Japan’s most memorable mountain — “Mount Fuji”

Planning a Trip to Japan from India

You love Japan (may be it’s just one in your big list of favourite destinations) and you want to travel in near future but you are worried about cost, flexible itinerary and some amount of free time, then you have reached the right spot.

Though the below paragraph is probably repetitive (as you might have read or heard it many times) I will still describe it for first-time travellers.

Japan (known as the LAND OF RISING SUN) is a wonderful country to visit. What attracts tourists the most is the people, culture, heritage, shrines, art, gardens, snow-covered mountains, volcano, sea, stationary etc. The list seems to be endless. Compared to other countries, planning a trip to Japan from India is an expensive affair considering the cost of transportation, accommodation, food & insurance. Some of the problems that Indians could face will be around food & language.

You have three travel planning options when visiting any country which is the case with Japan too:

1. Book tours group packages with a travel agent like SOTC, Kesari etc. Though a good option for the older generation and budget travellers, this option will bring limitations like fixed itinerary, only Indian food, no option to enjoy some of the local traditions (like Onsen, tea ceremony wearing Kimono etc.), no free time etc. The cost for a 9-day tour package could be around Rs 2,50,000 per person.
2. Book customized tours packages with a travel agent like SOTC, Kesari etc. Except for budget travellers, it is a good option for all generations. You have the luxury of the flexible itinerary, enjoy local traditions (like Onsen, tea ceremony etc.), guided tours, lots of free time etc. The cost for a 2-week itinerary could be around Rs 4,00,000 to 5,00,000 per person.
3. The last option is to plan & execute the entire tour yourself. This means you will need to do these yourself — visa processing, transportation, accommodation etc. This is the best option for budget travellers as you can choose a flexible itinerary, enjoy local traditions (like Onsen, tea ceremony etc.), lots of free time etc. The cost for a 2-week itinerary could be around Rs 2,25,000 to 3,00,000 per person.

Based on my travel to Japan in April 2019, I will cover on the below topics which should help in your tour plan:

1. Itinerary and schedule
2. Visa processing documentation and steps
3. Booking accommodation
4. Airline booking
5. Transportation within Japan
6. Luggage transfers
7. Food options along with stores
8. Wifi, Mobile & SIM card
9. Cash/Foreign current card/credit card/debit card
10. Travel Insurance
11. What to buy

Itinerary and schedule

Making a perfect itinerary is very important as it not only sets your places of interest but also your schedule. The schedule will be needed for Visa processing and also sets the following — the amount of cash reserve, wifi/mobile plan, JR Pass validity etc.

Japan is a country with vast places of interest. You will need proper planning considering your interests and the amount of time you have.

For my 2 week stay, I (along with my wife) visited Tokyo, Hakone, Nagoya, Hida Furukawa, Takayama, Toyoma, Snow corridor & Kyoto. The travel between Nagoya, Hida Furukawa, Takayama, Toyoma & Snow corridor was probably the most complex one. Please note that at most places in Japan most of the activities (museums, trains, buses, local stores etc.) start closing by around 5 PM. For more details visit https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-tokyo_train_station/article-a0002755/

I strongly recommend covering some of these unique experiences in your itinerary — Tea ceremony, Onsen, wearing Kimono, Kaiseki dinner, Ekiben, Ryokan rooms/hotels, Shinkansen, ramen/soba/udon noodles etc.

I suggest you go through the following sites to make your itinerary:

1. https://www.japan-guide.com/ (you can see their video on Youtube)
2. https://japancheapo.com/ (you can see their video on Youtube)
3. https://www.inspirock.com/japan-trip-planner
4. https://boutiquejapan.com/japan-trip-planning-resources/
5. “Only in Japan” youtube channel by John Daub
6. “ TheJapanChannelDcom” youtube channel

Tea Ceremony — courtesy http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/

Visa processing documentation and steps

Travel Visa for Japan in India is handled by VFS Global Services. At Hyderabad, they have a desk from where they collect your documentation. It is then sent to Chennai for further processing. It will take around 7 working days for Visa processing. Before you submit the documents, please visit VFS Global Services to identify Visa type, temporary visa with or without guarantor etc. Documentation needed for Visa processing (for each traveller) are:

1. Original Passport along with photos (dimension of the photo can be found in the Visa website)
2. Demand Draft in favour of VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd.
3. Print of fully filled application form
4. In case of a salaried employee, a NOC letter from your company
5. 6 months Bank statement with a proof that your current bank balance is around rs 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 per traveller (for a 2-week itinerary)
6. Travel itinerary along with schedule
7. Airline ticket (possibly a closed ticket as this specifies a fixed return date)
8. Accommodation booking details
9. Any other document which showcases that you will return (like home loan statement, sale deed of your house, child’s schooling etc.)

For more visit VFS Global website. Click here to locate VFS Global office in Hyderabad.

Booking accommodation

Booking accommodation is crucial as this impacts your visa processing. As a part of Visa documentation, it is mandatory to submit the accommodation booking details.

On many travel websites, you will need to pay at the time of booking accomodation. In case the visa is denied, you might end cancelling the booking along with losing money. One website which can help you to book and avoid paying in advance is Booking.com. On this website, you can book a couple of months before your travel but still pay just 7 days before the journey. So in case of cancellation, you don’t lose any money.

Traditional Japanese rooms called “Ryokan” — courtesy https://asianwanderlust.com/en/what-is-a-ryokan/

Airline booking

Airline booking is crucial as this impacts your visa processing. As part of the Visa documentation, it is mandatory to submit airline booking details. Please ensure to take a closed ticket as it specifies a fixed return date. In case of any queries, you can reach out to VFS Global.

Cost of airline booking is usually cheap if you choose a round trip booking instead of two separate one-way tickets.

1. Hyd -Tokyo — Hyd is a “round trip”
2. Hyd-Tokyo-Osaka-Hyd needs two one-way tickets Hyd-Tokyo & Osaka-Hyd

Based on your itinerary, please choose any one of the above options. You can book from any one of the travel websites (makemytrip, goibibo etc.), travel agent or directly from the airline.

Transportation within Japan

You will take public transportation in Japan basically for travelling within the city & between cities.

• Within the city, you can use one of these transportation options — subways, trains & buses. Compared to buses, subways & trains are more reliable as traffic jams can spoil your itinerary. I also recommend using prepaid cards like Suica, IC cards etc. to avoid purchasing tickets at train stations or on buses.
• Between cities, you can use Trains (Shinkansen, Rapid express etc.) & buses. I recommend buying the JR Pass ahead in time as this helps in huge savings when using Shinkansen extensively. The JR Pass is valid for 7/14/21 days. Plan your itinerary ahead in time so that you use the JR pass effectively. JR Pass is delivered to most Indian cities. So please plan to buy the JR Pass a month before the travel date. More details on JR Pass usage, you can reach out to me or visit the JR Pass website.

Recommend using Google Map to locate station entry & exits along with train schedule.

Luggage transfers within Japan

One of the best ways to enjoy your travel is to carry less. But that may not always happen. If you have large suitcases, carrying them between locations (stations, trains, buses etc.) will be a big challenge. One good service which you can use in Japan is luggage transfer between hotels or between airport-hotels. This service is cheap & highly reliable. So do check with your hotel during accommodation booking (Booking.com does provide this information).

Most train stations & other places have lockers where you can deposit your luggage. Lockers do come in varying sizes to accommodate small bags to a big suitcase. Note: you will be lucky if you find an empty locker.

Food options

Food options in Japan are very limited for vegetarians/vegans. It is heaven for those who love seafood. If you know Japanese, please do a search or communicate your limitations. Below are the options that you have for food:

• Indian restaurants which are located only in large cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka etc.
• Use the HappyCow app to search for vegan restaurants near you. Luckily you do get vegan options. Do try the following noodles — Ramen, Soba and Udon.
• Try the food at shrines or at restaurants near shrines as they might serve vegan/vegetarian food.
• Look for packaged or precooked food at stores like 7-Eleven, Lawsons & Family Mart. For non-vegetarians, you do get seafood, chicken etc. For vegetarians, the first option is Lawson as they have Natural Lawson’s vegan packaged food. At all stores, you can try onigiri (different flavours), omelette, sandwich (fruit custard sandwich is extremely yummy), edamame, milkshakes, baker products (margarita pizza, melonpan) etc.
• Do try food in local restaurants. If you are vegetarian, then do mention your constraints as the food might contain dashi (fish sauce). I strongly suggest trying local food like soba noodles, ramen noodles, udon noodles, tempura etc.
• Lastly try street food for some yummy local food like mochi (you will get many flavours — red bean paste, strawberry, macha etc.), macha ice cream, macha tea, taiyaki (stuffed with red bean paste, custard) etc.

Cold Soba Noodles served with Tempura, Soya sauce & wasabi

Rent Wifi /Mobile

You can rent pocket wifi, mobile phone or SIM card. Internet is the lifeline for international travellers. You will need it for the following purposes:

• Use Google Maps for train/subway/bus time table, direction, restaurants, stores etc. Google map also provides train & bus fare.
• Use apps like HappyCow, Japan Official etc.
• Use Google Translate for language conversion (Japanese to English)
• Contact your family in India (any other country too) via WhatsApp, Duo etc.
• Calls within Japan

I recommend renting pocket wifi over other options. Please choose the right rental plan based on the following:

1. Itinerary as some providers don’t have good coverage in interior places of Japan
2. Rental cost
3. Wifi plan (speed, bandwidth & data allowance )
4. Pickup & drop locations
5. Underlying network providers — SoftBank, Docomo & WiMAX.

Different Wifi rental providers in Japan are Pocket Wifi, Ninja Wifi, Japan Wireless etc.

Cash/credit card/debit card/prepaid travel card/Japanese prepaid card

Cash is KING in Japan. Usage of credit cards/currency cards/debit cards is limited to:

1. Cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto etc.
2. Big stores like 7-eleven, Lawsons, Familymart
3. Hotels & some local restaurants
4. Loading Japanese prepaid cards (Suica, Posmo etc.)

At local stores, eateries etc., cash usage is highly prevalent. So do plan out for carrying sufficient cash.

You can use your credit card or debit card but the transaction/conversion fee could be high. Hence please do check with your bank ahead in time. Also, inform your bank ahead in time about your travel plan & card usage so that your transactions don’t get declined.

You can also use prepaid travel cards from your bank, Thomas Cook etc. Load Japanese yen instead of any other currency as some banks might charge you a conversion fee for each transaction.

Another form of payment supported in Japan is Japanese prepaid cards like Suica, Pasmo, Icoca etc. These cards can be loaded & used at the following locations — train stations, buses, vending machines, stores etc. Suica card can be purchased along with JR Pass. Please do note that you can only use cash to load prepaid cards. Prepaid cards make your life simpler especially at train stations as you can avoid standing in ticket queue & understanding the complex ticket prices. More details on prepaid cards can be found in JapanStation.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is very much needed when travelling abroad. Insurance covers for emergency situations like medical emergency, airline cancellation/delay, loss of luggage etc. Medical insurance in Japan is pretty expensive. Additionally, hospitals in Japan admit foreigners without any reluctance only if they are covered by Insurance.

You can go for any of the below insurance providers. I recommend comparing all the Insurance providers before purchasing.

• Indian insurance providers like TATA AIG, Bajaj Allianz etc.
• International insurance providers like World Nomads, Tokio Marine HCC etc. You can opt for these providers when you need higher risk coverage (for ex. $5,00,000), risk coverage ( injuries during adventure sports like Skiing, surfing etc.) not covered by Indian Insurance providers etc.
• Japanese insurance provided along with mobile/Wifi kit

What to buy

Japan is famous for many unique things. Some of them are stationary (washi tape, pens, mechanical pencils, highlighters, calligraphy paintbrush, themed eraser, pinless stapler etc.), knives, scissors, sake (rice wine), cosmetics, Kendama toys, chocolates (some international brands have flavours unique to Japan like sakura), Sensu folding fans, Hanko: Japanese name stamps, Green and flavoured tea, anime, manga, Omamori (for good luck!) etc. The list seems endless. All you need to have is money and luggage space.

Some of the most well-known stores for stationery, paper goods, and study supplies include Itoya in Ginza, Tokyu Hands and LoFt chains, and the discount superstore chain called Don Quijote. Major 100-yen stores like Daiso and non-chain stores in traditional shotengai shopping streets all across Japan.

Hope that this article will be useful in planning your trip to Japan. In case you still need guidance for planning (along with sample itinerary & visa processing document templates) your trip to Japan, then please do reach out to me on bhatrajiv1976@gmail.com.