You’ve probably heard amazing travel stories about Japan and finally taken the plunge and booked a holiday! Congrats! As the reality of the logistics sinks in, you may start second guessing whether it was a good idea at all and whether you should just cancel. You think to yourself: I don’t speak Japanese, the public transportation system sounds so complex, how much yen do I need to bring, is it still a cash society etc… before you start catastrophising, it’ll all be OK!
Having just come back from a 3 week trip to Japan recently, there are a lot of unique points of difference that makes travelling in Japan compared to other countries, so simple and easier, that it makes you think, why don’t other countries adopt more of these types of practices? Here are my top X mistakes travellers make when visiting Japan and how to avoid them, to make your Japan trip a dream holiday!
- Don’t lug around your own suitcase: use a luggage transportation service
If you spend any time on Japanese public transport, you’ll notice it’s rare for Japanese people to be carrying their large suitcases on public transport. Which might lead you to question… what do they do with their luggage? Is it in Japanese DNA to just travel lightly? Traveling with a big suitcase in town on public tranport is stressful to say the least. Throw in large, confusing train stations with dozens of exits, the need to transfer train lines, lots of other commuters rushing around and figuring out where you’re supposed to go and stairs and it could be a recipe for disaster. Some smaller train stations don’t even have lifts at all, so don’t be that foreigner who’s sweating it out, frustrated and struggling to carry your big suitcase up and down stairs on public transport! There is actually a very easy and streamlined solution!
Luckily, Japan has a very established luggage transportation industry, that can transport your luggage for you! Popular services include Yamato and Sagawa. I learned through my experience that for Yamato, there are only a very limited number of counters that do same day delivery, but typically it’s not really needed if you’re able to plan a bit ahead.
So say you’re switching hotels or going to a new city. It will take about 24 hours for your bag to be delivered. If you’re staying at a hotel, you can ask reception to assist you to fill in the form. They will measure your suitcase and let you know the cost. I paid about $25AUD for my big Samsonite suitcase. You leave your luggage with reception, and later on the luggage transportation company collects your suitcase for delivery and you can travel, stress free to your next location, having full confidence it’ll arrive in a day’s time.
The first time I used it, my suitcase was still relatively light compared to the second time I used it (when I had done more shopping.) Reception never weighed it, so it appears they must base the cost of the service on volume. Having included in email on the form, I got an email confirming of when delivery occurred. If you’re an Apple user, placing an airtag in your suitcase and similar a smart tag if you’re an Android user, gives extra piece of mind when you can track the whereabouts of your luggage as it travels to the next location.
I used Yamato when I switched hotels from Shinjuku to Kanda and again just prior to going to Osaka where I shipped it to my returning Tokyo hotel. Saved myself a lot of trouble lugging it to the next hotel and between cities when not essential! I had plans to go to Osaka for 6 days, then return to Tokyo. Before I went to Osaka, I confirmed with my Tokyo hotel they were OK to accept the suitcase on my behalf and store it prior to me checking in. So I could just bring a hand carry bag with me to Osaka and leave the bulk of my belongings in my large suitcase in Tokyo. Winning!
- The train may not always the best option: consider the airport limousine bus to and from the airport
When flying into Tokyo, there are two main airports, Haneda and Narita. Haneda is located about 30km from the city centre and Narita airport is located about 85km from Tokyo. Given the additional cost of the airport express to Tokyo and the travel time to Tokyo, flying into Haneda could save you time and money.
Depending on which airport you arrive in, although the train may be the fastest option for you to take to get to your accommodation, it also could be a stressful journey (see my point for the luggage transportation service above.) If it’s suitable for your journey, consider taking the airport limousine bus instead of the train. The airport limousine bus is extremely convenient.
With regular departures from designated bus stops outside terminal 3 at Haneda, once you buy your bus ticket from the counter inside, you proceed to your designated bus stop and the attendant loads your suitcase into the belly of the bus. You can hop on, just relax and enjoy the ride until you reach your stop. At the stop, they help you unload your luggage from the bus and hopefully from there, you either arrive directly at your hotel (if it’s a designated stop on the bus route) or just a short walk. There’s no need to worry about navigating the train system with luggage in tow, lugging heavy luggage up and down stairs, fellow commuters, rush hour traffic, changing lines, finding hidden lifts/braving the escalator etc.
Yes, the bus is often slower due to traffic and costs a bit more than the train, but it is a much less stressful way to commute from and to Haneda airport. I’m not sure about the logistics to and from Narita airport, as I flew into and out of Haneda.
One thing to note, I didn’t realise, that the drop off locations for the airport limousine bus route are different to pick up locations and the pick up locations list to go to the airport is vastly shorter. Originally I thought that the two 5 star hotels near my hotel were pick up locations for the route to the airport, but I was wrong. They were only drop off locations. I was staying in Hamamatsucho for my final days in Tokyo, when I realised this. The silver lining to this, was that Hamamatsucho is a station on the monorail line that would take me directly to Haneda so I didn’t need to change train lines.
Prior to when I was due to fly out of Japan, I did a trial run of the route I needed to take to get to the monorail station. The thing was, on the actual day I was leaving, it was pouring rain. I had to wheel my heavy suitcase, carry my backpack and my carry on tote, through the rain, while holding my umbrella to the Monorail station. On the first major road crossing, the uneven road surface must’ve caught one of my suitcase wheels, because my whole suitcase (with my carry on tote sitting on top of it) toppled over in the middle of a 6 lane road. OMG. I frantically tried to pull everything back up right. Luckily none of the early morning traffic beeped at me! Frazzled, I continued on my way.
There’s a lot of construction going on at Hamamatsucho station and the route to the monorail station is through some back way. Used the lift with no issues and got past the ticket gate. Then I discovered there was an escalator. It was just past 7am now and was surprisingly busy for so early in the work day. I managed to get myself and my luggage onto the escalator, but as I was about to exit, the suitcase + carry tote on top, toppled over again! ZOMG! I had to scramble to kick my luggage away from the mouth of the exit, as I was aware, there were other commuters right behind me, needing to get off the escalator.
I must’ve kicked the suitcase away (as later on, I discovered I had developed a very large and dark bruise on my shin), finally managed to pick up my luggage and proceed to the platform. ZOMG. Luckily, once on the monorail, the journey to Haneda was smooth.
If you want to avoid that, taxis are also available. But I have heard that taxis are apparently quite expensive but I have never taken any taxis myself. But if you’re travelling with young kids or in a group with lots of luggage, this may work out better. Less stress, direct route and more cost effective for the group.
- Don’t be put off by the language barrier: Google translate makes things simple
Traveling to a non-English speaking country can feel intimidating. But Japan is a tourist friendly destination and in the bigger cities, there will be people (especially working at hotels, tourist attractions and the bigger train stations) who will at least know enough English to assist. It’s always a good idea though to learn some basic phrases whenever you go to a foreign country:
- Hello – Kon’nichiwa こんにちは
- Goodbye – Sayōnara こんにちは
- Thank you – Arigatō ありがとう
- How much is this? – Kore wa ikuradesu ka? これはいくらですか？
- Where is the train/bus station? (Train) Eki wa dokodesu ka? 駅はどこですか？(Bus) Basutei wa tokodesu ka? バス停はとこですか？
- Can I have some water please? Mizu o kudasai? 水をください？
- Can I have the menu please? Menyū o itadakemasu ka? メニューをいただけますか？
- Can I have the bill please? Okanjōwōnegaishimasu? お勘定をお願いします？
- Can you speak English? Anata wa eigo o hanasemasu ka? あなたは英語を話せますか？
Google translate has come a long way since I first went to Japan in 2013! Google translate has a function where you can take pictures (or even just have the camera hover) over signs, menus etc and it will automatically translate images or text into the language of your choice. You can even have a live conversation where it automatically translates and the person can speak back in their language and it’ll translate into your own language. An absolute game changer for reading menus, touristy signs (about places) and communicating with people on the fly etc.
- Don’t embarrass yourself. Learn some local social etiquette
Same goes for learning some local social etiquette. It boggles the mind, how many foreigners don’t know how to queue in line (at the convenience store, train station etc), talk loudly on public transport on their phones, hold up traffic or generally obstruct others in public to take “the perfect selfie” (Read: Japan town blocks view of Mt Fuji at photo spot to stop crowds), harass geisha (Read: Kyoto bans tourists from parts of geisha district amid reports of bad behaviour) etc. I’m not sure if this is a hangover effect from when we were all at home, during the height of the pandemic, as it seems, tourists have forgotten how to behave in public! Most of this is common sense, but unfortunately it seems it is not common enough. You are, after all a guest in their country, don’t make the locals dislike tourists. Show some basic respect and some self awareness please.
Other social etiquette includes (but not limited to):
- Taking your trash back to your accommodation (virtually no public trash cans), so bring a small plastic bag with you to carry it all,
- Not eating or drinking while walking (street food shops generally have designated areas outside to eat/drink),
- Smoking while walking is prohibited, rather there are designated smoking areas,
- Tipping is not required as it’s not part of their culture,
- Don’t jaywalk,
- When paying, put your card/cash onto the little tray, it’s considered rude to directly hand it to the cashier,
- Don’t stick your chopsticks into your rice, this resembles incense at funerals,
- Shoes are for outside, slippers are for inside. When you’re trying on clothes, some shops will ask you to take off your shoes and put slippers on. Some shops even give women veils/hoods to wear (so makeup doesn’t rub off onto the clothes)
- Bring little hand towels with you (lots of public toilets don’t have paper towels or hand dryers)
- General public onsen etiquette (typically tattoos are not allowed – although some specific onsens allow this, bathing thoroughly before entering, no swimsuits, tying up hair, for bathing only, not swimming, no photos, no towels in the water etc)
- Don’t fear getting lost: Google maps is your friend
Google maps is so accurate in Japan, it can you tell you precisely which number train platform to take to get to the destination you want. The precision is astounding! I’ve noticed that in Melbourne, this level of detail is not available on Google maps. If you’re going to be in a more remote area, you can pre-download the area of the map and access it offline.
Best yet, both google maps and google translate are free!
- Don’t pay crazy charges for roaming mobile coverage: get an e-sim, local sim card or pocket wi-fi
Staying connected is a must in Japan. If your phone is still locked in a contract in your home country, hiring a pocket wi-fi is a great option. These are available at the airport.
Otherwise, if your phone is already unlocked, consider either an e-sim or getting a physical local sim card upon landing.
- Don’t waste time tethered to a powerpoint: A power bank will be your best friend
As you’ll be heavily using your GPS, Google translate and taking photos, videos with your mobile etc, there’s a high chance your phone battery will drain faster than when you’re just out and about in your regular life in your home country. So to keep connected, its essential to have a powerbank to charge your phone back up, so you can be out and about, navigating from place to place, snapping photos and videos and enjoying your time without worrying that your phone will die and you have no idea how to get back to your accommodation.
I bought the Ankur Powercore 13000 from Amazon. A little on the heavier side at 240g, but plenty of juice to probably keep 2 people juiced up for at least 2-3 days. If you can’t be bothered charging your powerbank every day, this might be a good option for you, as a full charge of the powerbank was enough to last me a good 4-5 days, charging once a day at a time.
- Don’t run around like a headless chicken to get onto the shinkansen (bullet train): the shinkansen has its own entrance gate
Depending on which station you get onboard, and how you get to the shinkansen, at Tokyo station at least, it has its own separate shinkansen entrance that’s different to the JR train entrances. If you’re taking a JR train to Tokyo station, when you’re already inside the station, you’ll see signs directing you towards the shinkansen gate entrance at the Yaesu side on the first floor (1F).
Note: There is both a North and South Shinkansen gate, depending on which direction you’re travelling.
I got to Tokyo station from a subway line (which is a different train company to JR), I knew I shouldn’t swipe on with my Pasmo to enter the JR station to get to the bullet train platform. As I would be unnecessarily paying to enter and exit and I didn’t know that the bullet train had its own separate entrance. I asked the gate attendant and they redirected to the JR ticket office, as the JR gates don’t have QR readers to read my Shinkansen QR ticket code.
As I got into line to speak with someone at the counter, I thought maybe I needed to use the self serve ticket machines to scan my QR code for a physical ticket to insert into the JR ticket gates to then get through to the bullet train. As I was lining up, I asked a Japanese man behind me, (luckily he could speak english), but he had never bought QR tickets for the bullet train before, so didn’t know how to advise and suggested I keep lining up. Issue was, the line was loooooong. I waited about 20 minutes in line, before the line attendant got around to me to ask what my query was. I told her the situation, we walked over to the self serve machines, we tried to scan the QR code again, it failed. Then she redirected me to the upstairs JR ticket office.
Up I went, luckily, there was an English speaking attendant who then redirected me to the Shinkansen ticket office, near Yaesu North. I was getting a bit annoyed at this stage, being shunted here and there and time was ticking until the departure time! The Shinkansen ticket attendant, confirmed that I could just scan the QR code on the QR readers on the designated Shinkansen ticket gate and there was no need to get a separate paper ticket.
Just as well, I had arrived 1 hour early! Here was I, thinking I’d have a super relaxing morning and could mosey around choosing a nice eki-ben before boarding. In reality, I had about 15 minutes to quickly buy whatever eki-ben and board my train. *cries, that couldn’t buy the self heating eki-ben* As Google correctly knew the platform number (and of course I confirmed with the departures board) I got onto the platform and walked towards the section where my designated car would be. With full Japanese efficiency, the train left at exactly 08:51am.
- Avoid disappointment: Pre-book tickets (Team lab, studio Ghibli Museum, animal cafes, Universal studios etc)
Team Lab
It’s essential to pre-buy tickets to popular attractions such as Team Lab (Planets and Borderless), Studio Ghibli Museum, Animal cafes etc. Team lab offers dynamic pricing, i.e. prices vary depending on time of year and day of the week. If possible, it’s best to buy tickets for the earliest slot. I got tickets to Team Lab Planets for 9am, and arrived at the doors at around 8:30am. There was already a line (even though it was a rainy day.) Planets requires you to take off your shoes and roll up your pants, as some exhibits are water based and you’re immersed in the water art (up to knee deep). So the earlier you’re there, the less likely the place will start stinking of smelly feet, haha.
Similarly for Borderless, the new Team Lab exhibition at Azabudai Hills, I got there at around 9:25am for a 10am slot (the earliest slot). I just happened to get there early due to the way the bus schedule was and was totally surprised to find that I was the first in line! About 5 minutes later, they had started to let a couple of us early birds through, so I got first dibs to take pictures in the exhibition! I was surprised to find that there were less people in total compared to Planets even though Borderless was so much more impressive. As some of the exhibits have mirrored floors, it’s best to not wear anything where others can see up your skirt/dress. Otherwise, shorts are available to borrow if required.
Studio Ghibli Museum
The Studio Ghibli Museum is located near Kichijoji station and is different to the Studio Ghibli Park. If you’re a Studio Ghibli fan, you may have heard how notoriously difficult it can be to score tickets to the museum. Tickets are released 1 month in advance on the 10th day of the preceding month. E.g. On January 10th, the tickets are released for February 10th– March 10th. There are 4 time slots per day (10am, 12noon, 2pm and 4pm), with the Museum being closed on Tuesdays.
The queuing system for tickets is fully cooked (i.e. in the worst way possible). The ticketing system opens at 10am JST and you’re in a virtual queue to buy a ticket for the next month. The thing is, thousands of other hopefuls from around the world are in the same queue. The first time I tried, I logged on about 10 minutes before 10am. As 10am ticked over, I was 18,000+ in queue. I waited 1.5 hours in the queue and by the time I got to the “front” of the virtual queue, all ticket allocations were exhausted. Worst still, the website doesn’t accurately reflect the left over slots. So even though there appeared to be a small handful of free slots left, once you get past the Captcha, it would time out, throw an error and of course wouldn’t allow you to check out. Biggest waste of time.
Luckily, the dates of my trip spread across 2 months. So I got a second crack at nabbing tickets. The second time around I attempted to get tickets, I had done more thorough research (thank you Reddit) and found out that if you logged on about 30 minutes before opening i.e. around 9:30am JST, you were going to have a much better chance at scoring a better queue position, once the virtual queue started. This time I had 3 devices in the queue, my phone, my ipad and my desktop. Despite all 3 seemingly joining the “pre-queue” at the same time. When tickets were officially on sale, one device was 2000 in line, and the others were 8000+ and 13,000+. Luckily, through my device that was 2000 in line, I managed to get a ticket on my preferred date!
If you do miss out, don’t despair. The Museum itself is very cosy (read: small). I did enjoy the experience (as I also had time to walk around the Inokashira park (enjoying the cherry blossoms) and shopped around at some of the cute stationery and homewares shops on Nakamichi dora Avenue, but ultimately felt a bit underwhelmed about the museum, given just how much demand there are for tickets. There are tickets available as part of tours available through Klook, but for an exorbitant markup, it seems a bit ridiculous, considering the price of the ticket is approximately $10AUD only. Even if you did miss out on tickets, you’re not missing out on much.
Animal Cafes
Similarly with any animal cafes, reservations are a must. I went to a piglet café in Osaka called Mipig cafe. I booked a 60 minute slot for the earliest slot in the day and upon arriving, they already had a sign at opening, that reservations were full and were not accepting walk ins. So whether you have your heart set up a cat, dog, hedgehog, owl, pig, capybara or some other animal café, book ahead online to not miss out.
The pigs are super cute and sweet and don’t smell at all. You get given a small blanket and pigs naturally walk up to you and lie on your lap for a little nap like you’re their big, warm pillow.
Universal Studios
The official site at the time of writing doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, but booking through Klook is a good alternative. I have read you can walk up on the day to buy tickets, but why risk entry allocations being exhausted, when you can just pre-buy ahead of time. From my research and also lived experience, here are some nuggets to help you optimise your day!
- Annual passes are surprisingly affordable and many Japanese people have these, so as expected, during school holidays, weekends and public holidays, crowds are larger and lines longer. Try to go mid-week, either Wednesday or Thursdays for a chance for it to be less crowded, as apparently school excursions can fall on the other week days too.
- Download the USJ app ahead of your visit. It will provide you with access to a digital map of the park along with estimated wait times for attractions and the times for shows/parades etc. You should also use the app to register your ticket after you physically enter the park. You will not be allowed to register your ticket (without having first scanned your ticket through the front park gates). Registering your ticket through the app allows you to book free timed area entry tickets into the newer and popular worlds like Super Mario World.
- If you did not purchase an additional express pass (which includes a specified time entry ticket into Super Nintendo World) and you do not register for a free timed entry ticket, you will not be able to enter. These timed entry tickets are free but allocation runs out quick! Immediately upon entering the park, register your ticket through the app and book in for a timed entry ticket. Even though I entered at 8am, the earliest timed area ticket I could get for Super Mario World was for 4:10pm!
- Express passes are an additional cost to the general entry ticket but guarantees you access within an hour time frame for faster access to specific rides and/or specific lands. If you are visiting with young and impatient children, it may be worthwhile to spend the extra money on an express pass to guarantee entry into Super Mario World and certain rides (different express passes include slightly different attractions.) I saw families who didn’t know about timed entry tickets into Super Mario World and were turned away.
- While this is not officially documented, during peak times, the park opens its doors earlier than advertised. On the day I went, the park was meant to open at 8:30am, (but having done some research to optimise my visit, I arrived at 7:20am to start queueing and could already see others were already in and riding the rollercoaster closest to the front gates. I eventually entered the park at around 8am. As this is not officially documented anywhere, the Park may stop this practice at any time. I’ve read from other people’s lived experience, they’ve recommended to arrive at the park 60-90 minutes before the official opening time to maximise your chances of gaining early entry into Super Mario World without needing an timed area ticket and of course the more popular rides with a shorter queuing time. At peak times, wait times for popular rides blew out to over 300 minutes!!
- When I went, it happened to coincide with school holidays (unfortunately), but queuing up in the single rider lines for rides significantly cut down my wait time. Japanese families typically do not like splitting off and will wait it out together in the long queues. Although some more adventurous Japanese teenagers are happy to cut down wait times and join the single rider queues. At most, I waited about 1 hour in the single rider line for Mario Kart: Koopa’s challenge (in the late afternoon), 40 minutes for Hollywood dream (not the backwards version) and about the same for Demon slayer. Otherwise, in the morning, within 5 minutes I pretty much got straight on to the Flying dinosaur.
- For more nuggets of gold – I referred to 2024 Universal Studios Japan Guide & Tips, this video and this video before my own visit and found their tips invaluable.
- Don’t waste time figuring out the cost of each individual public transport ride: Get a Suica or Pasmo
Learning to navigate Japan’s extensive train and bus network can feel overwhelming in the beginning. So don’t add an extra layer of stress by buying individual tickets each time you want to take a train/bus somewhere. Not only can the names appear confusing as they may look similar, but you’ll also be eating away precious time on your holiday figuring out what button to press and how much to pay to get to where you want to go. Take the headache out and get a Suica or Pasmo card instead. These are physical or digital cards that you can top up with money, so whenever you take transport you can just swipe on and off and it will automatically deduct the cost of the fare.
As at the time of writing, the long term Suica and Oasmo cards were not available to tourists due to a chip shortage in Japan. So if you’re a tourist, you can get the tourist version. The main difference is no deposit for the card is required, any remaining money on the card is non-refundable and it expires after 28 days, so you better spend every last yen on yummy convenience store snacks before you leave the country (easy to do.)
- Don’t be a fool and try and show off your new shoes: tried and tested comfortable shoes are a must
Tokyo and Osaka are cities with excellent public transportation. The trains come every 2-3 minutes and buses are on time. Bullet trains leave as scheduled as per the exact minute on the timetable. But it is also very much a walkable city too. So it goes without saying, you must bring comfortable shoes as you will be doing a lot of walking. On slower days, my phone tracker clocked me walking around 10km and the higher range at 22km!
Don’t bring brand new shoes, because your feet will be crying out with blisters. Some smaller train stations don’t have escalators or lifts and will require you to go up/down stairs and some of the larger stations may require a fair bit of walking to get in and out to a specific exit.
Often, meandering about up and down streets will bring you to hidden treasures you, you otherwise wouldn’t have found! Similarly, some restaurants require you to remove your shoes, so don’t bring socks with holes in them.
- Don’t overpack: bring as little luggage with you, because you will shop
At the time of my visit, the yen has been the weakest it’s ever been in 34 years, making it an incredibly affordable travel destination. If you’re that way inclined, you’re probably going to do a fair bit of shopping. Whether it’s snacks, clothes, shoes, cute toys, skincare etc, Japan is a mecca for shopping. Always under pack and in the case you forget something, you can buy it while you’re there. It’s also a good idea to bring some foldable travel bags (I have one of these travel bags from Longchamp), so in the case you need extra luggage space, you can whip them out and use them to house your new belongings to carry home.
- Credit card is still not always King: bring more cash than you think you need
Cash is still King in Japan, despite big improvements in terms of the number of shops and restaurants that accept credit cards. Many small restaurants/cafes and street food eateries run by your average Mum/Pop are still cash only, as are shrines/templates (entrance fees and attached souvenir shops) and even the self serve machines used to recharge your physical Suica/Pasmo at stations only seem to accept cash only too!
(I have read some other travelers have reported being able to top up via foreign credit cards through Apple pay for digital cards, but since I didn’t personally do this (don’t have an Apple phone), I can’t verify, so best do your own research if you’re only going to use the digital card.) Most places like bigger shops, chain restaurants etc will readily accept credit card. I used my credit card about 90% of the time whilst I was there.
If you need to get more cash out from ATMs in Japan, always choose the local currency conversion in Japanese Yen (JPY). If you choose your home currency, you will get a worse conversion rate and it’s your bank’s final chance to milk money out of you. (Don’t let them!)
- Don’t pack in all your days so tightly: it’s OK to relax and be present
I understand the inner fear of missing out. You’ve travelled a long way to reach Japan and want to do, see and eat everything! Hopefully this will not be your first and last time visiting (the country is ever so big), so it’s OK if you don’t see or do everything in this trip. There’s a high chance you will be back to experience and enjoy more of the country. Depending on your travel style, you may plan out the important things you definitely don’t want to miss and add some extra attractions as “nice to dos” as cherries on top. If you’ve packed your itinerary to the brim and you’re in check list mode, how much are you really enjoying the sites?
It’s also a good idea to build in times of rest and more chill days into your itinerary. Whether it’s a slower morning, enjoying a leisurely breakfast and gentle walk soaking up nature or some nice R&R at an onsen to rest your tired legs, accept you can’t do it all and it’s OK.
I hope these tips based off of my recent trip are helpful! Sometimes, no matter how much research you’ve done, there will still be curveballs thrown your way that you’ve got to solve on the fly. That’s life! Enjoy the ride, enjoy your time there, experiencing such a beautiful country, so rich in natural beautiful, culture and so many things that are overwhelming cute in the best possible way! The Japanese really do live in the future! The Japanese really are so meticulous and attention is paid to everything. You’re going to have the most epic time there, enjoy!
