While so far everything was pre-booked and prepaid, the dinner was the first item where we needed to pay ourselves. So how to get some money. A little investigation in advance made us confident, that credit cards are widely accepted and cash is also frequently used.
Furthemore we found that so called Suica cards (or Pasmo cards named by another supplier) are widely used. They were designed as debit cards for public transport. You can charge them with some money and use them to pay train or bus rides. Yet as they were widely used, a lot of convenience stores and vending machines also started accepting Suica cards. They ususally require a deposit but there is a specific Welcome Suica for tourists, that does not. This one is valid only a few weeks, just right for us.
So we set out to the airport again, to a) withdraw some cash, b) have some dinner, c) get ourselves Suica cards and top them up with some credit and d) see how we can use a Suica crd in real life. The ATM was an easy task, just I never know whether it’s cheaper to have the bank account debited in euro or yen. Having some bill in hand gives already a good feeing. In an average Japanese fast food restaurant, we ordered chicken teryaki (twice) and for me an udon bowl with fried tofu.
Also the Suica card was easy to get. Close to the railway station underground of the airport, the friendly lady at the information counter pointed to two machines that returned you a Suica cards after you entered your wishes and a credit card (bills would have been possible alternatively).
We felt set to approach the next day when our group split up in the orchestra members (with our son) that flew into Narita to meet the fellow students (and the guest parents), while the “visitors” are supposed to take the fast train to Hiroshima.
The last “adventure” of the day was to buy something with the Suica card. We decided for a bottle of “Pocari Sweat”, a name noone would use for a refreshing isotonic (in fact somehow salty tasting) drink. We heard of this in a book (Abroad in Japan) that we used as preparation and couldn’t resist to taste it. I would call it “interesting”, might serve the purpose of rebuilding you from dehydration but other than that I don’t see the point in drinking it. Mak your choice at the vending machine, hold the card to the sensor, take the bottle, done. You even get displayed how much credit is remaining on the card after the purchase.
