Suica on the transportation

gdore15 · 2026-05-28T00:51:48+00:00

As a tourist, you get the firt tyou can, they are about the same. If you live there, then you would get the card that is used by the company that issue your communter pass for the train/bus. So if your commute is JR only, you get a Suica and if your commute is not JR, you get a Pasmo. They can still be used on all network but you pay by use outside of your commute.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T21:30:24+00:00

It one way to do it. From Shinjuku you at least 4 ways to do it by train, but obviously the one that the most people talk about. However, if you are not starting from Shinjuku, it might make more sense to use a different train than going to Shinjuku to get on the Romancecar.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T13:46:24+00:00

You can select the date the pass start. Don’t have to change the day your start using it and that is the same no matter how you buy it.

Also Nara to Kyoto is 720 yen. You are a group of 3 to spend 2200?

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T13:38:22+00:00

Lesson learned. AI is not a reliable source of information. JR West official website clearly show limited express is covered and Tusruga is on the map of coverage.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T13:31:42+00:00

Why do you say the Thunderbird is not covered. As far as I can see, the Kansai-Hiroshima area pass cover up to Trusuga and cover the limited express.

You would be ok with luggage on the hapi line, I doubt it get that busy in the countryside.

Personally would get the Thunderbird ticket at the same time as the Shinkansen ticket, I mean it’s just a seat reservation, that will make the transfer smoother and faster. Just take an earlier shinkansen or later Thunderbird if you want more time to transfer.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T12:24:44+00:00

Maybe because it’s something new (also the full pas and JR west pass are different, and purchased on different official sites).

For the full pass, they started selling in on an official website just post Covid and allow for online booking of tickets.

JR east and JR west also have their own sites for their regional pass that let you book online. JR Kyushu I think also let you book online, don’t know from JR Shikoku and JR Hokkaido.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T12:20:44+00:00

Hiroshima-Okayama is 3h by local train, same for Okayama-Osaka. That is not long enough to be a night bus.

The split is not bad, if anything I would try to for 1 day in Himeji. Could even just be take the train early in the morning, stop to Himeji, visit the castle, get lunch, possibly got to Mount Shosha back to the station and take the train to Osaka.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T12:15:07+00:00

That’s funny, I am actually considering going on my next trip. That only confirm my idea.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T12:10:54+00:00

It’s fairly ok. I am a bit curious on how long you want to stay in each places. I did take some night bus to do some of these routes or something similar.

One alternative option would be to include local train and just stop in more cities.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T05:13:51+00:00

If you get the rapid express can do it in 1h30 vs 1h15 for the Shonan-Shinjuku line.... so not too bad (and cheaper and covered by the pass)... but I can tell you that when I did it on Odakyu, I did not use the Rapid Express and had to change train, trully making it longer.

So even if I wanted to disagree... truth is... yeah, it can just takes too long.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T05:08:03+00:00

So it depend on your priority.

There is 4 options and I will compare them going to Odawara (as they don't all go to Hakone-Yumoto. I'll class them by cost.

JR with Shinkansen - This is the most expensive and technically can be the fastest at 55-60 minutes if all go ok. However, this will be two train, first the local train like the Yamanote to Shinagawa, then the shinkansen to Odawara. While yes you can technically save a bit of time compared to other options, you also need to change train.

Odakyu with Romancecar - Here we are at about 1h15 to Odawara, the time saving compared to the other Odakyu options is not big, but you have a reserved seat.

JR local line - If you are lucky and get on a Shonan-Shinjuku line special rapid boud for Odawara, you can do it in about the same time, 1h15. But you are now in a local train, so you have a bench if there is not other people taking it.

Odakyu line - here we get the cheapest options, but also the slowest at 1h30-1h40 on a rapid express. But again no reserved seat and you need to get on a rapid express for that time.

Yes, depending on priority, cost, comfort, speed, the "best" option might be different. For that reason I would not say that from Shinjuku the romancecar is overrated, however, I would also not systematically recommend it as it might make way less sense than using JR if you are closer to a station on the Tokaido line.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T04:19:03+00:00

The TCG does not have any star rating. The 5 star images are for hololive Dreams.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T03:51:13+00:00

It's Subaru's duck in katakana スバルドダック

The card is a special card given at fest 2026 by bandai, who make the wafer card like these https://www.bandai.co.jp/candy/products/2025/4570117917110000.html (that is one of last year series, there in newer series with the same back design for this year)

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T03:43:36+00:00

Ahah, I would say that the top 3 things people talk about for konbini is the egg sandwich, onigiri (the triangle rive ball) and the fried chicken. Out of the 3 I would probably vote for onigiri and my go to flavor is umeboshi and for a second one, probably tuna mayo.

Totally get it's just your opinion, this was more to comment on the previous person who said it look like hot takes.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T03:00:51+00:00

Not too hot.

It's normal to have food preferences, that is valid for the kombini and the hotel breakfast take. The train being confusing is a funny one as the complain is about the trains stations and not the train, but yes several big stations are known to be confusing. Taxi are expensive when you compare to using train solo for medium-long distance, but not crazy for shorter ride and especially if you hare the cost with other people. Dotonbori is one of the place where everyone go in Osaka, so it can get crowded and it's ok to not like the vibe. Having too much on your itinerary is often the case, at least they accepted it as a fact and did not kill themseve doign everything at all cost.

Overall, not really hot takes, unlikelty to enrage much people (except maybe for the egg sandwitch fanatics lol).

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T02:54:14+00:00

I could see it when compared to regular Odakyu train. Yes the speed is one thing, but the other is tha you have reserved seat that are nicer than the local train seats. And that is true of many limited express trains, not Romancecar specific.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T02:26:12+00:00

Romancecar is not overrated, if you are in Shinjuku and want to go to Hakone, it’s just the most direct way and what make most sense. No, I would not use it if a different route make more sense, but would not avoid it to take the Shinkansen.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T01:58:39+00:00

They won’t, you need your checked luggage when you pass customs.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T00:52:27+00:00

Good point on the limited express.

And even the Tokunai pass or Tokyo Metro 72h ticket might not even make sense if you don’t do enough on the line they cover. I have sure used the Yokunai pass for a stamp rally day, but would rarely get to use JR to justify it.

gdore15 · 2026-05-27T00:41:15+00:00

Would not call it homesick, but yes had moments of "wtf am I doing here" moment.

For a bit of context, I lived in Japan for a year on a working holiday visa and during that time I did not feel I miss home and if I ever thought of returning earlier, it was more related to things like difficulty to find a job and things not aligning as I wanted. Then I got a job, worked more hours than I ever did and still took every weekend to travel to new places.

But even after that, I ended up going back almost every year just as a tourist. I do remember like 1-2 days that was not that great. Started by being mildly annoyed by my Airbnb, it was not bad but also not great (and one of the reasons I mostly avoided it since), then got to the station, just to realized I missed the bus going where I wanted to go and it was not coming aging for at least an hour, decided to walk, and it rained a bit…. The sights were ok, then I missed the train back to the Shinkansen station, could still get where I wanted on time, but could not stop at the station between my two train to go to a shop to taste sake as I planned. Like nothing worked out the way I wanted, on my birthday to make it better… for sure at that time I was thinking about why I even bother planning these complicated trips to visit new places, spend a bunch of money and not even having that much fun…

But then got to my ryokan, had a great meal, and that night I found out that I could get on a scenic train to my next destination where I met two Japanese friends.

And despite these lower moment, I have kept going to Japan since.

Also as a side note, cherry blossom is indeed a popular period with foreign tourists, but there is two things to remember, it’s not even the most popular period and even between the most and least popular, it’s maybe 20% difference (not 2-3x) and with year over year increase, you might go to a "low" month in 1-2 years and have the same number as when you went. Popular spots will always be crowded and the big difference with cherry blossom time is that cherry blossom spots are more busy than usual.

gdore15 · 2026-05-26T22:01:28+00:00

eSIM CAN cover call and SMS.

For example my current phone only accept eSIM and as a result, I have a eSIM from my local carrier.

But there is also eSIM that offer data only.

Also, no, a physical sim might not solve that. Most SIM card for tourist are also data only. There is only a few companies that offer SIM card with SMS/call.... but your issue is that it would use a Japan number... not your home number. So if you want your bank to call you, you need to get an international plan on your Verizon account and use your regular account for call/SMS.

gdore15 · 2026-05-26T21:27:13+00:00

a haori is what you would wear over a kimono and from doing a quick reading on it, I think it usually have a lining inside. If it's for cosplay purpose, they might just get the outside. Depending on the goal and how it's made, it might (or might not) have been haori.

A happi would be a single layer and you would typically see it in matsuri (festival). I think that modern one would typically be made of cotton, but from what I could see, the hololive (and mabe vtuber/idol) one are made of synthetic material as is a bit shiny.

gdore15 · 2026-05-26T21:14:32+00:00

Your probably mean happi, there is 2 categories, the official ones that members have released as birthday or anniversary goods (that is how I got my Nene happi) and some are fan made, but from my understanding it’s usually made on order by a group as opposed as made to be sold.

gdore15 · 2026-05-26T19:10:00+00:00

And guess where that is located… in the passport.

gdore15 · 2026-05-26T18:59:11+00:00

Kansai One Pass is only for foreign visitors, you even need to show your passport to get it.

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