japan

gary the great

Am heading to japan on Tuesday on the way home from Oz for a week. Im running really low on cash and need to find somewhere to stay thats cheap and safe. ive heard of capsule hotels, are they Ok? Can anyone recommed one in Roppongi or shinjuku in Tokyo?
How much will I be paying a night to stay in one?

Also ive heard theres very few ATMs that accept foreign cards? I have an AIB meastro debit card will thjat work? will be a pain if not, cos i'll have to convert my Aussie dollers to Yen and get stung on commision twice!

Also is it difficult to get from the airport out to Ropongi or Shinjuku (ive heard taxis are way to expensive?)

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

Benedict XVI

gary the great wrote: »

Am heading to japan on Tuesday on the way home from Oz for a week. Im running really low on cash and need to find somewhere to stay thats cheap and safe. ive heard of capsule hotels, are they Ok? Can anyone recommed one in Roppongi or shinjuku in Tokyo?
How much will I be paying a night to stay in one?

Also ive heard theres very few ATMs that accept foreign cards? I have an AIB meastro debit card will thjat work? will be a pain if not, cos i'll have to convert my Aussie dollers to Yen and get stung on commision twice!

Also is it difficult to get from the airport out to Ropongi or Shinjuku (ive heard taxis are way to expensive?)

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

You might get a better priced hotel in Shinjuku as that is the Japaneses area of Tokyo, Roppongi is a international area and you will find more foreign tourists there thus hotels may be more expensive.

Search for business hotels in the area, there are loads in Shinjuku, they are small but reasonably enough priced, and a much better option that a capsule hotel if you are staying few days.

Do not get a taxi from the airport to Tokyo, take the train to Tokyo central station, both Reppongi and Shinjuku are easily accessible by subway or japan rail from Tokyo central Station.

get a copy of the Lonely Planet Tokyo, it will tell you about ATMs and other good info.

kevthecelt

Try this place http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/key-yh/tok.html i stayed there last year, its perfect, on the 17th floor so you get great views of the city from your room. Cheap and cheerful!! Tokyo is an incredible place, enjoy it!!

tampopo

To be honest, I didn't look at the other links. I'm just giving my 2p here.

1. Don't take a taxi from Narita. Take the Narita Express. Buy a return ticket while you're there. It'll save time when you're coming back.
The route is Narita, Chiba, Tokyo...(then I get off at Yokohama...)
Transfer from Tokyo Station to a local JR line or the Metro Subway. The local line that does a loop of the city is the Yamanoto Line, pale yellow green colour.
Here's a good link that explains it, scroll down a bit, map included.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2017.html

2. Love hotels and capsule hotels. Well, to be honest, we stayed in capsule hotel. Horrible residual smokey smell. If you smoke, ye'll be grand. One time I got stuck in Tokyo, I missed the last train outta town. Leaves at midnight, sheesh. I tried finding either capsule or Love hotel by myself. Got a taxi from Tokyo Station to either Shinajuku or Shinagawa (bloody expensive) and wandered around like an idiot. Didn't recognise any place that would be either one. Must be a bit dim!

3. She's just in from work. Doesn't reckon you'll have much success with atm cards. Depends on the logo on the back. Go to your bank's webpage and see if they boast overseas usage.

Wish it was me. Have fun.

gary the great

Thanks guys thats some great advice.
Kevthecelt I am just in the process of booking that hotel/hostel, looks ideal thanks for that. Says theres a 10.30 lock out though?

Im a bit worried about getting the train and subway from the airport but it will be an adventure!!

The only thing now is the atm card. Doesnt say much on the AIB site. I had an AIB mastercard and LLoyds TSB debit card to but they got stolen out here in Oz. The AIB card says LINK on the bank, is that any use. I got the Lonley Planet and it says theres few ATMs that accept international cards, so it looks like I may have to bring cash which is really annoying. Anyone know how much i should be looking at for 4-5 days in tokyo? Wont be going to mental or anything?

Quball15

you can use your Aib card in the post office atms. google an image of the Japanese post office symbol and youll be sorted.be aware that Atms close around 8 or 9 ish.enjoy

gary the great

Quball15 wrote: »

you can use your Aib card in the post office atms. google an image of the Japanese post office symbol and youll be sorted.be aware that Atms close around 8 or 9 ish.enjoy

Cool, it says in the Lonley planet PLUS works but doesn't say nothing about LINK?

Can anyone elkse confirm this I just dont wanna get stuck? Will bring a load of Yen anyway though.

tampopo

tbhh, I don't know. I was with BoI when I was there. I just brought a wedge of cash. It's a cash based society, everyone deals in cash. It's a very safe society, generally speaking. Wear a money belt if you feel nervous.

And to reinforce the previous poster, the atms close up at an ungodly early hour (to us Irish at any rate, used to the 24/7 access)

Edit here:
Ah, and yes it will be an adventure, but it'd be harder NOT to get the Narita Xpress! As soon as you leave the airport terminal, the railway terminal is straight ahead of you. They built the railway (narita xpress) specifically for the airport so it's fairly straight forward. There are enough english language signs both for it and around downtown Tokyo on the rail lines. They are also colour co-ordinated for the non Japanese and non English speakers. You'll be grand!

Benedict XVI

tampopo wrote: »

Edit here:
Ah, and yes it will be an adventure, but it'd be harder NOT to get the Narita Xpress! As soon as you leave the airport terminal, the railway terminal is straight ahead of you. They built the railway (narita xpress) specifically for the airport so it's fairly straight forward. There are enough english language signs both for it and around downtown Tokyo on the rail lines. They are also colour co-ordinated for the non Japanese and non English speakers. You'll be grand!

I want to second what 'tampopo' is aying, getting around Tokyo by rail is pretty straight forward, and anyone how sees that you are lost is very will to help with directions.
Getting from the airport to central Tokyo is no harder than getting from a Stanstead to the middle of London
Again the Lonely Planet has a good explanation of the system, ticketing and maps.

gary the great

Whoa the japs are deadly, real helpful, got a bit lsot and asked someone and he just went onto the satnav on his phone!

Anything anyone reccomends to do? Went the sony centre and just buzzed about today, doesnt seem to be a whole lot?

And i think its a lot cheaper than Dublin!

LoGiE

I've just come the opposite way to you 2 weeks ago. Tokyo to melbourne. A visa credit card is accepted at pretty much all of the ATMs. If you have a normal atm card (laser/Pass) with maestro and Cirrus or link on it I've found they only work in Post offices as mentioned above and City bank ATMs. Check out Shibya for good night life, Hiruku park (Sp?) on a sunday for strangley dressed japanese and a free Hip Hop or Rave party till about 8.

gary the great

Its weird the hotel im　staying in has a curfew of 11pm. Was just out in a part of shinjinku and all the salarymen were all real drunk was pretty funny.

Am going to go to Electric city tomorrow and check that out. Wish they had a city sightseeing tour that would be　handy.