My Japan Travel Tips
Updated: Mar 10, 2022
I was in Japan from March 20 to 29, 2019. After my trip was over, I had a few people message me to ask some questions about Japan to plan for their trip. Since the trip wasn't too long ago and I want to document my time there, I compiled a list of commonly asked questions as well as my own tips. Here we go!
1. If you can, book for at least two weeks!
The biggest regret of my Japan trip was that I was only there for 9 days. It seemed like a decent amount of time when I booked the trip but as soon as I started planning it, my days quickly dwindled. There is just SO much to do in Japan, I had to sacrifice some destinations and prioritize what we were going to do.
If you can't do 2 weeks and you're strapped on time, I would say to skip Osaka and just go to Tokyo and Kyoto (If you want to/can travel to multiple cities). The reason why I say that is because Osaka is another big Japanese city so you'll get a similar vibe from Tokyo. When I first arrived to Kyoto, I felt a stark difference from Tokyo since it is very historic. I really wished that we had more time in Kyoto since there is so much to do there and it felt like we were rushing around to do everything.
Even though we didn't get to do everything that we planned, it also just gives us an excuse to come back again ;) But my travel list is so long so I'm not sure when that next time will be.
2. Definitely get pocket wifi
In this day and age, you need internet. Your internet options as an international traveler will be either a sim card or a pocket wifi. If you're trying to save some cash, the pocket wifi is the way to go. For me, it was about $40 for 9 days of the pocket wifi rental. Just find a pocket wifi vendor from the airport you'll be arriving at and reserve one. You gotta do it, there's not a lot of public wifi in Japan.
3. Don't get the JR Pass if you're only staying in Tokyo or in one city
To put it simply, the JR Pass is only worth it if you're traveling on the Shinkansen to another city (Tokyo to Kyoto or Tokyo to Osaka and back). If you're only staying in one city, just get a PASMO or SUICA card, load up 4,000 yen and you should be set.
4. Bring hand sanitizer
Something that I noticed during my 9 days in Japan is that maybe less than half of the public bathrooms didn't have hand soap. Even in super popular areas like Osaka Station or Fushimi Inari didn't have hand soap. I was very surprised since Japan is an extremely clean country. We looked it up and apparently it's because back in the day they use to use bar soap in public bathrooms. However it lost popularity over time because it was seen as unsanitary to share bar soap. So public restrooms took out the bar soap and some added liquid hand soap, some didn't bother replacing the soap. Thus, this is why I suggest that you bring hand sanitizer.
5. When you're speaking English to Japanese people, reduce your sentences to one or two words
Instead of asking, "Do you speak English?" just say "English?" Or instead of "Where is the bathroom (or any location)", say "Where bathroom?" Or in the instance of ordering food, just say "One omurice (and point at the menu just in case they don't understand you or mishear)." As well as reducing your sentences, speak SLOWLY. People in Japan learn English in school, but most are not very comfortable with sentences since we tend to mash our words together. So say KEY WORDS SLOWLY and you will be understood. Or even better, learn some Japanese and they will really appreciate it.
6. Try all of the convenience store drinks!
You'll probably be in awe when you see the variety of delicious foods and drinks at a convenience store. Instead of buying expensive coffees or milk teas, try one or two different drinks from the convenience store everyday instead. They're super cheap, delicious, and you probably won't run out of drinks to try.
7. Don't go as a big group
Okay there is some bias here because I usually prefer solo or small group travel. I will probably write a post advocating for solo travel as well. But as for Japan, I would really recommend to go in a small group, maybe like 4 people max. The reason being is because many restaurants in Japan are small so it'll be harder to get seats, trains are very crowded already, and the biggest reason being there are SO MANY things to do in Japan. It is a dream destination for many so you shouldn't have to compromise too much on what you want to do. The bigger the group, the more likely you guys will have conflicting ideas. Unless you know for sure that your group wants to do the exact same thing or if they don't have any opinions, I wouldn't recommend to go in a big group.
8. Have at least one chill day/take time to take in your new environment
This is something that I wished I took more seriously reason being I jammed packed our schedule almost everyday because I wanted to do as many things as possible. However that resulted in being really tired so I would forget things that I wanted to buy or being snappy towards my travel partner. I kind of wished that I took the time to do the research in finding an onsen that allows tattoos and taking a few hours to relax and reset. Because the schedule was so packed, it kind of felt like we were just moving from destination to destination rather than really enjoying the new environment that we were in. We took some time while we were in Kyoto to walk around Gion to take it in and we ended up seeing a total of 4 geishas in 2 nights! You're in a completely different country, take some time to really soak it in.
9. Google Maps will be your best friend
Google Maps is seriously super amazing, especially in Tokyo. For some reason it doesn't seem as well developed in Kyoto or Osaka but it still works. We used Google Maps for all of our transit directions which was all that we needed.
Hack: Look for platform numbers and color rather than the line name. Google Maps will always tell you what platform you need to be on so focus on the number and color rather than the line name because it will be a lot less confusing and easier to remember. The platforms are usually in chronological order so you can count to where your platform you need to be at. Just make sure you're at the right train company and you can look for the platform number and color from there.
Another reason why Google Maps is amazing in Tokyo: it even tells you exactly which subway exit to take! It's great for super big train stations like Shinjuku or Ueno. For some reason in Kyoto and Osaka, it stopped showing me which exit to take which was unfortunate because it really was handy.
10. Check ahead of time if any of the places that you want to go to needs reservations
A good amount of places in Japan requires a reservation in order to go there (Kirby Cafe at Skytree, Cat Cafe Temari no Ouchi - the cat cafe in Kichijoji that we went to, Studio Ghibli Museum, etc.). So double check if anywhere you want to go to needs one as well as make lots of reminders to make the reservations because a lot of places also opens up their reservations about 4-6 weeks before your desired date. For some reason I didn't make reminders so I missed some reservation windows... But I guess that means that I have to go there next time!
Speaking of reservations, if you're taking the Shinkansen definitely reserve your seat on there a day or two before you want to take your ride. Just go to the JR station, look for the ticketing desk, show them your JR Pass, let them know where you want to go to and when, then they'll book a seat for you and you'll be set! You definitely want to reserve a seat because the unreserved cars usually gets very crowded and you're not guaranteed a seat on that train or that you'll be able to sit next to your travel buddies.
11. Don't knock off the fast food or chain restaurants
Fast food or chain restaurants in Japan are on another level. If you want something that'll most likely have an English menu, budget friendly, and larger portions, go to a fast food/chain restaurant. I feel like the label "fast food" or "chain restaurant" gives a poor association since they don't have the best reputation in the U.S. but in Japan, they're very different! The food actually taste fresh and I was always surprised by the quality of the ingredients whenever I ate at a fast food restaurant in Japan.
Some of my favorite fast food/chain restaurants are: Ichiran (Ramen), Yoshinoya (Gyudon, trust it's super different from the U.S. version), Coco Curry (Super customized Japanese style curry), and TenDon (Tempura and udon).
But of course, try the smaller mom and pop restaurants as well as nice/fancier restaurants to get a wide variety of delicious Japanese food. Honestly, I did not have one bad meal in Japan.
12. TRY CREMIA
Last but not least, YOU MUST TRY CREMIA. Cremia is a Japanese specialty soft serve in a butter cookie-like cone. You'll find random shops all over Japan that sells Cremia because they usually have signs for it. It is seriously soooo delicious and creamy. I saw a shop at Narita airport that sold Cremia and I HAD to get one last cone before going on my flight back to California.
I would recommend to get the milk flavor first because you know soft serve is good when their milk or vanilla flavor is BOMB. Afterwards, try their other flavors. Personally I only tried the milk flavor because it was just soooo good, I couldn't deter from it.
Like seriously, if you're going to follow only one suggestion from me, it would be to try Cremia! I haven't had a disappointed person yet :')
Of course I can forever about Japan because it's such an amazing country and travel destination. I am sooo happy that my first time in Asia ever was in Japan. Feel free to ask me questions and I'll be happy to share! Now, for a general idea of my trip to Japan, I made a video for it :3
Until next time, my friend!
Amanda ^_^
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