Toni’s Spring 2023 Japan Trip

[chadbag]

7 hours ago, Bob Martin said:

Actually they’re QR codes, and only for the one of customs or immigration.  The other one is still personal and upfront.  QR for health as well.  Works very well, I was off the plane and in the car in 20 minutes.

 

 

Supposedly they ditched the QR for the vaccination/Covide test check.  They just look for the blue screen and don't even provide the code any longer.  (Per a "return to Japan" FB group).  When I went in December they still had the QR code for the vax/pcr check but nobody looked at it or scanned it...  They just saw the blue screen printout we all had and gave us a pink slip and waved us on.  (Just the health one -- they still have the other 2)

 

Also note that you don't HAVE to do the pre-enrollment on the Visit Japan Website.  You don't have to have the immigration and customs QR codes.  The claim is its faster to do so but also I've heard of people who just went in the no-QR-code-line bevaise it was almost empty and they zipped through while all the QR code people had to wait in their line. 

When we went I had screwed up and also the service was wicked slow and I had a hard time pulling up my immigration info form the coed and my family's weren't working so they filled out the old-school arrival card and I started to when my screen suddenly refreshed.  So I was able to go through using the code and the family with the old school arrival cards in a couple minutes.

 

So don't sweat it. As long as you meet the requirements (which currently is the 3 vax or neg pcr test within 72 hours) and you have a passport from a country that does not require a Visa you'll get in.

 

[bikkuri bahn]

Quote

So don't sweat it. As long as you meet the requirements (which currently is the 3 vax or neg pcr test within 72 hours) and you have a passport from a country that does not require a Visa you'll get in.

Pretty much my experience- I went back to the states for Xmas, and on the return I just showed the blue screen casually- like a wave of the hand (It was actually just a screenshot, so could have been anyones, really...).  The real screening occurs I reckon when you check in at your departure airport- airline staff asked me for proof of vaccination along w/ my passport.  There is just not enough personnel available (they look like temps to me, not permanent health ministry staff or similar) to really check everyone thoroughly at the arrival airport. 

[mojo]

Can also confirm, I had the QR codes ready but all they really wanted to see was the blue screen. At Haneda the wifi was available, although I screenshotted it before I left the UK just in case.

 

For the evidence they asked for I provided PDF copies of my vaccination records via the website. Brought print-outs and had the records in my Google Wallet on my phone, but none of it was needed. Only very minor delays at the airport. It was actually far worse on the way out of the UK, but that's Heathrow for you...

[JR East]

I've printed out the QR Code in case it's faster. 

 

Last time I was in Japan, was caused a delay was the fingerprints reader not working. Anyway, it was incredibly fast at NRT. 

 

In April, it'll be KIX (first time I'm testing the arrival process)

in Sept, it'll be NRT as it was less expensive in First class with Emirates (40% off / SQ, AF, etc). 

[Tony Galiani]

Went to the web site to register but all I could do was open an account as I still don't have my new passport.  Then I went to United's Travel Ready page to at least get my wife's info there hoping to get that out of the way.  However, it would only allow me to verify her passport - it would not accept her Covid vaccine info saying that it cannot be entered until 72 hours before travel.  That works for my wife (aka The Princess of Procrastination) as she likes to wait until the last minute but frustrates me.  Sure it will all work out and I just need to be patient.

Ciao,

Tony

[JR East]

Menwhile, does someone knows if wearing a mask is still mandatory in bus, trams and trains in Japan ?

 

 

[MeTheSwede]

3 hours ago, JR East said:

Menwhile, does someone knows if wearing a mask is still mandatory in bus, trams and trains in Japan ?

 

 

 

This page summarises rules, recommendations and expectations with regards to mask use in Japan:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2234.html

[chadbag]

1 hour ago, MeTheSwede said:

 

This page summarises rules, recommendations and expectations with regards to mask use in Japan:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2234.html

That pretty much matches what I observed in December.  Occasionally you'd see a non-foreigner on a train without a mask but usually in stores, trains, busses, etc everyone was masked and probably about 90% outside walking, even in not so crowded areas.   I followed along but would remove when walking outside without people around.

 

The biggest "hassle" was the airline (JAL) requiring the mask all the time except when eating.   Not arguing or anything but it gets tedious on a 13 hour flight to be masked the whole time.  Especially since here in Utah most people haven't worried about them since some time in the first half of 2021 so we got out of the habit.

 

[kndy]

 

I love going mid-March through mid-April for Cherry Blossom season.  As of late, I'm usually there in mid-March to cover the huge anime event, AnimeJapan, opening season for baseball and then the rest to enjoy Hanami friends and enjoy the cherry blossoms from all over the Kanto and Kansai area. [unfortunately can't make it this year, so I'm compensating that sadness by buying trains]

 

The other is going November-December [I used to go in October-November for Halloween, but Halloween has gotten to huge in the Tokyo area, especially in Shibuya...it's crazy now].

 

I went for New Year's once and January...it was so darn cold!  As with February and early March in certain areas.  

 

Summer is a no-go for me.  Treacherous humidity, B.O. up the yin yang in the train, not for me.

[JR East]

Got the reservation this morning early (reservation are open 1 month before travelling, from 10:30 JST on). Easy to do on Internet website. 

 

 

I'll try tomorrow to book a return ticket from Osaka-Abenobashi to Yoshino 

 

 

I'm quite sure this one is already fully booked ... bu tyI hope I'll be able to book a Sakura Liner. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by JR East

[Tony Galiani]

Doing some trip planning as my wife was hoping to go to Osaka as well as Kyoto.  I did not realize how close they are - only 13 minutes by Shinkansen - so we can base ourselves in Kyoto but do a day trip to Osaka.  Need to do more research though - wondering if there is some alternate rail route that will take us into central Osaka (rather than the Shinkansen which will require taking the local metro from Shin-Osaka).

 

Looks like Solo Travel Japan walked from central Kyoto up towards the Philosopher's Path in about 38 minutes so that is quite doable for us.  And I think Hobbyland Pochi may be in that direction as well. So win-win.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[mojo]

On 3/6/2023 at 7:38 PM, chadbag said:

That pretty much matches what I observed in December.  Occasionally you'd see a non-foreigner on a train without a mask but usually in stores, trains, busses, etc everyone was masked and probably about 90% outside walking, even in not so crowded areas.   I followed along but would remove when walking outside without people around.

 

The biggest "hassle" was the airline (JAL) requiring the mask all the time except when eating.   Not arguing or anything but it gets tedious on a 13 hour flight to be masked the whole time.  Especially since here in Utah most people haven't worried about them since some time in the first half of 2021 so we got out of the habit.

 

 

I was similar, wore a mask all the time, except when outdoors and alone. The air is so clean, I just had to breath it in deeply. Anywhere around people, anywhere indoors or on transport, I was masked.

 

As for wearing a mask for long periods of time, getting a good one is key. I wore an FFP3 mask with rubber gasket for the airport and flight (14 hours) and it was fine. The gasket means it doesn't have to be too tight to be effective, which make a big difference to comfort. It was a head strap type too, not around the ears because that gets uncomfortable too.

 

The rules have changed, masks are now optional in many settings: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230313_03/

 

However, reading the news, it seems most people are still wearing them, and some places require them. Personally I'd get a decent cloth mask that is comfortable and wear it as much as possible. Uniqlo make good ones that are adjustable and washable.

[bill937ca]

JR West operates lines with local, express and other classes of service through the Kansai region including a JR Kyoto line.

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/timetable/pdf/ubn_en.pdf

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/travel/shopping/

 

The Hankyu Railway links Kyoto and Kobe with its central terminal at Umeda.   It won't be covered by your rail pass as it is a private railway.  

https://www.hankyu.co.jp/global/en/

https://www.hankyu.co.jp/global/en/traffic/route_map/index.html

 

There is also the Kinstetsu Railway, another private railway not covered by your Japan rail pass.   It goes into Osaka with lines to Nara and many other points.

https://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/about/index.html

https://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/about/station/route_map/

[JR East]

1 hour ago, Tony Galiani said:

Doing some trip planning as my wife was hoping to go to Osaka as well as Kyoto.  I did not realize how close they are - only 13 minutes by Shinkansen - so we can base ourselves in Kyoto but do a day trip to Osaka.  Need to do more research though - wondering if there is some alternate rail route that will take us into central Osaka (rather than the Shinkansen which will require taking the local metro from Shin-Osaka).

 

Looks like Solo Travel Japan walked from central Kyoto up towards the Philosopher's Path in about 38 minutes so that is quite doable for us.  And I think Hobbyland Pochi may be in that direction as well. So win-win.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

Hi @Tony Galiani, just drop an eye on my Kintestu reservation above. There are several options

 

1 - Kintestu Option

 

https://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/about/limited_express/network.html

 

For sure, it's slower but you arrive in Osaka Namba station, downtown, and very close to Dotombori 

 

Simulation here : https://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/about/limited_express/type.html

 

2 - JR Option

 

 

https://mydia.jr-odekake.net/cgi-bin/mydia_ml.cgi

 

Option with one change in Tennoji allows use to arrive in JR Osaka Namba, also close to Dotombori. 

 

[Tony Galiani]

@bill937ca@JR East - Thanks - very helpful.  I had found kyotostation.com but that focuses on the JR lines and I had not found the Kintetsu option.  There are more options than I initially realized since both Google and another site I found only mentioned the Shinkansen and I knew there had to be more options than that.

Ciao,

Tony

[chadbag]

4 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

wondering if there is some alternate rail route that will take us into central Osaka (rather than the Shinkansen which will require taking the local metro from Shin-Osaka).

 

The trip from Shin-Osaka to Osaka (aka Umeda) is one stop and about 3 min on the local JR train.

 

However, for getting around in the area, sometimes Hankyu (or one of the other local private railways) will get you closer to where you want to be.  For example, Hankyu goes to Nishinomiya Gardens area while JR's station in Nishinomiya in the area is about a mile away (20 min walk).  So having a SUICA/ICOCA (aka IC) card (or virtual one on your iPhone if you have one) is always helpful so you can easily move between JR (on your JR pass) to Hankyu or other private railway, to Metro/Subway, to busses (all of which will take your IC card.

 

 

[Grant_T]

I'm going to Japan again in June. This year is a big round numbered birthday for me, so I've decided to celebrate with a trip to Japan with my brother. We have a history of going overseas and roadtripping (a couple of times to the US and Canada) and he was kind enough to donate a kidney to me several years back. We will spend the first week riding trains and checking out the Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka (he has never been to Japan or even Asia) and then the second week we are going to hire a car to explore some more out of the way places. My brother has only two demands: to go drifting at Ebisu circuit, and visit Up Garage to look for parts for his kei truck. 😄

 

I'm personally going too use the opportunity to do some research for the next layout. I want to model an actual place, so I'm doing a bit of research now to find a spot that we can visit.

[Tony Galiani]

@chadbag Didn't realize I could use my Suica card for the trains so good to know.  I am living in the past and have an actual card while my wife has hers on her iPhone so we should be all set.  Thinking I need to take a look at fares to make sure I have enough I my card.  I plan to reload it when we arrive at Haneda as I know I only have a little bit on it right now.

Ciao,

Tony

 

[chadbag]

57 minutes ago, Tony Galiani said:

@chadbag Didn't realize I could use my Suica card for the trains so good to know.  I am living in the past and have an actual card while my wife has hers on her iPhone so we should be all set.  Thinking I need to take a look at fares to make sure I have enough I my card.  I plan to reload it when we arrive at Haneda as I know I only have a little bit on it right now.

Ciao,

Tony

 

 

reload -- that is why you use the iPhone version 🙂   You can reload it as you go.  Standing in line and not have enough?  30 seconds later you do.  As long as you are using a MasterCard.  Doesn't reload with Visa.

 

Yeah, on our recent trip I linked my kids and wife to my Apple Card, which is a MC, in Apple Pay, and they all had Suica on their phones or watches.  They could reload as needed and we used all sorts of trains and subways nd stuff.  We just had to remember to not swipe the Suica when going on a JR train since we had the pass for that and you get in a rut of always swiping the card when passing the entrance.

 

It's also useful for stores that will take a Suica but not a credit card (I rarely had much cash on me -- the wife had the cash hoard).  There was one vendor in the basement food section of the Hankyu department store that didn't take a credit card but did take Suica.  I was able to quicly load enough and check out with Suica.

 

 

[ED75-775]

Planning continues when I have the motivation to do so (which is getting more urgent as I need to know timeframes to book time off from work). So far late May and early June are my target, and while I have no idea of whether one of my big targets, the Omiya Fureai Railway Fair is going ahead on its usual fourth Saturday in May this year (I saw posters for the 2019 version but was in Kyoto on the day it was held), I do know that there are a couple of steam trains running during my trip. So far I've confirmed the following as running:

 

- SL Paleo (Chichibu Railway)

- SL Mooka (Mooka Railway)

- SL Ginga (JR East)

- SL Hitoyoshi (JR Kyushu)

 

I'm absolutely chuffed that I'll have the chance to ride the Hitoyoshi - I'm also contemplating whether I order one of the lunch boxes for this train, though I'm not sure if passengers are allowed to keep the box afterwards or have to return it at the end of the trip. Does anyone know?

 

Much as I'd love to ride a few other trains, I'm still waiting for timetables for Tobu's SL Taiju, Oigawa's SL Kawaneji and of course the SL Yamaguchi, which has been running lately as the DL Yamaguchi with either DD51 1043 or paired DE10's while C57 1 and D51 200 undergo maintenance in Kyoto. Neither SL Gunma or SL Ban'etsu Monogatari are running either during my visit, although as the Ban'etsu West Line was damaged by flooding last year I'm not surprised about the latter.

 

And the one outlier I didn't plan on riding but is now getting me to reconsider: thanks to some Google-fu and JR East's Special Trains PDF list, the SL Ginga's last day of operation will be 4 June 2023 from Kamaishi to Hanamaki. I'm wondering if I should rework my schedule and attempt to get a trip in on that train. Might be ambitious, but hey, you only get one shot at a last trip.

 

Alastair

 

[bill937ca]

2023 “Railway Town Omiya Railway Fureai Fair” date and application method

 

https://oyakotetsu.info/event/omiya-fureai-fair/#toc2

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=大宮鉄道フェア&rlz=1C1GCEA_enCA749CA749&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[MeTheSwede]

Next week I'm due to fly to Japan. I'll focus on the Tokyo area this time.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations about model railways I should go see?

I know there's the big layout at the train museum in Saitama and then there are the showrooms for Kato and Tomix. Searching for rental layouts on Google maps gives plenty of results, mainly Popondetta stores. I believe one of the stores in Akihabara has one of the best rental layouts? Then I know of the Hara model railway museum in Yokohama. Do you know of any others I should consider paying a visit?

[Beaver]

If it still exists, Hachibansen in Akihabara has one of the few HO rental layouts in the city. Back in 2018 it was still being built with very little scenery but what was there was exceptionally good so assuming the business continued I imagine it's quite the spectacle by now. If it still exists. The shop and layout are at the top of one of the towers along the Chuo-Dori and seemed to receive very few visitors being somewhat out of the way up there, so it might not have been financially viable in the long run. They were trying to give it a club atmosphere with lockers to store your trains at the layout, and trains-n-beer evenings once a week or so.

[bill937ca]

2 hours ago, MeTheSwede said:

Does anyone have any recommendations about model railways I should go see?

I know there's the big layout at the train museum in Saitama and then there are the showrooms for Kato and Tomix. Searching for rental layouts on Google maps gives plenty of results, mainly Popondetta stores. I believe one of the stores in Akihabara has one of the best rental layouts? 

Japanese language rental layout lists.

 

http://mm05.fc2web.com/art/begin/rental.html

 

https://www.orientalexpress.jp/rental_layout_list/

 

 

Hard to say how welcoming these layouts would be. One layout I looked at is only open certain days and you have to make  a reservation by phone (no email).

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by bill937ca

[Morcs]

Heading over next month for a few weeks, looking to check out the Kumamoto general rail yard. Driven past a million times seeing all the shinkanses train sets parked up and never realised they did tours.  https://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/company/esg/kengakutai/