Hokkaido

[RooFlyer]

OK, have been progressing.

Re Daisetsuzan, I know there's a La Vista - same group as Dormy Inn.
And this one seems to be good, opened 2022.
旭岳温泉　湯元　湧駒荘

Both western rooms.

Booked it - thanks (although that link was blocked by the hotel ). Booked via its web site, with Japanese dinner and breakfast Learning, learning.

Yes, I'm starting to be a fan of Dormy Inns too. Going to cancel at least one of my already booked ones in favour of these. Sort of like Novotels - fairly consistent booking 'experience' and their English pages aren't too bad.

Some of my other choices have fallen away - there are some consistently savage reviews out there for some Onsen hotels that look not bad. I mean Japanese as well as English reviews absolutely demolishing the food and complaining about Chinese tour groups and their behaviour in the onsens.

 

[bPeteb]

In winter basically every car rented on Hokkaido is 4wd, even the micras etc.
They probably have extra fleet that is 2wd for summer but good odds on 4wd,
Personally I use jr Eki rental and it’s been pretty easy/ not pricey to just get 4wd guaranteed

we used JR Eki as well. I think we were given an awd Airwing (Corolla variation). I'd have to look at the pictures

 

[rbjhan]

OK, have been progressing.



Booked it - thanks (although that link was blocked by the hotel ). Booked via its web site, with Japanese dinner and breakfast Learning, learning.

Yes, I'm starting to be a fan of Dormy Inns too. Going to cancel at least one of my already booked ones in favour of these. Sort of like Novotels - fairly consistent booking 'experience' and their English pages aren't too bad.

Some of my other choices have fallen away - there are some consistently savage reviews out there for some Onsen hotels that look not bad. I mean Japanese as well as English reviews absolutely demolishing the food and complaining about Chinese tour groups and their behaviour in the onsens.

Oh god, yes stay away from Chinese groups as far as humanly possible！

Dormy Inns (and Onyado Nono) are fantastic, I might have some reservations about their ryokans, but if you haven't been to any before, they are actually a very good entry point.
It's run like a chain (coz it is), not a good thing for ryokans imho but the familiarity can be comforting.

And you move up to boutique, individual ryokans from there.

 

[RooFlyer]

Suica.

Thanks to @Seat0B especially for post above.

@Pushka , thanks for the video link but boy, with all the flashing on the screen, it makes it hard to follow. , But I went as far as I could without paying (thinking it will expire), so It'll be OK. Will install properly just before I leave. EDIT: Now installed, after advice below.

Suica in Particular (and I think most/all of this is also true for Passmo)
Suica comes in 2 physical forms - the standard one and the tourist one (for Passmo this is Passmo or Passmo Passport). And the third form that people started to use more in the card shortage was the e-suica. I have no experience with e-suica, other than to say the app looked scary AF.

Hey, I managed it, with Pushka's video, so it'll be a doddle for you! Only issue is that it looks like you can only install it on your phone OR watch, not both; but I think you can swap it over if its inconvenient. I have all my cards on both and never use my phone for payments (too clunky).

If you add as your ‘Express Transit Card’ on iPhone, you just tap phone onto transit scanner and no need for any authentication to slow you down. Also keeps working for some amount of time if you run out of battery, but have never been game to try that!

I guess it will automatically select Suica at a train gate because other cards aren't accepted? It won't ping my credit cards there? Or do I need to select the Suica and bring it to the top to make it selected.

I’ve had one sitting in my wallet app since pre COVID holding a very minimal balance, ready to go for whenever need again

Doesn't it expire after 28 days? Or is that just the physical card? EDIT: Answered below, thanks.

It says you can link suica to shinkansen tickets
* Why is that a useful thing to do? Sounds like you by a ticket at a machine and then link it?
EDIT: Read some more. Is it because you can only buy the base shinkansen fare via Suika and need to pay the surcharge on the machine? Sounds a bit hard for just 3 trips

 

[tassie6]

I guess it will automatically select Suica at a train gate because other cards aren't accepted? It won't ping my credit cards there? Or do I need to select the Suica and bring it to the top to make it selected.

Yep it will automatically select when you set your Suica as your 'Express Transit Card', which I recommend doing, I will link the 'how to' below.

This lets you use that card without needing to do any authentication like Touch ID/Face ID/passcode when passing through the gate to tap on, and it will only be able to use the Suica for that (not your other cards). So can just tap phone (or watch if have it on there) to entry gate pad and you are away quickly. My experience is the confirmation was as fast as a physical Suica and your balance shows on the terminal same as physical card.

It can also be used when your phone is dead, it keeps some amount of battery in reserve to use that card, it says for up to 5 hours. Not sure if this works for the watch.

Use Express Mode with cards, passes, and keys in Wallet on iPhone

With Express Mode in Wallet on iPhone, use your compatible cards, keys, and passes without waking or unlocking your device.

support.apple.com

Doesn't it expire after 28 days? Or is that just the physical card?

Not sure! I haven't had the occasion to actually use it, I just noticed it sitting in there with a few yen as balance, I first added to my phone in Jan 2020 and haven't been back since then. Not a big deal if does expire though, as can just add a new one directly from phone ahead of another trip if needed. I wouldnt want to leave any significant amount of yen on there just in case it does expire.


I dont know anything about linking Shinkansen to Suica sorry

 

[RooFlyer]

Yep it will automatically select when you set your Suica as your 'Express Transit Card', which I recommend doing, I will link the 'how to' below.

Thanks. Glad I checked it out, because I currently have one of my CCs for payment of Express Transit. Can't remember why - maybe tap on/off trains like London and Sydney?

I see on my iPhone that the CC will be selected when 'My Suica' isn't requested by card reader'.

So, will "IC" readers in Japan actually accept credit cards if you don't have the boutique Japanese ones?

 

[elanshin]

Doesn't it expire after 28 days? Or is that just the physical card?

It says you can link suica to shinkansen tickets
* Why is that a useful thing to do? Sounds like you by a ticket at a machine and then link it?
EDIT: Read some more. Is it because you can only buy the base shinkansen fare via Suika and need to pay the surcharge on the machine? Sounds a bit hard for just 3 trips

The 28days is just the tourist welcome suica which honestly is a scam. Japan doesn't have a real Suica shortage, i suspect its just a way to get Japanese people onto the mobile app. (If it did Welcome suica should've been the first thing they got rid of).

The app is effectively the main suica card (which the physical card has no expiration, my 2007 one is still going strong).

As for Shinkansen, I'd just buy a separate ticket regardless and not use the Suica. It'll be quite confusing as you'll have to deal with multiple tickets. Much easier to just buy the ticket separately and plus you get a nice little sizeable souvenir stub to store away.

 

[elanshin]

Thanks. Glad I checked it out, because I currently have one of my CCs for payment of Express Transit. Can't remember why - maybe tap on/off trains like London and Sydney?

I see on my iPhone that the CC will be selected when 'My Suica' isn't requested by card reader'.

So, will "IC" readers in Japan actually accept credit cards if you don't have the boutique Japanese ones?

IC readers in JP do not default to CC NFC, they will often need to select CC (visa,MC, Amex). I've seen some trials of gpay in one of the Tokyo metros but I doubt they default to gpay and rather default to suica/passmo.

 

[Pushka]

@RooFlyer - try ChatGPT. It is simply fabulous for sorting out everything - in this case. - Japan.

 

[RooFlyer]

@RooFlyer - try ChatGPT. It is simply fabulous for sorting out everything - in this case. - Japan.

Hmmm .. never used the AI thing. Hope I'd never have to, but I guess its inevitable. Anyway, just completed last car/accomm bookings, but I'll wait and see if I get what I thought I'd booked

 

[Pushka]

Hmmm .. never used the AI thing. Hope I'd never have to, but I guess its inevitable. Anyway, just completed last car/accomm bookings, but I'll wait and see if I get what I thought I'd booked

I was the same. Never wanted to use it. But I tried it a month ago For sorting out best ways to get to places, transport options, times it will take and so on. Asked it for a 3 day itinerary then adjusted it. Which trains to use. And so on.

 

[elanshin]

Just be careful on where it's pulling data from. Google maps has some very weird algorithms going doing some dumb things right now in Tokyo with recommendations (no google I don't want to catch the bus for 1 stop that I can also walk in 5minutes).

 

[Pushka]

Just be careful on where it's pulling data from. Google maps has some very weird algorithms going doing some dumb things right now in Tokyo with recommendations (no google I don't want to catch the bus for 1 stop that I can also walk in 5minutes).

Yes agree. The information needs checking but we can do that at the port terminals. Just helps to have a broad plan, eg a logical progression of travel for the various places we need to see on a given day.

 

[elanshin]

Yes agree. The information needs checking but we can do that at the port terminals. Just helps to have a broad plan, eg a logical progression of travel for the various places we need to see on a given day.

Ah definitely, i do think this would be quite helpful for that sort of thing and I hopefully have fewer friends ask me to look over their JP itinerary for me to discover they're zigzagging and crisscrossing all over the place.

 

[Pushka]

Ah definitely, i do think this would be quite helpful for that sort of thing and I hopefully have fewer friends ask me to look over their JP itinerary for me to discover they're zigzagging and crisscrossing all over the place.

I was doing that zig zag for Kyoto and Osaka. Now I have a plan.

 

[rbjhan]

Ah definitely, i do think this would be quite helpful for that sort of thing and I hopefully have fewer friends ask me to look over their JP itinerary for me to discover they're zigzagging and crisscrossing all over the place.

Don't you just love people staying near Kyoto Station want to visit Kinkakuji then Kiyomizudera then Arashiyama then Fushimi Inari Shrine then Nishiki Market at 9pm?!

 

[Seat0B]

Doesn't it expire after 28 days?

Only the tourist card, physical, expires after 28 days.

edit: sorry late to the party and see @elanshin has already answered this!

 

[Seat0B]

So, will "IC" readers in Japan actually accept credit cards if you don't have the boutique Japanese ones?

I don’t think so - I think the direct e-credit card reading is only for Japanese issued cards. But I might well have this wrong as I haven’t tried it myself.