)

Taking Leave from Work: * Every situation is different so talk to your supervisor well in advance before requesting time off! Some workplaces only allow you to take vacations during school vacations.

*Nenkyu(年休）- Yearly Leave, all JETs get 20 days paid vacation. *Daikyu(代休）- Replacement Leave, instead of getting paid overtime, some JETs get replacement hours for working on weekends. *Special Leave （特別休暇）- By the discretion of your workplace, special leave for language study programs (during school holidays) and other seminars. *JET Conferences - If your workplace allows it, the various JET Conferences (especially if you are a CIR) can be excellent beginnings/ends to a vacation.

When to/not to Travel: *Golden Week - A week long national holiday during the end of April/start of May *Obon Festival – in August *Christmas/New Year's - Although Christmas is not a holiday in Japan, New Year's Day is! You will also get a few days off before New Year’s Day. *Random holidays - Marine Day, Autumn Equinox, and Respect for the Elderly Day *School holidays - Some schools will only allow you to take extended vacations during school holidays. Don’t count on this, though.

Travel In Japan Modes of Travel: - Airplanes- tickets within and to and from Japan tend to be very expensive. - Local/Express Trains- cheap but can take forever. - Shinkansen(新幹線）aka Bullet Trains. Fast but expensive - Highway Buses (kousokubasu高速バス)- Sometimes just as fast as trains. - Overnight bus (yakoubasu夜行バス）A good option because you save on transport and hotel! Look on Rakuten for amenities like bathrooms on the bus and 2 or 3 seat rows instead of 4 seats - Cars (see below)

Destinations: - Hokkaido: especially during the Snow Festival (yukimatsuri雪祭り) - Kansai: Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe - Okinawa: visit the smaller islands for great beaches, scuba, delicious regional cuisine, awamori. - The Mountains: Mt. Aso, Mt. Fuji, Japanese Alps, Mt. Daisen, etc. -Tohoku- Do your part and help revitalize Tohoku (When you feel it is safe to visit, of course) Check out Matsushima near Sendai, Chūson-ji in Iwate, the Five Colored Lakes in Fukushima, and Osore-zan (Mount Fear) and Jesus’s Gravesite in Aomori.

Accommodation: - Hotels - Can be very expensive and disappointing - Business hotels - Cheaper than regular hotels, but often tiny - Capsule hotels - "Wacky Japan" experience that's great for single travelers, but men and women often forced to stay on different floors. - Manga cafes - Can be extremely cheap, but require you to sleep in an armchair or couch. Some manga cafes now have sleeping cubicles with a padded floor and a low table. - Saunas - Cheap, but usually do not allow women. Sleep is in a communal tatami room or armchair room. - Love hotels - Cannot be booked in advance, but everywhere. - Ryokan– Traditional Japanese Inns, usually charge per person. Can be expensive, especially if an onsen is attached but a must-do experience. - Youth Hostels –Great option for cheap travel and because it is Japan, they tend to be very clean. Some have curfews. - Temples – Cost effective and an interesting experience, with excellent food. - Tatami Timeshare - with other JETs you meet!

Travel Out of Japan Most JETs travel to Asia during JET at least once; here are some thoughts on popular choices.

South Korea: Closest neighbor, if you live in West Japan it can often be cheaper to go to Korea than Tokyo. Pros: Great food and shopping, interesting culture to learn about Cons: Another writing system to learn to read

Hong Kong: makes Tokyo look drab and unpopulated Pros: Shopper and eater’s paradise Cons: Not much else beyond that

The Philippines: Every year there's volunteer opportunities with Habitat for Humanity that JETs organize. Pros: Very cheap destination with amazing beaches. Cons: Very, very difficult to get around internally.

Thailand: Also another great place to do volunteer work with fellow JETs. Pros: Well-beaten traveler trail, lots of things to do Cons: Seeing more foreigners than actual Thais.

China: Check out the next world superpower Pros: Amazing sights in Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, etc. Cons: Sometimes not so traveler friendly.

Other amazing destinations: Cambodia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia…and well, every other country in Asia.

Top Five Mistakes Gaijin Travelers Make in Japan 1. Leaving Japan without a Re-Entry Visa The biggest mistake of all. Your visa does NOT allow you to leave Japan and come back. Before you go anywhere, get a multiple re-entry visa.

2. Not carrying around identification. As a resident alien (gaikokujin) you are legally required to carry around your alien registration card (gaikokujintourokusho外国人登録書) or passport at all times. You can/will be asked for it randomly by the police. Furthermore, most hotels will ask to see it. This law is supposed to be changing but don’t count on it.

3. Not having enough cash on you. Japan is a cash economy; people regularly carry $200-$500 worth of cash at any given time. Most little shops and restaurants off the tourist trail (where you will likely be) do not accept credit cards. * Your ATM card is NOT a debit card, and depending on how small your bank is, it may not even work in machines in the next prefecture over. * Even if the card does work, ATMs routinely go offline late at night and on weekends. In this case: try convenience store ATMs. *If your foreign card doesn’t work at a combini ATM, go to the post office machines

4. Not bringing back o-miyage for co-workers. Try to back omiyage (お土産) aka souvenirs when you go on a trip and miss work if you have told your co-workers about it. This works as a great way to start conversations with co-workers and to smooth over any jealousy of your jet-setting lifestyle with delicious food. • The best gift is individually-wrapped food: every airport, bus stop, rest area, and tourist location will have shops selling regional delicacies. • If you don’t want to shell out your yen, don’t go into detail with your co-workers about your trip (besides your Kyoto-sensei, of course).

Additional Travel Planning Advice: - Most streets in Japan do not have names or street signs, nor do buildings have numbers—so write down the business’ phone number and use it for turn-by turn directions on your phone or in a taxi. Also, print out the map provided on your destination’s website.

- When flying out of Japan, check Narita (NRT) and Kansai (KIX) even if you don’t live there, sometimes the price difference makes it worth the trip.

- In the middle of nowhere with no travel agents to be found and no credit card? You can use the bank transfer (furikomi振込）system to wire money. You can also pay for many online packages and tickets at convenience store kiosks.

A Brief Guide to Cars for Rural JETs: - Kei-car/Compact car（keijidousha軽自動車) aka "K-car," "Yellow Plate" * Small engine - below 650cc * Cheap annual tax - Regular-sized car aka "White Plate" * Faster and safer in case of accidents * Generally more expensive--the annual vehicle tax (37,500yen), higher insurance, most expensive gasoline prices - Other concerns: *Shaken（車検）Vehicle Inspection * Always expensive * Makes resale of car impossible sometimes * Snow tires - You must change to snow tires/summer tires in most areas. - Renting a car * Rent a car for a weekend * Monthly rental *costs like 20,000 yen plus insurance - Leasing a car * Anecdotal evidence suggests, it can be cheap, based on Japan's interest rates; may not have pay back too much. * You can get a newer, flashier car, and not have to worry about shaken.

Useful Travel Websites Airfare, Hotels & Travel Packages: - http://www.no1-travel.com/ - Great agency for booking cheap airfare. - http://www.skygate.co.jp/ - Great for airfares, allows 7-day hold period without payment. Japanese only. - http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/ - Hotels and packages in English/Japanese - http://www.toyoko-inn.co.jp/ - Clean, cheap, dependable chain hotel near major stations in practically every city. - http://www.japanican.com/hotels/ - Hotel &ryokan booking site made easy. - http://www.jtb.co.jp/ - JTB, the grand daddy of travel agencies.Japanese only. Will probably also have an office somewhere near you where you can book shinkansen ticket deals and travel packages. - http://www.jalan.net/ - Hotels, packages, and onsen bookings.Japanese only.

Trains & Buses: - http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi/ - Excellent website includes JR and private lines. - http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/e-norikeyin.html - Similar to above. - http://www.jr-odekake.net/ - Japan Railways website, Japanese only. - http://www.bus.or.jp/e/ - Japan Bus Web, useful site that helps with the extensive highway bus system that traverses Japan - http://www.j-bus.co.jp/new_module/index.html - Bus website that allows you to make online reservations. Japanese only.

General: - http://www.japantravelinfo.com/ - Official website of the Yokoso! Japan tourism campaign - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ - Good reviews on hotels and locations, including some excellent user guides to locations in Japan (see: Off-the-beaten-track West Japan, by Janelle) - http://www.jnto.go.jp/ - Japanese National Tourism Organization, has a travel planner and some great guides to festivals and events. - http://www.ryokan.or.jp/index_en.html - Japan Ryokan Association, customs, rules, and what to expect out of a stay at a Ryokan - http://www.couchsurfing.org/ - A website that allows you to stay at people's homes, or host travelers, for free. -http://www.hostelworld.com/ - Reviews of hostels by fellow travelers

Remember, fellow JETs: ESID (Every Situation Is Different)