Checklist

• Get a passport STAMP at immigrationon arrival, before leaving the airport · ShoppingThe automated gates at Narita don't stamp your passport, and tax-free can be refused without it. Use a staffed counter, or ask an officer to stamp it. This is the single easiest way to lose the 10% on a ¥113,000 camera.Shopping →
• Buy and install the eSIM before flyingbefore we fly — install on home wi-fi · EveryoneDecided: Japan-only Klook eSIM. The Hong Kong layover runs on free HKIA wi-fi plus a VPN, so the regional Asia plan would only add validity-clock risk (it starts counting from Hong Kong, day one). Data budget: about 1 GB a day for maps, translate and messaging; downloads and video go over wi-fi. So 5 GB is the lean pick, 10 GB is comfortable, and a daily-capped unlimited plan is fine if you never want to do the math. Three of us need three eSIMs, or one plan plus tethering (hotspot is allowed on Klook's). Install at home on wi-fi, but leave the Japan line toggled OFF: eSIM validity starts at the first network connection, so switching it on early burns days. The full first-timer walkthrough (install, roaming toggle, data-line selection, hotspot, troubleshooting) is on the Tokyo arrival page's eSIM Setup section. Data-only, no phone number: keep the home SIM active for SMS codes.Everyone →
• Ask about dinner with Friend's group in a private roombefore we call about allergies · HakoneAsk for dinner together downstairs in a private room with breakfast still in our room — then add, in the same message, that if dinner together forces breakfast out of the room too, we'd rather keep both in the room. Without that second sentence they may move both meals and we lose the in-room breakfast. Use the contact form, not the phone — see the Meals section on the Hakone page.Hakone →
• Ask about a karaoke roomat check-in is fine · HakoneNo online booking exists. Either call ahead or ask at the front desk at check-in — rooms run 7:30 PM to midnight.Hakone →
• Last day to cancel Hakone freefree until end of Thu Oct 8 · HakoneFrom Oct 9 a cancellation costs 20%, then 30% from Oct 10, 50% from Oct 11, and 100% on the day. On ¥433,200 that first step is about ¥86,000.Hakone →
• Finish the Visit Japan Web tax-free QR: scan the landing permission seal after immigrationarrival day, after immigration · EveryoneBefore flying, from home: register the trip and both declarations in Visit Japan Web, and opt into the Tax-free QR Code with the face photo from the passport ID page, for everyone who will buy tax-free. The QR can't be issued until landing permission exists, and that only happens at the border. So at Narita: use a staffed counter for the stamp, then open the app and complete the Tax-free QR, scanning the landing permission seal and passport as prompted, on airport wi-fi or the eSIM, or that evening at the hotel. Until it exists the physical passport covers every till; minimum spend is ¥5,000 per shop per day.Everyone →
• Plan the Tokyo → Hakone train to land before 6:00 PMbook the seat in advance · HakoneCheck-in should be finished by 6:00 PM, and arriving after 7:00 PM forfeits dinner with no refund. Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto is about 1 hr 25 and worth reserving a seat on.Hakone →
• Buy the Hakone Freepass — on the day, not beforethe morning we travel · HakoneValidity runs from the date of purchase, not first use, so buying it early wastes a day. Get it at the Odakyu counter on the morning of Oct 12. Decide first whether we want the Shinjuku version or the cheaper Hakone-area-only one from Odawara.Hakone →
• Check the Hakone Ropeway is runningmorning of the loop · HakoneIt shuts for high wind and occasionally volcanic gas, with replacement buses instead. Check on the morning of the loop so we can reorder the day if needed.Hakone →
• Save the Bic Camera coupon barcode to your phonebefore the first tax-free run · ShoppingIt's a barcode on a web page — screenshot it before you fly so you aren't hunting for signal in the shop. Show it BEFORE paying, with the passport. Expires 31 Oct 2026.Shopping →
• Take cash for Don Quijotethe last-night Donki run · ShoppingThe Wise card is missing your middle name, and Donki is the one chain whose tax-free terms require the card name to match the passport — but only for CARD payments. Cash sidesteps it entirely. Bic and Yodobashi have no such rule, so the camera is fine on the card. Also check the Wise per-purchase limit before a ¥113,300 buy.Shopping →
• Carry the physical passport when shoppingany day we're buying · ShoppingBring the passport on every shopping day even with the tax-free QR: some stores don't take the QR yet, Donki's support is unconfirmed, and used shops probably don't either. Minimum ¥5,000 tax-excluded per shop per day. Ask whether the warranty is honoured outside Japan before paying.Shopping →
• Confirm both Gotanda rooms: non-smoking, bed size, same floorwell before we fly · TokyoThree things, all cheap now and awkward on the night. The property's own fact sheet answers 'non-smoking rooms/floors: no', which contradicts the non-smoking rooms we asked for. The confirmation describes a 120 cm semi-double, which is tight for the two of us sharing — check the shared room is a true double. And ask for both rooms on the same floor and, if possible, off the track side.Tokyo →
• Sort the dawn check-out at Gotanda — bill, lodging tax, cashthe night before the flight · TokyoWe leave for Narita around 6:00 AM on the 22nd. The Tokyo lodging tax is paid at the property, not in the booking, and it wants cash. Ask on the 21st how to settle up before dawn — the fact sheet's 'reception open until 12:00 PM' is unbelievable for a 384-room hotel and needs clarifying rather than assuming.Tokyo →
• Departure day: receipts, batteries in carry-on, customs scan, declare at US entrythe morning we fly · EveryoneThe four-step departure drill, in order: 1. Receipts (paper and digital) together in an envelope or email folder. 2. All electronics and spare batteries — cameras, the drone, iPhones, iPads, power banks — in the carry-on, never checked luggage. 3. Scan the passport at the Japan Customs checkpoint at Narita Terminal 2 when directed, before boarding — the tax-free purchase record is electronic. 4. Declare the estimated purchase total honestly on the US customs declaration when landing. The household pools exemptions ($2,400 for three), electronics are ~0% duty, and the next $1,000 is a flat 3% — hiding purchases is the only thing that causes trouble.Everyone →
• Buy the Hakone → Kyoto train tickets for tomorrowthe day before travel · HakoneThe Kyoto page's travel day: Hakone-Yumoto ➔ Odawara on the Hakone Tozan line (covered by the Freepass), then the Shinkansen from Odawara ➔ Kyoto. Hikari stops at Odawara; Kodama is the all-stations fallback if Hikari seats are gone. Reserve seats the day before (SmartEX or the JR ticket office at Odawara) so the group sits together, and keep the Freepass for the first leg.Hakone →
• Sort the Kyoto → Osaka train for checkout morningcheckout morning · KyotoNo reservation needed for this hop: the JR special rapid from Kyoto Station to Osaka runs every ~15 minutes and takes about half an hour, standing room is normal, and there are no seat reservations to worry about. Tap in and out with an IC card (Suica/ICOCA, phone wallet works) or buy paper tickets at the machines; the Hakone Freepass does not cover this leg.Kyoto →
• Book an all-you-can-eat yakiniku dinner for the first Osaka nightbefore we leave Kyoto · KyotoThe Osaka page's Oct 17 evening lists two candidates: Yakinikuya Daibokujo (焼肉屋 大牧場) and Yakiniku Hanamichi (焼肉 華道). It's a Saturday night in Dotonbori, so walking in is a gamble; pick one and reserve before checking out of Kyoto on the 17th, online or through the hotel front desk if the booking flow is Japanese-only. All-you-can-eat courses usually run on a 90–120 minute limit, so book an early slot if you want a Dotonbori stroll after.Kyoto →
• Set up the USJ app and register both passes as a groupthe evening before the park · OsakaDo it the night before, per the USJ page's App setup section: download the official Universal Studios Japan app, set the language to English, register both Studio Pass QR codes under eTickets so Standby eTicket claims land on the same phone, and screenshot both the Studio Pass and Express Pass QR codes into an offline album on both phones in case of park network slowdowns.Osaka →
• Complete the GN98 online guest registration (passport copies)at least 24h before the Oct 17 check-in · OsakaThe GN98 apartment has no front desk, so every guest must register online with passport copies at least 24 hours before the 4:00 PM check-in on Oct 17; the responsible guest must be 18+. No direct form link is on file; the registration link comes from the host, so call or message +81 90-6068-0752 if it hasn't arrived, with the references ready: Klook PZF410738, hotel confirmation 24344375. Can be done from home before flying, and should be, rather than from Kyoto on the road. Details in the Practical & Policies section of the Osaka page.Osaka →
• GN98 check-in codes received (PIN 8m1t5j5axv, check-in code 24344375)the day before heading to Osaka · KyotoResolved Oct 16: the host sent the codes. The Check-in Code 24344375 matches the hotel confirmation number; the PIN Code 8m1t5j5axv arrived without saying which door it opens, so try the lockbox first, then the apartment keypad. Codes live on the Osaka page's Practical & Policies section and the Oct 17 check-in item.Kyoto →
• Pick the route home and book the train back to Tokyothe day before travel · OsakaTwo routes, pick one and book it. Direct: Shin-Osaka to Tokyo by Nozomi or Hikari, about 2 hr 30, reserve a seat in SmartEX or at any JR ticket office. The Hikone detour on the Oct 19 page: JR special rapid to Hikone (about 1 hr 20) for Hikone Castle and an Omi beef lunch, then Hikone to Maibara and a reserved Shinkansen to Tokyo (about 2 hr 15) — that option needs the Maibara to Tokyo seat booked too. Suitcases only go in Hikone coin lockers on the detour option; on the direct route they ride with you.Osaka →
• Get the haircut at QB House (Gotanda Station)by the last evening, before the Donki run · TokyoThe errand from the first Tokyo weekend that never happened; the glasses part is done, the haircut is not. QB House does a no-frills trim in 10-15 minutes: ¥1,400 flat including tax, ticket from the machine at the door, no shampoo and no blow-dry (an 'air washer' vacuums the loose hair off instead). Walk-in only, no bookings, and the queue light outside shows the wait: green sit straight down, yellow 5-10 min, red 15+ min. Two branches, both inside Gotanda Station and a few minutes from the hotel, verified on qbhouse.co.jp in October 2026: Toei Gotanda in the B1 concourse at 1-26-2 Higashi-Gotanda (daily 10:00-20:00, last ticket 7:45 PM) and Atre Gotanda 2 on 3F at 1-26-3 (daily 10:00-20:00, last ticket 7:30 PM). Each branch page shows a live wait count, so check before walking over; if one is red, the other is a 2-minute walk through the station. Cash is the safe assumption: cards and PayPay generally are not accepted across the chain, though station branches sometimes take Suica/Pasmo. Ask for a trim, not a restyle; 'take 2 cm off the ends' or 'tidy the fringe' survives the language gap. Full walkthrough in the haircut section of the Shopping guide.Tokyo →

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