Preperations preperations

What you need to do after you decided on a date and ordered the tickets:

1. Decide how many days you are going to stay in Japan.
If you only have 1 week, I would suggest you to stay in 1 city, because you won't be able to explore 2 different cities in that short period, and traveling in between cities and packing/unpacking takes a lot of time.
If you intend on exploring Tokyo for the first time, I think 7 to 10 days is enough. If you have extra time, I would recommend going somewhere else, like Kyoto or Osaka for 2 or 3 days using the JR rail pass for International Travelers.

2.What is your budget?
Decide on a budget. Watch the exchange rate for a while, because sometimes you can get a little more spending money from exchange rates. When I went, which was the end of April of 2007, I got a 1 CAD to 110 YEN exchange rate, which was pretty good, because usually the exchange rate is around 1 to 105. Also, ask around for better exchange rates. Some places charge a service fee, some places have a lower exchange rate. If you don't want to be bothered with checking around, you can always bring visa, traveler's cheque, or Cash to Japan and exchange it at the Airport. If you exchange at the Airport in Japan, they give you a much better rate than in Vancouver Airport.
Also, plan how much you would spend on things. The more specific, the less would go wrong.

3. Where are you going to stay?
Finding a place to stay. It can depend on your budget, ie. how much are you willing to pay for accommodation, or what you need, ie. no sharing bath rooms.
Of course, the more you pay, the better the location and room you get. For hotels, a nights stay for 2 could range from 12000 yen to more than 40000 yen. Business hotels are cheaper, they are about 8000 yen to 12000 yen, and some of them provide breakfast, so you also save money on food. Location is also important. One of the popular location is Shinjuku because it's easier to get to from the Narita Airport. Ikebukuro is also a popular choice, because of easy access to trains.


4. Research.
Why are you there?What do you want to do there? Research about places to go, sights to see, etc. There are lots of info about this on Japan's website, or you can just google "japan travel".

5. Plan your schedule
Now that you know where you want to go, plan a full schedule on when you want to go there. Pay attention to the days and times of opening and closing and, you don't want to go and find it closed. When planning your schedule, don't over estimate your stamina. From experience, I think 2 places for one day is the maximum you should plan, because there's always more to see than you expect.

6. More research.
Now that you've decided on places to visit, research on how to get there. The train system is pretty complicated. Because there are several companies that runs the trains, you often find yourself lost in the train station. Seriously, it's like a maze. You should figure out which line to take at which station beforehand, so that when you actually need to find it, at least you know what is the right train and what is not. Also, learn how the ticket machine/system works, and how to refund for the tickets if you bought the wrong one. Also, research on how to get to your choice of accommodation from the Airport. Taxis are quite expensive in Japan.

7. Learn some basic conversation
Although some Japanese people can speak English, the majority doesn't, learning how to speak their language will only make thing easier. Japan has adopted many English words into their vocabulary, if you can't say the proper sentences, at least learn how to speak some Japanese English so that there's a chance they will understand you. Also, learn how to read menus, or research the menus of restaurants you wish to visit, it will make ordering easier and faster. If you get lost, which is a high probability, you would need to ask people, so learn how to ask for directions and how to follow directions. You can write down all the sentences you need to say, the translations, etc, and bring it with you.

8. Other things.
Make sure you have everything you need for emergencies, such as medicine, emergency contact, backup battery, etc.

I will write more specific reports for each topic later on.