A Note on Paying with Credit Cards in Japan

Don’t go to Japan expecting to be able to put things on your Visa. Even if the restaurant has a Visa sign on the door chances are they will not take it. Your cab driver will not take it either even if he has a Visa sticker on his car. They will not take it at the majority of restaurants either. You cannot use it at most train or subway machines. You cannot use it in stores either. We only were able to use it at the outlet mall, one tour company, once in a taxi, and for a couple of meals. This was it. Expect to use cash so just get out a lot to avoid frequent ATM charges. As the tourist book we have says paying with cash is an “almost sacred ritual” in Japan. Not even McDonald’s here will take Visa.  So take note Visa, time to revise your commercials- you are not accepted everywhere.

I'm lovin it but not with credit cards. April has the soft twist ice cream and the strangely named "food strap" in the Big Mac style. We still don't know what you're supposed to do with it. The commercials seem to indicate that you can hang them on your door knob (?) or collect all of them....

Ishigaki

The sleep last night was dismal. April’s upper back and shoulders went out as a result of the swimming and tension caused by our fight with ANA over their baggage charge yesterday.

 We have her on Robaxacet and Naproxen to reduce the swelling and relax the muscles and she has been sleeping all of this morning and now into the afternoon. Not fun to get after one is just getting over stomach issues, too.

Bill made breakfast: some instant porridge, sliced canned peaches, and some yoghurt and we went back to sleep. Bill got up and wrote our complaint letter to ANA. We had eggs and toast for lunch and it was nice to have eggs that are solid (rather than runny) for the first time in a month. April went back to sleep and appears to be getting a little bit better and is in less pain. Bill sent off the complaint letter and has been writing blog entries.

Our hotel room at the Rasso Ishigaki. Palatial.

View from the plane of Ishigaki.

Swimming at the ANA resort near to our hotel. No coral or sea snakes here.

We love ANA!

Bill shows his best island style at the ANA resort.

Okinawa to Ishigaki

We slept in today and went for breakfast at the hotel before checking out. We raced to the airport and checked in. We had a negative experience with checking in felt like we were being racially profiled and extorted for extra money because our bags were heavier than the limit (although we were fine on the other domestic leg).

We arrived at our little hotel and found the room to be much larger than anything else we have stayed at with the exception of our place in Noboribetsu. We went to the ANA resort beach, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel, and swam and enjoyed the late afternoon sun. It was enjoyable and cooled us off physically and mentally after our very unpleasant time flying with ANA.

We had some soba noodles at the restaurant next door for dinner. April’s neck began to hurt after dinner, so Bill went across the street to the grocery store to buy some supplies as we have a kitchenette and fridge with freezer in our room.

Okinawa Day 2: Churaumi Aquarium

The main reason we wanted to stop in Okinawa was to see Churaumi Aquarium. It is the second largest in the word. Little did we know that it was about a three hour bus ride, including one bus change, to get to the Aquarium.

That, of course, did not stop us and we caught the bus at 8:42 in the morning that brought us to the town of Nago, where we had a 15 minute break and at 10:30 caught another bus to the aquarium. We arrived around noon, had lunch, and then ventured into the aquarium.

The aquarium is amazing and had huge tanks, including one that contains three whale sharks and some huge manta rays along with some other fish. There is also a tank with a number of sharks, and an exhibit where you get to touch various sharkskins. Some are rough and some are amazingly smooth.

We caught about 10 minutes of a dolphin show, felt sorry for the poor caged beasts, and headed back to the bus. To continue our long journey home. We made it back into town around 7:30, went for dinner, and to sleep.

Hiroshima to Naha, Okinawa

We took a taxi back to Hiroshima station and caught a limousine bus to the Hiroshima airport, about an hour drive away. We arrived in plenty of time and had a meal at the airport.

The flight to Okinawa was almost two hours and as we were coming in for a landing we marvelled at the beautiful blue waters. Our hotel was about a 5-minute cab ride from the airport. We had lunch, did some laundry, rested, and then went out for dinner. We wandered the main shopping street looking at all of the little touristy shops. 

April with a Shisa, one of the dragon-dogs that are everywhere in the Ryuku Islands.

Hiroshima: Day 2

April woke up not feeling very hot. Bill suspects it was the sandwich she had on the train. We started her on a dose of Cipro to help out with her stomach. April rested most of the morning and began to feel better in the early afternoon.

April had really wanted to see Myiajima, an island off of Hiroshima and one of Japan’s most famous and beautiful temples. Luckily there was a direct boat to the island from the hotel, and we managed to spend some of the afternoon wandering around and taking in the floating temple.

Floating Shrine

The deer under the bridge found a shady spot

Kyoto to Hiroshima

Our Shinkansen train ride from Hiroshima was uneventful. We certainly have it down to a science, although if we were to do it again, we would probably pack into smaller suitcases rather than having two big ones that cannot be put overhead.

We arrived in Hiroshima and put our bags into a locker and headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum, just a short cable car ride away from the station. Words cannot describe its impact.  It is an excellent museum describes very well the tragic human toll of nuclear weapons.

We had dinner and went to our hotel which was located far outside the downtown core. It had nice amenities listed on its website but it neglected to tell us that these amenities had high fees associated with them. If we were to ever come to Hiroshima again we would probably book closer into town as the taxi ride was expensive as they have a monopoly on restaurants in the area, any meal at the hotel would have been expensive.

Watch stopped at 8:15 am