It is now one week before my upcoming trip. My parents have already taken off to Taiwan. I sent them off with most of my baggage including my GoPro and wetsuit so I can travel lightly in Japan. Packing for the trip makes it feel closer and more tangible.
While this is a relatively short trip, there was a good amount of preparation/research that I had to do. Hopefully the things I learned can help you guys out too.
Most importantly, my passport was expiring so the first thing I did was renew that.
Based on my research, I hear that Japan is mainly a cash economy for the mom/pop type shops – which are the shops I will be most likely to visit. I also saw that the “Suica” is the card to get if I want to be using the public transportation system in Tokyo. These cards require cash to fill/reload them. Okay, so I need cash. I learned the best way to get said cash is via the Capital One debit card as they have no foreign transaction fees and there is no adjustment on the foreign exchange rate. I’ll be popping into those Japanese convenience stores with this card if I need the cash.
On a similar note, I also opened a JetBlue Mastercard as those don’t have a foreign transaction fee either – I’ll be using this credit card anywhere that takes credit cards. I’ve also heard that people have problems using credit/debit cards on trips to prevent fraud. Call your credit/debit card companies beforehand to put in a travel notice so they won’t block your transactions while you’re on the trip.
Another thing that I did was to get an International Driver’s Permit. I want to try out that live Mario Kart thing that you may have seen circulating the interwebs. They require you to get an International Driver’s permit as you will be driving on the streets of Tokyo. You can get these from AAA for about $25 and they are good for one year – which could be useful if you plan on driving in any other country.
I also attempted to get acquainted with the Japanese language. That hasn’t gone too well… Google Translate it is!
It’s now just a waiting game until I take off and take in all the new experiences!
Stay tuned.