Survival Tips

I do have to warn you that things in Japan cost money and you are going to have to have a grasp on the currency. The currency exchange rate is always changing but it is a safe bet to say that ¥100 is about $1 US dollar.
In Japan, I spend money a lot more then I do when I am back in my home country because of the difference in physical differences. The most common coin the in US currency is the quarter, which is worth a quarter of a dollar. The quarter is very similar to the ¥100 coin and I find it very easy at times to just use my ¥100 coins because, I don’t have to take my wallet out as I would a US dollar to spend and I feel like it’s just like a quarter so it’s easy to spend. Spending ¥100 like that adds up to a lot more then you bargain for. Please be careful about your spending while in Japan.

The best way to get around during your time in Japan is a bicycle. If you constantly take the bus or a taxi, the fairs will definitely add up and the bus doesn’t always run when you want it too. You can buy a used bike form anywhere around ¥5,000. A bicycle tremendously reduces you daily travel time and gives you the greater ease of travel. There are tons of bikes everywhere in Japan. Everyone from children to older men and women uses bikes every day. A mother uses the bike to pick her children up from school or to carry her groceries home, the business man uses the bike to ride to the train to get to work and the student uses it to commute to and from school.
There are laws in Japan for bicycles that you should be careful to observe. Such as, a bicycle is a one person vehicle and you cannot do anything that would impair your ability to drive the bike such as holding an umbrella on a rainy day, talking on a cell phone, and riding under the influence of alcohol.
Be sure to take care while riding your bicycle because the streets are very narrow and traffic can be heavy at times. As the Japanese would say: “きをつけて”