Tips, insights and observations for those taking Essence of Japan tour
We greatly enjoyed our Essence of Japan trip, and I wanted to share a few insights, suggestions and observations-
(1) The people are incredibly friendly and helpful. Whenever my wife and I were on our own and needed help finding a nearby restaurant, store, subway stop or shrine we were looking for, we would ask for assistance from someone and they were invariably helpful, despite the language barrier. Sometimes they even walked with us to take us to our destination, or did a search with their own smartphone or iPad to find out how to get there.
(2) There is no tipping in Japan--none! The only person you need to tip is the Tauck tour guide (not the local guides).
(3) No need for special adaptors or converters for your laptops, phones and other electronic devices-outlets in hotels are same as in US.
(4)The water is perfectly safe to drink everywhere. No need for bottled water at restaurants or elsewhere.
(5) Public toilets are clean and free, and are plentiful in places visited by tourists. Unlike China, the vast majority of public toilets are "western-style" (meaning they have seats). Apropos this subject, the super modern, high-tech toilets at the hotels are quite an experience!!
(6) Taxi drivers in Japan are the most honest taxi drivers we have ever encountered. They will take the quickest, most direct route, and won't rip you off. However, their English is often spotty at best. To avoid problems we would ask the concierge to write down for us in Japanese the name of our intended destination, as well as the name of the hotel, so we could show to the driver(s). This also comes in handy in case you are walking around and can't find your restaurant or your way back to the hotel, and want to enlist the help of a local pedestrian.
(7) Take the subways in Tokyo. They are clean, modern, very safe, and extremely user-friendly to English speaking tourists(the machines at subway stations that sell tickets have an English option, and subway stops are shown and announced in English). Tokyo is a big city, and the easiest, fastest and most fun way to explore many areas of interest when you have free time is to take the subway. Don't confine yourself just to the Ginza District-there is so much more to see! We took the subways to explore the Shibuya area at night (very highly recommended!), the fancy stores on Omotesando street (including the architecturally magnificent Prada store), the Imperial Gardens and even more beautiful Shinjuku Gyoen National Gardens, the Ameyoko street market and nearby Shinobazu Pond. By the way, we were able to see so many different areas of Tokyo because we added an extra day on our own there. In my view, even though Tauck allocates 3 nights to Tokyo, there is not enough time to see the many great places there because the tour starts in Tokyo late in the afternoon on the first day, and during the two full days in Tokyo with the tour there was only one afternoon on your own.
(8) Crime is virtually non-existent. You can and should walk around and explore the streets at night, especially in Tokyo and Kyoto, which are wonderful at night.
(9) ATM machines are prevalent in 7-11 stores, which are ubiquitous in Japan (really!)
(10) When you have free nights in Tokyo, Kanazawa, and Kyoto, leave the hotels and go out to local restaurants. With the expert guidance of our concierges, we went to several terrific restaurants where we were the only English speaking patrons, and we enjoyed dining with local residents in non-tourist places. The language barrier was not insurmountable, and the authentic experience was so much fun. Try lots of different cuisines-during our lunches and dinners on our own we had sushi, tempura, yakitori, ramen, teppanyaki, and monjayaki, all of which we really enjoyed.
(11) If you want to see a Japanese equivalent to the Harrods Department Store food court in London, go to the basements of any of the big department stores in Tokyo-an extra fringe benefit is lots of delicious free samples! By the way, we did our gift shopping in the beautiful department stores--they have such a broad selection of things to buy for yourself or your family and friends, ranging from custom made kimonos to sake or tea sets, do a great job of wrapping and making purchases safe for travel, and their prices are not tourist-driven. Plus, shopping like a local and with the locals is fun. Also, if you buy more than $100 worth of items, you get a tax rebate on the spot if you have your passport with you. Tip-if you enter the department store when it first opens at 10am or 10:30 am, it is amazing to see the staff all line up at their stations, and bow and greet the incoming customers!
(12) The hotel in Hakone and the ryokan in Gero Onsen have very nice onsens (hot springs) separated by gender. In order to enter the waters of the onsen, you must first shower in a nearby area and then enter the onsen waters naked- no bathing suit, no underwear, nada. It is a quintessentially Japanese experience. On our trip, my guess is that about half of the tour members elected to give it a try (unlike going out to restaurants on our own, where new friends often joined one another for dinner, almost everyone who ventured to the onsen did it on their own, and at times when they presumed that other tour members were unlikely to be there!). I really enjoyed the onsen and found it both relaxing and culturally interesting, but my wife and the two women she befriended on the trip all took a pass.
(13) In Kyoto, during your free time, you must go to the Silver Pavilion, which is part of the Philosopher's Walk, which encompasses various gardens, shrines and temples adjacent to one another. It is just a short cab ride from the hotel. The amazing gardens at the Silver Pavilion were one of the highlights of our trip, and frankly I am perplexed why the Silver Pavilion is not part of the trip itinerary. Also, during your free time you should visit a beautiful shrine and garden (Heian Jingu Shrine), and a giant, colorful torii gate, one of the largest in all of Japan.
I hope this posting is helpful, and that you enjoy your Essence of Japan trip as much as we did!
Comments
Great information. Thank you.
Thank you. My favorite country!
Love Japan, very nice report.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experiences and your narrative is so very well written. Thank you.
Thank you for this excellent information. We've been plus/minus on the Japan trip and will now reconsider!
Wan - I did this trip last year and agree with the OP's write-up. Definitely a trip worth doing.
The only thing I'll expand on is the taxi driver language issue. Every hotel has business cards. Take one to show the driver when you're ready to return to the hotel. This is true for other countries, as well.
Yes good advice. We've always done that, even if we speak the language. Have also "yelled" at a French cab driver using Google translate. That was fun.
Burt,
Thanks for the comprehensive report. I will be taking this trip later this year so it is great to hear about your recent experience. I am hoping you can provide clarification of the following questions at your convenience:
1) Were US credit cards accepted everywhere? For example, it has been mentioned that using credit cards at the train/subway station was problematic. Was that your experience as well?
2) You mentioned that you had some great authentic meals on your own. Can you recommend some of the restaurants that you particularly enjoyed? I am sometimes reluctant to ask the concierge for recommendations because they oftentimes have a list of "preferred" restaurants that give them some form of kickback for referring people there so their suggestions can be less than objective. This may be less of an issue in Japan as in other countries, however.
3) What are considered the top 1 or 2 department stores in Tokyo? I would like to visit them to browse for unique items, but would like to have a destination in mind as opposed to wandering aimlessly until I find something as my time will be limited.
4) Regarding the areas you visited on your own, are there some (in addition to Silver Pavilion) that you consider to be "do not miss" level attractions? Similarly, are there places you did not get to and wish you had and alternatively, are there places you visited that, in retrospect, may not have been the best use of your time?
Thank you in advance for any insight you can share. This trip has been canceled 3 times for me previously due to the pandemic so looking forward to it!
One of my favorites! Thanks for the great report.
The department store in Tokyo that I remember is Miksukoshi from our 2017 trip. It was walking distance from our hotel. It was an exquisite department store where I purchased only a few cotton yucatas (that I use as robes in the summer months). I did not purchase the wide obi sash. The other items in the store that attracted my attention were the colorful ceramics. Understand that Japanese clothing runs smaller than U.S. sizing.
I’m addicted to the wonderful Japanese ceramics. Of course there are only so many to bring back because of weight.
For many years, my husband would bring me back one or two of the wooden Kokeshi dolls, I must have about fifty. Japanese stuff displayed all over my house for the kids throw out when I’m gone 😂😂😂😂
British: I know that you mean. I offer what I think is beautiful or valuable to my daughter, and guess what, she doesn’t want it. The days of fine china and crystal are gone to my disappointment.
Sanjūsangendō Temple is a short walk from the Four Seasons in Kyoto and well worth a visit. The long building houses 1001 golden statues of Kannon, the Goddess of Compassion, with 500 life-sized figures on each side of one huge statue, "protected" by 28 guardian deities, all dating back to the 13th Century. It is a sight you will not forget. Our Japanese tour guide was so excited when we told her we had gone there in our free time because of its cultural importance to the Japanese. There are also two restaurants across the street from the entrance to the Four Seasons, we visited both and the food and prices were very good. The hotel will make reservations for you.
I'm with you British, kids are not interested in anything now days, I always tell my sonns that I know when I die they'll just pull one of those huge dumpsters and empty my place.
You could save them some trouble- put in your will that you want to be buried in a dumpster!
😂oh. I already told them a compostable bag will do. Sorry to go off topic. Most of the souvenirs people buy will end up in dumpsters by the next generation.
Maximgr, glad you are finally able to take this trip after the 3 prior cancellations. You will enjoy it. I did not keep a list of the restaurants we went to but we discovered them through our customary online research (Conde Nast Traveler, Michelin, Tripadvisor, Fodors Travel Guide, NY Times) and then confirmed with the concierges that they would be worthwhile. As to credit cards, they are widely accepted but not for the subways. For subways, you can use cash or "Welcome Suica", which can be downloaded as an app or through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Here is a link-:https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/welcomesuica/welcomesuica.html
Thanks for the useful information Burt.
Thanks, Burt; appreciate the information.