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JCB exists in south east asia and korea.higher end restaurants tend to be ok with them because Japanese tourists can easily spend big bucks. Seconding Citibank, they are trying to expand into the Asian market but most of their branches or atms are only near the financial districts. Can you guys exchange currencies online with Citi bank? I'm not so lucky, I need to go to the counter for that, and exchange in person. And a lot of times the rates at citi bank are so so.. Another method is to try to work with banks that have foreign partnerships. China construction bank asia has an atm deal with bank of America.
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Oct 19, 2013 02:10
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My constantly-traveling friend recommended Charles Schwab checking to me awhile back and it was absolutely aces on my trip through Japan in September. Visa-branded check card worked in all 7-11/post office ATMs (while my Citi Mastercard-branded card didn't work at a 7-11 the one time I tried it). All ATM fees were refunded to me within a month, all exchange rates were given at the actual base exchange rate (with no additional points tacked on the rate), and there were no foreign exchange fees. I don't see any reason to ever get another card for use anywhere. (I guess the "catch" is that you have to open up an investment account with them as well, but you can just put $0 in it forever and they're fine with that).
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Oct 19, 2013 07:27
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I've heard that JCB is partnered with Discover in the States, so you can use the two cards interchangeably supposedly. I've never tried it myself.
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Oct 20, 2013 08:25
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On my return flight to North America, I will be flying out of Kansai, landing at Haneda at 8:00am transferring to Narita for a flight that leaves at 11:00am. How tight will the Haneda Airport to Narita Airport connection be? Is there an express bus or train I should take? Any suggestions in general? It's on a Sunday if that matters.
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Oct 25, 2013 20:11
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Secx posted:On my return flight to North America, I will be flying out of Kansai, landing at Haneda at 8:00am transferring to Narita for a flight that leaves at 11:00am. Probably the best thing to do is just to take the monorail to hamamatsucho, then take the yamonote to nippori, then take the skyliner express (the narita express from tokyo station is silly expensive and not much faster). I dunno exactly how long that would take, but probably less than 3 hours. Or you can take the limousine bus, I've never done that though. e: http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus_services/inter_airport_route/ here you go, this is probably the best and cheapest way. Shibawanko fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Oct 25, 2013 |
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Oct 25, 2013 20:34
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Shibawanko posted:Probably the best thing to do is just to take the monorail to hamamatsucho, then take the yamonote to nippori, then take the skyliner express (the narita express from tokyo station is silly expensive and not much faster). I dunno exactly how long that would take, but probably less than 3 hours. Thanks. It looks like a really tight connection. The bus leaves at 8:35am. So I would have 35min to get off the plane, grab my luggage and exchange my limousinebus voucher for a ticket. It would arrive at Narita at 9:55am. Which gives me 1 hour to check-in my luggage and go through security. Joy. Welp, it must be doable if it was offered as an option when I booked my return flight.
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Oct 25, 2013 21:25
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Secx posted:Thanks. It looks like a really tight connection. The bus leaves at 8:35am. So I would have 35min to get off the plane, grab my luggage and exchange my limousinebus voucher for a ticket. The train option would take about the same time I think. You could always print out a schedule and route in case you miss the bus.
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Oct 25, 2013 21:38
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Secx posted:Thanks. It looks like a really tight connection. The bus leaves at 8:35am. So I would have 35min to get off the plane, grab my luggage and exchange my limousinebus voucher for a ticket. Nice thing about Japan and Korea, at least, is that if you show up at security and yell "my flight is leaving in ten minutes!" really loud, some tall, pretty airline attendant will come over, ask you what flight you're on, check your id, then personally escort you to your gate and onto your flight. Same thing works if you run up to ticketing and there's a line. In either case, security only takes like five minutes to get through in Japan so it's no big deal.
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Oct 25, 2013 22:59
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Sheep posted:Nice thing about Japan and Korea, at least, is that if you show up at security and yell "my flight is leaving in ten minutes!" really loud, some tall, pretty airline attendant will come over, ask you what flight you're on, check your id, then personally escort you to your gate and onto your flight. Same thing works if you run up to ticketing and there's a line. I can vouch for this. I thought for sure it was too late for me to get on my flight back to North America last June, and they ran me the gently caress through security and to the gate and I made it no problem.
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Oct 26, 2013 01:10
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EDIT: Just realized I mixed threads up somehow.
Kenishi fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Oct 27, 2013 |
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Oct 26, 2013 09:42
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marmot25 posted:My constantly-traveling friend recommended Charles Schwab checking to me awhile back and it was absolutely aces on my trip through Japan in September. Visa-branded check card worked in all 7-11/post office ATMs (while my Citi Mastercard-branded card didn't work at a 7-11 the one time I tried it). All ATM fees were refunded to me within a month, all exchange rates were given at the actual base exchange rate (with no additional points tacked on the rate), and there were no foreign exchange fees. I don't see any reason to ever get another card for use anywhere. (I guess the "catch" is that you have to open up an investment account with them as well, but you can just put $0 in it forever and they're fine with that). I can double vouch for this; my Schwab ATM card worked amazing over there. Just got back from my trip two days ago. It was incredible. I seemed to have incredible luck on my trip; I dodged two typhoons (I was in Kagoshima when Typhoon Wipha caused huge damage and delays around the Tokyo area) and was in Tokyo when Typhoon Francisco was hitting Kagoshima). Not to mention during my trip to Sakurajima the volcano was calm, right up until two minutes after I had left the island (upon which it exploded, releasing a huge plume of ash). And I left on the 24th from Tokyo. One day before the earthquake. Iris of Ether posted:Take the train to Nara. It's nearby. Todai-ji is neat, and there are deer everywhere. Apparently, instead of buying a pack of shika senbei, (which will immediately cause you to be surrounded and headbutted and chewed on), you can apparently collect acorns and feed them to the deer. I saw an old man doing this around the park.
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Oct 26, 2013 22:10
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Hospitals and very large companies (like Sumitomo) often have daycare centers for employees' kids. But big cities still have more demand than spots are available. Daycares require a higher teacher-to-child ratio for classes under 3 years old.
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Oct 27, 2013 00:55
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French Canadian posted:Ah, was the general consensus to exchange money at an Airport Forex, or do it at some bank/exchange in the US? I thought you were going in April? The tournaments themselves are only in the odd-numbered months. The site shows a lot of dates, but the only action happens over 15 days. I went in Fukuoka in 2010 and have been a fan of the sport since, even starting up the goon sumo thread a while back.
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Oct 29, 2013 03:49
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effervescible posted:I can vouch for this. I thought for sure it was too late for me to get on my flight back to North America last June, and they ran me the gently caress through security and to the gate and I made it no problem. I can confirm this is completely up to the airline / flight attendant, and I certainly wouldn't count on it. On one of my first flights back to the US around 3 years ago, I overslept, and made it to the airport literally 10 minutes before my flight. I just walked up to the lady at the front of the check in counter, and told her I was going to NYC at whatever time, and she went into crazy mode and checked me in lightning fast and ran me through security and up to the gate. Excellent service. Then last year I had some problems catching the right train to Narita, and arrived 45 minutes before my flight left. No dice - you have to check in an hour in advance, they say. Both of those were business class tickets, mind. I imagine it's more to do with whether or not the flight is full and if they still have space for you. I'm not going to chance it again.
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Oct 29, 2013 04:24
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Yeah, it's absolutely not something I would ever count on. But it's nice to know that when to-airport transit goes wrong, there's a chance you're not totally boned. I can't imagine it ever happening in U.S. airports.
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Oct 29, 2013 04:32
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Safest bet is to check in online beforehand. Once you have a boarding pass, staff are way more flexible in letting you in. Plus flights never really start on time and have a bit of delay here and there.
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Oct 29, 2013 04:36
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I was with a Japanese group of friends going to Okinawa and we were running late. So we run up security in Haneda at 6 AM, panicked we'd miss our flight, start throwing (not literally) things at security, and then we just hear [one of the Japanese guys] Hey, wait a second... What? That's a spear. Yeah, so? Well, it's a spear. We're going fishing! It's Okinawa! Well, this is an airplane. You can't take that onboard. ...oh. Yeah, it's a spear, isn't it. ...yeah. You can just buy another one in Okinawa. Right. Right. Sorry, don't know what I was thinking.So all the Japanese people go right through, but since I wasn't Japanese, they had to check some extra paperwork, especially since I didn't book the flight (one of the group was a travel agent, how convenient!) But this would cause me to miss the flight, since we were really that late. They were worried that I wasn't going to be able to find the group, etc. and the airport staff said, "No problem, just have someone stay behind and we'll put you both on the next flight," and so that's what we did. So to reiterate: we were late and managed to (almost) rush through security, tried to carry-on a literal spear/weapon, and they offered to put us on the next flight without any hassle. YMMV.
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Oct 29, 2013 04:40
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Sheep posted:Nice thing about Japan and Korea, at least, is that if you show up at security and yell "my flight is leaving in ten minutes!" really loud, some tall, pretty airline attendant will come over, ask you what flight you're on, check your id, then personally escort you to your gate and onto your flight. Same thing works if you run up to ticketing and there's a line. The other cool thing is despite how much faster they are, they also appear to be better at their jobs. I had this metal card/multitool thing in my wallet for several years in the US (has a serrated saw edge, among other things) and was never called on it by the TSA despite taking a few flights a year. Literally as soon as I got to Japan, they caught it at security on my first domestic flight and apologized for me having to throw it away. (I couldn't care less, it was in there more as an experiment in airport security effectiveness, also I only paid 99 cents for it).
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Oct 29, 2013 06:16
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Pompous Rhombus posted:The other cool thing is despite how much faster they are, they also appear to be better at their jobs. I had this metal card/multitool thing in my wallet for several years in the US (has a serrated saw edge, among other things) and was never called on it by the TSA despite taking a few flights a year. Literally as soon as I got to Japan, they caught it at security on my first domestic flight and apologized for me having to throw it away. (I couldn't care less, it was in there more as an experiment in airport security effectiveness, also I only paid 99 cents for it). It's pretty common knowledge of any seasoned US traveler that the TSA is incompetent. I go through Texas and California pretty often and every time I see something new slip by. Obviously I can't go into detail without getting posts audited by the NSA or something, but still, it's a farce.
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Oct 29, 2013 06:34
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Just a brief comment on 711 ATMs and international debit cards:
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Oct 29, 2013 07:24
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rufius posted:Just a brief comment on 711 ATMs and international debit cards: Where have you seen a 711 without an ATM?
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Oct 29, 2013 07:27
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rufius posted:Just a brief comment on 711 ATMs and international debit cards: Wait what. What do you mean 7bank machine?
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Oct 29, 2013 08:07
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Mr. Fix It posted:Where have you seen a 711 without an ATM? Nearly every 711 in Kyoto I tried to go to. When I got back in Tokyo, I started seeing specific 711s that have an "ATM" sign on their overall sign. LimburgLimbo posted:Wait what. What do you mean 7bank machine? There's a machine that looks like an ATM. We tried two different major debit cards with no success on the 7Bank machine before talking with a cashier. They said it only worked with whatever 7Bank is and something else I forget. Note that I've only seen one 711 that didn't have an ATM in Tokyo. Outside Tokyo (Kyoto and Osaka metropolitan area) I couldn't find a 711 with an ATM. Note that my sample set is probably a total of 5 711s in Kyoto and 3 711s in Osaka. Perhaps it's just my wife and I misunderstanding but when we got back to Tokyo, we went into a 711 with the ATM symbol and it was next to a 7Bank machine with a label saying "international ATM". rufius fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Oct 29, 2013 |
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Oct 29, 2013 11:04
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My experience in Kyoto for the past month has been there are international ATMs, but lord help you if you have a MasterCard. For some reason, I can only get those to work at the post office. Yes, at 711. They had signs saying they support Visa and a lot of other card types. Sorry, I should have clarified! vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Tea.EarlGrey.Hot. fucked around with this message at 11:15 on Oct 29, 2013 |
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Oct 29, 2013 11:09
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Tea.EarlGrey.Hot. posted:My experience in Kyoto for the past month has been there are international ATMs, but lord help you if you have a MasterCard. For some reason, I can only get those to work at the post office. At 711?
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Oct 29, 2013 11:11
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FYI, the bank machines at the far end of the Narita main floor airport are very old and their readers appear to be worn out. I had to put my card in multiple times to get it read properly.
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Oct 29, 2013 12:09
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rufius posted:At 711? That was my experience a month ago. No mastercard at 711 but Visa was a-ok. Then again every 711 I went to in Kyoto had an ATM that worked fine for me, so who knows. http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/support/info2013041901.html
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Oct 29, 2013 17:11
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I'm not sure exactly what happened where you went in Kyoto, but 7 Bank machines are the 7/11 ATMs, and of the 150 7/11 in Kyoto city, found here if you know Japanese, or maybe more than 150 because that's a suspiciously round number so maybe the search got cut off, every single one has an ATM. There are 7/11 without ATMs in Japan, apparently, but every store in Kyoto seems to have them. There are also more 7 Bank ATMs than there are 7/11s, because there are at least 250 in Kyoto (again maybe more because that's a suspiciously round number). And they all take international cards except for MasterCard, as we know. Also here's the English ATM locator for 7/11 ATMs if anybody wants it.
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Oct 29, 2013 17:35
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Fryhtaning posted:I thought you were going in April? The tournaments themselves are only in the odd-numbered months. The site shows a lot of dates, but the only action happens over 15 days. Oh...yes when I started posting here I think I mentioned April. But now it's May. Our flight is May 6th and we come back the 20th, or something like that. The sumo event we would attend appears to begin May 11 and continue through May 25. I guess I misread it originally in that I thought there was an event on the 11th, and an event on the 25th, but you're saying it's actually a multi-day sumo extravaganza? Looking at the ticketing website for the upcoming event, I guess that is definitely true. In that case, any advice on how to pick a good day to see Sumo? We are pretty flexible on our schedule. It would be even better if we can just buy them when we arrive in Japan after seeing how our overall itinerary plays out. Or do these things sell out when the event draws near?
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Oct 29, 2013 17:51
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French Canadian posted:Oh...yes when I started posting here I think I mentioned April. But now it's May. Our flight is May 6th and we come back the 20th, or something like that. We were able to get tickets for the upper section of the stadium by going to the ticket window that morning. I want to say that we payed about 2,400 yen per ticket. They were first come first served and you couldn't go in and out so we bought the tickets early, spent a few hours in Akibahara and came back to watch the matches at about 2:00. The stadium was still pretty empty since the upper level matches didn't start til about 5:00 so we got drunk, ate chicken skewers and watched low-level sumo for a few hours. It may be worth going in early to watch the mid-level guys, but you'll definitely want to get there before about 4:00 to get a good spot for the high-level matches.
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Oct 29, 2013 19:00
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LimburgLimbo posted:I'm not sure exactly what happened where you went in Kyoto, but 7 Bank machines are the 7/11 ATMs, and of the 150 7/11 in Kyoto city, found here if you know Japanese, or maybe more than 150 because that's a suspiciously round number so maybe the search got cut off, every single one has an ATM. There are 7/11 without ATMs in Japan, apparently, but every store in Kyoto seems to have them. Huh. Maybe it's just the 7Bank machines not being compatible with the two cards we have (one Visa and one MasterCard). As soon as we put the cards in, it immediately spit it out saying "invalid card". The 711 I've been going to in Shinjuku has both the "international ATM" and the 7Bank machine. Not sure why, but it's working out for me since it's closer than the JP Post.
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Oct 29, 2013 22:54
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French Canadian posted:Oh...yes when I started posting here I think I mentioned April. But now it's May. Our flight is May 6th and we come back the 20th, or something like that. I'd suggest reading or posting in the sumo thread ( http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3461947&pagenumber=1&perpage=40#post399796682) if you want to learn a little more about sumo. But yes, it is 15 consecutive days from the start date to the end date, each day more or less identical except for the last since they do the awards then. The later days have more of the marquee matchups, but you can see every wrestler wrestle once per day of the tourney. I'd go on a weekday if you want walk-up tickets, especially in Tokyo, unless you can find someone in Japan to buy the tickets ahead of time (something like a month prior) Fryhtaning fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Oct 30, 2013 |
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Oct 30, 2013 01:24
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I have been in Okinawa for 4 and half years now, first as a SOFA member, and now I am here on spouse visa using up my GI Bill. If anyone has questions on the Japanese healthcare system I will do what I can to help out, our daughter was born "off base" while I was still in the Army and hopefully I could answer questions about routine care. In short, it pretty much kicks rear end. OP I would suggest adding the Kerama Islands, specifically Zamami Islands (short ferry ride from Naha, Okinawa) to your list of places to go see. The beaches are amazing, its quiet and peaceful (small town of perhaps 300 people), you can go whale watching (January though March), and it is some of the best snorkeling and diving to be found in Okinawa, if you are lucky you can swim alongside sea turtles the size of a large flatscreen TV on the South beach. The hotels there are mostly (if not all) hostel style, and friendly to gaijin. You can also camp on the beach but I am not sure if there was camping gear rental places. The entire island is beautiful and if you are staying in Japan for a long time you know it is hard to get away from noise and light pollution. The ferries leave out of Naha Port and alternate between a 1-1.5 hour trip ~5000 JPY/person and a 2-2.5 hour trip for ~3500 JPY/person. (Prices are for one way tickets). If anyone has questions I will try to watch this thread but I welcome PMs if you want a faster answer. Keep in mind that Okinawa is a fairly different from mainland Japan. For airlines (domestic flights) take a look at Peach Airlines (clean planes, NO bells and whistles, incredibly cheap flights within Japan). SA has tons of awesome information so I am hoping to start making a contribution here. Hope I didn't shitpost too badly.
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Oct 30, 2013 03:28
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Seconding Zamami, nice place. I've been to a crapload of beaches in the Pacific and the Caribbean but I still think Zamami has some of the best.
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Oct 30, 2013 04:14
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I had a good time on Tokashiki as well, nice crescent moon shaped white beaches. Don't forget to take the last bus to the ferry!
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Oct 30, 2013 09:43
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The main complaint I had with the 7-11 ATMs, is the one time I tried to use one, it only gave out money in denominations of 10,000 Y.
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Oct 31, 2013 03:29
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ookuwagata posted:The main complaint I had with the 7-11 ATMs, is the one time I tried to use one, it only gave out money in denominations of 10,000 Y. That bugged me too. When I was there I had to reaaaaalllllyyyyy stretch my cash over the last two days so I wouldn't have to take out another 10,000 bill. Boarded the plane at Narita with 150 Y left. 
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Oct 31, 2013 03:39
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If your walking around money isn't at least 20,000 yen, you're doing Japan wrong.
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Oct 31, 2013 04:16
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Mr. Fix It posted:If your walking around money isn't at least 20,000 yen, you're doing Japan wrong. I was just looking for an ATM to give me smaller change so I wouldn't have to pay a 200 Y museum entrance fee with a 10,000 Y bill.
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Nov 1, 2013 01:01
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ookuwagata posted:I was just looking for an ATM to give me smaller change so I wouldn't have to pay a 200 Y museum entrance fee with a 10,000 Y bill. I've bought 130 Y packs of gum with 1man notes. Cash is cash here.
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Nov 1, 2013 01:52
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