First time trip to Japan (Advice and Tips Welcome)
 

So I'll be going to Japan just after the new year.
I'm a huge fan of linguistics and am seeking to learn as much Japanese over the course of the 90 days a tourist visa will allow me to stay in Japan.

I'm seeking advice from anyone/everyone willing, so as to dodge avoidable pitfalls. As of now, here's my plan:

I'll arrive in Japan shortly post New Year (I'm buying the ticket next week on my B-Day so I don't know the exact date yet.)
On arrival, I'll check into the guesthouse I intend on living at for the duration of the three months. Here's the group home I intend on staying at: Warabi
(If anyone has experience with J&F I'd love to hear your insight. I want to make sure this is one of my best options while living in Tokyo.)

I speak next to zero Japanese but will study Japanese for the next three months before my arrival. I have experience learning other languages and am confident I'll have a very rudimentary grasp of the language on arrival. My goal is to gain as much language proficiency as possible over the course of my stay. Spoken Japanese is far more important to me than written Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana and will be my focus during the stay.

Here's my big question though:
What advice does the community here have for me to make the transition into the Tokyo life as smooth as possible?
There's all kinds of little things I've run into in the past that I'd like to avoid if possible. (Example, issues using local transportation, scammy cabbies, inflated product prices for foreigners, etc.)
For example, when I arrive in Tokyo, I'll need transportation to the guesthouse location. I'm assuming I'll take the train but is there anything I should know about how to use the train? Is using a cab ridiculously expensive or is it a viable option? What about shared transport (Like the south american "collectivos").

Any other tips or tricks the community could give me would be awesome.

At this time, I'll be traveling on a Tourist Visa, but since I'm incorporated as an LLC, perhaps I can find a way to extend the visa for "business" purposes. Though I'm sure I'll have to talk to someone with more experience before that really becomes a possibility. For now, the trip is planned for 3 months.

Lastly, while in Tokyo, what would you say are the top 5 things I should do/try?
My goal is complete immersion in the language/culture.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

JRad the Bad

Assuming you will use Narita airport, taxi to Warabi will cost you more than 20,000 JPY (daytime) or more than 30,000 JPY (midnight) even though most of all taxi in Japanase honest.

I recommend limousine bus to Tokyo. It will cost you less then 3,000 JPY and you will get Warabi by train from Tokyo with fee about 300 JPY.

Anyway, learn from these sites before coming Japan.

Japan Budget Travel Guide: Transportation
Transportation in Japan
Japan National Tourism Organization | Plan Your Trip | Transportation

Warabi is in Saitama, which, though close, is not actually in Tokyo. To get to Warabi, you would take the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, and then take the Keihin Tohoku line to Warabi station. It takes an hour or so to get from Narita to Tokyo, and then another 30 minutes on a local train to Warabi. It should cost about 4000 yen to get to Warabi by train. The Narita Express platform is on the basement level of Tokyo Station, the Keihin Tohoku Line shares the same platform as the Yamanote line.

For the sake of convenience, you might think about finding a guesthouse closer to central Tokyo. From Warabi, you'll be spending an hour each day on the train commuting to Tokyo, plus the 700 or 800 yen the train commute will cost. Many people like Sakura House, the one in Asakusa is well-liked by by friends of mine who have stayed there, but there are other places in central Tokyo which are quite good.

Taxis in Tokyo charge 730 yen for 2 kilometers. I seldom find it necessary to use the taxi, there are enough subways and trains with numerous stations around the city. Taxis are mainly convenient if you get caught out at night after the trains stop running.

Transition to life in Tokyo is not difficult, the hardest thing to deal with in the first week is jet lag. There are numerous foreigners in Japan, and you can get pretty far without needing much Japanese. What you should focus on first is learning basic tourist Japanese, such as learning the way to ask for prices, directions, getting around in a taxi, and basic manners.

Winter in Tokyo is a little cold, last year we had some pretty heavy snow. Bring warm clothes. Keep in mind that in Japan, even a modern city like Tokyo, heating and air conditioning are used infrequently. Rather than turning on a heater, most people will simply wear more clothes indoors, and less clothes in the summer.

You might be wiser to delay starting your trip until February, this will give you time to enjoy the cherry blossom season, which is usually the first week of April.

I have been living in Tokyo for 6 years now (yikes!), if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.

Hey JRadthebad,

Since wi-fi is not easy to find everywhere in Japan, I would recommend you to download 'trains.jp' app which is offline. All u needa do is type departure place and destination and the app shows u how to get there, how much it costs and what's the fastest way to get there. Cabs are quite expensive in Japan so u better take the train whenever its possible :-) I would recommend u to buy a Pasmo/Suica Card at the airport which u can easily buy at a vending machine. U can charge this card with money and take whatever train the app suggests you.
Besides the common sightseeing spots I would recommend you to make some daily excursions to Kamakura, Nikko and Hakone if u can make it! Have fun in Japan I hope I could be of any help!

When I go abroad, I take NEX (Narita EXpress) from Yokohama to Narita because it is punctual and easy to get the reserved seat ticket (all seats in NEX are reserved) on phone or via Internet.

And when I come back to Japan, I take the bus to Yokohama because it is eaier to get the bus ticket after tiring flight. Also I do not worry about being over slept in the bus.

About N'EX | Narita Express | JR-EAST
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bu...s/narita/index