TOBY’s JAPAN BLOG

TIP # 12, 13 & 14   Planes, Bullet Trains, and Luggage. 

#12 LUGGAGE:  A "Roll Aboard" and a "Gadget Bag" is our mainstay for minimizing luggage concerns... under the motto: Travel Light and Smart.  If we can't get it into the two bags you see in this photo, we don't take it. Another happy benefit: this luggage combo eliminates waiting at luggage carousels at the end of your flights, they fit overhead on plains and trains [I store them in the space behind the last train seats on Bullet Trains.], and they are easier to transport through busy train stations and on the short walks to hotels.

If you don't already own a Roll Aboard and a Gadget Bag we encourage you to make the acquisition, you'll be traveling like a pro!  In fact, Travel Pro Roll Aboards and Gadget Bags are what we use. Next time you're at an airport, check what kind of luggage flight attendants and pilots are toting... chances are they are using Travel Pro Crew 11 and Rolling Tote.


#13 PASMO FOR LOCAL TRAINS: Once you clear customs, ask for the airport's Pasmo machine to buy a rechargable prepaid transportation card that contains an integrated-circuit chip, an IC.

 

This card allows you to enter the subway by simply placing the card over a PASMO card reader located on the fare gates.

Going between cities like Tokyo, Kobe, Kyoto, Okayama, and Hiroshima is where you trigger your Japan Rail Pass which makes travel by Bullet Train a great time saver.  Now that we're talking about Bullet Trains, this clip will give you a sense high speed train travel in Japan and how a "Roll Aboard and a "Gadget Bag" combo saves you from wrestling and lifting big suitcases.

Why call it a bullet train?

TIP # 14  JAPAN RAIL PASS (not sold in Japan), click HERE ...   Buy your Japan Rail Pass at least a month before departure, to allow enough time for delivery to your home.  

Then, when it's time to explore beyond Tokyo... go to Kyoto, Nara, and Asuka Village for the second part of your journey, jump on the bullet train: 2 hours 15 minutes.