00:01:00 John Daub: Welcome to Tokyo Station and when you're traveling by rail you have travelers like this man right here. How you doing Norm?

00:01:00 Norm: Doing alright John. Pretty good. Long time no see. When was the last time you were here? October of last year, right a week after travel opened.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah, so not too long. Less than a year. I know that hat.

00:01:00 Norm: Yes. I've got a bit more reason to cover the dome. I'm right behind you.

00:01:00 John Daub: So we're going to talk today about some travel tips in particular since the pandemic restarted November of 2022 and tourism restarted after that. There's been a lot of changes in travel here in Japan. A lot of shortcuts, things that make your life easier and I learned a couple of them from Norm. We're going to try to find five of them. So I might have to help out but I wanted to hear from you Norm. What do you think? What's the first travel tip? The first travel tip that you discovered in particular on this trip.

00:01:00 Norm: Oh, first travel tip. Well the one I shared I think was buying your Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online ahead of time and buying them e-ticket. If you can attach them to your Suica (IC card) or a Pasmo (IC card).

00:01:00 John Daub: Right. It's ideal. You save I think 10,000 yen. End up saving and you just tap and go in. It's a lot smoother, a lot quicker. You don't have to worry about buying a ticket, standing in line. It's much easier. I've never done that. I live here. So wait, where do you buy the tickets to put on to your smartphone?

00:01:00 Norm: So you can do it on the smartphone as well. Oh, on the Suica. Yes, I did it on the Pasmo. So buy your ticket through the JR website and then you can enter your Pasmo card number. There's a number on the back of the Pasmo or any other card that you have and you can attach it to the ticket and you're good to go. And it just knows from the IC chip to tap.

00:01:00 John Daub: I never thought about that. I've never done that. That's just so much easier.

00:01:00 Norm: It is much easier.

00:01:00 John Daub: I sometimes lose those tickets but I have a receipt. I've had to prove it a couple of times but wow. I mean I was nervous the first time walking through the gate and tapping it, waiting for the gates to close. Right. Walked right through. They'll send you an email so it knows that you've walked through. They track your progress and I highly recommend it.

00:01:00 Norm: Absolutely.

00:01:00 John Daub: Okay, so buy your tickets. Use your IC card. You can use any of them including the Kitaca card and the Pasmo. Suica to put your Shinkansen ticket onto that. Now another thing is I think if you have over ¥20,000 on your Pasmo card which is the maximum, I wonder if you could actually tap it, get on the Shinkansen and tap it out. Or do you actually need to buy a Shinkansen ticket?

00:01:00 Norm: I cannot confirm that. Yeah, so the ticket was purchased ahead of time. I did purchase it through the JR. I think this one for Niigata is the JR East line.

00:01:00 John Daub: Right. I think. So I bought it through the JR East website. I think you could buy the ticket. It was either a month or like 60 days before the ticket. I think it was about 60 days before the trip. And I reserved my seat so I had my seat reserved as well.

00:01:00 Norm: Oh, so online you put in your Pasmo number which is on the back?

00:01:00 John Daub: Yep. Oh, and then that generates it into the IC code so when that number taps through, they know it's you and lets you through.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. That's interesting. I think you can also do similar stuff now with the vending machines. I know you could pick up your JR Rail Pass from the vending machines as well or make seat reservations at the vending machines without having to talk to people. So that's sort of a new thing. There's also an app I believe that you can reserve your Shinkansen tickets onto your smartphone and tap just your smartphone too if you don't have an IC card. If your phone, not Google phones, not Androids, have that NFC capability.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah, if your Suica card is on your phone, you can put the Shinkansen ticket on that as well and tap in through there. So I think the goal is just to get people to stop going to buy the tickets in person or it could be an issue.

00:01:00 Norm: Right. So that's a great way to do self-service. It's great.

00:01:00 John Daub: Some other travel tips. I guess right now, Pasmo and Suica are not officially available, but you could possibly find them. Some people are finding them. The press release from them directly, not some random YouTuber, from them, was that they are suspended indefinitely. And indefinitely means we don't know. So that's the current situation here. But sometimes they have them. So you might discover them around. I don't know. But they don't have them here right now. So just to let you know that information. You can get a Welcome Suica at the airport and I think you can put your Shinkansen tickets onto that. Maybe. That's a good question. I think it's got the same code. I think it's like a nine-digit code or something.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. You can put it on there. Absolutely. So if your Welcome Suica has a nine-digit code, you can put it on there.

00:01:00 John Daub: Before you get the Welcome Suica at the airport, at the port of entry, ask about that to the person who's selling it to you. If you're thinking about putting your Shinkansen tickets onto your IC card. Which is really convenient. Especially if you're running to the train like I almost typically do. It's more than nine digits. Sorry everybody. It's more than nine. Whatever the code is, it's on the back of the card. Just use that.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. What were our other four tips? Was that all we had?

00:01:00 John Daub: Oh, you have more?

00:01:00 Norm: Okay. So one thing about the Pasmo that you had mentioned that made me nervous. Because my Pasmo I've had since 2018.

00:01:00 John Daub: Right. And I think there was a comment about they expire or only hold value for ten years. That's only ten years if you're not using it.

00:01:00 Norm: Right. So as long as you keep using it, there's no expiration date. As long as it keeps working.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah, so that's what I was answering. Good point. This is why we have 300,000 plus subscribers on this channel. And having some people come on here and talk about their travel experiences from the road. So there you go. As long as it's been used within ten years.

00:01:00 Norm: Absolutely. It's still there.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. Interesting. Second tip.

00:01:00 Norm: Second, I think the biggest thing for me is when I was looking at flights to come to Japan this time. I was looking at United. Right. And I was looking at the places. And then I remembered you had mentioned, someone had mentioned looking at the Japanese website. So I went to ANA, the Japanese ANA website. I used Google Translate. Found the exact same flight and ticket for 30,000 yen less than the United flight. So I ended up saving about $250 on my flight just because I used the Japanese website.

00:01:00 John Daub: Well, wait a second. So is it because of the currency exchange perhaps or something like that?

00:01:00 Norm: It may have been the currency exchange, yeah.

00:01:00 John Daub: That is a really good tip. I might have actually said that though in a past live stream.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah, you have. But just a reminder, yeah. Oh, yeah. Make use of it. Definitely worth checking. I can't, obviously there's no guarantee it's going to work for all of it. It's worth checking. You can copy paste just of a Japanese site into Google Translate. And it will bring up that website, Google translating everything that you click through. And then you can have access to Japanese based websites. And I think that that's so true. There has been like yesterday we talked about how the menus, English menus have a different price. That's more sounds quite illegal. But this one though, like because of the exchange rate, Japanese don't have the same purchasing power. PPP, was it purchasing power parity or something? Because of the weaker yen, the prices from the Japanese carrier are cheaper from buying on the Japanese website. And because most foreigners can't understand Japanese, that perhaps is a little bit of a loophole to save you 30,000 yen.

00:01:00 John Daub: That's stupid. That's pretty incredible. And you booked a better airline because I have to say ANA is a little bit better than the one you were going to. ANA was great, yeah. ANA was a great, great airline, yeah. Very happy. I won't say who I flew last year, but it was better than the one last year.

00:01:00 Norm: Who was it? No, no, no. Okay, okay, okay. It was fine, it was fine. But ANA was much better. Give up your information.

00:01:00 John Daub: Okay, yeah. Anything else? Well, I think, and again, this is something you've said and other people have said before. Because I was in, on Sado Island this trip, more rural. Kodo, Kodo, Taiko Group, Kodo.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. Earth Celebration, Kodo (taiko drumming group). Earth Celebration, very cool. I rented a car. It was my first time renting a car in Japan and I was beyond nervous that first day. I, you know, again, I signed the paperwork, they handed me the keys, I got in the car and they just let me go and I couldn't believe it.

00:01:00 John Daub: Were you expecting like training as well, right? Like I was expecting when I, the first time I went to Toyota to rent a car, wait a second, are you not going to give me like a proper orientation?

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. No, they just give you the keys and say go. Just get out. We've got other people to give cars to. Right. But it was, it was so freeing to be able to go anywhere you wanted to. Obviously, if you're in Tokyo or any place that has a well-established transit system, you don't need a car. But on Sado Island and even Niigata, I was in Niigata all of yesterday, it would have been nice to have had a car there. If you're thinking about renting a car, absolutely do it. Highly recommend it. First 15 minutes are scary. But after that, how long did it take you before you're like, ugh.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 15, 20 minutes. I think those coastal roads going around Sado Island took me a little bit longer because they were so narrow. But because the steering wheel is on the right-hand side and everything's backward, I can't tell you how many times I went to turn. The left turn into the wrong lane. Turn into windshield wipers.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. Oh, the windshield wipers. Okay. I turned on my windshield wipers every time I tried to switch lanes.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. I've done that. The windshield wipers. That's how you fail the exam, by the way. You don't want to signal with the... And the examiners know that when you drive the test, the wipers are on the wrong... Right, the different side. Just on the outside. That's how you can learn about it. And using your left hand for the parking brake and everything else. That was also a little bit weird, but...

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. Only getting into the passenger side once.

00:01:00 John Daub: Right. Yeah. You can only do that once. Randaria's here. Aloha, Randaria. How you doing? Anything else? Because I might have some stuff to add, and I definitely have some questions for you, Norm.

00:01:00 Norm: So, another one, and I think other people have mentioned this before, and it's something I haven't really done. The hotel that I stayed at in Sado Island, they had a breakfast, and I'd never really taken advantage of that before. I've always woken up early because I want to get out.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. I'll hit a Lawson's or a konbini (convenience store) to get something. Not the healthiest choice.

00:01:00 Norm: Not the healthiest choice, right. But the breakfast is so convenient in hotels. If your hotel offers a breakfast, and it's 1,500 yen or whatever, you can get a breakfast and take advantage of it. It's so, and it's much healthier.

00:01:00 John Daub: It actually is. They have much healthier food. It is Japanese style. They have usually a combination. Japanese style. Sometimes you'll find some scrambled eggs and sausage and stuff. Yeah. But the Japanese breakfast, you know, I'm trying to cut down on carbs and a little bit rice, but things like natto (fermented soybeans) and fish, and you know, it's... It was. It was, yeah. I wish I'd done all four days there. So, because it, yeah, 6.30, I think the restaurant opened, and I could have gotten out.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. Yeah. If you're starting early, need that little extra power for Earth Celebration. Get ready for those taiko drums. This is hardcore.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. So, I think that these tips will really help you if you're traveling around. And if you are part of our Discord server, reach out to me and share the information with Norm. When are you coming back to Japan? You leave tomorrow, right?

00:01:00 Norm: I leave tomorrow. Oh, man. I leave tomorrow. Wow. Yeah. Next year, hopefully. With the family.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. So. Yeah. You're supposed to bring them this time.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. My daughter started school last week, and I couldn't convince my wife to get her out of school.

00:01:00 John Daub: Ah. Yeah. But I'd love to have them. And, you know, I think even to go back to Earth Celebration, you know, I think maybe I'll see Kodo again when they tour to see if they like him as much as I do. But yeah, Earth Celebration was really special. They really . You think it was too hot to camp? I know people underestimate Japanese summer.

00:01:00 Norm: I think folks that, I mean, you really have to be prepared to camp. If you like camping and, you know, 80, 90, 80 degree weather at night with 70, 80% humidity.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. 90 degree weather during the day. Yeah. It's brutal. It was brutal. I, as somebody who hitchhiked and knows about camping, those tents, unless you have a cross ventilation, it's so hot inside, even in the middle of the night. So, I had to buy fans. I bought like four little teeny battery powered fans that I had running for cross ventilation into, through the tent. In order to survive in it. It ended up, would have been cheaper to stay in a hotel, I think. But the point was I wanted to stay in the tent. So you need a cross ventilation and if there's no air, and which is weird because it's an island, you'd think there'd be some air.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. It's not all the time. Not all the time. You don't have it. Not in the summer.

00:01:00 John Daub: Not in the summer. Yeah. Everyone has always said, don't come to Japan in the summer, in August. I mean.

00:01:00 Norm: No, that's just me. No, no, no. Now, I'm like rewinding you. No. Everyone. Don't come. You be prepared. I mean, I'm thankful I brought sandals because I typically don't wear sandals. I'm a shoe guy. But my feet were being cooked in my shoes. So, sandals the entire time on Sado Island. Just hot. I mean, these wicking shirts, they can only do so much against the weather.

00:01:00 John Daub: Right. It's brutal. Yeah. The heat is no joke. So, you're looking forward to going home, I think, after this. Don't make summer a habit.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. No, no, no. All right. It's really. This is the only summer trip I must come back for a celebration.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. Pick your season wisely. There's something. There's nothing wrong with summer if you like this kind of weather. Or Hokkaido. Hokkaido. Hokkaido would be good.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. Break up your trip and spend a few days somewhere else than the city, the Golden Route. Go into the mountains because that's the only way to cool down or make sure you're at the beach or something where at least there's some seaside air because it is just. We're starting to feel a change. I can smell a little bit of autumn. It's still really hot though. I'm sweating. And Michael Sassano, how you doing? You had mentioned too, I think on the last video about coming in summer with the typhoons. I was concerned because the day before my trip was almost canceled because of the typhoon.

00:01:00 John Daub: Oh, right. Yeah. When you're coming in. Yeah. That's when I did the typhoon stream. So that's something to be really cautious about. Airline insurance. Absolutely. If you're coming during typhoon season, buy that insurance because if your flight were canceled and kept their, I mean, everything would have been, everything would have been canceled. My, everything was so tightly scheduled between my hotels, Shinkansen tickets, the ferry to Sado Island. Everything would have been thrown back. I would have been in chaos had my flight been delayed. Local transportation. I hear you rode the bus in Niigata.

00:01:00 Norm: Oh yeah. Yeah. The bus actually system in Niigata wasn't too bad. It was, it was me not realizing certain restaurants close at different times on certain days. So it's, but it's fun. It's that's another tip I've taken from other YouTubers that travel sort of on the cuff is just to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and making changes on the fly. You can't, my wife plans so well. Has alternate things when things are canceled. I'm not so great at that. If something gets canceled, I kind of, kind of, I don't know what to do. But this trip was a bit more casual, so it worked out better.

00:01:00 John Daub: I think I have the, everybody's built differently for traveling. I'm more like a pirate. I like when stuff happens that is bad because that's, that makes those days unforgettable. Seriously, after, after how many years have I been traveling? A lot of travel. The bad times are the ones I remember the most. And if you have a good attitude about it, it ends up being. I think almost a pleasant experience. I remember missing my train from Scotland. So I missed every connection because I had to get the Sweden from Scotland, from Glasgow. I missed my train by one minute that messed me up. So I ended up spending more money for the express train to London. And I took the TGV or the Eurostar to Brussels. And I ended up catching that train that I originally missed and it cost me a lot more, but I beat the system and ended up celebrating really, really hard when I got to Uppsala in Sweden. That was a good time. But you have to be prepared for when things don't go right and be able to think and try to overcome it with a positive. Because those are the stories that you tell your grandkids about the day you missed your train from Glasgow. Things like that. And guarantee things will go awry at some point.

00:01:00 Norm: Oh yeah. Absolutely. Things go awry all the time. And that's not a bad thing. No, not at all. Not yet. Just rule. Maybe at the time, but afterwards.

00:01:00 John Daub: The pictures. Take a lot of pictures when it goes wrong. Take a lot of pictures. All right. Well, thank you, Norm. Anything else you wanted to add for the people?

00:01:00 Norm: People? No. Keep watching John. Support John. Support his channel.

00:01:00 John Daub: I did not tell him to say that. No, not at all. He's got some great content coming up that I know he's working hard on. Thank you, John, for coming out. Hopefully it's a short reprieve between editing and I know you've got a trip coming up tomorrow, so I appreciate that. I came out just to see Norm. Last time he got little Leo a Godzilla stuffed animal and a bunch of other really nice gifts and a gacha pod. Two of those gifts drove me crazy. One of them does still now, the Godzilla. Leo wakes up every morning acting like Godzilla with humping my head and making screaming sounds. So thank you, Norm.

00:01:00 Norm: You're welcome. And thank you to everyone on Discord for all the comments and everything and the likes on the pictures. And I'll share some more.

00:01:00 John Daub: Yeah. Norm's on Discord. A lot of our community members over there are giving updates from the road, which is so useful for the other travelers. So I think there's 16,000 strong there. Incredibly useful, yes. Yeah. And there's a lot of helpful people on the Discord chat. Was that thunder? That was thunder. All right. Check it out. Way to go, Norm. Seriously. All right. You can see it does not look good over here. Oh, God. Yeah. All right. You know what? All right. Leave your questions for Norm in the comments below. Norm, go ahead and you can answer some people's comments when you're at the airport tomorrow.

00:01:00 Norm: I will do. Absolutely will do. Norm will help you out. Ask Norm anything, almost anything. I'll look into. I'm going to coach you tomorrow. Tomorrow at 7 in the morning. I'm going to be at the airport at 6, so early day. Thank you, brother.

00:01:00 John Daub: John, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. I like the hat. How do you keep it? I got like salt stains on mine. It's all discolored.

00:01:00 Norm: Yeah. The Tokyo summers will do that. Yeah. Well, thank you, Norm. And thanks to all of you. Matane (see you later).