Current Events > Trying to travel to japan this year in april, I got a few questions

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Well for starters I don't have a passport yet, about how long would it take to get one if I tried for one starting next week? Are there in shots or anything I need for traveling to a new country from the U.S? Any other advise you can give would be appreciated, first time actually flying to a new country. Only been to canada otherwise.

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I didn't need any shots when I went. Not sure how long getting your first passport takes though, since I got mine ages ago. As for advice:

• Bring a little plastic bag for rubbish when you go out. There are very few trash cans in public; mostly just recycling bins by vending machines.
• Study up on manners. They're very big on this. Don't do stuff like talk on your phone on trains or eat while walking.
• A lot of stuff is in English so it shouldn't be too hard to find your way around, but being able to read Hiragana and Katakana is very helpful just so you can understand Romaji.
• Rent a wireless router. These little things are so incredibly helpful :3
• They sell adult magazines in 7-11. Riiiight next to stuff like Shonen Jump. I just wanted to bring that up.
• One more thing: Japanese dubbed movies are hilarious. Seeing Will Smith "speak" Japanese in MIB literally made me laugh out loud.

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Getting a passport is not hard. Just slightly tedious. Takes about 6 weeks I think

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVFjA7Qy1as
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-01KNXILi8

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Thanks for the advice guys, and that vid I will watch. Hopefully this passport doesn't take 2 months, all I should need is basic info like birth certificate/social security card right?

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Health insurance

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Just expedite the passport for like 30 more bucks. I did that and got my passport in like 9 days.

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if you're planning on going to different cities, for sure get the JRPASS beforehand.

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If you do it now you can definitely get your passport before April

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Make sure you fly into narita and not haneda.

TonyRodney posted...

Thanks for the advice guys, and that vid I will watch. Hopefully this passport doesn't take 2 months, all I should need is basic info like birth certificate/social security card right?

You need proof of citizenship and proof of identity. So a birth certificate and a driver's licence, for example. And passport photos. You can get them at the post office or a CVS/Walgreens/whatever. You fill out the forms, get all the fees (there are 2.) And bring it in to a passport office, usually at a post office.

They look at everything, put their stamps on everything, take your money, and you mail your birth certificate, application, etc in. You get everything back in the mail and then you get your passport in the mail.

Good thing is that you only have to do this once. When you renew every 10 years you just send in a form, money, and your old passport. You don't have to go anywhere.

Don't bother with the passport card. Nor the extended book.

It says 6-8 weeks but honestly it's faster than that. I think mine came in less than 4.

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lilJoe457 posted...

Just expedite the passport for like 30 more bucks. I did that and got my passport in like 9 days.

Will do if I can

Old NoiseTank posted...

if you're planning on going to different cities, for sure get the JRPASS beforehand.

I'll have to research what that is, but I think I'll just be in tokyo.

SauI_Goodman posted...

Make sure you fly into narita and not haneda.

Is there like a problem if it happens this way? Like is it hard to get out of the place or something?

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TonyRodney posted...

Will do if I can

I'll have to research what that is, but I think I'll just be in tokyo.

Is there like a problem if it happens this way? Like is it hard to get out of the place or something?

it's not in tokyo proper but it's not really out of the way either. Been a coupple decades for me but i remember it being like 45 minutes away.

Haneda is definitely the better airport to fly into if you have the option. It's closer to Tokyo proper.

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TonyRodney posted...

Well for starters I don't have a passport yet, about how long would it take to get one if I tried for one starting next week? Are there in shots or anything I need for traveling to a new country from the U.S? Any other advise you can give would be appreciated, first time actually flying to a new country. Only been to canada otherwise.

I'm Canadian so this might not necessarily apply, I flew to Iceland last March and it was my first trip I've ever taken. Getting my passport wasn't too bad, only took about 4 weeks. There were varying levels of rush service but the woman at the passport office assured me I would be fine without it.

I was really anxious about flying. Once we were on the plan I tried to zone out a bit while my friends all took jabs at me. Our flight ended up getting delayed by about an hour so we just sat on the runway doing nothing and eventually just got over my anxiety because we were driving loops around the airport. Once we were in the air I was all good, I took out my Switch and played Hollow Knight for like 5 hours.

My only advice is, don't plan to sleep on the plane. You might find you can(Which is good) but I personally planned to sleep the whole trip since we were landing at 6am Iceland time but ended up being too uncomfortable

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