I feel like everything I read before I came to Japan was a bit exaggerated so I thought I’d write a little of my experience if it would help. These are all the things I was concerned about and what I’ve learned. Also this is my experience it’s not end all be all, so please calm down with the comments, unless I’ve said something that’s 100% incorrect, as people mentioned you must carry your passport with you at all times, which I didn’t know, but now we all do. So please Do your own research and be nice.
Kyoto- I think starting in April there is some tourist ban in certain areas. So check on this. Basically follow all their rules and signs.
This is coming from someone who likes to plan ahead and not on a college student budget but also not on an unlimited budget.
I rather pay extra for comfort when it comes to any situation.
We used a travel agent so they had someone meet us at the airport, we had a driver to the hotel, driver to train station and someone to meet us at train station to take us to the correct train. We came to really appreciate this to be honest.
I would recommend giving yourself time to figure out the trains and subway if you’re doing it on your own.
Preparing:
Register here https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/ and get your QR code so you don’t have to deal w it at the airport.
Also you can get QR code for tax free shopping, not all places accept it.******* correction******* ##I’ve been told you need to carry your passport with you at all times as a tourist in case you get stopped by police you must show it.###
Once they put your tax free items in a sealed bag you’re not suppose to take them out. So if you’re getting snacks and such don’t do duty free. Although no one checked this at the airport. It’s not like Europe where you have to go to the counter at the airport….. at least this was my experience.
MEDICATION- you cannot take adderall, no ifs and or buts. On the website below they will go over all the meds you can’t bring and the ones you need to apply for permission. Adderall is an absolute no, even w a doctor’s note.
I emailed them about all our meds one of them we had to get permission for which I got within 2 days. So definitely plan ahead they say give them 14 days to respond back I think.
https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/
Btw, no one checked our meds or asked to see papers, but you’re suppose to show the medication paper, if you needed one, at custom clearance. They had dogs walking around sniffing bags so don’t risk it.
Transportation:
They have subway for you to get around. We mostly used Uber and taxis in Tokyo, 1) because we felt like it and 2) because we didn’t want to deal w figuring it out and it’s like getting a little tour of the city, we saw so much we wouldn’t have on the subway. Uber Rides were anywhere between 13-70$, but there were 5 of us and we needed a big van. When it comes to train vs cab, cabs were mostly faster for us or took the same time so we would choose whichever was faster, obviously taxis cost way more. Decide what’s better for you.
So if you’re scared of the trains you can always rely on Uber and taxis in Tokyo, don’t let Reddit or IG scare you. They all spoke enough English, but you just show them the address. I feel that when I was researching transportation before my visit it seems like subways were the only option or you’re not getting around and this is not the case in Tokyo.
Kyoto was a different story. Subway was the way for us. They have taxis though.
When I was there people were aggressive getting off and on the trains/subway in Kyoto. Get ready to get on and off and don’t be shy or youre not getting on that train. I’m sure it’s mostly because there are so many tourists.
The JR train- pay attention to your stop and get ready to get off quickly because you don’t have much time getting on and off, have your stuff in hand and ready to go! They do not play around.
Suica card- get that on your phone, it’s in your Apple wallet and you just add money to it. Can’t do this w Android for some reason? I could be wrong about this but our friend w android couldn’t do it.
Crossing streets- it doesn’t matter if it’s a small street and no cars are passing and it’s only two steps across. If the pedestrian light is red DO NOT CROSS. They are respectful of this rule.
Language:
Almost Everyone speaks English here. They may not be fully fluent but their English is better than our Japanese. We learned simple words for thank you, please, yes etc. But everyone was nice and spoke English. I do recommend learning those simple words. “Arigato Gozaimasu” became second nature.
Google translate app is very helpful as well, the picture feature is very helpful on signs and writings. I added almost everyone speaks English because many commenters on Reddit are upset about this. Yesss not every Japanese person speaks English but mosssssst people do. Reddit and ig make it seem so scary and it wasn’t at all. Communication was never an issue because they either speak enough English or you use your translator on your phone, it’s common sense. Someone commented I must have gone to touristy places and yes, yes I did because this was my first time and I will 100% do all the touristy things my first few times, without shame.
Clothes: (we came March 22-April5)
We visited in March so it was still a bit cool and rainy, I would recommend a small umbrella but they also sell them everywhere. Wear whatever you want, athleisure is fine. Literally no one cares what you are wearing. I did not see anyone wearing crop tops, that part is accurate, but I did see younger girls wearing short school uniform style skirts. People love their long skirts here. Everyone here wears baggy clothes like they are skaters from 1990’s, but with a stylish preppy edge. All the pants are short and baggy, but in general no one is paying attention. They do wear modest clothes.
Bring plenty of socks because you’ll be walking all day in them, so definitely change those daily, specially if you have to take off your shoes in certain places during your visit. Clothes wise I wore the same thing every day and changed on the 4th day (I changed underwear daily everyone calm down geez) also because I wore a long coat every day so clothes weren’t dirty and I didn’t sweat since it was cold. (Again commenters are very sour about me not changing every day, it’s just not going to happen if you pack minimally and you’re not sweating like an athlete) also this is to point out you don’t need to pack fancy clothes you’re on the go all the time and traveling constantly.
All this to say don’t over pack so you have more room for everything you’re going to buy. I’d say 3 pants 3 shirts 3 sweaters for two weeks. We did laundry one night it was at the hotel, it took coins, our clothes smelled so bad when I took them out of the washer, it atutomatucally added detergent. I had to dry them for two hours to make the terrible smell go away. They smelled fine once fully dry.
Bring a rain coat if you’re here in the spring. Mine was a puffy coat down to my ankle, w a hood. I get cold easily, best decision I made because I didn’t have to use an umbrella and I was warm and cozy the whole time.
For the summer I would say you probably need to change way more often.
Trash:
This part was definitely true. Trash cans are hard to find but if you go to a bathroom they have them there but definitely bring mini trash bags to put in your purse/backpack. I got stuck w a cup of ice for about an hour or so because I couldn’t find a trash can and I couldn’t put it in my mini trash bag.
There are no trash cans in the food courts or grocery stores either fyi.
Bathrooms- 99% of their toilets are bidets. I did come across the ground toilets at the department stores. I wondered why the lady in front of me said I can skip her, but it’s fine I’ve used them before, just have mad squatting skills.
Napkins:
Most bathrooms I went to had paper towels or air dryer. I definitely didn’t need to bring mini hand towels. Public bathrooms didn’t have paper towels but most restaurant bathrooms did.
Napkins when youre dining were rare however, so I recommend carrying those small pocket Kleenex with you. They give you a wet hand towel when dining but napkins were very rare.
They say it’s because they pick up their dish and hold it close to their mouth so they don’t make a mess when eating, so they don’t need a napkin. You also don’t get a menu for everyone I noticed, no matter where we went, it seemed like we were always sharing a menu, not that it matters.
Chopstick manners- this is a legit thing, look up on google on proper etiquette. We break so many traditions in the USA w chopsticks.
If you forget something there are markets at every corner so you can buy toothbrush, razor, tissue, meds etc. all our hotels had razors, toothbrush and toothpaste, very different than the USA.
Shoes- you better bring the most comfy shoes ever, forget style. My feet hurt so much from all the walking and I was wearing comfy shoes. I don’t know how people wear wedges and stylish shoes. You’ll be walking 10-25k or more steps a day.
Walking/standing on the right side- follow the signs and the people. They walk on certain sides and on escalators they stand on certain sides and walk on the other side. Pay attention to what others are doing.
WiFi:
Highly recommend getting a pocket WiFi or whatever else they offer. I used Japan Wireless. Best decision. They deliver it to your hotel and then you drop it off at the airport in the mailbox (I had our hotel do it for me) it comes w a battery pack too. I recommend charging it with the cables they provide, and not the ones you bring from your own country. Mine stopped working and they delivered a new one the next day to a new hotel in a new city. Pretty amazing. Nice speed. I did noticed the WiFi wasn’t as strong in Kyoto and Hiroshima. Most websites give you option for SIMS or WiFi.
Food:
It is overwhelming, because there are sooo many options and all of them are busy.
If you’re not on a tight budget and you’re not roughing it then I recommend you do make reservations, you can always cancel them, unless they are the super expensive ones. Do your research, look on tablog. If you’ve been walking around all day and you’re tired and hungry trust me you don’t want to be looking for a place to eat, because everyone’s always full or need reservations or they say come back in two hours, or there are long lines. Lines everywhere, I will not miss that about Japan.
Prepare ahead of time for your must go to restaurants like 3-6 months in advance. Many of the popular places open reservations at a certain time. I think a lot of the themed ones like Mario etc.
My must go tos were the fluffy pancakes and fluffy cheesecake. Happy pancake is where we went. I went I think about 40 minutes before they opened and I was 5th in line and by opening the line was long. Also they do take reservations which I clearly didn’t make. Some restaurants do limit you on time while eating, usually 2 hours. Fluffy cheesecake was in Osaka. The one I went to was Rikuro’s in the mall and the line was short. One is for fresh cheesecake which is the longer line and another line for cheesecake from 1-2 hours ago. Honestly it tasted better cold to me. The hot one is a bit eggy, the custard was good too.
Perfume: Some restaurants specifically put on their website that you will not be able to eat there if your perfume is strong. I love perfume but I didn’t wear any on this trip just to be safe, but I definitely found a few perfumes I really liked in Japan.
Cafe capybara- we literally had 4 devices ready to make reservations at 8am the day of. I’m shocked one of us got a reservation. Making the reservation was very stressful but the cafe was cute.
It’s small, you have to get a drink. I would recommend getting 6 meals for the capybaras so you have time with them and for picture purposes. They are very calm and chill. It is also out of the way from where youll be staying in Tokyo, most likely, this was the most expensive Uber we got, it was nice seeing a different part of the city. We went to a cute local cafe, while waiting for our time a lot and the people were so friendly and nice.
Train stations have a lot of restaurants as well. In Hiroshima our guide said they have some of the best food and it was where we ate the two days we were there. I had some of my favorite sushi here.
You can use tabelog or tableall to find restaurants and reservations, but personally did not find it easy to make reservations, last minute.
Tipping- you don’t tip here, but they definitely don’t get offended if you do tip. We tipped our tour guides and Uber drivers, restaurants we didn’t.**** I’ve gotten some angry messages about tipping 😳🫣. sooo don’t tip but we did bring some stuff from the USA that we gave people. Some locals said they like sports items from your local city. Trader Joe’s was a thing too when I asked Reddit and even our guides, I don’t understand the traders joes thing but I got a few bags from there and some cashews that gave to people.
Cash- def bring cash but most major places accept card, but you need cash for markets, temples, shrines, so get some. Max cash before you have to declare it is 1million yen I believe, I think it’s around 6.5k US dollars. Again do your own research as well.
Sitting/eating- I feel like there’s hardly anywhere to sit and rest while walking around, but then again not many places to sit around in nyc either. If you go to a shop that has seating be ready to make an order for everyone in your group.
The no eating while walking around is a thing. We would stop outside of the shop and eat the food, then leave, this way you can throw the trash in their own trash can. The department store food shops/groceries do not have sitting area or trash cans either really. Bring your little trash bags. We were bad and walked with our coffee cups once without realizing it and felt weird.
Battery packs – get one or two because you’ll be out all day and your battery will die.
Make sure you pack them on your carry on bag, Same w matches, if you buy any in Japan, it has to go in your carry on and not checked bag.
Kobe: make sure the beef is Kobe certified. Our tour guide told us that many of the places w lines in Kobe were American beef and tourists don’t know that.
Luggage transfer: this is a must, specially if youre going city to city. Usually need a day and half. We went Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto to Hiroshima to Osaka. We transferred our bags from Tokyo to Kyoto and packed an overnight for Hakone (side not we were here not even a full day and regret that next time we would like to spend 2 full days here and explore it, looked cute). We transferred our bags from Kyoto to Osaka and packed an overnight bag for Hiroshima.
Make sure you do all ur shopping before you transfer the bags or you’ll be hauling all those bags on the train.
Definitely bring an empty suitcase because you’ll need it. I put my medium sized suitcase in the bigger one when traveling to Japan and in Tokyo I had to put all the stuff I bought in the big bag. So glad I did that.
Cherry blossoms:
I recommend forget about the cherry blossoms, or at least don’t make it the main thing because you’re dealing w Mother Nature. You never know if they will bloom while you’re here. According to everything they should been in peak bloomed during the time we were in Japan, but they were just starting so we missed the big bloom. So if youre from the USA go and see them in DC, and go to Japan at a different time than March/April. It is sooooo busy. The cherry blossoms in my neighborhood bloomed right before we came and they were beautiful, didn’t even know we had cherry blossoms.
Stamp books are a thing at all the shrines. Youll need cash it’s 300 usually for the stamps. Also 100yen coins were the most useful, really all over Japan 100yn was the most useful. **** people are pointing out that some stamps are 500-1000, must have missed those but fyi for cash purposes. In USA dollars you’re dealing with $2-6.
Motion sickness- if you have this problem get some Dramamine or have your doctor prescribe you scopalomine patches. All the trains, taxi, bus, maybe ferries will make you sick. I put the scopalomine patch on if I knew we would have major transportation days back to back because you can wear it for 3 days, I try not use them every day because youll get rebound nausea if you use it straight for one week or longer. I had the patch and Dramamine in hand ready to use. The patch I would say takes 3 hours for it to start working so plan ahead.
Lunch- try to get in before 2pm, we noticed many places close at 3 and reopen at 5 so if you get there by 230 they won’t serve you usually.
Airport- if you’re flying domestically to Tokyo to fly back home (for example we flew Osaka to Tokyo to USA) you will land in Terminal T2 in Tokyo but will have to go to international terminal T3 from Tokyo and will have to get on a shuttle bus to go to that terminal, it takes about 20 minutes. They come about every 15 minutes. You have to go through security again in Tokyo but our checked bags went all the way to our final destination.
Have cash 100 or 1000Yen for the airport if you want vending machine snacks and drinks. You might want to bring snacks to the airport for your flights. Tokyo airport surprisingly lacked snack places, same with Osaka and vending machines weren’t taking cards for some reason(they weren’t working that day maybe?), and we only had large bills.
If you have a connecting flight and the airline is not the same airline you’re flying back home with make sure you don’t need new tickets (for example we bought tickets from Delta but their partner air in Japan was ANA) We flew ANA from Osaka to Tokyo then Delta from Tokyo to Atlanta but in Tokyo they made us get new tickets at the Delta gate because it didn’t say Delta. So keep all this in mind don’t waste time until you’re all settled in at your final gate. The Japanese part of the airline experience was smooth and of course once we got to the international part and USA airlines it was hectic and a hot mess. I don’t know why we are like this but anyway I hope all this helps.
What I would do different.
I would spend at least 5 days in Tokyo, if it wasn’t so far I would stay a whole week in Tokyo, and do Tokyo to hakone 2 days to Osaka 4 days minimum, would do day trips from Osaka to Hiroshima, Kyoto then fly out of Osaka. Kobe is definitely a day trip, you can skip it if you need to. 14 days was good but if you don’t want to miss things you need more than 14 days. Tokyo has so many districts to explore. Hiroshima surprised me you have to go and Itsukushima island is a must. Hakone just looked so unique and we didn’t get to explore it which we regret. Kyoto- although it wasn’t my favorite city it did have some of the best food I had. We went to Nara while in Kyoto because it was my friends bday and that’s what she wanted to do that day. Nara is where all the deer are that you usually see. Nara is a day trip I’d say from Osaka and Kyoto. I saw somewhere that said the deer looked abused and sickly, in certain part of the park some of them did look raggedy but by the temple they all looked healthy. There were deer in Itsukushima but those ones you don’t approach or feed.
Mt. Fuji- we saw it when we were flying in from the plane, it was pretty cool. We also saw it when we were leaving Hakone from the train. Great view on the right side of the train.
It was raining the one day we were in Hakone but the next day when we left it was clear skies.
I would put my favorite places in this order
Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nara, Hakone, Kyoto, Kobe. Having an all day guide in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto was very helpful. They explain everything and you kind of learn the train/subway situation from them. Again this was my personal experience I’m not saying this is the best, we all had different favorite in our group.
We had two food tours, one in Tokyo and one in Osaka. The Osaka one was great because she took us to super local places, there were no tourists there at all. The Tokyo one was ok.
I’m gonna get some major crap for this but overall the food was ok not the most amazing like everyone on social media makes it out to be, don’t get me wrong we had good food, and I recommend you eat everything and as much as you can because there is so much food.
The tuna in Japan is a must however, you haven’t had tuna sushi until you have it here. I do feel that sushi is ruined for me forever, because the fish was very fresh and I won’t get that in the USA.
The desserts were really good too. Under the department stores they had some of the prettiest foods and desserts. The Hiroshima station had some good desserts too.
We went to a place called ace in Kyoto that was very good, recommended by a local. I would say that was one of the best meals I had in Japan.
Also went to Vel Rosier, it was good and interesting and the staff was amazing.
The ramen was ok I tried so many kinds but I think our taste buds are just different. I feel some of the food was muted in flavor. Again my opinion not facts 😮💨.
You have to try Okonomiyaki in Osaka and Hiroshima, interesting food.
One day we did Uber eats and ordered sushi because we were so tired and not all sushi is made the same, it was not good.
Don Quijote is a gigantic store, I’m guessing like a Walmart or Target, with all the Japanese goods a tourist would want. The one we went to was like 8 floors of just Japanese items (skin care, makeup, sweets, gadget, I think clothes), we didn’t make it all the way up because we were overwhelmed and were done w it, you can easily spend hours in here. If you’re doing duty free make sure you know what floor it’s on before you leave the first floor. We came all the way down to first floor from 6/7th floor to find out duty free is on 7th floor and we were like no way are we going back so we didn’t do duty free. They charge you for bags in Japan. Someone pointed out that not all of them are this big but the point is find out where duty free is before you start shopping.
Try not to have FOMO, because you can’t possibly do everything and eat everything.
Definitely bring a small backpack with you. I bought an antitheft one with the zipper in the back it was the perfect size and waterproof.
You don’t necessarily need a converter (maybe for some things read about that on google) if you’re from the USA but I brought one anyway because i needed all the plugs and USB ports on it. Between the phone, watch, sound machine, headphones, portable batteries and WiFi I needed all the plugs I could find.
I would recommend you bring some melatonin w you to adjust yourself. I’d say jet lag was an issue for maybe two days for my 14 hour difference. I think it’ll be worse when I’m back home.
Overall I would say the Japanese like rules and order and like to follow them strictly so respect that, it’s the whole reason they are a cool culture. Most of the time just watch what they are doing and follow that. I noticed they don’t do well when you try to change things around, much confusion, so try not make too many changes to things.
Everyone was nice and helpful.
🙂
by miracle467