• Travel

    Train: Taitung to Nanzhou / Kaohsiung in Taiwan

    December 11, 2023 - By 

    We bought our tickets for the Taiwan Railway online while in the United States without issue and chose two meals, one vegetarian and one regular, at the time. The train tickets would take us from Taitung to Nanzhou, which would place us conveniently for my Kaohsiung aunt to pick us up. For our money, we received a very low quality QR code that we were doubtful about. At the station, we walked up to the counter and attempted to change our dubious QR code for the tickets. Unfortunately, the man at the counter was unable to scan the low quality…

  • Travel

    Nomad’s APAC eSIM for Asia

    December 4, 2023 - By 

    The short version is that Nomad’s APAC 20 Countries Plan was usable in Japan other than remote Hakone and was not very usable in Taiwan. I was always able to reconnect within a minute in Japan. In Taiwan, not only was data slow but I also was unable to connect to the network for more like 3-5 minutes at a time. I decided to try those eSIMs that you purchase ahead of time instead of at the airport. The downside is normally that data SIMs purchased in the airport usually have better coverage and eSIMs bought online sometimes put you…

  • Finance - Travel

    What is “COTHTL844-422-6922MA”?

    November 22, 2023 - By 

    If you see something starting with COTHTL (or a full COTHTL844-422-6922MA) on your credit card statement and you have a Capital One card, check whether the amount matches a hotel reservation you made. It is probably a Capital One Travel Hotel charge, meaning that you booked it through the Capital One Travel Portal. I was initially concerned to see a US charge amidst all the converted JPY-USD charges and was a little worried that I was the victim of fraud. After reviewing the dates, I realized, with some relief, that it was simply the charge for the hotel I booked…

  • Travel

    TPE to SFO to EWR with United

    November 18, 2023 - By 

    For this trip in 2023, I was with family, including my daughter! The daughter part made it more difficult to take pictures freely. The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), like many other places in Taiwan, gave us preference because we had a /wah-wah tsuh/, or a baby stroller. In this case, we got to go through a screening line with no one else at all. The person manning the gate seemed excited to have anyone going through his not-really-a-line at all. (My father later explained that all the preference I had received was probably because the birth rate in Taiwan…

  • Travel

    IASS Superior Lounge NOA in NRT Narita Airport, Japan

    October 31, 2023 - By 

    The IASS Superior Lounge NOA in Narita Airport had one bad review complaining about there only being noodles and bread. Since it was close to my gate for leaving Japan, I went in anyway. The food is all Japanese. When I went in October, 2023, in the late morning, the food options were a variety of small pre-meal dishes, soba to cook in the spot, onigiri with soy sauce, mochi with red beans, and an pan bread or cream pan bread. The offerings may look small, but they were frequently checked and replaced. For example, the soba’s cooking water/pot was…

  • Travel

    Tax Refund in Japan 2023

    October 27, 2023 - By 

    Those of you who have been to Japan in years previous may remember having to queue at tax counters and then at the airport tax counter. Whether or not one had money to get from the airport tax counter (as opposed to the store tax refund counter) the government officials still had to take the forms kept with or attached to your passport. Japan changed its program again, effective April 1, 2023, but the main points are still that you can do tax free shipping as a tourist, most places require at least JP¥5000 pre-tax, and consumables are sealed. Now…

  • Travel

    Nara (and the Deer)

    October 19, 2023 - By 

    Nara is a very nice town that has capitalized on the fact that the popular Nara deer reside there. Nara deer are known for being aggressive and mildly molesting humans in their pursuit of treats. As far as I can tell, one reason people still visit the deer is because the deer bow to you if you bow to them—- before they begin demanding their treats. It takes about 25 minutes to walk to Nara Kouen from the Nara Station. Some of it is uphill, but it is not very steep. There is also a bus you can take if…

  • Travel

    Using Prepaid QR Code Ticket at the Shinkansen in Japan

    October 12, 2023 - By 

    Since using our prepaid QR code ticket for Japan’s Shinkansen briefly confused us both on the way in and on the way out, maybe this will help someone else. If you used a Suica to get on a train line and then transfer to the Shinkansen, you must, in this specific order: After you have reached your destination and want to exit, you do indeed need your IC or QR code as the back of the “seat information” ticket says. The order of scanned/inserted items matters and it is: As a side note, bentos on the train end after October…

  • Travel

    The High Latitudes: EWR to YUL to NRT with Air Canada

    October 8, 2023 - By 

    In 2023, I took a higher latitude route to get to Asia. I usually take direct or a transfer in California, which is around 40 degrees latitude. My route this year took me over Canada and Alaska for roughly 65 degrees latitude. After booking, I read about how one is exposed to more radiation when flying at higher latitudes. In fact, some flight attendants were convinced that they had developed cancer from these routes. I was not entirely thrilled to learn the potential radiation detail but I was not bothered enough to cancel my current ticket and buy a different…

  • Travel

    Finding an English-Speaking Doctor in Japan

    October 6, 2023 - By 

    If you ever need to find a doctor in Japan who can communicate in English, the US Embassy in Japan maintains a list of clinics/hospitals with doctors who can communicate in English. Because we are tourists without Japanese health insurance, we pay the complete cost and possibly get reimbursed by the travel insurance or regular insurance. (For example, my current Cigna plan reimburses for emergency or urgent care). Tourists are also sometimes asked to pay upfront. Most places take card if over a minimum amount (JP¥10,000 seems to be a common minimum) or cash. It is becoming more common to…