General information

VISA(biza,ビザ)

The Japan Government has a web site for Visitor Visa extensions.
You can check it yourself.

link.gifMinistry of Foreign Affairs in Japan[E]>Visa[E]

To extend their period for staying in Japan, many visitors travel from Japan to some relevant country and return after a few days. However, it is illegal and the Immigration Officers sometimes refuse re-entry. To avoid this risky way, try to apply for your visa extension (biza enchou,ビザ延長) to the immigration office. It may be possible to extend your visa for additional 2 or 3 weeks. Confirm this with the immigration office.

Visa Exemption

Japan offers Visa Exemption Arrangements with 62 countries (as of May 2009), which include many of European and American countries (3 months or 90days)

I regret to say that most Asian nationalsstill have to apply for visas.

Please check before your departure.

Map(chizu,地図)

The maps cyclists have to get are...

Cash

About money(okane,お金)

In the city I had difficulty getting cash on my Visa. Foreign exchange clerks in large banks could not help when their machines rejected my card. This was frustrating until we discovered humble Post Offices had cash machines that would accept an international Visa card. From then on, spotting the distinctive Post Office signs, meant cash availability over the following 10 weeks.

As Roy Sinclair said the above, Japanese Postal Office (Yubinkyoku, 郵便局) must be very convenient for travellers. They are everywhere in Japan, even in the less populated villages, and you can cash common credit/debit/cash cards or traveler's checks. See the web sites below for detail;

link.gifJapanese Post Office

Japan is still a cash society compared with western countries. But credit cards have increased in popularity here in recent years. Now you can pay by credit card at many family restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and train stations.

Book

『CYCLING JAPAN: 10 of the Best Rides - Vol. 1』 by Takashi Niwa
(Tokyo Chizu Publishing Co., Ltd.) 1,700 Yen + Tax

The very best bicycle touring routes in Japan selected by Takashi Niwa ― the book introduces, with detailed maps and directions, ten MUST rides in different parts of the country from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. Many beautiful pictures will surely make you want to pedal around one or all of these10 cycling wonderlands. The author, the founder and president of Yamamichi Adventure, is a cycling specialist and guides people to many places in Japan and the world, from back alleys of Tokyo to remote villages in Tibet. The book is available overseas through Kinokuniya Bookstores. For more details, please refer to this .


uploaded:21, 07, 2009