Japan is one of the most frequented countries in the world. While there is a lot of quality-of-life things that make traveling easy there, there is still a lot of things I wish I knew before traveling there my first time.
Have cash on you
I would recommend at least have 10000-20000 yen on you for emergencies. A lot of people talk about how Japan has become more and more digital currency base but can still remain to be very relevant almost everywhere you go. This will help cover things like refilling transit cards, arcades, street vendors and anything else essentially. I liked having 1000-yen bills and also a mixture of coins. 100-yen coins are the most used in my opinion, so plan to bring or buy a small coin purse while you are there. Lower denominations are better.
Understand the basics of the train system
We ended up having to stand in one of the bullet trains because we didn’t understand the system at one point. You can reserve for the bullet trains ahead of time, I liked to do this the night before. I would plan on trying to get there a little earlier, so you don’t have to feel rushed or panicked to figure things out. Make sure you are not out before the last train if you are further away, or either expect to walk or taxi!
Don’t rely on just one place to eat
Apps might not be the most reliant when it comes to picking a place to eat. We went to places that were either closed or full and had to be flexible. One great thing about Japan is that even if you miss out, there’s probably a handful of restaurants around the block, so you may even get a better option then what you originally wanted.
Tax free system
Make sure you don’t want to consume any of the tax free items because they will lock them up in places such as Donki, in a bag to prevent you from opening it. I was always paranoid about this since I am also just a paranoid person, that at the border they would check me for this. I think it’s generally fine but, I always just opted items out for tax free so I could travel without worrying.
Laundry
This one is huge because we have had some stressful nights trying to de-stink our clothes. If you plan to be there for multiple weeks, plan to do some laundry. This can get chaotic at times because everyone else is thinking the same thing. What I would recommend is going early , 10-15 minutes early and waiting for the next available washer. People also forget their clothes in the washer so be ready to wait. Most hotels only have 2-3 washers, so it’s pretty limited specially with many guests. I would plan a big portion of your day if you planned to clean your clothes. Bring coins as you will need to use it to pay. You’ll put in the coins typically and type in a pass code. We would normally use google lens to translate for us.
Do not believe everything social media says
Do not spend too much time looking up recommendations, figure out why you want to go first, and what you want to do. Some things you see online might not even meet your expectations or you might go and just be disappointed. There were a few places that I probably would have skipped so keep your options open and do things that you really really want to do.
What I would tell a friend
Japan is one of those places where you kind of just need to have an idea of whats going on, and you just learn as you go. No matter how much I prepared each time I went, you’ll always find something new and challenging. You could still do the bare minimum in terms of research and still be fine. Traveling in Japan can be very foreigner friendly as long as you stay around the main traffic areas.
