How to Explore Tokyo, Japan | First-Time Travel Tips & Guide

So, in this video, I’m going to share to you some best known tips for first-time travelers in Japan. From transportation for food, hotel, which areas to book. Actually, I’m going to focus around Tokyo area. This is not my first time visiting Japan. Before I came here as a bicycle tour, I cycled from Fukwoka going to Osaka and now I am back as a typical traveler. Right now my experience was totally different experience and I’m just going to focus on hiking around Mount Fuji traveling from Tokyo where to stay around Tokyo and some tips. Here’s everything I wish I know before coming here in Japan. One of the biggest reasons why my trip went here is because I already had my eim before I even arrived Japan. Okay, before I get into my travel tips about my actual Japan experience, I’m going to talk about first how to stay connected while you’re traveling. If you ever landed to a new country, the first thing I usually do is to buy a SIM card, which takes around 30 minutes to line up, register the SIM card, give your passport, exchange your money and all, or struggle to connect with the Wi-Fi. But I avoided all of that by using an eSIM from Area Loop. So, here’s how it works. Instead of swapping your physical SIM card, you just install a digital one directly on your phone before you travel. I literally downloaded the aerial op on my mobile phone, chose my Japan data plan and activated it. So the moment my plane landed, I had my internet instantly. And for the money, I can just withdraw with 7-Eleven. Now that I have my internet, I can just go buy a ticket for the train station. The plans are super affordable for Japan. For Japan, you can get one gig for 7 days for $4.5. which is great for short trips. 1 gig data, but if you’re staying longer like what I did, there’s a 20 gig for 30 days. Actually, I think perfect 20 gig data internet, especially if I browse browse social media and research while I’m riding on a train. And it is $25, but it’s really worth it when I’m just walking along the way. I just really need to have internet to search which direction should I go. I can give you a $3 discount if you use my code Zar X A R. Just download the Aerial Lua from the promo link in the description below. Or you can actually scan this code or or use my code Zar A to get $3 off. Trust me, especially if you’re traveling solo, it’s going to be helpful for you. So yeah, going back to my actual Japan travel day before I cycle from Fukquoka going to Osaka, this time I decided to just focus on Tokyo and I’m not traveling alone this time. So, since it’s hot and it’s summer right now in Japan, it’s very humid as well. Make sure to pack breathable clothes if you’re going to travel here. Usually, I just bring dry fit clothes and sleeveless because it’s really hot around Japan. Make sure to have sunscreen, small towel, and a reusable water bottle to avoid buying in convenience store because you can actually find some refilling station around Tokyo. and a handheld fan is usable, although I don’t use that. Don’t underestimate the heat, especially if you’re traveling all day. Number two is to pay using your Suika card. You can actually pay via Apple Pay, but I cannot. I don’t know why. So, I just bought the Suika card. You can use it to pay for buses, train, even for paying in 7-Eleven. You just have to tap your Suika card through train station. Sometimes it even works for some restaurants. For the accommodation, I just book it through a booking.com and Airbnb. I tried to mix and compare all the prices in between. I found a God, the cheapest one among all, but I recently discovered that cuz I already left Japan, the price that I boo when I was in there is just 3,500 peso. But when I’m already here in the Philippines, the price goes up to 8,000 peso per night. So, actually, it’s cheaper already if you’re going to book when you’re already in there. But make sure to book like 1 week before, not the day itself. Book ahead. But I think a VPN will really help if you’re going to go here and change location that you’re already in Japan because it the prices might be cheaper. For the accommodation, Airbnb is relatively cheaper, but you will find it far away from the train station. So, what we did is we book an accommodation that’s far away from the train station. So, it’s kind of inconvenient because you have to walk further, but you if you’re into walking, it’s okay. And you save like 3,000 peso per night and you have your own place. So, it’s really nice and it’s really quiet area. And you might al also spend some money for the taxi parang for hotels near major stations like Shinjuku, Aukasa or Shibuya. Expect it to be really expensive. You can save time for walking time. Actually, um there are some famous hotels. It’s a hotel. So, it’s actually convenient if you’re going to book around this area. Uh, Aukasa is the cheapest area to book if you’re going to stay here. Shinjuku is kind of busy, but accessible in some bass, especially if you’re going to go to Mount Fuji. When it comes in the food, you can try eating around outside 7-Eleven such as Yoshinoya, Sukia, Sukia for budget friendly beef bowls and even standing sober shop. I didn’t try much food area around Japan. I just had I forget the name of this unlimited restaurant in Shinjuku. So, it’s really worth it here because you can eat like unlimited Samyapsal for this kind of price. But actually, it’s already expensive in Japan because mostly I just eat in 711 when I was in there. Sukia is really okay price and if you go outside the BC area you can actually find a lot of budget friendly like 700 yen kind of price if you go outside the BC area like walk around 20 minutes away from there just up to you if you’re keen to walk with that kind of kilometer. You can use card everywhere not actually everywhere because cash is still king here. The best place to withdraw money is through 7-Eleven. Avoid the withdrawing at the airport and I just go straight at 7-Eleven and withdraw the money there. So, in some areas, especially in remote areas, you can cash is still necessary, especially if you’re going to eat in fast food like local shops. So, I think um the only thing I tried in famous ramen that I tried in Japan is itan ramen. So, it’s actually worth it for its price. Yeah, I didn’t explore much about food area. So, because I love eating local like not spending big money on the food and focus more on the activities. Yes, 7-Eleven is very convenient like it’s everywhere. Like 7-Eleven food. It’s very convenient. It’s cheap and the quality is really okay. But I still prefer eating in restaurants like Yoshinoya. I forgot how you call it in grocery because for me it’s kind of fresh, more fresh compared to 7-Eleven. I don’t know. And if you buy it like after 6:00 p.m., it’s going to be around 20% off if we’re going to buy at the grocery store. Since I’m traveling here for around 2 to 3 weeks, I’m just carrying a backpack for convenience. Although everywhere it’s kind of okay to bring luggage because Japan is so modern. Um, laundry is still everywhere. So, don’t mind bringing lots of clothes like coin laundry is everywhere. 300 yen. I forgot. If you don’t know which direction to go, Google Maps will help you decide how to go to this particular area. And also what I love about Japan is if you’re going to a different city, you can actually leave your luggage from this area. Like in Kawakuchi Go, we left our luggage because we don’t have a place to store our luggage and decided to go to Mount Fuji. So for around this price, you can have your luggage store. It’s actually available in every train station in Japan. I’m actually not sure if all train station, but I think all of the train station has this kind of system. So yeah, for which area to stay in Tokyo, like since it’s my first time to Tokyo, I really don’t know to where to stay around Tokyo, there are three major spots here. Shinjuku, Asakas, Asakusa, and Shibuya. So I decided to stay in Shinjuku because I found that most buses are accessible here. Although I was really surprised how big Shinjuku is. There are many spots. There are many train stations around Shinjuku. So I just boo a place that’s kind of far from the actual Shinjuku station. If you book in the actual center, it’s really expensive. So I booked this place for around 3,500 per night. So we stayed there for three nights, but it’s like 2 kilometer away from the actual train station. So, we have to pay for the taxi for 500 peso to go to train station because we were carrying a heavy backpack. So, I love Shinjuku. Although it’s super busy, it’s a bustling night life and it has easy train connections to other major areas. But I still find that there are even though it’s a busy area, you can still find some not so busy area outside the BC area if you go a little bit further. It’s just very expensive to stay around Shinjuku because it’s very accessible. For this trip, I’m not staying in hostel anymore. Most of the hotels expect it for around 4,000 peso as the cheapest accommodation that you’re going to stay. So actually um if you’re looking for camera shops around Japan, I visited this camera camera shop called Big Camera and this other camera shop in Shinjuku area. Although I’ll keep on comparing the prices. I was expecting the prices are totally different prices from from the Philippines because the cameras are made in Japan, but surprisingly it’s kind of expensive. So, I don’t know. I didn’t buy anything. So the other option is to stay in Shibuya which is more trendy, youthful, there are many cafes, there are many shops but still it’s for me I find this expensive and it’s not my vibe to go around shopping area because I I’m not going to buy anyway. So I really love I really love Asakusa. I allotted three nights in Shinjuku and two nights in Asakusa. So I can tour around Asakusa. I can travel a lot around Shinjuku asa. Um actually one day is okay here but too much travel is kind of tiring if you’re into quiet traditional and close to temple asukusa is if you want a peaceful stay but still you can find cheaper accommodation around this area. It’s very quiet. It’s not so overwhelming if you’re first time arriving here in Japan. If you’re coming from the airport, Shinjuku is more accessible to go. So those are my beginner travel tips in Japan for someone who has been here as a solo traveler before. Experience it second time in a completely different experience as a typical traveler. And seriously, don’t ever underestimate how convenient it is when you have your internet with you. You’re staying connected wherever you go. And make sure to use my code Zarf for 3% discount for your first year. You will save a lot of stress and money for your next visit in Japan. So that’s it for my Japan trip. Stay tuned as I will be posting my hiking in Mount Fuji.

Planning to visit Japan? 🇯🇵 Here are the things you should know if it’s your first time in Tokyo! 🗼✨Make your trip stress-free with an Airalo eSIM so you can stay connected anywhere.

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0:00- Intro
0:05 – First timer travel guide in Tokyo Japan
0:36 – Highlights
0:48 – Things to do before you arrive Japan
0:55 – Download Airalo eSIM $3 off (first timer)
2:20 – Data to avail
2:55 – Discount code
3:30 – Summer tips in Japan
Things to bring
3:56 – Get a Suica card
4:20 – Where to book
5:14- Shinjuku Airbnb
Our airbnb in Shinjuku – (kinda far tho) https://www.agoda.com/my-home-nishi-shinjuku-ny0wb/hotel/tokyo-jp.html
5:50 – Apa Hotel (famous hotel chain)
6:00 – Why Shinjuku
6:16 – Where to eat
6:28 – Unlimited Yakiniku Asukasa (Yakiniku King)
7:31 – Ichiran Ramen
8:09 – Where to eat cheap
8:37- Other tips
9:10 – Luggage storage
9:50 – Shinjuku for accessibility
11:01 – Hotel Price
11:10 – Camera shop Bic Camera and Kitamura camera
11:52 – Shibuya for shopping
12:03 – Why Asakusa
12:40 – Other tips
12:53 – Stay connected with Airalo
#airalo #eSIM #Japan #TokyoVlog