(2019 Update!) 5 Apps to Download Before Your Trip To Japan

If you just love missing your bus because you waited in the wrong place, overpaying for things because you can't remember the exchange rate, or wandering around for hours looking for a wi-fi spot in vain - stop reading now, because this one's not for you.

I'd like to share with you five super-useful apps to download before you travel to Japan!

Whatever you've got planned in Japan, these apps should get you well-prepared.

1) HyperDia

Once you look past the sometimes awkward-sounding English (when Hyperdia tells you "TAKE TIME", it's not wishing you a leisurely trip, but telling you the duration of your journey), it's a solid tool for navigating Japan's wonderful rail system.

Hyperdia's app, just like the website, allows you to plan journeys and search timetables for (almost) all of Japan's train services. In English! It also benefits from the "Japan Rail Pass Search", which as you might guess allows you to search for routes you can take with the JR pass.

Hyperdia: App Store | Google Play

2) Norikae Annai - in English!

Norikae Annai is Japan's most-downloaded travel app. It's easier to navigate than Hyperdia, much more nicely designed and more user-friendly. The catch used to be that it was only available in Japanese. But now it’s available in an English version too, called Norikae Annai - Japan Transit Planner.

Norikae Annai - Japan Transit Planner: App Store | Google Play

3) Tokyo Subway Navigation

I LOVE the Tokyo Subway Navigation app, because as well as transfer information it also has a fully offline, pinch-and-zoom map of - you guessed it - Tokyo's metro system.

Good for getting to grips with (what often seems like) the world's most complex underground rail system!

Tokyo Subway Navigation: App Store | Google Play

4) Apps for Free Wi-Fi

Even if you don't want to be connected all the time, you'll probably want wifi at some point on your travels. Japan Travel by Navitime is an app with an offline map showing free wifi spots. It also has free downloadable offline maps of all the major cities in Japan.

Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi, similarly, has an offline map showing free wifi.

(Or you could just do what I do on holiday and stand outside McDonalds pretending to wait for someone while actually using the free internet. That's cool too, right?)

Japan Travel by Navitime: App Store | Google Play

Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi:  App Store | Google Play

5) XE Currency

Not Japan-specific, but definitely useful.

Until the exchange rate hits a nice easy number like 100 yen to the pound, you'll probably want a currency converter so you can figure out how far your spending money's going to go. And the XE converter works offline, too.

XE Currency: App Store | Google Play

So that's what's in my "essential Japan travel apps" folder! What's in yours? Let me know in the comments.

First published March 2016; updated 15 October, 2019

A Visit to Yokohama's Unko Museum (GUEST POST!)

I am delighted to introduce this guest post from Step Up Japanese student Philip Kinchington!

When I (Fran) heard that Phil was going to Yokohama's new poop museum on his recent trip to Japan, I knew there'd be some good photos in the pipeline...

So I was really pleased that he agreed to share these photos with you and this report from the Unko Museum.

(We got his friends' permission to use their photos too. When you’ve seen the photos, it'll be clear why this was important.)

Over to you, Phil! Yoroshiku ne!

On my recent visit to Tokyo I managed to meet up with my friends Tomo and Taka. They have a knack for sniffing out the most interesting and bizarre places to visit (the last time I met up with them they took me to the Monster Kawaii Cafe in Harajuku and then the Ramen Museum in Yokohama).

This time I was given the choice between the Kaiju Cafe in Kawasaki, or the Unko Museum (うんこミュージアム) in Yokohama. I had already been instructed by the mutual friend who introduced me to Tomo and Taka that I had to go to the Unko Museum or they would very disappointed in me, so the choice was simple (we ended up going to the Kaiju Cafe anyway, so it turned out to be a consequence free choice.)

うんこ (unko) is the Japanese equivalent word for poo-poo or poop, often used by small children. And while it is called a museum, it is more of a kind of crazy art installation with photo opportunities and a few interactive exhibits. There is very little of educational value beyond a display of some poop-themed toys from around the world.

While waiting for entry to the Museum, we were given the leaflet for the museum which doubled as a little spot-the-differences puzzle. We were also encouraged to don a 'poop-hat' for a photo opportunity (this will become a recurring theme.)

All photos courtesy of Phil Kinchington 💩

After queuing we were gathered into a group of about a dozen people and escorted into a small ante-chamber for instruction (none of which I understood.) Once the instructions had been delivered, we were encouraged to shout "UNKO!!" in unison before being directed through a curtain into the next room.

We found ourselves in a long, narrow room with half a dozen pastel-coloured thrones along one wall. We were directed to take our places on a throne and to make 'straining' faces for the obligatory photo opportunity.

Once they felt that enough photos had been taken, we were told to stand up and look into the bowl of the throne.

A souvenir poop to take away as a gift from the Museum. We were then funnelled from this room into the main Museum area. As we left the room, we were each handed a stick to place our souvenir poop onto for the convenience of carrying.

On entering the main room of the exhibition, we came face-to-face with a ball pit, at the centre of which was a giant poop sculpture (the Poop Volcano, apparently.) As we entered, a countdown was projected onto the side of the Poop Volcano.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0…

...and a fountain of small foam poops spray out of the top of the volcano. Two attendants came over to the edge of the ball pit carrying a giant, lidded potty. The children in the ball pit were then told to gather all of the foam poops and deposit them in the potty as quickly as they could. I have no idea what the purpose of this exercise was.

From here we worked our way around the other areas of the exhibition in a clockwise direction. First up was a handful of video games repurposed with a poop theme, or some kind of poop element.

Around the corner from the video games was another game, but one that was more physically interactive.

Near the end of the video I ask the rhetorical question "how old am I?" The official answer to this is (nearly) 44, but that's only because was a bit nervous and stuttered when asked my age.

Next was a room (sadly no photo) with three microphones and a large screen. The screen displayed what looked like a hosepipe pointing upwards from the bottom of the screen in front of each microphone. The instructions said to shout "UNKO!!" into the microphone. On doing this a poop was produced out of the appropriate hosepipe on the screen. It appeared that the louder you shouted, the larger the poop that was summoned, and the longer you held the shout, the poop would continue to float above the end of the hosepipe.

The remainder of the Museum was really just a series of photo opportunities (one of which looked worryingly like my Drawing Room at home.)

The Unko Museum is currently open in the Aso Building a short walk from Yokohama Station. The exhibition opened on 15th March 2019, but it is only open until 15th July, so you'd better be quick if you want to visit. You can find more information on their website (日本語だけ).

After the Unko Museum, we went to the zoo. They only had one animal, a small dog. It was a Shitzu.

P.S. Have you been somewhere cool and Japan-related that you’d like to share with us? Perhaps you have an interesting Japanese hobby or interest? Would you like to write a guest blog post for Step Up Japanese? I’d love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch! 

Hiking the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage Trail in 2018 - A Round-Up

The week I spent last spring walking the first leg of the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage trail was peaceful, thought-provoking, and challenging - often all at once.

Here’s all my writing about that trip in one place.

Part 1 - Plan, plan, plan!

Are you a planner? Or a no-planner?

Some people like to "wing it" when they travel. They book a ticket and turn up, deciding what to do once they arrive. Me, I like to have things planned out. Especially when the trip involves a week of solo walking in Japan…

Click here to read Part 1 - Plan, plan, plan!

Part 2 - The Best First Day in Japan

Spoiler alert: this post isn't about the Shikoku pilgrimage, although it is about the same trip. It's about what I did with my spare first day in Nagoya: the lost day...

Arriving first thing in the morning on a long-haul flight is not ideal. You're tired, jet-lagged and yet you need to stay awake until a normal bedtime, so you can adjust your body clock.

I had almost 12 hours to kill on that first day, and was waiting for my friends to finish work.

So what do you do with a whole day to yourself?

Ciick here to read Part 2 - The Best First Day in Japan

Part 3 - What To Wear

When I told my Japanese friends I was planning to walk the Shikoku Henro trail, several of them said the same thing. "Are you going to wear a hat?"

For many people, the image of a walker in a bamboo hat is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of the pilgrimage.

But what "should" you wear on the Shikoku 88, a Buddhist pilgrimage trail?

Click here to read Part 3 - What To Wear

Part 4 - How to Talk to Strangers in Japanese

A stranger, they say, is just a friend you haven't met yet.

And talking to strangers is a great way to speak lots of Japanese. I did lots of this while walking the first section of the Shikoku pilgrimage this spring.

But how do you start a conversation with a stranger? Here are some ideas to get you going, even if you're a beginner at Japanese.

Click here to read Part 4 - How to Talk to Strangers in Japanese

Part 5 - Signs of Shikoku

I heard lots of "gambatte kudasai" (“keep going!”) walking the first leg of the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage this spring. It was written everywhere too - in fact there were lots of interesting signs.

The pilgrimage trail is pretty well marked. Signage is consistently spaced, and in many places there's a way-marker every 100 metres.

But it's also endearingly inconsistent in design - on some stretches every sign is different, and many are handmade….

Click here to read Part 5 - Signs of Shikoku

Part 6 - Shouting at the French

"Sumimaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" I shouted. ("Excuse me!")

The couple turned round, but they didn't move.

They were both dressed in full pilgrim garb: long white clothes, their heads protected by conical hats.

"Otoshimono desu!" ("You dropped this!")

They stared at me blankly. I waved the little grey bag with its digital camera inside. "KAMERA!"

I still couldn't make out their faces, but I thought I saw a glimmer of recognition. One of the pair walked towards me, and it was only then that I saw her face.

"I thought you were Japanese," she said, and I heard a European accent I couldn't place.

"I thought you were Japanese," I said…

Click here to read Part 6 - Shouting at the French

Part 7 - Five Types of Rest Stop You'll Find Hiking In Shikoku

Kyūkei shimashou" (休憩しましょう) is one of the first phrases I teach all my students, and it means "let's take a break".

Rest is every bit as important as activity - perhaps more important. In class, it helps you digest and absorb ideas.

And on a long-distance walk, rest stops (called kyūkeijo 休憩所 in Japanese) can be a good place to

strike up a conversation.

Click here to read Part 7 - Five Types of Rest Stop You'll Find Hiking In Shikoku

Part 8 - O-settai, or, "I'll treasure this tissue case"

Near Kumadani-ji, temple number 8, we had stopped in front of some glorious cherry blossom, and I got chatting to two older gentlemen who were walking the trail. One told me he had never spoken to a gaijin-san, foreigner, before. We took some pictures in front of the cherry blossom, and walked up the hill together.

Further up the road, a lady came out of her house and gave us some hard-boiled sweets.

The sweets were a form of o-settai, small gifts given to walking pilgrims. Traditionally, pilgrims didn't carry money, so they were helped along their way by gifts of food, lodging and other acts of generosity from local people.

“Wait here,” she said when she saw me, “I have something else for you.”

Click here to read Part 8 - O-settai, or, "I'll treasure this tissue case"

Part 9 - Eating Shōjin Ryōri - Buddhist temple food

The “strange” meals were “quite unlike any food I’ve ever tasted”, wrote one visitor to the Sekishoin Shukubo temple in Mount Kōya, eliciting the blunt reply from one monk:

“Yeah, it’s Japanese monastic cuisine you uneducated fuck.”

Guests online also complained about the lack of heating in the Buddhist temple, the absence of English tour guides, and “basic and vegetarian” food.

I stayed in a couple of shukubo (宿坊) earlier this year…

Click here to read Part 9 - Eating Shōjin Ryōri - Buddhist temple food

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you found it useful and/or interesting.

I can’t wait to go back and walk the next bit…

Walking the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage (Part 1) - Plan, plan, plan!

This page contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, when you click through and buy the book. Thanks for your support!

Are you a planner? Or a no-planner?

Some people like to "wing it" when they travel. They book a ticket and turn up, deciding what to do once they arrive.

Me, I like to have things planned out. Especially when the trip involves a week of solo walking in Japan!

I've always wanted to do a long-distance walk in Japan. And the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage is Japan's most famous pilgrimage trail.

My original plan was to walk the trail when I lived in Japan. I hoped to squeeze it in before returning to the UK in 2014, but that never quite happened. I figured maybe I'd go back and do it someday though.

The Shikoku 88 pilgrimage (known in Japanese as 四国八十八ヶ所巡り Shikoku hachijuu hakkasho meguri) is a 1200km (750 mile) walking route around the southern island of Shikoku. It's an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage trail, taking in 88 temples.

Shikoku ↓

(Image: Wikipedia)

Many of the temples are connected to Kōbō Daishi, 8th-century Buddhist monk and the founder of Shingon Buddhism.

It's said that Kōbō Daishi spent time on Shikoku in training, and that those who walk the pilgrimage are therefore walking in his footsteps.

↓　Kōbō Daishi, also known as Kūkai

Image: Wikipedia

I'd never been to Shikoku before. But late last year I decided 2018 would be the year that I start the Shikoku pilgrimage.

Spring seemed like the perfect time - we have two weeks off from class at Easter. I decided to spend one week walking, with a few days on either side catching up with old friends.

One week doesn't get you very far into a 750-mile pilgrimage, but I calculated I could at least walk the first 21 temples (even at a fairly leisurely pace).

My planned route from temples 1 to 21　↓ 

Original image: Nippon.com

There's a lot of information about the pilgrimage online, but I wasn't sure I'd have internet access while I was actually in Japan, so the first thing I did was buy a guidebook.

Well actually, I bought three.

First, this マップル (mappuru) travel magazine. This was fun to read, picture-heavy, and got me excited about the trip. But it wasn't specific enough to help me work out how long I could walk for or where to stay.

Next, and determined to use a Japanese-language guidebook, I ordered this route guide. This had great maps, and details about the temples, but not much else.

What I was hoping for was maps and travel information. And eventually I found it, Goldilocks-style, in the third place I looked.

The Shikoku 88 Route Guide* is a pocket-sized guidebook with detailed maps, information about each temple, and lots of useful before-you-go tips. Perfect!

It even contains this guide to temple etiquette, and a romaji version of the hannya shingyou (Heart Sutra):

↓　Detailed bilingual maps and temple info

Unfortunately for me (I really wanted to use a Japanese guidebook!), it's in English. But if you don't read Japanese, obviously that's really useful.

Armed with information, I set about making a plan. As I would be going by myself, I wanted to book all my accommodation in advance.

I planned to walk between 10 and 15 miles a day. (Compared to most pilgrims, that's pretty easy going). Using the guidebook, a lot of google, and a bit of guessing, I worked out where I wanted to stay.

I booked some of my accommodation online, but some places didn't have websites, so I called them. With the time difference, this meant making phone calls at 6am UK time.

(Talking on the phone in Japanese at 6am is not my favourite activity, but it needed to be done.)

To my surprise, some accommodation was already booked up four months in advance! That made me a bit nervous. Conversely, other places said they didn't take bookings in advance, and asked me to call back closer to the time.

Soon, I had a long and extremely detailed word document full of crossed out and rewritten accommodation names, distances between temples, and even possible places to get lunch.

I had a plan.

Coming up in part 2: A Perfect Day in Japan!

Click here to read Hiking the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage Trail in 2018 - A Round-Up.

Links with an asterisk* are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, when you click through and buy the book. Thanks for your support!

First published 25th May 2018; updated 10th November 2021

Gachapon: Capsules of Joy, ¥300 a pop (GUEST POST!)

This week - a guest post from Step Up Japanese student David Sharp! 

I have a bit of a gachapon obsession. There are so many things I love about Japan, but my eyes light up when I see a gachapon machine. I’ve got a sixth sense specifically dedicated to locating gachapon machines and you can guarantee I’ll make a beeline for it, or forever regret not seeing what mysteries they might hold. There’s something very Japanese about gachapon: compact, transient, novel and convenient.

But let’s back up for a second – what is gachapon?

A gachapon machine is a small box, with a mechanism a bit like a gumball machine that dispenses little plastic capsules with some sort of ‘prize’ in them. You’ll usually see them stacked two or three high and accompanied by some either side. You may even find them stretching out across an entire wall, or filling up what might otherwise be wasted space.

To operate them is pretty simple: drop the correct coins into the coin slot and then turn the crank on the front, after a few turns your prize will drop out!

Gachapon 「ガチャポン」as a word comes from the “gacha gacha” 「ガチャガチャ」sound the machine makes as you turn the crank to release your prize. What people actually call them tends to differ.

From my experience "gachapon" is pretty common, however you’re also likely to see “gashapon"「ガシャポン」 or simply “gacha”「ガチャ」 (which are Bandai and Tomy trademarks, respectively), both of which derive from the same onomatopoeia.

Typically, a gachapon prize comprises of three components: the capsule, a little scrap of paper with all the prizes you could have won and your prize itself!

Here's what to expect from your average gachapon machine: a capsule, your prize (in this case a Pokémon pin) and the "here's what you could have won" scrap of paper:

So now we know what gachapon is, let's have a look at some of the prizes on offer!

Phone danglers are quite a common find:

Those on the left are actually designed to fit onto a bottle cap, which is a trend I'm not sure I understand ↓

Sometimes you'll find something a little more traditional ↓

Souvenir gacha aimed at tourists, which look a bit more like gumball machines  ↓

Turns out you can even get watches in gachapon ↓

Deep down I regret not getting a Gudetama watch for 300¥  ↓

Magic sand and pots of slime are pretty common in kid-friendly places ↓

If you're happy to pay a bit more, you might find some of these sofubi (ソフビ "soft plastic") designer toys ↓

Shinkansen themed bags, purses and pouches ↓ 

Hopefully you'll find some cat hats ↓ 

...and more cat hats...

...and dog hats...

...and yet more cat hats...

...and cat wings...

...and somehow still find more cat hats! 

In the contents of gachapon machines, there is a spectrum of target audiences and of usefulness, but one thing all the prizes have in common is the capsule they come in (hence sometimes being referred to as “capsule toys” 「カプセルトイ」)

“But, David”, I hear you say, “if you’re buying so many gachapon, what happens to all the empty capsules?”

Well, while not entirely universal, most places you’ll be able to get gachapon will also have a little basket or bin to dispose of your unwanted capsules.

But if you do find yourself taking them away with you, Bandai’s capsules are all recyclable, and most others will at least be half recyclable. Occasionally though you’ll find a capsule toy where you should keep hold of the capsule, because the capsule is the toy!

The capsule of these gachapon are maneki neko (招き猫; Lucky Cat) torsos!   ↓ 

“I’m sold”, you say, metaphorically, “how much do will these fancy-schmancy capsules set me back?”

Gachapon machines (almost) always only accept 100¥ coins, so will cost a multiple of 100¥. A price tag of 300¥ is most common (approx. £2, at the time of writing) but you’ll likely see a lot of 200¥ and 400¥ machines too.

You might also stumble across a 500¥ gachapon machine, in which case don’t be surprised if it’s bordering on risque!

The only 500¥ gachapon here are these swimsuit-clad women ↓ 

While it’s certainly a matter of opinion, individual gachapon prizes tend to be good value for money. No matter how goofy a gachapon purchase may be, I find it difficult to be disappointed in the prize! Say you find a machine full of cute phone danglers; the quality will be comparable to one you might buy in a souvenir shop, but for cheaper!

However, if there’s one you’re really keen to own, or you want to collect the whole set, you run the risk of ending up with a lot of duplicates! (Although I’m sure you’ll be able to find an unsuspecting friend to offload them onto as “thoughtful gifts” from your travels.)

If you see a machine full of trinkets that you must have in your life and are keen on collecting a whole set– or there’s only one in a set you like the look of and don’t want to risk winning a dud–  you may be able to buy it elsewhere. Akihabara, for example, has a number of shops that sell rows and rows of loose figures usually with very little markup (sometimes you’ll practically just be paying the tax). However, something truly sought after might set you back up to double what you would’ve paid for from the machine!

But now you've booked your flights to Japan and you're wondering “Where can I even find gachapon?”

Everywhere! Although they’re not as common as vending machines, you’ll find gachapon at tourist attractions, train stations, airports, convenience stores, arcades, shopping areas, department stores, sometimes even in temples. The beauty of gachapon is that you don’t need to dedicate a chunk of your day searching for them, or venture too far out of your way to find them. While there are dedicated stores you could keep an eye out for, the truth is there’s such a variety that over your trip you’ll hopefully stumble upon a wide range of potential prizes. (That said– if, at the end of your trip, you find yourself at Narita Airport’s Terminal 2 with pockets full of leftover coins, they have a huge selection just outside the 7-Eleven).

Narita Airport's terminal 2 wants your coins! (Fun fact: I had to get money out so I could get a few more gacha before heading home) ↓

The gachapon on offer are constantly changing and vary from place to place, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up about finding anything in particular, but there’s so much choice you’re bound to find something cool, cute, weird or that makes you chuckle!

Happy hunting!

Find David and tell him what your favourite gachapon prize is at davidsharp.codes. Or check out more of his Japan pics (including even more gachapon photos!) on his instagram.

P.S. Would you like to write a guest blog post for Step Up Japanese? Get in touch! :)