The Arrival

About an hour before landing you get some papers to fill out on the plane. These are for customs so make sure you fill them out totally and correctly. In order to do this keep at close hand the address where you will be staying during your trip, your passport (you will need the number which is writtin on the first page; usually starting with EE or EG), you flight info; both coming and going.

When you’ve done this correctly you’ll have no problem going through both check points. First you’ll have to show everything to an immigration officer who will ask you to put your 2 index fingers on a scanner and pose for a picture which will ingeniously be cross checked with the digital version of your (chipped) passport.

After that you can go to the luggage pick up point to wait for your bags. Then you need the pass the last control point; customs. Kindly present your passport and filled in papers and put your bag on the table. Don’t start trying out your Japanese just yet, because they’ll start asking questions in Japanese to you! Your bags are likely to be searched, but just lightly. And you’ll have to answer to some regullar questions. Don’t mention Bujinkan if possible, it’s a not needed attention! If you bring soft weapons and they ask what they are for; stick to popular answers like Kendo or so, just to avoid suspicion.

Coming out the controlled area, you’ll find closeby a bank where you can still change cash if you want. Then it’s straight on to transportation.
Busses are right outside and an escalator will bring you to a lower level for trains.

You’ll find several ticketing machines there, go to the lovely pink one for a pasmo card! Click Pasmo card, then English, and go for the nameless card. Choose the amount you wish to credit it with, (start out with 10.000 yen for instance) it will deduct 500 yen as a deposit (which you will receive back when you deliver back the card). The card you get can be used on most lines (JR Lines, Tokyo metro, private rail roads and more) AND it can be used like a proton, for buying things in little shops like drinks and the paper or whatever. When you top of the card entering, transfering and exiting, the machine will show you the amount deducted and left on your card (you can always check it on the machines too), when your credit is low, you can easily add credit on the machines).

Okay ready to go now; tap your card on the blue area saying Pasmo/Suica (Don’t try to put it IN the machine like a credit card unless you wish to be the laughing stock of the controller! hehehe) and you can go through to the trains.

Off you are to the center of Tokyo. The Keisei line (which is a private rail road) will bring you to Nippori and Ueno, which are stops on the circle line of central Tokyo, the Yamanote line. Don’t wurry about the language here, above the doors there’s a display saying at which station the train will stop next, and the conductor will also regularly pronounce it in English, expecially for the majour stops like Nippori and Ueno.

When you need to transfer to another line, be sure to tap your card at the transfer gates to have the right amount calculated for you! If this doesn’t work, hand your card over to the controller at a desk at the gates and he will make the transfer work for you! Don’t just go through or exit and re-enter, as this will result in wrong calculations of your total trip fee, which will not be for the benefit of you.

Smartest thing is to just go to your hotel/ryokan and check in, have an easy rest and shower and then go out to eat something in the neighbourhood. But don’t sleep too long, so your biorythm can adjust properly AND so there will still be places open for you to go eat.