Today we continue our countdown to Celebration Japan with our weekly series focusing on the different planning aspects of such a big trip.
Today, we look at Japanese visas and something that might save you a big headache.
Visas
Sometimes, here in the UK, we can be forgiven for taking for granted our location. Many might not feel the same when it comes to our weather but we’re in such a great place to travel. Europe is on our doorstep, countries in North Africa are only a few hours away and, of course, the east coast of the US is just over the pond. One aspect of planning a trip that tends to come last minute on the list of things to do and can sometimes slip people by is that of visas. Now, if one is going to work or study abroad then visas are the top of most people’s list but in terms of a vacation or a travelling trip, then a visa can be quite low on the priority list.
I’ve done some digging and thankfully Japan allows tourists to enter on a single 90-day travel visa. This doesn’t need to be applied for before hand and will most likely be requested to be filled out on the plane trip heading towards Japan. Once you’re into Japan, you have 90 days to stay. Anything more than that and you’ll need to apply for a longer visa. This is no different to a USA visa when going on holiday.
Wi-Fi Rental
Next is something that I stumbled across during my research the past few months. When I go on my summer jollies or take a trip to Europe, I set my phone to airplane mode for the flight and when I land, I turn on my data to message my Mum and Nan to tell them I’ve landed safely. I may be a 33-year-old man but they still worry. Now, the point of this story is not to tell you about my caring family but to say that my phone provider gives me unlimited data in Europe which saves a lot of hassle and cash. I won’t have such a luxury in Japan.
I’ve heard a lot of chatter about buying SIM cards whilst over there but there is another option and something I’ll be doing myself.
It’s essentially a portable Wi-Fi box and here’s how it works. You rent a Wi-Fi box for 2 weeks (or however long you need) in Japan. You buy this ahead of time and it’s waiting for you at a kiosk in your arriving airport. You pick it up. Connect to it and keep it for the whole of your trip. It’s small and will fit in your pocket and your bag. With most of these providers you can also connect anywhere from 2 – 6 people per travel box. On your return flight home, once you’re at the airport, you drop it back off. That’s it. You can have internet everywhere you go whilst on your trip.
Here’s some of the top-rated providers; Japan-Wireless, Pocket-wifi-Japan, Ninja Wifi and Sakura Mobile.
As always, please do your own research on these things. Depending on if you want 5G, 4G, more devices and things like this then prices will always vary. My other half loves looking at Trust Pilot for things like this. We’ll be looking at prices and reserving ours by the end of this month as many have discounts if you purchase ahead of time.
Join us next week as our series continues as we look at what you might want to do when you first touchdown in the Land of the Rising Sun.