Japan holiday

My wife needed a visa, I am a UK citizen. R600 and 3 weeks. She needed a multiple entry visa as we also went to Korea but arrived and departed from Tokyo. The consulate in Cape Town are quite fussy and wanted a detailed itinerary

Of all the Japanese cities we visited, Sakhiminato on the north coast was the most interesting

The volume of people in Tokyo is quite staggering
 
Some good advice so far. OP doesn't mention what their main interests are, so hard to give advice on where to go and do, but I'd say general points are:
  • Always have cash on you - as someone else mentioned, most places don't even accept card. However, you'll be fine with your card at hotels. And you can book most things online with your card.
  • For such as clean place, it's near impossible to find a trash bin out and about. So be prepared to put it into your backpack until you get back to your hotel or somehow find a bin.
  • Public transport is amazing, and getting around is really easy due to the exact timing of everything.
  • Brush up on common Japanese phrases. At hotels, etc. you'll be fine, as well as tourist attractions and transport hubs, but the further you go out the less likely you'll be able to communicate in English. But that shouldn't prevent you from doing anything (even for taxi's, you can just show them where you're wanting to go on your phone and lots of pointing and charades get you through most situations).
  • I went to Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima - loved all of those places.
  • I used Hotels.com and Booking.com for all accommodation
  • Send your luggage to your next accommodation from your current one via a courier service. Japan has excellent courier services, and it's great to be able to travel around without worrying about your main luggage (just do it a day before you head to your next accommodation and keep a small bag of essentials).
 
Japan is not really keen on giving visas to South Africans, not even as tourists. Good luck getting one and enjoy the trip if you do get it.
 
Dont be a loud obnoxious twit and ALWAYS be courteous.
Respectful is something you should always be, if you are not your mother is hoeing a cotton field somewhere in the North West - or whatever it is this month
 
rvZA said:
Japan is not really keen on giving visas to South Africans, not even as tourists. Good luck getting one and enjoy the trip if you do get it.
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Did you personally have a bad experience? There are conditions you must adhere to when applying for a Japanese visa, but they are by no means onerous and don't contain the silly questions that the UK for instance require you to answer

I thought it was just common sense and we took along to the consular meeting everything that they asked

After we got back, two friends left for their Japanese trip without any hassle

I think it's bad form to write untrue comments not based on personal experience

The Australians are much,more particular
 
You can rent this shop with a flat for ¥80000 a month and sub-let the shop for ¥50000. Such have small towns been denuded of people, the city admin bends over backwards to get people to stay. Most want to live in a big city like Nagasaki, 190km away

1702731311238.jpeg
 
sandwitch said:
I was in another country when I got my visa.
I had to get a certified statement from my bank stating that I had enough funds for my holiday, proof of bookings/accommodation/proof of flights in and out and a general idea of my itinerary. I went in to the consulate, handed everything in, and 3 days later got my visa
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Yeah, I'm referring to an electronic visa though which is apparently possible to get on a SA passport.
 
I'm also looking at taking a holiday in Japan

Although it seems the budget needs to be insanely big

100 USD per person excluding accommodation ( Source: Reddit )
 
Snyper564 said:
I think let's start with when you plan going for how long etc?

Japan is on my to visit list. Only Asian country I have done so far was Hong Kong and loved that!
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Japan is next level compared to Hong Kong. I liked HK but it's nowhere close to Japan. Totally different culture and everyone was friendly despite being gaijin.

Can't give tips to OP because there's simply too much to see and do. Best would be to check trip adviser and see what tickles his fancy because there won't be enough time...
 
PPLdude said:
I'm also looking at taking a holiday in Japan

Although it seems the budget needs to be insanely big

100 USD per person excluding accommodation ( Source: Reddit )
Click to expand...
That's on the low side TBH. When I went 15 years ago it was about $10 for a beer. Food is insanely expensive depending on where you eat...
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Japan is next level compared to Hong Kong. I liked HK but it's nowhere close to Japan. Totally different culture and everyone was friendly despite being gaijin.

Can't give tips to OP because there's simply too much to see and do. Best would be to check trip adviser and see what tickles his fancy because there won't be enough time...
Click to expand...
Yeah would expect cultures to be totally different.

But def on the to visit list!
 
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