It’s almost June and that time of the year when Singaporeans love to travel. If you’ve already booked your holiday, then lucky you! But for those of us who may have left our plans on the bucket list for a bit too long, here’s our guide to planning for that much-needed break.
There’s nothing more inspiring than experiencing life in a new city, especially when that city is Tokyo, the fast-paced and exciting capital city of Japan. We love Tokyo for its delicious food, wonderful culture, amazing shopping options and perfect
#Instagram opportunities.
And because we know Tokyo is a favorite destination among Singaporeans, we’ve put together a guide to travelling Tokyo in
#NewMoney style, and by that we mean almost cashless and with no fuss!
#PayPalTip: Did you know that if you link your credit card to PayPal, you still earn points/miles for every purchase made? And with PayPal’s Buyer Protection which covers intangible good such as flight ticket purchases, we’ll cover you in the event that there are problems with your booking. How good is that?!
#1 Get started, book your flights with Skyscanner!
Skyscanner is one of our favorite flight comparison services because of how easy it is to use. When searching for your flights, add Tokyo’s Haneda airport as a filter and look for flights that arrive there. We recommend Haneda because it’s a convenient option for travelling to and from central Tokyo.
#2 Stay like the locals with Airbnb
If you want to experience local life fully, we recommend booking a stay with Airbnb. This is great if you want to get away from the maddening Shibuya/Shinjuku crowds and explore other interesting neighborhoods.
We especially love the Shimo-kitazawa neighborhood, well known among the coolest locals as the place to find small independent fashion retailers, cafes, theaters, bars and live music venues. Get to know your host and you just might learn some of the best kept dining and drinking secrets around your temporary hood!
If you’ve left your hotel bookings till the last minute (we’ve done that too!) and are starting to panic, don’t. HotelQuickly is perfect because you can only book hotels one day in advance or on the day itself. This means that if you suddenly decide to change your accommodation, you have the option to do so with HotelQuickly’s easy-to-use app.
The nightmare behind securing tickets to some of the best sights in Japan is well known. Don't fret, simply skip the queue with Bridge Japan’s help. True to their name, Bridge Japan offers a bridging service which includes purchasing popular museum tickets to in advance and sending them to your preferred location and address. They accept international payments via PayPal, so all you need to do is choose the ticket of preferred museum, check out and wait for your tickets to arrive!
#5 Forget the wads of cash, travel light
Kappabashi (Kitchen Town), Tokyo
If you’re worrying about how much cash to bring along with you, we’ve got good news. A number of retailers over on-site PayPal payments, even in the more traditional neighborhoods! One of our most memorable experience in Tokyo was visiting a traditional neighborhood known as Kappabashi (Kitchen Town) for souvenirs and having the elderly store-keeper inform us that he accepts payment via PayPal for purchases over 1000yen (approx. SGD12).
Now that you’ve read our guide, we hope we’ve sparked your wanderlust. With PayPal’s One Touch, you can book your trip as you’re reading this without even whipping out your credit card! We’re just getting started with our travel guides so stay tuned for more.
Don’t forget to download the PayPal app so you can stay on top of all your transactions, and send money on the go, quickly and securely.