20 Essential Tips to Know Before Visiting Japan
If you’re anything like us, planning your trip to Japan was so freaking exciting! When we were planning our trip there were some things that we really just didn’t think about and I don’t want you guys to not know these things either! Whether you’re dreaming of slurping ramen in Osaka, soaking in an onsen in the mountains, or shopping around Tokyo, I promise you are about to have an adventure of a lifetime and I am here to just make that all a little bit easier! Before you hop on that plane, there are a few things that might surprise you (like don’t tip when you’re in Japan or just a warning that the toilets in Japan have more buttons than your TV remote haha). I’ve rounded up 20 super useful tips to help you navigate Japan a lot easier!
Suica Card for Train Tickets - I can’t recommend enough to add a Suica card onto your iPhone’s wallet before you go and load money onto that! We did this and literally just tapped our phones to pay for tickets when we entered and exited the stations. Having the Suica card in your Apple Wallet was so helpful and to do this, you need to add your Suica card to the Wallet app and then enable Express Mode. Enabling Express Mode was what allowed us to use the Suica card without having to unlocking our phones. It was so nice to not have to try and get tickets at each station and this made things so much easier! Most of the signs are really clear and have both Japanese and English.
You can also use your Suica card as Apple Pay at any store that has the IC logo next to the cash register. For us we really only used it at the 7 Eleven but I believe that you can do this at other places too!
Send Luggage to your Next Hotel - Have your hotel send your luggage for you to your next destination, we did this from our hotel near Disney to our hotel in Osaka and it only cost about $30 for two suitcases which made our travel day a lot less stressful and chaotic. A few things to note, they will tell you your bags will be there the next day so we just packed our backpacks as overnight bags and we had no issues. The second thing, our hotel in Osaka didn’t have this service but they gave us instructions of where we could do this at the train station and it seemed easy enough. We didn’t end up using the service back to Tokyo but this is because we forgot and already repacked our suitcases when without packing overnight bags so we just decided to do it ourselves. But trust me, it is worth the $30, lugging suitcases around Japan is not for the weak! Haha
Train Station Tip - When you’re at the train stations, it was helpful for us to focus on the color of the ring for the train type and the platform you need, there are tons of signs and they all show the color rings that match Google or Apple Maps. We mainly used Google Maps but Apple Maps worked as well. The trains can be confusing but we were able to figure it out pretty quickly!
Visit Japan Web for Streamlining Customs - to fill out your immigration and customs information online before you go so things are more streamlined once you land in Japan. We did this and it saved us a lot of time! If we wouldn’t have done this we would have filed it out in person once we got there and it would have taken so much more time! Here is the link for you to do that!
Bullet Trains for Travel Between Cities - We used bullet trains to get from Tokyo to Osaka and also to get from Osaka back to Tokyo and we bought our tickets online and it was so easy. We used Klook to get these tickets, I will link that website for you guys here! We got first class tickets to make sure we had a nice seat that we were able to stretch out and be comfortable for the whole trip and that was really nice. I would suggest getting snacks at the train station before you get on the bullet train but they also have snacks and drinks that you can order to your seats which was pretty cool!
Trash Cans - There aren’t really trash cans in the streets. We started carrying a plastic bag with us to put trash into our backpack until we could find a trash can. A couple of things, one- if you go to a restaurant or a food stand, they would take their trash back once you were done. Another thing, this wasn’t always the case but at vending machines there was a trash can in between the two machines about 60% of the time!
Book-Off - This is a second hand store that had discounted items from all things Pokemon, Disney, collectors cards, books, Anime collectables, records and so many things! They also were mostly brand new and/or in great condition. We bought lots from these stores and some of the things we got were brand new with tags from the Pokemon Centers and Disneyland! I linked the website so you can find the location that is closest to you here! We went in both Tokyo and in Osaka.
Train Etiquette - Keep in mind when you’re on the trains to be very respectful and quiet. The trains were always clean, quiet, and in great condition, so my recommendations are to never talk loud or be talking on the phone and also if you have a backpack on, put it on the front of you or place it in the overhead storage. Lastly, the trains were literally always on time so make sure you’re early or you will probably miss your train.
No Towels in public bathrooms - When we were out and about there usually weren’t aren’t any towels in the bathroom to dry your hands off after you wash your hands and if that’s the case then there most likely won’t be trash cans to throw towels away either so I would recommend bringing a couple of hand towels to put in the bag you carry throughout the day! If you don’t bring them from home there are bathroom towels for sale in most stores that we went into that you can buy!
Smaller Restaurants - We started choosing the smaller restaurants with little seating (like less than 10 spots in the whole place)! When we chose smaller spots, we definitely had amazing food! These restaurants had the best tasting food, more bang for your buck and overall just better. I would stay away from chain restaurants if possible!
Get a SIM card before you go - Dustin had our SIM cards all set up before we even left the states to that when we landed in Japan we were able to just flip off our normal eSim and toggle on our new eSIM card in the settings on our phone. We used Sakura Mobile Travel and it was super easy and convenient and for the 14 days that we were in Japan it was about $70 total for both of our phones to work there in Japan which was great. We also would connect to Wi-Fi if it was available or we needed it!
Bring an Emergency Kit - We kind of do this with every trip that we go on just beucase we go on cruises a lot. This trip obviously wasn’t a cruise but I brought it just in case and it was very helpful throughout the trip! I will link the blog post that I have that covers what we put in our Emergency Kits right here but it really just has things like Tylenol/Advil, bandaids, Emergen-C, Germ X, sunscreen, Liquid IV, Dramamine, etc!
Download Google Translate - One of the best things you can do before heading to Japan is download Google Translate to your phone. While many people in larger cities speak some English, you’ll quickly find that outside tourist hotspots, communication can be a bit tricky—especially when it comes to reading signs, menus, or asking for help. Google Translate can be a total lifesaver! You can also use the camera feature to instantly translate Japanese text, and even have short conversations if you want to use the voice function.
Learn a Few Phrases - I think it is always a good idea when you’re traveling to a new place to learn a few basic phrases, it is pretty easy and it really goes a long way and is always appreciated by locals. Having these phrases in your back pocket (and Google Translate ready to go) can make your trip so much smoother and help you connect with locals, too!
Here are a few simple phrases to know before you go:
Konnichiwa (こんにちは) – Hello
Arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) – Thank you very much
Ohayou gozaimasu (おはようございます) - Good morning
Sumimasen (すみません) – Excuse me / I'm sorry
Kudasai" (ください) - means "please" or "could you please give me...”
Shinkansen (新幹線) – Bullet Train
Mizu - (水) Water
Ocha - (お茶) Tea
Carry a backpack - You will want to have some sort of bag that you carry with you, I carried a smallish backpack and Dustin carried a crossbody. Inside the bag we had things like a reusable charger pack, our Pokémon go catchers, bandaids, medicine like Advil, our passports, wallets, hand sanitizer and honestly there was more. Maybe I will do a blog post about what was in my everyday bag in Japan!
Passport Info - One thing to know before heading out to explore Japan, make sure to carry your passport with you at all times! Not only is it required by law for tourists to have their passport on them, but it can actually come in super handy! Many places, like department stores and electronics shops, offer tax-free shopping for visitors, and you’ll need to show your passport to get the discount. Plus, if you’re ever asked for ID by the police (which can happen during random checks), having it on you saves a lot of hassle. We never got stopped but it could happen. It’s just one of those small things that makes your trip smoother—and could even save you a few yen with the tax-free shopping!
Cash in Japan - Cash is nice to have on hand, a ton of places take credit cards, but a lot of cute shops and small restaurants don’t. Along with that, cash can easily be pulled out of ATMs in convenience stores using your USA debit card. We also got cash out at the airport and that was super simple as well but if you leave the airport without cash, you can absolutely get it in other places too.
Go to Don Quiote - It is seriously just a crazy experience. It is a massive, 24-hour discount store that’s an experience all on its own, seriously a shopping experience I will never forget. Anything you could ever want or need was inside this store, snacks, beauty products, toys, second hand luxury items like Louis Vuitton, Coach and more, games, luggage, clothing, the list seriously goes on and on. There is also this quirky song playing the whole time and when we were in there, suddenly like three hours had passed. I wish I would have taken photos or a video inside the store but if you look up Don Quijote on Tiktok or Instagram you will get a good idea as to what I am talking about haha! They also have tax free on purchases over 5,500 when you give them your passport!
Bring more than one pair of shoes - If you’re traveling to Japan just know that you'll be doing a lot of walking and then when you think you have pictured enough distance that you will walk each day, add more to it! Haha Think city streets, train stations, temples, and everything in between—so it’s smart to bring more than one pair of comfortable shoes to rotate through, seriously! I brought and highly recommend packing the Hoka Clifton 9 sneakers—they’re lightweight, cushioned, and perfect for long days on your feet. I also brought my Veja V-90 Sneakers but wish I would have broken them in a lot more before wearing them around Japan so just they were more comfortable. Just bring more than one pair, trust me, your feet will thank you!
Leave Room to Explore, But Book Must-Do Experiences Early - One thing that we were happy we did with our time in Japan was to make sure that we booked must do things on our list early so we knew we were going to do them but at the same time, our favorite days were the ones we just let ourselves wander and explore areas without plans. Japan was seriously full of unexpected gems like temples, quirky cafés, hidden alleys, and yummy food that you’ll really only find by wandering. As someone who is a planner, it was tempting for me to plan out most things but I was so happy with how much time we left open to explore! Keeping that in mind, if there are specific experiences you don’t want to miss—like a visiting a certain temple or eating at a certain restaurant, you should book them as far ahead as you can especially on non-negotiable experiences! A flexible itinerary with a few fixed highlights strikes the perfect balance.
I hope these tips help you feel a little more prepared and a lot more excited for your trip to Japan! We learned some of this stuff the hard way, so if this post saves you even one awkward moment or confusing situation, then my job here is done 😂 Japan is such an incredible place, and with just a bit of know-how, your adventure will be even more amazing. So go slurp all the noodles, press all the mysterious toilet buttons (at your own risk lol), and soak up every unforgettable moment. If you have any questions at all I am here to answer them as best as I can, you can leave a comment below or send me an email at tarynintotravel@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can!
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