Tokyo is such a beautiful city – and I really want to share it with you guys! As such – the purpose of this blog is to do a run-down of the usual questions first-time travelers have whenever they’re preparing to visit this beautiful city

 

Table of contents

• What flight should I take from Manila to Tokyo?
• Where should I stay while in Tokyo?
• Do I need to bring cash with me?
• What do I need to do beforehand in order to fully enjoy my Tokyo trip?
• How do I get to the city from the airport?

What flight should I take from Manila to Tokyo?

My personal suggestion would be to go Philippine Airlines. Normally, PAL would never be at the top of my airlines list, but I gotta hand it to them – their flights to and from Japan are pretty outstanding for a couple of reasons:

• Food is awesome. I usually avoid plane food as I find it quite disgusting and less than appetizing, BUT Tokyo plane food has proven to be the exception to this rule. Each meal is plated prettily on a nice bento box, with fresh and sweet fruits, salad, main meal (usually two options are offered: one is a Japan specialty, the other one is a Filipino specialty e.g. chicken longganisa), and dessert!
• Flight schedules are decent. I took the 6:45am flight out, and got to the Tokyo city center by ~2pm – leaving me half a day to enjoy the city sights. On the way back, took the 3:20pm flight, which again left me the morning to go around and buy the required pasalubongs to bring back home!
• In-flight free WIFI! True, internet speed is pretty slow, and you only get 15MB free – but hey, it isn’t something I’ve experienced in other flights (unless you’re business class), so I think it’s a nifty addition
• Mabuhay Miles don’t expire, which means I can slowly accumulate my miles without worrying about using them up every few years or so

Tip: Fly into Haneda Airport (not Narita) as much as possible. It’s much nearer to the city center (~30-40 mins), and will save you loads of time! There aren’t a lot of flights to Haneda from Manila as of now though…

Where should I stay while in Tokyo?

Hotel, hostel, Airbnb – all three are good options depending on what you’re optimizing for. Nevertheless, whichever option you go for, choosing the right location is key to save both money and time. My preference would be to stay near either Shinjuku or Tokyo station – as these are the most well-connected stations. If not possible, stay near stations that can bring you directly to the two aforementioned stations at least

• Hotel: If you’ve got money to spare, and you’d rather optimize for luxury and service – by all means, go for a hotel
• Hostel: If you’re traveling alone or if you’re traveling in pairs, and you’d rather spend on food and transport as opposed to accommodations – by all means, go for a hostel. I’d recommend Yadoya Guesthouse for Backpackers D mostly because of it’s excellent location (3 mins walk from Nakono Station, which is one stop away from Shinjuku if you use the JR East Chuo Rapid Service line)
• Airbnb: Personally, if my group is 3 or more, we tend to go with an Airbnb (typically at Shinjuku, as it’s very accessible) – just because it feels homier and more authentic an experience. Likewise, most Airbnbs in Japan also offer a portable wifi – which as I’ll explain later is quite invaluable for a traveler who cannot speak Japanese and may get lost multiple times along the way

Do I need to bring cash with me?

While I initially thought that going cashless in Japan was possible – I was proven wrong. Your main mode of transport (Metro + JR East Railway) only accepts cash, likewise mom and pop stalls selling souvenirs and food usually accept cash only as well. Of course, big establishments (hotels, mall stores, upscale restaurants) all accept credit cards – so you can definitely use your credit card for big ticket expenses

Note that all taxis accept credit cards, but taxis in Tokyo can be very expensive (~25k Yen from Narita to Tokyo city center, ~10k Yen from Haneda to Tokyo city center). Likewise, Uber is not well-established here, so that transport option is out as well

Having said that, my estimate on how much cash you should bring with you on a per person per day basis would be:

• Transport
  • ~500-800 yen if you’re only traveling within Tokyo
  • ~2k-5k yen if you’re doing day trips outside of Tokyo (example: Tokyo to Yokohama costs 970 yen one-way; while my day trip to Fukukama and Enoshima costs ~4.5k yen as I travelled to multiple temples, each of which could be reached at different rail stations)

• Food: ~1k-2.5k yen per main meal depending on how much you eat and where you are (touristy areas tend to charge more, although touristy/big restaurants would typically accept credit cards). Likewise, if you’re the type to randomly buy from food stalls you see along the way, these could also rack up quite a huge expense for you as well, e.g. one soft serve ice cream cone costs ~300-400 yen, crepes costs ~400-700 yen

 

Pro tip: Make sure to get the GCash debit card. It really provides the best exchange rate out of all the ones we’ve tried!

What do I need to do beforehand in order to fully enjoy my Tokyo trip?

Outfit-wise: Sturdy walking shoes, light cardigan, and an umbrella are important so you can walk a lot no matter what the weather

Suica card: E-money card you can use both for transport (JR East, metro, bus lines) and for shopping (convenience stores) – I could forget everything as long as I had a fully loaded Suica card with me! For a step-by-step guide on how to obtain a Suica card, check out this link. Note that in recent months (since late 2023), they’ve stopped selling Suica cards within Japan due to shortages in the chip needed, so make sure to pre-order before going to Japan!

Portable wifi: This city has really limited Wifi offerings (restaurants, tourist spots, etc – most of them will not have wifi for you to leech off).

• I suggest you get a portable WiFi via Klook. Or, better yet, buy an e-sim through Klook! To pick it up, you just need to go to the QL counter at the Narita Airport. When you come out of immigration, turn left and walk straight until the end. Take note: you need your passport to claim it
• Otherwise, most AirBnBs will come with a portable WiFi as well – so you can use that. We typically still rent though, as we are HUGE internet users – hello IG stories!

Take a photo of everything you need – even better if it includes the Japanese words. This way, when you’re lost, you just have to show the photo to the Japanese people. Most Japanese have difficulty speaking English, but they’ll gladly assist you once you give them the Japanese equivalent of what you’re searching for

How do I get to the city from the airport?

Do NOT get a cab. It’s crazy expensive… I should know as I stupidly grabbed a cab to go to the city center. Guess I got too used to Southeast Asian countries where cabs are the main mode of airport-city transfers which normally costs ~USD 10-30 at most! But in Tokyo, be prepared to pay ~USD100-250 if you go with a cab – phew, that’s a whole lot of cash!

Cost-effective options to consider:

• Skyliner is the best option as it’s pretty fast and cheap. Plus, there’s a train practically every 15 minutes. Pro tip: Book via Klook and you’ll save around 15%!
• Narita Express or Tokyo Monorail (if from Haneda) to get to the city, then switch to JR East/Metro: Problem is if you have a lot of baggage – it can be a bit of a hassle
• Airport Limousine bus: check first if your accommodation is near the bus route. If yes, this will save you some hefty lifting of luggage when changing stations from one rail line to another

For us, we used to go with the Narita Express option, but now we’ve started using Skyliner more because it’s just so convenient. Quick rundown of Narita Express:

• Takes 85 mins to Shinjuku Station (which is where we usually stay)
• Costs ~JPY 4000 for round-trip, open ticket for the day you’re coming back (14 days validity). Make sure to book the ticket coming back once you know when you plan to do so (remember: there WILL be queues for this)
• How to read the ticket: Car number first, then the seat number
• For the final tap out – you need to tap out twice, so hold on to your ticket and don’t throw it awa yet!

 

And that’s it – enjoy your Tokyo adventure! <3 For my other Japan blogs, please do check out the following:

Everything you need to know about Tokyo (as a DIY tourist)

Eating my way through Tokyo – top picks!

A step-by-step guide on how to plan and maximize your Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park Adventure

What to see and do in Okinawa

TOKYO 7-DAY OFF-THE-BEATEN PATH DIY ITINERARIES

• Day 1: Tokyo Day trip to Kawagoe
• Day 2: Tokyo Disney Sea adventure
• Day 3: Tokyo Day trip to Yokohama
• Day 4: Tokyo Day trip to Hakone
• Day 5: Tokyo Day trip to Kamukara and Enoshima
• Day 6: Tokyo shopping day!
• Day 7: Imperial Palace Walking Tour + Odaiba