Tip # 19. Practice wayfinding with Google Map directions from the APA Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower Hotel to the Mori Museum by train.

Way finding: see tip #17 below.

Key in your destination, say APA Shinjuku Kabukicho to the Mori Museum, 

from APA Shinjuku Kabukicho.




This will populate your screen.  


Listing the quickest train, 
31 minutes Oedo Line.
Tap on Oedo    ... >























This scrolling screen
is next.














Enter via D5
(does that mean Door 5?) >>>







Swipe the
written instructions down...


... an interactive map
populates the screen.

Zoom in on the Shinjuku end to find the blue dotted
walking map to the
Shinjuku-nishiguchi Station.
(7 minute walk between the hotel and the station.)

Practice this before your trip.
The Google Map service is not 100% when it comes to the blue dotted map lines... our blue line crossed a busy 6 lane street, but there was now way to get down to street level. Maybe we missed something.

D5 (Does that mean Door 5 >>>
or Down 5 levels to your 
Oedo train?)  >>>>


Scroll down the map as needed.

Note: you might loose cell or wifi coverage within train stations and other buildings. So check out how to download your map while you're connected to the net.

  

Tip # 17     Google Maps is a powerful wayfinding tool and it's helpful in other ways. 1. When Google Maps takes you to the GPS coordinates for your destination,  it takes you to a building's footprint on the ground. But your restaurant may be on the 51st floor! So if you don't see what you're looking for, chances are its vertical, look up!  Tokyo. Yup. Must be in a high rise!  
2. Now... feel free to ask for a little extra help.   You might make new friends! In fact, almost all of my Japanese friendships started when I asked directions from a stranger.     

"Sumimasen?" (see Tip # 18)

Tip # 18    Hesitate not to ask when you need a little help.

Say Sumimasen,  (excuse me in Japanese to get someone's attention).  It might feel a bit awkward, after all we are the foreigners in their country. But you will meet truly kind people on your journey who consistently go out of their way to help you find your way. I've begun to ask for a quick photo like this one of the gentlemen who helped us locate Mokumeganea, where we were about to pick up Patricia's wedding ring!

Looking at the many smiles, it's hard to know who is having more fun! And it all starts when you ask for a little help.

According to Google Maps, we were in the right place in Osaka, but even with two of us, we were stumped.  So I look around and see the gentleman in the photo on the right and ask for Mokumeganea. I show him the map on my phone.  He steps over to his friends, they chat. As they return, one of them prompts our group of 7 into the building where they find a directory.  There! Mokumeganea is on the 3rd floor. 

For more Japanese phrases, see Tip #16 

Tip # 16    Is it too early to start learning a little Japanese?

Common conversational Japanese phrases for travelers click HERE.

Japanese numbers click HERE

Reading and writing will come. Extra credit for those who can translate the characters above.**     Click HERE for the translation.

Goyen and Goem: The Connection to other people.

The Genius of Niimi, Okayama Japan ...  
Yuji introduces me to culture of Japan and gives me a first hand look into a Blue Zone. Click HERE for the video.

GoYen (5 yen coin) and...

Goem  ("Means the connection to other people.") word play that hints at a Blue Zone's deep sense of community.

TIP # 15  Home Stays

The best part of my first visit to Japan with the Japan Fulbright Program included a home stay. 

I learned more from that one experience than can be measured in words. On my next trip Akiko found the Tanaka family in Asuka Village near Nara. Akiko Murakami, now a Nara Tour Guide arranged for me to stay with Tanaka-san use her home stay as a base. From there I went to Hiroshima for two days, and later to Niimi Okayama to find my mothers ancestors.
Kyoto to Nara: 45 min.
Nara to Asuka: 54 min.

Patricia with Tanaka-san at her family-stay in Asuka Village, near Nara.

64 minutes from Kyoto, Asuka Village is a welcome departure from modern city life in Japan. 
[ticket = 1860 yen or $17.07]  Additional details coming soon.

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. 

TIP # 11   Yen to U.S. Dollar Conversion

While our currencies fluctuate, this conversion chart will ball park the financial part of planning your trip to Japan.

For the daily exchange rate, click here.