Travel Japan 日本へ遊びに行こう

Assalammualaikum readers..~

Tips to travel in Japan..

Heading to Fukuoka..!

1. If you want to buy cheap flights for domestic air planes in Japan.. you can try Peach Airlines especially for seasonal occasions. There are so many discounts with super great low fare from Hokkaido to Kyuushu and to Okinawa!
2. In a traditional Japanese restaurant, there are some aspects that you need to be careful of. Some do need you to take your shoes off at the entrance and kneel at the low Japanese table. But if on normal sitting table, there is no need to take off you shoes.Break the wooden chopstick carefully. It is considered rude if you brush up the broken parts of the wooden chopstick as you are saying the restaurant provides you with a cheap utensils.
3. During formal traditional meals or tea ceremonies, men can sit cross-legged while women must fold their legs neatly under their hips because most of the women wear skirts.
4. While exchanging cards or something, stand up, bow slightly and hold your card facing the others with the fingertips of both hands.When you receive someone’s visiting card, be sure to examine it with pleasure and carefully place it in your wallet. Don’t shove it in your back pocket.Show your gratitude .
5. When entering a Japanese house, place your outdoor shoes at the doorway(genkan).玄関 Wear the slippers your host provides.Remove your house slippers when you enter a room that is covered with tatami 畳flooring. You can step on tatami mats with your bare or socked feet.When you visit the toilet at somebody’s home, wear special toilet slippers. Do not wear house slippers in the toilet.
6. Take photos only in areas where they’re permitted. Watch the signs, and ask locals if you’re not sure. Don’t offend by taking pictures inside temples or museums.
7. If you’re not sure what is the name of the food in the menu you can just simply indicate one of the plastic food replicas that are displayed near the front of the restaurant.
8. If the restaurant waiters don’t lead you to a table, it means you can sit anywhere. Wait for a few moments for them to lead you otherwise.
9. Buy a map that indicates the names of destinations both in Japanese and in English. Carry a Japanese to English translation book to manage small phrases or you can just download any apps in your phone to ease your journey.
10. Carry tissues or hand towels with you – most of the public bathrooms don’t have hand-drying facilities, unless you want to use the toilet roll. But recently, Japan had changed their toilets by using the washlet. But still some of them do not have pipes for the water to clean.

Saga Cstle

1. Carry at least 10,000-20,000 yen in cash with you. Most Japanese ATM machines don’t accept foreign cards. Also many establishments don’t accept credit cards but except for cafes, most of them allow the usage of credit cards.
2. Write down the full address of your hotel or destination to show someone in case you’re lost. Get it written in Japanese as well.Most of the Japanese can't speak English fluently, so having addresses writen in Japanese might not be a bad idea.
3. When you want to point towards someone or something, point with your open hand. Pointing at anything with your forefinger is considered rude.
4. Don’t tip anyone; even waiters will be offended if you do so. Other than in the Roppongi area, tipping is considered unacceptable.Giving tips are not practiced in Japan.
5. Public transportation is available only till midnight; if you’re stranded after midnight, wait for it to resume at 5 A.M. Avoid expensive taxis.Most of the public transportation are systematic.Just get the schedule or download the apps for public transport and plan you journey well. (The apps included time and prices accurately..!)
6. Drive and walk on the left side – it’s the same with Malaysia. Park on the left and use the left side of escalators and elevators especially in Tokyo.You might be scolded if you are blocking someone's way. 

Ｍitoma Beach last summer

1. When you finish eating at a cafe put your bowl up on the counter with your glass and wipe down the counter in front of you with a damp towel.In some restaurants like Udon restaurants, you need to pick up your tray and placed it near the dishes after finish eating.
2. Water is safe to drink – whether it is tap water or bottled water. You can refill at any public fountain without worry. Those who stay in Japan need to pay for-both consume and dispose water for treatment.
3. Before eating a meal and after finishing it, be sure to thank your host for the meal and their company with a small bow. This is considered good table manners.
4. Get Suica cards to travel the subway, metro, Japan Rail and also to pay for items in convenience stores. You can load them up with Yen as you go along.
5. Don’t use your cell phones on trains and buses. Don’t talk to anyone on public transport either. People usually sleep, read or listen to music quietly. It is considered rude and you might get scolded if you make noisy sounds or play with your cell phones in public transportation.

There are many cafes or restaurants to have a good meal. In some restaurants.. usually the smoking area and non smoking area are divided butin some Japanese restaurants, smoking is totally prohibited.There are so many cafes like Joyfull,Gusto,Mister Donut and etc for leisure or family time. The cafes also provides Japanese food (soba, washoku) eventhough mostly they sell cakes and deserts. What we enjoyed the most when we travel was the drink bar..! Just pay for a minimum  amount of money and enjoy variety types of drinks as much as you can..!

 

Sakura bloomed ..! :)

 

Joyfull cafe.. Drink bar.. superb..!

That's all.. see ya..! :)Ｍ