Useful Travel Tips You Should Know Before Going to Japan

Heyho, dreamers! It's been a while since my last Japan post, right? That's why I'm back with a MUST READ post for all of you. I regretted some things during the trip and I don't want you to experience the same. I learned a lot from this trip and gonna share it for you! Here are some useful tips you should know before going to Japan (from my experience):

Get a suica/pasmo card can make your trip much more convenient! As I've already mentioned in my preparation post, by getting a suica/pasmo card will save you a lot of time. The transport fare is not much cheaper, but you can just f*ckin tap the card on the ticket gate and get in without queuing to buy the train ticket. You know what, I DIDN'T BUY ANY SUICA/PASMO and ended up super regretting it.

Don't you dare do guest house/hotel hopping. JUST DON'T!!! I warned you, hahaha. I wanted to cry and swore I won't move from one guest house to another on my next trip. It really wasted time and energy. I thought it'd be boring to just stay in one guest house at one city so I just went booking some guest houses T.T 

Wear comfortable shoes or sneakers because you'll walk a lot. My legs gave up on first day from too much walking, lol. I legit couldn't walk properly at the end of the day, all I wanted was a car to pick me up or just flew to the guest house, but it's just impossible. My guest house was 10 minutes away from the station, ha! Luckily I wore my most-comfortable-sneakers-ever so I still could bear it.

Do your best to research your destination/public transportation system/everything because it can help you save time and money. I didn't do any research about public transportation in Kyoto and ended up wasting 500 yen for a bus pass. I thought I'd need it for 2 days but turned out it's easier to get to Fushimi Inari by train, not bus. But then again, another places in Kyoto requires bus much more than train, that's why you need to do research about those things. Sure it's a lot of work but trust me you'll thank it later.

The earlier you come to tourist attractions, the better. Even one hour is huge difference! Come at 6 or 7 in the morning so you can enjoy the site to the fullest. From my observation, tourists start to come around 9 AM and they are the travel groups who ride big travel bus. OMG.

Don't be afraid to ask Japanese about direction or anything, although you can't speak Japanese or they can't speak English. They will help you no matter what even if you don't understand each other, lol. They're kind enough to find it on Google Maps and show it to you. I was fascinated when a lady and her cute son decided to show me the way by taking the train with me in Osaka. They didn't even go to the same direction with me. Oh, not to forget most (or all) of the train officer on the gate can speak English.


Whatever happens, don't freak out! You may take the wrong train, you may get out on the wrong bus stop, you may lost your way, but don't freak out. I'm usually easily panic in any situation but I tried to always stay calm because when you freak out, you can't think properly. I took the wrong train and it's almost midnight there plus I must walk quite far from station to the guest house. I was like, "okay, it's just WEIRD if I don't do this kind of stupidness, so take it easy. Pray!" hahaha because I was kinda afraid of walking alone in the middle of the night. Thankfully Japan is super safe :")

Rent wi-fi router, XL pass, or local sim card because you'll need it for a lot of things especially Google Maps (if you're traveling alone without tour guide). Google maps drains the phone battery quite fast, so you also need to bring power bank/extra battery. You also need to stay connected with the world, don't ya? :p

Know where to get cash, in case you're running out of Yen like me lol. You can withdraw money from your country local bank at Seven Bank, which can be found at most train stations and konbini (Seven Eleven). In my case, I'm from Indonesia so I tried to withdraw money from BCA (with additional charge) without minimum amount. But Mandiri has minimum amount to withdraw, which is 10.000 yen. You can also withdraw money from Japanese Bank named Yucho Bank. 

Take note of your guest house address, important contacts, etc in case bad things happen. I almost lost my phone at Disneyland but thankfully a kind Japanese guy return it to me T.T If not I didn't know what could I do without the phone. I put every single information about the trip on the phone without any backup, including the guest house address. OMG HOW CAN I GO BACK WITHOUT THOSE INFO cryyy...

Most hotel/hostel/guest houses in Japan start checking in at afternoon (3 or 4 P.M.), bringing luggage while strolling around the city is not convenient, right? You can easily find coin locker at most stations, especially big stations like Tokyo Station, Ueno, etc. The large ones usually full so you need to come earlier or just go around all the lockers wishing there's some available. There are also luggage picking up service but I didn't try it so I don't really know how to.

Bring plastic bag or waterproof pouch with you, because you can rarely find any trash bin in Japan. I brought my trashes around until I found trash bin in the station/konbini.

This is not a mandatory tips, but why not getting yourself a disposable camera during the trip? You can read my post about why you should get one on your Japan trip here. 

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How to Enjoy Summer in Japan // Mt. Fuji

Hi, dreamers! After a long break (one week is considered long for me)- kept falling asleep every night, finally I'm here writing a new post while fighting the sleepiness. Di postingan kali ini, aku akan ngebahas tips untuk menikmati musim panas di Jepang, because it's obviously summer time there! Tentunya ada banyak hal yang bisa kita lakukan selama liburan musim panas di sana, dari menikmati pemandangan indah, festival musim panas, kembang api, makanan khas musim panas, dan masih banyak lagi.

Salah satu destinasi menarik untuk liburan di Jepang ya pasti Gunung Fuji. Istilahnya, nggak sah ke Jepang kalau ga ngeliat Gunung Fuji. Sejujurnya aku nggak ke sana sih pas liburan kemaren, soalnya pas banget hujan huhu (tapi ngeliat sih pas naik shinkansen Kyoto-Tokyo + super deket!). Back to topic! Ada beberapa akses untuk bisa menikmati gunung simbol Jepang ini, tergantung keinginan masing-masing aja sih. Bisa dari Kawaguchiko, Fuji Hakone, atau bisa juga langsung mendaki Gunung Fuji ;p

Buat yang nggak mau ribet dan bingung nentuin mau ngapain aja selama di sana, HISGO Indonesia ternyata nyediain paket bus tour gitu buat daerah Gunung Fuji. Nggak cuma membawa kamu ke tempat-tempat populer, bus tour ini juga bakal ngasih pengalaman seru mulai dari kebudayaan hingga makanan khas Jepang. Buat pemesanan kamu nggak perlu ribet juga sih buat datengin langsung, soalnya bisa juga lewat H.I.S online booking.

***

Mereka punya 2 paket bus tour untuk Gunung Fuji, tergantung gaya liburan masing-masing:

|Mt. Fuji + Pirate Ship Hakone + Gotemba Premium Outlet (click)

Bus tour Fuji Hakone yang satu ini cocok buat yang hobi banget shopping, nih! Selain bisa mengunjungi dan menikmati pemandangan indah Gunung Fuji, kamu juga bakal diajak buat naik Pirate Ship di Danau Ashi, Hakone untuk enjoy Mt. Fuji to the fullest. Laper? Tenang, kalian bisa mencoba makanan khas di salah satu restoran terkenal di sana. Setelah kenyang, lanjut deh shopping di Gotemba Premium Outlets! Seneng amat ya hidup, hahaha.

| Mt. Fuji 5th Station + Lunch at Kawaguchi Lakeside + Yamanashi Winery + Picking Seasonal Fruits (click)

Nah, kalau yang ini cocok buat kamu yang lebih suka menikmati pemandangan ataupun kegiatan outdoor unik seperti petik buah musiman di Jepang. Jenis buah yang bisa dipetik tergantung sama waktu kunjungan kamu ya :D Selesai petik buah, kamu juga bisa memanjakan mata dengan menikmati pemandangan Gunung Fuji dari 5th stationnya. Kalau yang pertama tadi adalah dengan akses Fuji Hakone, paket bus tour ini melalui akses danau Kawaguchi. Kamu akan diajak untuk lunch makanan khas Jepang di tepi danau Kawaguchi dengan pemandangan gunung Fuji. Wow! Nggak ketinggalan juga, kamu akan diajak naik kapal pesiar En Soleil. Kamu bisa baca lebih detail + harganya di H.I.S Online Booking / HISGO ya ;) 

Karena musim panas di Jepang mataharinya cukup terik, pastikan untuk selalu memakai sun screen, ya. Untuk tau lebih banyak tentang skincare/ referensi makeup untuk liburan di Jepang pas summer, bisa cek Beautynesia, nih. See ya on the next post!

Donald Duck Tee + Mom Jeans

Konbanwa, dreamers! It's 11 PM here and I'm actually super sleepy (I even fell asleep) but feel super guilty for not updating this blog and finish listing ideas for article, so I decided to just sacrifice my long sleep tonight! This is something I love and choose to do (with a full time job), so I won't complain ;)

If you don't know yet, lemme tell you. I'm a fan of Donald Duck and finding stuff with Donald Duck on it is quite difficult. I can find Mickey Mouse easily but why is Donald Duck so hard to find??? I have a tee from Uniqlo before (check this out) and I finally got myself another one from Korea. I bought it from an online store that provide import stuff from Korea. To be honest, the tee quality is worse than I expected :( It's not the online store's fault tho. Still wearable and at least it has Donald Duck on it, lol. For the color, I chose pale pink because I've bought too many black clothes lately and it looks cute so why not. 

I wore it with a mom jeans from Stradivarius which is also new stuff I got for myself. It's quite hard for me to find a perfect jeans that fit my lower body type, so although it's quite expensive, I decided to just "invest" on it. More looks coming soon! Wore this to watch Transformers with my brother (the movie itself was quite disappointing). Hope this outfit post can inspire you when you don't know what to wear especially for casual look! Jaa ne~

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Tokyo in Disposable Camera + Why You Should Get One

Hello from Tokyo!....mmm no, I'm definitely in Jakarta right now *cry* But! I'll show you the developed film from disposable camera when I was in Tokyo. Why just Tokyo? I planned to buy a disposable camera (or more) all along but the ojisan in Kyoto wouldn't sell it to me, I wonder why. He even told me to leave the store T.T 

So, I bought my first disposable camera (Fujifilm Simple Ace) at Spinns Ikebukuro for ￥680. I was so confused how to use it because the instruction is written in Japanese but luckily I could make it. I got my film developed at SoupNFilm at STC Senayan, costs IDR 55.000 and I can say I'm happy with the result. Some photos are failed tho, but I think it's my own fault when taking the pics. Now, enjoy the photos and read on why you should get one for your Japan trip (or maybe anywhere).

The first pic I took at Ikebukuro :)

Here are some reason why you should get disposable camera for your Japan trip:  

* It's cheap and easily found in Japan (Bic Camera, Spinns, even konbini/convenience store).

* It's light and small, you can put it in jacket's pocket like me. Bring one extra disposable camera in your bag won't weigh much. 

* You don't know how the pics turn out, is it bad? Or is it good? You may got some failed result like me but that's the interesting part. Some pics also turned out well beyond my expectation.

* It gives the irreplaceable vintage tone.

* You don't need to edit or add another filter before posting because the pictures are unique and beautiful the way it is.

* When you see the pictures, I bet you will miss those moments! It brings back memories and I love it.

Asakusa area, especially Senso-ji temple was super crowded that day!

I met Shabrina that day, we met at Senso-ji and visited Tokyo Sky Tree. We also had dinner at Shibuya. We were kinda awkward at first but I think we got closer...? Hahaha ;p I knew her from Instagram and gathered up my courage to ask her for a meet up. 

In front of Shibuya crossing, it's Shibuya 109! 

Below are the happiest 2 days in Japan (although those 2 weeks also super happy): Tokyo Disney Sea and Disneyland!

 Hahaha! Can you just ignore my absurd face? Don't even know what I was thinking when taking this pic lol.

You can't imagine how HAPPY I was here :")

Next ones are the main things about Tokyo, it's sakura/cherry blossoms and Tokyo Tower! ;)

This pic was taken by an obasan, she asked me to help her take photos with the sakura first, then she offered to take one for me too. She spoke Japanese which I didn't understand- I felt so sad, I wish I could speak Japanese so I could talk more with her. She was super lovely and friendly. I told her with my limited Japanese: watashi wa nihon ga daisuki desu! (I really love Japan!), and she answered: watashi mo daisuki desu! Kirei desu..... sakura ga....blablabla (I also love Japan so much! All of these are super pretty). I wish I could speak more Japanese on my next visit :(

That's it! Let's hope there is another Tokyo/Japan in disposable camera part 2- and counting! Hahaha, jaa ne~

For pin:

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