#131 JR Pass June 2016

The JR Pass is a discounted railway ticket that allows for almost unlimited travel on trains (including the bullet train) in Japan for a set number of time, usually one or two weeks. It is only available to buy in advance outside Japan (either online or via travel agent) and it is for foreign tourists to Japan.

It is not for people who live/work in Japan. It is not available to buy in Japan.

A 7-day pass is about 29,000 yen and considering the return trip from Tokyo - Kyoto is 26,000 this pass can offer absolutely huge discounts. This is probably also why foreigners coming to Japan for work are so desperately blind to the fact it's unavailable to them. It's hard to accept that you have to pay regular Japanese prices and be bankrupted each train you take.

Anyway, since this is such a recurrent issue with so many people I thought I'd post about it again in case someone has missed it.

The hugely misleading headline of this article from April 2016 led many to believe that you can now buy the JR Pass in Japan.

But if they had actually read the article, they would have seen that what it actually says is “Japan Railways Group (JR Group) plans to make the value-for-money passes available to visitors....”. The key words in the sentence being plans and visitors.

So if you’re coming to Japan on JET or with another English teaching company/just to work in general/live here and do nothing, no you still can’t get the pass. 

And if you have people coming to visit, for now they still have to buy online in advance, and with my inside knowledge of Japanese bureaucracy it’s likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

#106 One week to Japan

Well, it's actually five days until I depart Ireland, but my first official day there is next Monday.

Here's where I'm at;

Packing
I just finished packing today, after a few trial runs last week. Basically, I threw in the clothes and stuff I wanted to bring and weighed the cases to see roughly how much space I had. I actually had quite a few kg left in each case which was a great surprise, so I gathered more clothes to put in. Earlier today I packed the cases again and the weight is perfect, happy days! Packing four days in advance basically means I can sleep easily for my last few days in Ireland, and spend it hanging out with family and friends instead of panicking and stressing about it the day before.


Flight details
We're flying Dublin - London, then London - Tokyo with British Airways. They have one free 23kg check in bag, carry on hand luggage and then also a handbag or briefcase. I think 23kg check in is a tiny allowance for moving around the world for a year, but thankfully they only charge €75 for another 23kg bag, so I've got 46kg total, plus a carry on bag and a handbag.

As an interesting side, you can check out what the onboard movies, tv shows etc will be on your flight on your airlines website before you travel (I think most airlines do this). For BA, it's here: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/entertainment/in-flight-entertainment

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka

Excited to announce this is the exact place I'm going! It's a city of about 800k people, situated on the bullet train line and halfway between Tokyo and Kyoto, about 1hr 30mins from each. The bullet train is expensive, and I can get a bus to Tokyo for much less but it takes like 4-5 hours. Overall, Hamamatsu seems to be a good location for travelling easily around Japan.

Tying up loose ends

There are things to do before leaving your home for any length of time. I decided to get my laptop fixed - it's been overheating and I felt it was easier to get it sorted before I go. I threw out a lot of clothes I hadn't worn in the past year or so (well, gave them to charity shops). I cleaned my room! I'm meeting up with some old friends this week. I guess it just depends on the person what needs to be done.

#105 30 Days to Japan

In case anyone was wondering, I haven't heard any more information regarding Japan and my placement, and therefore there is really nothing to update you with.

I can start the 30 day countdown though, which is exciting!

Obviously it would be more exciting if I knew exactly where I was going in 30 days, but there you go...

In other news, according to the weather it's 7pm in Shizuoka city right now and it is 24 degrees celsius. I now ask you to take a moment and pray that my accommodation has some form of air conditioning. Amen.

#104 Japan on the horizon (again)

Shizuoka City and Mt Fuji

Big news: I'll be moving to Japan in a couple of weeks as part of the JET programme!

JET stands for Japan Exchange and Teaching, and each year brings over thousands of people to live and work in Japan as English teachers.

As you might know I was last in Japan in Autumn 2012 (and have many posts about it on this very blog), so I'm excited to be going back three years later.

When applying with JET you can have three preferences as to where in Japan you want to live, but ultimately you might not end up anywhere near them. In my case I listed a few places on Honshu (the main and biggest island), and while I didn't get any of my top 3, they have placed me in Shizuoka Prefecture (this is in Honshu, about 3 hours drive from Tokyo) so I'm happy.

At the moment I have just been given the prefecture name - so I still have no idea what part I will be in, or whether to expect living in a city or in the middle of nowhere. Most JETs know more details like the name of the city or town they are in, but as a prefectural JET I have to wait an extra few weeks to find out (such is life as a JET - the application process is long and competitive. I applied in Dec 2014!).

Map of Japan

From what I've gathered so far, Shizuoka has a big coastline and quite a lot of nature. To the South the Izu peninsula has amazing islands, beaches and hot springs. Further North and in the centre is Mt Fuji.

Izu Peninsula

There are hundreds of blogs about JET, applying, the process, what to expect when you arrive, etc etc. Many of these people are very capable, so I'm going to leave them to do what they do best. My aim is to use this blog as a vessel to highlight my adventures and some hidden gems in Japan (that aren't Tokyo!). This is a travel blog after all.