I’ve just returned from a fabulous trip to Japan. When I travel, I like to write blog posts as a way of staying connected with family and friends, and to keep a journal so I can remember my journeys. In the past, I’ve sought out internet cafes, but this trip, I brought my iPhone and tried something different.
I’ve read so many horror stories about travelers returning home to thousand dollar bills for international data-roaming charges that I’ve always left my iPhone at home when I travel out of the country. But that would not work well for Japan; I would be in many rural areas where internet cafes would be difficult to find. I followed the instructions on changing smartphone settings in articles I had saved, and even called AT&T (my carrier) from the airport before I boarded the plane, just to verify I was doing everything I needed to avert data-roaming charges. (By the way, you do need to make the changes before you take-off; if you wait until you land, you run the risk of your phone automatically downloading data when you turn on your phone to change the settings.)
Here’s the post I wrote on what worked for me in Japan: http://nakasendo2013.blogspot.com/2013/10/on-bullet-train-nagoya-to-kyoto.html . As I mentioned earlier, the blog is written for family and friends, but feel free to read the other posts if you are interested – this was a trip I expected to enjoy, and it still exceeded my expectations!
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