T&J Travels #10: Japan 2018 (Part 1)

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+ Preparation +

Travel Tickets

After our VISA was issued, I started to look for affordable plane tickets. After a long ordeal of checking we ended up with Cebu Pacific. We got tickets for Narita around 26k-- inclusive of:

- 25 kilos to and 32 kilos back. We don't have both baggage allowances because neither of us have any need for OOTDs (roll eyes) and so far in all our travels we were able to squeeze all our stuff in one big luggage.

- reserved seats. I always try to get the 6th seat or any of the first 2 rows at the 2nd block.

- travel taxes (1620 each)

Hotels

By second week of January I had a few days of stressful nights looking for our hotels. We weren't able to book prior because we can't decide on where to setup base first. We ended up with traveling to Osaka as soon as we arrive at Narita and on our 6th day we'll be back to Tokyo to spend the rest of our 10 day vacation.

For Osaka I was able to get a serviced apartment. This is a first for us because we usually only stay in hotels. Since Agoda began offering houses lately it's not hard to imagine that we would eventually end into one. Initially I chose the place because of the price and the sqm it has compared to others. But then when we were given instructions by the owner we found out that it's just a 10 min walk from Shin-Osaka! It's so convenient!

Tokyo was harder. Like real harder. The hotels I liked are either already booked on my dates or have surged prices by Feb. There's this one hotel I really like that had almost tripled the price just because of the month! In the end we got this old looking hotel that offers free shuttle to Disneyland. I know we're not going, but at least I know it's in a good neighborhood. It's also near a train station and my travel goal in the name of Mcdonalds (there's a KFC near too!).

JR Pass

I don't want to try an online purchase for this because I am not sure of the delivery. It's now January and I don't want to spend days waiting for the ticket to arrive. I tried asking some travel agencies at the office but the only one that offers the pass would take 7 days (like the ones online) with a hefty price of 15k++! JR Pass costs roughly 13500++ and suddenly the one in Reli (the one I asked for first) became cheaper.

It's already the 2nd week of January and after I got my salary I went to Reli the next day. The price fluctuated to additional 200 than my previous quote but what the heck, I could not take the stress anymore. 7 working days is in my opinion is too close to our leave date so I need to act now.

When I went there I didn't need to fall in line (as instructed when I called by a man named Bong) and was already accommodated with what I need. A minute or two after payment he came back with flyers and what is this?! Sir Bong is actually handing me Exchange Orders!

I couldn't believe it! I asked why is this and he told me that they are accredited by the embassy to hand out exchange orders as needed. This maybe the reason why their pricing is not exactly today's rate. He also relayed to me how they get customers who had to go to them in haste because their passes are taking too long to arrive. Not only that, the hassle to have your payment reverted is a pain in the ass. And what if the bank won't refund you for it? Gasps! So even if I paid more than I wanted, I still felt good about it. I definitely will be going to them the next time I needed the pass. It's also great that Reli accepts both cash and card. I am not sure if you could make it as an installment though.

Wifi

Like everywhere else an overseas connection is a bit expensive. I was able to see some local companies that offer wifi for travellers but Reagan reasons that the con to this is if it doesn't work on the country you are travelling to. That risk is something we don't like to take hence we always just get a sim or a pocket wifi on the country itself. I would have booked a Klook again but I was told that their return times is a bit tight on our schedule. This is why I just let Reagan decide and as far as his research went it seemed our best option is available locally: Flytpack. A huge pro to this is it enables us to actually have internet connection the moment we step on Narita Airport up to our departure hours while we're waiting for our plane. Here's the breakdown of the cost:

Rental - 280PHP/per day (I am not sure if they really lowered their prices or it's promo. It's supposed to be 350PHP)
Courier - 170PHP
Deposit - 2800PHP
Service Fee - 25PHP

To note too that the deposit will be refunded on your supplied bank account.

UPDATE:

Received our Flytpack wifi as early as 7 days before flight. Sweet! The model we got was not the one on the website nor did it come with a powerbank. I did test connecting which is hassle free.

 

Yen

I didn't get to reserve yen via BPI so I will have to get one from Sanrys again. Compared to the other exchange center at Galleria, they offer the best selling rate. I was supposed to only get 80K JPY initially ( we plan in getting more on the day before we leave) but ended up exchanging 90K JPY because they only sell Yen in 10k bills.

Studio Ghibli

It's funny that we bought our tickets even before I got our money, bought our JR Pass or reserved our pocket wifi. I have read extensively on how the tickets to Ghibli is extremely hard to get so the moment the online ticketing opened I immediately reserved two. I almost didn't get the tickets, mind you. According to the Lawson website, we could only buy tickets for February on the 10th of January. I was supposed to reserve our slot for Saturday morning but all were already taken! It's only a few minutes after 10AM (Japan time). The best schedule I could find was the last admission of Friday which I am truly hoping to have good weather. I remembered reading that they have a a beautiful Ghibli-themed garden. I am still not sure if my body could take much cold, so hopefully it won't be as freezing as I imagine it to be.