please delete ..read more

Hi, my name is Taka. I’m a native Japanese speaker and live in the U.S. for over 15 years. I am currently visiting my family in Japan and have some free time here so decided to do some part time job while here:) If you need some help such as guiding or planning your trip, solving some trouble or anything that you need help, feel free to hit me up:) My service is pretty much reasonable and I’m sure you feel secured! Even if you haven’t been in Japan yet but still planning, there’s so much stuff that I can help you with such as providing you more unique informations that I pick from Japanese we ..read more

I tried using Google Maps first, and it seems I should take the Yamamote Line to Shinjuku Station. Then it tells me there’s a 14 min walk, but I don’t see what exit number I should take out of Shinjuku Station ..read more

I'll be in Tokyo for my birthday in June. Staying near the Kyobashi Metro Station so anything that's an easy metro ride away is good. Any suggestions for a memorable restaurant for dinner? Any type of cuisine, can be pricier that "affordable" but trying to keep it under top-tier prices since someone else is taking me and my wife out for the meal. Any recommendations greatly appreciated ..read more

Spoiler     From Kyoto Station I believe I can take either bus 205 or bus 101 to Kinkakuji Temple. But I’m staying at the Crowne Plaza ANA (right across the street from Nijo Castle) and have read there may be buses to Kinkakuji from there. Which buses, where is the stop, and what is it likely to cost? Do you need exact change? I don’t have a lot of coins—mostly paper money. Today I visited both Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Bamboo Forest. Both were easy to get to from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara line and the JR Sagano line respectively. I’ve been using the hotel’s free s ..read more

My trip s fast approaching. About 2 months from now. I came across this article about trying to reduce the time to 1 minute to clear immigration and customs. While I find that hard to believe, has the time been drastically reduced this year? My flight arrives around 4:30pm on a Friday. The quicker I can get out the better, but still assume I'll be hitting rush hour even if boarding transportation at 5pm. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tra...-to-one-minute ..read more

Hi. My wife and I have directly purchased (online via the JR-West website) 7-day JR-West All Area passes for our trip, which gives a saving for our planned itinerary. This pass is supposed to allow up to 6 seat reservations in advance online. However, if I log in to the pass on the website, the page shows the pass with correct details, although there's no specified train and the Add Reservation button is greyed out. Any advice would be most welcome: I've just contacted JR-West's English customer email support, but maybe someone can advise. If I can't get anywhere online now I'm sure I'll be ab ..read more

I arrive in Kyoto tomorrow (May 1st) via Shinkansen from Tokyo after a flight from Bangkok. My Shinkansen arrives in Kyoto at 1 pm but it looks like the shuttle to my hotel, the Crowne Plaza ANA by the Castle, doesn’t depart the station until 2 pm. My time in Kyoto is very limited—will have only 3 nights / 2 full days of sightseeing, so I wanted to make the day of arrival count for something. What would be a good, and hopefully convenient, historical site or two to do the afternoon I arrive? I’m not sure what sites I’ll visit in Kyoto—hoping to crack open my Lonely Planet Kyoto / Japan guide ..read more

While in Thailand I took a free 3 hour Insight Meditation course at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok. Where can I have a similar experience in Kyoto or Tokyo for Zen Buddhist meditation somewhere scenic? I only have 2 full days in both Kyoto and Tokyo so I don’t think I can travel very far outside of those cities to do this. Still, it would be very cool to meditate at a Zen Buddhist monastery. Meditating in Thailand at a temple seemed like one of the most authentic things I could have done there culture-wise ..read more

JR Tokai announced they will install a private compartment on select Nozomi trains starting in 2026. The announcement is in Japanese only now, JR Tokai's announcement. The announcement said the private compartment would be a private room with a single seat. There will be two private compartments on the train. The price will be set above Green Car. JR East has Gran Class on select Shinkansen trains on Tokyo - Shin Hakodate Hokuto/Kanazawa Tsuruga service. JR Tokai has previously stated that they will introduce their version of a class above Green Car, and this is JR Tokai's answer. There was ..read more