Money concern: going to Japan

Fabrice

Thanks LaurenC,

Look at you and your nice appropriate avatar! :dance:

Walk_Me_Home_Cheddar

I travelled to Japan with friend a few years ago. I was convinced we'd be back at the hotel as soon as darkness fell (being two obviously foreign females) but in Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto we felt safe the entire time we were there. We made good use of the female only carriages on the subway at night. I think I used mostly cash (with a credit card for emergencies) and never felt worried about carrying it around. Be sensible as you normally would and you'll be fine.

I agree with the other poster who mentioned the language barrier. After five plus years of study we had a reasonable grasp of the language between us, but I know I'd have found it much more stressful if I'd gone with someone who didn't speak any Japanese. Standing in a subway station deciphering the Kanji to work out where you want to go while people are rushing about is certainly a challenge!

Finding places isn't always the easiest with their system of numbering buildings depending on when they were built rather than their position on the street. One night we came out of one of the many millions of exits for Shinjuku station (or so if felt) and asked a policeman for some directions. The best he could do was confirm we were on the road we wanted but had no idea whether we wanted to go up it or down it to get back to our hotel!

It's an amazing place, OP. I hope you have a brilliant time. Make sure you go and view the cherry blossoms if they haven't all gone by the time you go (we went in April and missed it by about a week).

AHAR

LaurenC wrote: »

Look out for ATMs at Post Offices and 7-Eleven stores as they will definitely accept your cards.

Yep. Don't waste your time with any others as they probably won't work. Post Office machines are subject to the PO's opening hours but have the advantage of dispensing cash in 1000 increments whereas the ubiquitous and open-all-hours 7-Eleven store machines only appear to do 10,000 yen notes. Spending them isn't a problem though.

Fabrice

More tips from you two (Cheddar & AHAR), many thanks.

Fabrice

Oops,

Flights and a couple of hotels were booked before the quake.
We're planning to go to Tokyo and Kyoto.

Flights were booked with credit card but are non-refundable & non-exchangeable.
I haven't purchased travel insurance yet because i needed to find a special one for my very specific health condition.

Any advice of what i should do?
Trip is due from 9 to 24 april.

Many thanks, Fabrice

chattychappy

I would have no hesitation in going ahead.

Tokyo is getting back to normal, Kyoto is even further away from the earthquake area.

Much of Japan is prone to earthquakes.. nobody can say you won't experience one. By the time you go, the aftershocks should have died down.

Most quakes are minor - but of course you never know until they have finished that they won't be major. If you have never experienced one before they can be startling.

There is plenty of advice about. As a minimum, I generally ensure I have a torch near my bed and am familiar with exits. It is worth following the advice of the locals if an emergency arises.

Obviously nothing is going to save you if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. IMHO, this kind of situation shows nature at its most dangerous and Japan at its best. It would be a pity if it loses your custom now.

ironlady2022

Agree with chattychappy, my friends are going back to work in Tokyo today as usual and one still went ahead with dinner plans over the weekend. I wouldn't worry too much.

Fabrice

Sorry guys, but this trip has been cancelled. There is NO WAY that we can go there and have the holiday of a lifetime we planned when all this stuff is still happening (nuclear plant, food, etc...). I feel like some of the japanese people, i don't trust anything.

Anyway, which brings me onto the serious business of a hotel room my partner booked at the Hyatt (yeah, i know...) with her AmEx credit card.
They didn't charge her credit card initially, but as soon as she cancelled they sent her a cancellation confirmation email and she was charged the full amount of the booking. Let me tell you, 3 nights in a Superieur room, it's quite a lot of money.
She emailed them but they didn't reply.
The cancellation policy is far from black & white; grey at best. Everything's ambiguous. So she doesn't know what to do. She is going to try to phone the general manager of the hotel or someone of that authority because she is pretty !!!!ed off <== understatement.

choc_mouse

Sorry to hear that Fabrice. I do hope you get another chance to visit Japan in the future as it is such a lovely country.

Re: hotel booking. Did you book it directly or through a website or a travel agent? They would normally tell you the cancellation policy up front. I'm guessing it said you could cancel without a big penalty, so ringing the hotel or the agent is best. Ask for someone who speaks English if you're calling the hotel. The Japanese are too polite to get angry and hang up. And I've never had a Japanese person/company deliberately try and cheat me, so if it was an honest mistake, they will go out of their way to refund you (hopefully).

Fabrice

She booked through the Hyatt website.
She received confirmation email.

further down it says:

Type of rate: ADV PURCHASE* (asterisk explain note nowhere to be seen in the email)
Cancellation Policy: FULL PREPAYMENT AT THE TIME OF BOOKING / NONREFUNDABLE
Changes to the dates of stay, number of guests per room or number of rooms confirmed will be subject to current pricing which may be different than previously confirmed rates.

Now, what does prepayment means? They never charged her credit card until she cancelled. ???