Going to Japan for a Conference

[JyBy]

Yepee !

My paper was accepted at a conference in Japan, I will visit the country...
Even more, it is cheaper to stay a whole week
Plane+ hotel Included so everything is paid by my laboratory.

So I will be in Kyoto in the middle of December,
(the conference is http://isaac.lab2.kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp/), and I have three questions:

- I will arrive from the plane in Narita Airport,
I know it is far from Kyoto, I will have to take the train but do I need to make some kind of reservations and how much time will it take me?

- I will be in Kyoto from 12 to 19 of December, with a conference from 15 to 17 (and a friend visiting me on 18th), what should I visit from the 13th to the 15th, and on the 18th with my friend?

- I have two credit card, one Canadian and one french. Shall I take some Yen in Canada before leaving, or some US$, or is it ok to arrive with only my credit cards?

Thanks in advance for your answers,
I like the Smilies,
Have a nice day,

 

[JyBy]

By the way, I clicked by curiosity on the "advanced" link and it returns an error 404 (page not found). Sound like there is a broken link here.

 

[jeisan]

you might be better off getting some yen from canada, you will be able to buy some at the airport with your credit card, but they usually have a higher price than a bank or so. everything costs more at the airport, convience tax. japan is a very cash friendly country so they arent so high up on credit cards/checks.

 

[budd]

http://www.zone81.com/arch_sections/trains
http://www.japanhotel.net/travel_info/train.htm
i think it's better to do it once one is at the destination.
thinking of layovers, delays, etc...
but that's just what i do, two or three dollars (and i am the guy who stood outside of a walmart in the dark looking for a penny i dropped -- for an hour) doesn't make a difference when dealing with matters of convenience when traveling imo

 

[Iron Chef]

Always a good idea to carry cash on hand once you arrive at the airport since Japan is a cash-based society. Furthermore, to reiterate what has already been stated:

a) Some places don't accept universal CCs.

b) Never know when something unexpected might come up and it's always better to be safe than sorry (or inconvenienced).