Yes, I'm going to Japan, finally! I'll be at YAPC::Asia this year.
After the (slightly) documented attemped in 2006 and the undocumented one in 2007, 2008 seems to be the year.
I have the tickets and where to stay.
I welcome any kind of advice on this.
Re:Accommodation
cog on 2008-01-28T10:05:31
Unfortunately, I think I won't be able to help you there. I'm staying with some friends who live there:-)
Re:Bring some cash
cog on 2008-01-28T15:38:37
Hum... Does that mean that people will accept my money, or will I have to buy some Yens first?Re:Bring some cash
stu42j on 2008-01-28T15:57:33
Assuming you are flying through Narita, there are a few Citibank ATMs there that seem pretty international-friendly. There is also a place to change your money.
The best way, I think, to get from NRT to Tokyo is the Airport Limousine Bus.
It seems like I will be traveling to Tokyo twice a year now, for work. My second trip will be at the end of February, though, so I doubt I will be there in May for YAPC::Asia. (I may get to go to YAPC::NA, though!)Re:Bring some cash
jrockway on 2008-01-30T07:46:08
I disagree. The NEX or Skyliner is much better.The best way, I think, to get from NRT to Tokyo is the Airport Limousine Bus.Re:Bring some cash
stu42j on 2008-01-30T15:57:47
The main advantage of the Airport Bus is that they take you directly to your hotel. If you are not staying in a hotel, an express train may be the better option. It also depends on if you are traveling during rush hour traffic.Re:Bring some cash
autarch on 2008-01-28T16:17:38
I meant bring some Yen. As the other followup pointed out, there are ATMs in the airport, but you may be too tired to want to deal with it. I've never taken the bus mentioned. There's a train that goes from NRT to the Tokyo train station. If you're staying at Dan's place, you can catch a cab from that train station to his place for cheap.
If you're staying in Japan for a while, you can get a really good deal where you buy a train ticket and some pre-paid subway/train fare on a Suica card for a good price. Here's some info on that deal. It's only available to foreigners, but that's you;)
Given that an average subway/train trip will run 100-200 yen or so, 2,000 yen prepaid on the suica card is handy if you expect to be there a week or more. Plus a Suica card makes it way easier, since you just run your wallet over the reader, rather than buying tickets every time you want to get on the train.Re:Bring some cash
autarch on 2008-01-28T16:19:23
One more thing. To buy that combo Nex + Suica package, you can only do it at one ticket counter, even though you'll probably see a bunch of others. There's little maps on the page I linked to above.I know where the ATMs are.
arakan on 2008-01-29T15:50:37
Japan is very cash-oriented, but it is much easier to find foreign-friendly ATMs now than it was a few years ago.Re:I know where the ATMs are.
autarch on 2008-01-29T16:30:23
Define "a few years ago". When I was there in 2007 it was still significantly harder than I'd expect. Most of the major Japanese banks do not work with US ATM standards, at least. Maybe it's different for European standards. I ended up having to either find an American bank branch (Chase) or a Japanese post office. Fortunately, the post offices are very common, but still not nearly as common as Japanese banks.
I compare this to Taiwan, where since I first went there in 2000 pretty much every large Taiwanese bank was on the same networks as my bank. In Taiwan I could find a usable ATM every few blocks without too much trouble, so I could just wander around freely without thinking about money. In Japan, I had to plan ATM visits as part of my daily schedule.
Re:I know where the ATMs are.
miyagawa on 2008-01-29T21:27:21
Usual Bank ATMs are sometimes useless in terms of pulling money from foreign BANK accounts like you describe, but Post Office ATMs, as well as Seven Bank (those you can find in 7-11 convenience) might be more useful and you can withdraw from networks such as PLUS, VISA, Master Card and Citrus. http://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/ias/en_ias_index.htmlRe:I know where the ATMs are.
miyagawa on 2008-01-29T21:31:17
And here's the link for Seven Bank. it's everywhere you can find 7-Eleven. http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/index2.htmlRe:I know where the ATMs are.
arakan on 2008-01-31T03:49:14
By "a few years ago" I meant 2002. If I'd heard about your problem last year I would have told you to ignore most of the banks and do what Miyagawa-san suggested in another reply: use the post office or 7-11.
7-11 are particularly good because they are more common than banks, accept foreign cards, and (unlike many major banks) are open 24 hours.
