Welcome to the mywaterworld.life guide and tips for your travel to Japan for the FINA Maters World Aquatic Championships.
The best way to start planning your trip is to familiarise yourself with Japan so here is a link to the Japan National Tourism Organization site. (Scroll to the bottom of that page to change the language).
As for some handy tips, mywaterworld.life found this YouTube clip.
15 Tips for First-Time Travellers to Japan – very handy.
There is a great informal FB page to check out as well. The page is moderated by experienced and well travelled masters swimmers.
FINA Masters Kyushu/Fukuoka 2022 “Athlete’s Village/Hangout”
In these pandemic impacted times, it is worth while knowing what your countries travel advice for Japan is.
The Australian travel advisory, includes specific insurance and health advice. The USA travel advisory is issued by their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Before you go you, wouldn’t you like to know what to expect? This is a great, easy listening and viewing orientation clip – Landed in Japan? MUST DO Travel Tips from Airport to Tokyo.
What else is on this page?
IATA Travel Pass app
When you head off to another country there may be special conditions that apply to your admission, especially as they relate to COVID-19 testing results or vaccination status.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for about 290 of the world’s airlines. IATA has developed a mobile application to help travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccines.
The following clip introduces the IATA Travel Pass app which can be download form the Apple Store or Google Play. You will not be able to use the app unless the airline you are flying with is part of a trial IATA is conducting, in which case they will provide you with instructions on how to use the IATA Travel Pass.
Japan Rail Pass
So, are you taking the opportunity to do a bit of touring around Japan while there to attend the 29th FINA World Masters Swimming Championships? You know, the ones being held on the island of Kyushu.
If you are, then the chances are that you may need a Japan Rail Pass to get around the country*.
There are many sites that tell you all about visiting and travelling around Japan. If you haven’t yet worked out what you want to do, check out Japan Travel or ideas for destinations, experiences and help with planning your trip. You could also have a look at the travel information on Japan-Guide.com
Having worked out an itinerary you need to consider how to get around. There are many options, but this page is about travelling on bullet trains, the Shinkansen. Here is a map, by jrailpass.com, of the routes.
Before you go on, here are a couple of informative guides to the Japan Rail pass. The first is by Japan Railway Group on the Japan Rail Pass Net site and the second is by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on their Japan Travel Site, page and also check out the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) page.
Is a JR Pass is an option? You need to work out whether it is cost effective. Here is a 4-step process to help work out whether to buy a Japan Rail Pass or not
- Write up your itinerary with the dates of your travel to the Cities you want to visit.
- Check the individual prices and the dates you want to travel on at the HyperDia site and note the individual prices, making sure you select whether you want to travel standard/ economy or first (green) class.
- Work out the span of days that you need to travel on 1-7, 1-14 or 1-21
(Pass validity is calculated in days. Therefore, if you have purchased a 14-day pass, and your start date (when you first use the pass) is 4 March, the exact expiration time will be at midnight on April 18), and - Compare the total individual fares you recorded in Step 2 to the price of the Rail pass.
Before you buy you should note that:
- When you purchase a JR Pass you will receive a voucher that has to be exchanged for the actual ticket in Japan, within 90 days of your purchase. When exchanging your voucher you will have to choose a starting date for your JR Pass. That has to be within the 30 days of the exchange.
- While you can buy a pass when you get to Japan, at this stage only until 31 March 2022, it will be more expensive.
- Make sure you read the sections on what is travel is NOT INCLUDED on your pass.
OK! You need a pass and you are within 90 days of collecting your ticket in Japan, so where and how do you buy a pass? Well, what you are buying in the first place will be a voucher which you will exchange for a ticket when you get to Japan.
You can choose to buy your pass locally i.e. through your travel agent or an official service. Just like with almost everything else, you can buy on-line so here are some sites that mywaterworld.life found. The prices and exchange rates used are at 6 November 2021 but may have changed since then (so don’t rely on what is set out here and read the disclaimer below). Prices in Japanese yen (¥) are ordered from highest to lowest. The comparisons below are for a Green (1st class), 21 Day pass.
- Japan Rail Pass Now This Australian site’s price was ¥ 117,170 (AU$ 1,390)
- japanRailPass This ticket reseller’s price was ¥ 93,900 (AU$ 1,114)
- Japan Rail Pass The official site’s price was ¥ 91,670 (AU$ 1,087)
- Travel Japan is an Australian site and listed a price of ¥ 89,800 (AU$ 1,065)
- Japan Rail Pass by Japan Experience (with a head office in Paris but shipping worldwide) listed a price in Euro (€) of ¥ 89 450, (€ 680 , AU$ 1,060)
It is worthwhile shopping around for your pass. The difference between the most expensive and cheapest price on the examples shown above was ¥ 27,720 or AU$330, a considerable saving for 15 minutes of research. Obviously, if you buy a Standard class ticket and for a shorter period of time the price differences will be smaller.
* DISCLAIMER: The information here is just to help you familiarize yourself with some of the information and decisions you will need to make, and to help you navigate your way through to your own purchase decision. You need to check out prices and make your own arrangements so please do not rely on the information provided by mywaterworld.life.
IC / Smart Travel Cards
IC (Integrated Circuit) cards are pre-paid, re-chargeable transport payment cards. Some of us know them as smart cards – think Octopus in Hong Kong, Oyster in London and even Opal in Sydney, Australia.
IC cards can be used to pay for travel on trains, subways, bus and mono-rail and for payments at convenience stores, vending machines and much more. There are many different card issuers, but most major cards are compatible with each other.
Paying in Japan, for transport, food and some services is intriguing. Sometimes you have a choice to use your credit card and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes paying cash will be the only way. So, how do you decide what you need?
Which card you purchase will mainly depend on which airport or main railway station you arrive in or the first time you need to use one. If you are going to visit several cities, then the card to get is one that can be used in all of those cities. For example, if you purchase a Suica card in Tokyo then you will also be able to use it in Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and many other cities. Main tip is to check to make sure that the card you buy can be used in the other cities you will be visiting – most can be. You may however need to get another card to use on non JR transport services.
You need to be careful when pre-loading an IC card to make sure that at the end of your trip you have fully spent the funds on the card. Any remaining balance is only refundable, after a fee, in the region that it was purchased. Buying a card in Tokyo and having a few thousand yen left on the card when leaving Japan from Fukuoka will mean that you can’t cash out. The only upside will be that the card will be valid for a few years so the funds will still be there when you visit Japan the next time.
How much should you load on? Depends on your style. (In Australia we would ask “how long is a piece of string?)
Generally, there is a ¥500 deposit on the card to be paid. A one-way subway fare can cost between ¥170 Yen for a short trip to ¥320 for a trip distance of 28-40 km. A bowl of ramen, depending on the toppings, can cost between ¥500 and ¥1200 and a pint of local beer ¥450.
For a more comprehensive guide to prices check out this Travel Budget page on Japan-guide. Based on your anticipated daily expenses of say ¥5,000 per day it would not be unreasonable to load up with three- or four- days expenses and then just top up based on the experience of the first few days. Bear in mind however that there may be a charge of about ¥500 for each cash withdrawal from your debit card so you need to strike a balance.
Exchange rate calculator
The information accessed from this page often displays prices in Japanese Yen. For the sake of consistency, and to eliminate exchange rate fluctuations, any prices on this web site will be expressed in Yen at the time the particular content was created. To get an idea of prices, and help with your budgeting for the trip in your own currency, here is a currency converter. mywaterworld.life likes its look and feel.
WESTPAC CURRENCY CONVERTER AND FX RATES
When in Japan, it is important to note that many “establishments” do not have credit card facilities so carrying cash is critical. A basic bowl of ramen at a convenience store may cost ¥800, at a ramen restaurant ¥700 and perhaps ¥2000 at a “luxury” restaurant. Extras will add to the price.
SOME PLANNED UPDATES
mywaterworld.life will be continually updating this page, so here are some of the topics we will be covering over the coming months in those updates.
Japanese etiquette, the City of Fukuoka, food especially ramen, transport, destinations on Kyushu, Fukuoka, Social media and a general guide to Japan (when we select a great one).
mywaterworld.life 