Japan has always been in our list of places to go but we were always hesitant to apply for a visa because of the requirements. We have tried many times going to travel agencies to inquire and when the long list comes, we get discouraged because we lack some of the requirements. It just so happens that we read a blog on how to go about that. The way is to provide a guarantee letter addressed to the embassy explaining why if you cannot provide everything in the list. That gave us the green light to proceed with our plan.

How did we prepare?

We first looked for a travel agency that can assist us with the visa application. We found one in Abreeza Mall in Davao. We stressed out that we cannot provide all the requirements but we can provide in writing an guarantee letter. They agreed to help us and told us to complete the requirements as soon as possible to expedite the process. It took us probably 2 weeks to complete everything and handed it to them.  We waited for about 3 weeks before we got a call from them that we got approved. Some say you can get a visa within 6 days if you are in Manila. Nevertheless, we did our planning while waiting for the release.

Our visa is only a single entry valid for 15 days. Upon sorting out top destinations in Japan, we opted to maximize it. We decided to visit Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. We normally do DIY trips because we want to immerse ourselves into the place. As they say, be a local not a tourist to actually feel and live like one. And that includes eating in local restaurants and street foods.

Here are the important things you need to know and have prior to your departure:

Note on transportation - you can go about in Japan using local buses and trains. You don’t have to buy an unlimited pass. I will elaborate it later on.

Note on budget - Check first prices online. It can get quite expensive in Japan if you don’t plan well for things that you spend on.

So, that’s it! Let's Go!

  

What to do upon arrival in Japan?

When we arrived in Narita Airport, we headed to the immigration counter first. Don’t worry if you get lost, there are lots of English signs and Filipino workers too! You’ll be surprised. After completing all the immigration procedure, we went first to JR Rail Pass exchange counter to activate our pass. With that, we can now use all JR Rail and Shinksansen (Bullet Train) all over the country. We headed to Narita Express platform going to Shinagawa Station in Tokyo. From Shinagawa Station, we boarded the Tokaido Shinkansen Line – Hikari bound for Kyoto. The Shinkansen’s speed is about 320 km/hr – that is fast! Add to that you can see the beautiful landscape of Japan while on board. There are comfort rooms in quite a number of cars in Shinkansen too!

Note on Shinkansen Travel – Reserve seats D and E preferably to get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji along the way if the sky is clear.

We arrived in Kyoto after 3 hours of land trip. We disembarked in Kyoto Station which is impressively massive. The station connects mall, underground pass, hotels, and lots of restaurants. It is likely a hub for all transport types from bus, taxi and train. More pictures will be posted on the next entry.

We first bought an Internet Sim card for connectivity in Bic Camera Store near Kyoto Station. They have wide variety of choices, we bought the 5 GB for 21 days B-Mobile Visitor Sim for about 3400 Yen. Just enough for our trip and heavy usage of Google Maps. I used the SIM on my phone and activated it. If things get complicated, ask assistance otherwise.

Next is ICOCA smart card - a preloaded money card. ICOCA is like the Octopus Card of Hong Kong or the EZ Link of Singapore. You can get it in Kyoto Station and reload in most train stations. Note that the use of ICOCA is limited only to western areas of Japan and cannot be used in Tokyo. It can be used for payment in trains, buses, and even purchase goods to some stores. They have English translation tab and easy to use. It costs 2000 Yen initially with 500 Yen deposit which you can collect before you leave in Japan.

After that we had our first dinner in Kyoto Station, we headed to our Guesthouse which is just a few stations away. Our travel was so long that we got so exhausted when we arrived. Dropped our bags, clean ourselves and slept soundly.

[Photos were taken using mobile phones.]

Day 1 in Kyoto is next!