Photo Report: 7 days in Japan before cruising out of Yokohama to Hong Kong

Brava!! What a beautiful interesting and inspiring report. I want to go!!

Thank you for this post, honolulu traveler.

Given that you rented the lowest amount of data, was there any issue keeping under 3GB?

What a wonderfully detailed review. Thank you so much. My husband and I have traveled extensively in Japan pre or post cruises and agree that it's a fabulous experience. We haven't been to Hiroshima yet so that may be a future destination.

 

Your info about the pocket wifi is much appreciated. We used one last year while staying in a Tokyo airbnb, and it was so helpful. I didn't realize that it is also usable onboard the ship. (We'll be on the Diamond Princess in October and am curious if it will work there, too.). For anyone interested, you can rent one at Osanbashi pier, the airport, or beforehand thru the Cruise Port Navigation app. Same thing: it can be delivered to your hotel before the cruise and returned via the prepaid postage envelope. I think the cost is $35 upfront + $1/day.

 

Outside of the major cities like Tokyo, we found almost no hotspots (although we understand that Japan is installing new towers in anticipation of the 2020 Olympics). We have had the AT&T international phone/text plan for our Japan visits during the last 2 years, and it is touted as having lots of worldwide hot spots, but we never found any in Japan. That's why I'm going to get a mobile hot spot for our upcoming trip.

 

 

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Going from Tokyo to Seattle next May and I have just started our research now ... this was a great start !!! Thanks so much for this

Thank you for this post, honolulu traveler.

 

Given that you rented the lowest amount of data, was there any issue keeping under 3GB?

The one I used last year was gratis of our AirBNB host; I don't rent the one for this upcoming trip until October. I don't know how much data was included on last year's but my research indicates that if all I'll be using it for is Google Maps, Trip Advisor or Yelp, checking emails, and Facebook/Messenger for communication with my kids, 3GB should be fine.

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Saving to read through later.

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The one I used last year was gratis of our AirBNB host; I don't rent the one for this upcoming trip until October. I don't know how much data was included on last year's but my research indicates that if all I'll be using it for is Google Maps, Trip Advisor or Yelp, checking emails, and Facebook/Messenger for communication with my kids, 3GB should be fine.

 

 

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Thank you very much :)

Thanks for a brilliant report! We are also doing a bit of a tour of Japan before our cruise. I have a question about public transport, particularly in Kyoto and Tokyo, we also plan to diy our sightseeing, and want to know do you pay each fare as you go or can you get a day ticket? The Jr pass is no good to us, so we won't be getting one.

for transportation, do a search on this forum for the Suica or Pasmo card, also see this

https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/common-questions/difference-Pasmo-Suica

also do a search on youtube on how to use the two cards on the trains (can also be used to make purchases at convenient stores or at the train station.)

Not sure about Kyoto, we were on a tour so we didn't use local transportation. In Tokyo there is one line (Yamanote or Green Line) that circles Tokyo and stops at many of the train stations near major attractions, see

Note that there are a number of videos on using the Yamanote line on youtube.

Hey Petra,

We are home from our Japan trip now.

We had a superb day in Kamakura. As you described it was really easy to get there from Yokohama.

We only did 4 sites there, took advice from the really helpful tourist info centre by the railway and bus station.

Thanks for your post, it gave us a terrific and memorable day trip.

Happy travels,

Libby

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Ssislandgirl, I used to spend July 4th vacations at SSI when I was growing up. Special place! Would you please email me directly at heather {at} ***** {dot} com? I'd like to get share you report with others if you give me permission.

I definitely think it was worth having the pocket wifi! I really liked being able to access Hyperdia and Google Maps whenever I wanted too. We also enjoyed having Skype available all the time. We are using Skype as our home phone with a Skype number and were able to forward our cellphones to the Skype number. Therefore we could stay in touch with family back in the States and make phone calls for free whenever we needed to and felt like it. I can't really tell you anything about hotspots because I honestly wasn't paying attention. I noticed that the crew was using the free wifi in the ports, but it is usually slow and hard to access. The pocket wifi worked well on the ship as well as in the ports. I think this was mainly the case because we really did not go out to "sea" very far in Japan and could always see land. Compared to the rate of ship wifi ours was a bargain!

Hope this answers your questions

Regards

Petra

I have condensed your post links into one thread. I would like to ask permission to share the posts on my roll call for this year's World Cruise on Queen Elizabeth.

Your information has been amazing. Your photos are so beautiful.

Thank you so much.

I have condensed your post links into one thread. I would like to ask permission to share the posts on my roll call for this year's World Cruise on Queen Elizabeth.

Your information has been amazing. Your photos are so beautiful.

Thank you so much.

Hi there bananavan!

Thank you very much for your kind words. Yes, please share all of the info. This is what Cruisecritic is all about...

Happy travels

Regards

Petra

Hi Petra,

Thank you very, very much for your excellent report. We are leaving for Japan soon and get on board a cruiseship in Yokohama as well.

Will use your information for our upcoming trip. Thanks again.

I know this report is from last year but wanted to complement you on it.

Keith

Wonderful report and fantastic photos. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Thanks for the great report and photos. We are going to Japan in Sept and I found a lot of useful info!

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