General Tips For Japan

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Before You Go:

  • If you’re traveling by train a bunch, I highly recommend getting a JR Rail Pass (price increase set for October 2023). Especially if you are planning on going to Sapporo or south to Osaka or Kyoto. Our family has been buying passes from the travel agency linked for a long time. They typically have the best price.

  • Place an order for a Pocket Wifi. Free WiFi is not as common in Japan. I hate waiting for Google Maps to load.

  • Alternatively, you can order a Japanese SIM card if you’re willing to lose out on texting/calling with your home number but you get a Japanese phone number which is handy for when you need to leave a number at restaurants, etc. The upside is not having to carry around an extra device. I opt for a SIM card and do all of my messaging on other platforms like LINE and WhatsApp.

  • If you just want data, you can order an eSIM card!

  • Bring a coin purse! $1 and $5 equivalent are coins. Cash is still used frequently.

  • Bring a small hand towel/handkerchief. Some public restrooms don’t have any way to dry your hands.

  • Speaking of public bathrooms, most train stations don’t have hand soap. Bring those paper soaps or hand sanitizer.

  • Please look up chopsticks and soy sauce etiquette! i.e. Only dispense a small amount of soy sauce into your sauce dish. Do not stick your chopsticks into your food, etc.

Apps to Download:

  • Hyperdia - Train schedule easily filtered if you have a rail pass. It’s $3 for a month. WORTH IT. Get it. EDIT// I heard as or April of 2022, they’re getting rid of the timetable?!

  • Give JapanTravel by NaviTime a try. I hear it’s useful. Haven’t used it myself.

  • Google Translate - No brainer. You can use it to take photos of things and translate. It’s pretty funny sometimes.

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When You’re There:

  • Did you know Japan has an incredibly efficient system for delivering your luggage (and packages) called Takuhaibin? At the airport, you can send your luggage off to your destination in Japan for a very reasonable price. Read more here. Handy if you have multiple destinations and you don’t need all of your luggage items.

  • If you're flying into Narita and don't get a rail pass, a NEX roundtrip ticket could save you some money. They offer it for tourists. 

  • Speaking of NEX, Tokyo Station is huge. Follow the red bold line (pic below).

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  • Buy a Suica or Pasmo card for the train if you’ll be doing a lot of city traveling. Load it up and beep through instead of paying for each train trip. If you have a JR Rail Pass, note that this is ONLY for JR trains! Tokyo has private lines that are not JR. Bonus is that you can use your Suica or Pasmo at some vending machines and most convenience store.

  • Bring or pull out some cash. Smaller places don’t take card.

  • Ordering at a restaurant: To get the server to come over and take your order, you can say, "O-ne-gai-shimasu!" Or waving at them will also do the trick. PS No tipping!

  • Draft beer: “Nama biru” (obv v important)

  • To get your check: “O-kai-kei onegai shimasu”.

  • Storage: most train stations have coin lockers. Use them! Don’t lug your stuff around.

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Recommendations:

  • Foodies rejoice! Tabelog is the Yelp of Japan. They offer an English language version!

  • Things to See - Time Out Tokyo is nice because it lists current events, art galleries, etc.

  • Weird/Neat Stuff - Atlas Obscura has user collected places of unusual sights. I live for fruit shaped bus stops and weird alleyways. I have one I need to add later.