I’ve been all about my Japlanning recently! And I thought I would share some of the useful websites that I’ve found.
http://www.happycow.net
If you are a veggie/vegan then you probably already know about this website but it’s usefulness can’t be stressed enough (I mean if you don’t eat meat obvs). Founded in 1999, it’s run by a bunch of vegans and vegetarians to help travelers find ‘safe’ food. There are listings of restaurants, cafes, and shops all over the world (although presumably mostly in major towns and cities). Happy Cow gives you an overview, the location, and opening hours, and allows users to upload photos and reviews. Like a vegan Tripadvisor…
Since I brought it up…There is Tripadvisor, the massive review site. It would be surprising if you hadn’t heard of or used this website already. It’s not new and is becoming increasingly annoying. The reviews are either entirely fake (people paid to leave reviews using multiple fake accounts) or heavily influenced by the mad expectations of the individual leaving the review. I remember reading a poor review of an otherwise 5 star hotel because breakfast started at 7am. However, it would be lying if I said I hadn’t used it extensively when planning this trip.
Do you pin? I love Pinterest. It’s not for everyone, I get that. However, you may think it’s just gym selfies or something but there’s actually a lot going on. Companies and smaller bloggers are using Pinterest more for promotion, as well as people organically sharing stuff they find. Anyway, you can type in Tokyo or Paris, or Hull or whatever and be guaranteed to find beautifully presented suggestions of things to do.
HyperDia gives you the route and timetables of public transport in Japan. Thrilling indeed, but genuinely useful. It can easily be searched in English, and apparently there’s an App that’s quite useful for when you’re in Japan.
I’ve done a lot of searching on Google maps to find things to do. If you have a Google account you can log in and save things to your maps, and then see that on your phone (like the young people do). It also makes it easy to see where you attractions are and plan your days accordingly. You can then search hotels and restaurants near to your attractions.
The Happy Holidays 