6 Key Tips for Travel to Japan!

If you’re heading to Japan, here’s our ⓺ most useful travel tips! 🇯🇵✌️

❶ while out, make sure to always have cash on you! it’s always easy to find an ATM at convenience stores if you need
❷ to make reservations for restaurants, you can ask your hotel reception to help book if they’re not available to book online. we found this incredibly helpful when booking!
❸ write down some basic Japanese phrases to get around. Google Translate + Google Lens will be your best friends to easily share addresses with cabs, or read menus + signs. pointing at things also does the trick!
❹ you’ll want to wear easily removable shoes— some restaurants will have tatami mats or areas without shoes required and being able to slip your shoes on and off will make this a lot easier.
❺ lower your volume of talking and on your phone, especially indoors to be respectful of others and how loud your conversations are!
❻ load up your metro card! You can load your PASMO or Suica card and easily tap in and out of subway rides and you can use it to pay at some stores and vending machines. Its super convenient!

➢: trash cans are infrequent, so you’ll have to carry trash with you. if you need to find one urgently, there are usually ones in subway stations or convenience stores.

[II-nbko]

Another good tip is to bring an empty plastic bag. There are absolutely no public trash cans. Your garbage is your own so keep a bag handy so you don't have to make your pockets or bag dirty.

[marar]

The hotels will help with reservations and holding stuff for you.
I’d add that if you’re traveling to different areas, like from Tokyo to Kyoto, send your luggage first. The hotel will have an area for this and some hotels will take them to your room so they’re already up in your room when you arrive. It costs a little per bag, but it’s so convenient to travel without a bunch of luggage.

[alexrosser]

When I went to Japan a few years ago i tried using google lens on a seasoning at this curry restaurant & it came back as “construction worker” 🤣😅 Hopefully their tech is a little better now. You guys are definitely giving some good tips tho 👍

[JZHassan]

Personalize your passmo/metro card and keep it as a souvenir. You'll have the option to put your name on it, consider doing [your name] [year].

[tadashihatsudai]

Another tip is wear COMFORTABLE shoes that are made for walking. I’ve traveled to Japan multiple times throughout my life and stick with shoes with a supportive arch/properly designed sole. Also leave the converse sneakers at home as the sole tends to be way too flat.

[Paintplayer]

1) don't walk while eating/drinking, it's bad manners (edit: apparently this one is debatable, I saw a bunch of signs in markets saying not to eat/drink while walking, but locals are saying that's not a thing, so do what you want I guess)
2) if there's a restroom or garbage can, use it. You don't know when you'll see another one
3) you will need an IC card for every individual person if you're going to use it on trains/subways. I only got one and ended up having to manually buy tickets for my fiancé
4) waitstaff will not generally check in on you periodically like they do in America, you'll have to flag them down. Master the "sumimasen" and especially "okaike onegaishimasu, " as otherwise you won't be leaving the restaurant in any timely manner until they notice you looking uncomfortable lol
5) double check the direction of travel of the train you're about to board. This may be obvious if you're used to public transportation, but I drive everywhere where I live and have basically never been on a train before going to Japan, so early in my trip I neglected to check the direction of travel and ended up going one stop in the wrong direction. No biggie, I just went back, but that leads me to the next tip:
6) if you ride the wrong direction, get off the train at the next stop but then get back on the platform heading the right direction rather than exiting the gates and getting a new ticket to come back in, if possible. I paid for a ticket unnecessarily because I didn't realize I could've just found my way to the other side of the tracks without exiting the gates and ridden back the direction I was heading on the ticket I already had. It only cost me like $2 extra, but it was annoying.

I can probably come up with more if folks find these helpful, these were a lot of the ones I wish I could've known before I went

[angelserenade]

I have visited Japan long ago. And yes, you need to wear comfortable walking shoes, and learn their metro system. The cab was too expensive for us (we are a group of 6), so we rely on trains.

Always bring a plastic bag to keep your trash. Trash bins aren't always accessible in some areas.

[mereiaali]

I just want her shoes! Thank God the 90's/2000's are back!!! I had those & wore them so much that by the time they became worn out to the core, I couldn't find them anywhere! Thanks for the vid!

[theautumnmoon]

I see comments about how public restrooms are hard to find. It's actually not -- people use restrooms at convenient stores all the time. You don't have to pay or buy anything in the store.

However, if you're uncomfortable with that, google a park or train station nearby. Some stations might have their restrooms inside the gate, but it's fine to ask the person at the window to use the restroom if it's an emergency. Speaking of restrooms, please allow yourself to experience the magic of Japanese bidet toilets. It's heaven ☺️

[SeanShimamoto]

That first sushi chef (0:10) sure is easy on the eyes!

[ChristochatBTW]

Things to worry about less than you think

#1 food is going to be cheaper than you think, especially for US citizens good food in japan is on average 50% cheaper than good food in the U.S.

#2 tipping is not expected and actually a little rude, so don't worry about tipping

#3 the train lines are super easy to use, so while the metro cards (suica or welcome suica are great for travelers) are very practical and will save you a little money, if you don't want to have to figure the whole business with them out its not a huge deal.

#4 Customs is WAY easier than the US or most countries, that's basically all on that

#5 I see a ton of comments here talking about public trash cans or the lack thereof, don't worry to much about this in most major cities public trash cans may be sparce but are available near points of interest like parks, mueseums, shops and other areas, this may be a new change but in our trip we never had to carry garbage very far

#6 walking and the metro are your two biggest forms of travel, there are very few locations in major cities that can't be reached within an hour on the metro and some walking taxis are super duper overpriced so be ready to go up and down stairs a lot

[suncheeserailway]

Team Pasmo, there we go; it’s always suica this suica that haha

[harveybridges]

I would buy a rail pass 7, 14or 21 day before l left the USA. Can be purchased at Japan embassy. Also you can get a list of hotels that are cheap as well. Make a reservation before leaving for Japan.

[kickyouinhalf]

haha I went to 熱烈酒場 ドンちゃん in Shinjuku several times in December 2023. Great food and great atmosphere!

[CarolineNiggAyaLee-Janet]

Just so you know, most locals live without carrying cash but travelers often don’t have the QR payment that’s popular in Japan. Sometimes the card machine isn’t actually for credit card but local IC cards (like transport ones or Eddy). So unless you can get QR payment service it’s better to have cash!

[komatsui]

All these are great tips but I would also add Google Map, using google map on public transit schedule is super helpful.

[fugguhber]

Google Translate rocks - in Thailand, and I'm sure that it works great in Japan

[johnomarlarnelladams]

Thanks 😊 for the great video 📹 short, great people 👍! #Saturdays

[smalldick-ryve]

I’ve had that furikake it was so damn good!

[anfearaerach]

I think the "lower your voice" is a standard for US Americans no? They're always so LOUD