This was my first trip to Japan, and I had lots of questions! Luckily, I was travelling with someone that had been to Japan several times before, and she was able to answer a lot of those questions.
I reason that if I had a lot of questions, then many other first-time travelers to Japan would also have questions. Below I will address the top 5 things I was worried about and ways to avoid any stress around them.
1. Money
My big questions around money were how much Yen do I need to have in cash? Are credit cards widely accepted? What travel money card should I take? I was stressing about them all, but it really is nothing to worry about.
How much cash?
We took enough cash to last for the first 3 or 4 days. After that, 7/11 stores, which are everywhere in Japan, have ATMs that you can draw cash out from, at very good exchange rates. Of course, you will pay an international transaction fee on your withdrawal, but it saves having to guess how much Yen you will need, and you don’t have to worry about carrying a large sum of cash around.
Yes, credit cards are accepted at most places, but some smaller vendors and restaurants will insist on cash only, so it is good to know where to get more cash when you need it.
Suica Card
As for travel money cards, everyone in my travel group used the same card and we didn’t have any issues with it at all. The Suica mobile card is a life saver in Japan. It is used on all local public transport, both trains and buses as well as in convenience stores and shops.
You simply download the app, link your bank account to it, then load it up with some local currency. It’s super easy to top up with more money on the go. Remember though, unlike some money cards, you can’t transfer money back off the card. So, try to calculate how much you will need, and don’t load too much money onto it that you won’t be able to retrieve later.
2. Trains
The trains can seem a little confusing….ok, a lot confusing! They were for me anyway.
Local trains and buses
The thing to remember is you can use your Suica card on all the local trains and buses. Just open the app in your wallet on your phone as you approach your gate at the train station, tap your phone on the reader and walk through to your platform. You then repeat that process as you exit the platform (you don’t tap anything on the actual train). The app updates how much funds you have left on the card after each trip.
When getting on a bus, you enter via the rear door and only tap your card as you exit the bus via the front door (bus fares are a flat rate).
Shinkansen
The Shinkansen trains are a different kettle of fish! First you have to decide whether it is more economical to purchase a JR pass or not. For us, we worked out it would be cheaper to purchase individual train tickets, rather than a Japan Rail pass. As we didn’t use the JR pass, I won’t comment on how that all works, but rather how to purchase individual tickets.
Go to the official Shinkansen website or download the SmartEX App and purchase the tickets that you want and the seats that you prefer. Your actual tickets will not be issued until a month before your date of travel, at which point you will get your seat allocation confirmed. Choose the method of ticket issue, either digital (with QR codes that you have on your phone) or paper tickets. Just give yourself plenty of time to allow for postage, so it arrives before you leave!
There is the question of luggage on the Shinkansen trains. From our research we believed that if travelling with large suitcases, they will need to be sent ahead, or you need to book on a train where you can reserve a seat with an oversize baggage area for your luggage (see booking page pic above). However, on all of our Shinkansen train rides many people were storing their very large suitcases in the overhead rack above the seats. No train staff approached them about putting their luggage elsewhere so I’m not sure what the official policy is there.
Regional trains
The third option, as needed with some regional trains, is to pick up your paper ticket at a designated pick-up location in Japan. I was taking the Hida scenic train from Kyoto to Takayama and I could either have the paper ticket posted to me (I was worried it would get lost in the post, or not arrive in time), or pick them up in Japan.
I opted to pick them up from the post office opposite Tokyo central train station. Detailed instructions on how to get to the post office from the train station were outlined on my order confirmation email. I found the post office easily and once I had the paper tickets in my hot little hands, I stopped worrying about them.
How to use paper tickets
It is important to note when using the paper tickets, you need to insert them into the ticket readers at the platform gates (right next to the card readers). The paper ticket then pops out on the other side of the gate, don’t forget to collect that ticket and don’t lose it – you will need it to get off the platform at the other end of your journey. Just like you would have to tap your Suica card getting off the platform, you need to insert your paper ticket, to exit the platform.
Narita airport Express
The last thing I wanted to discuss in relation to the trains is the Narita Express train. We flew into Narita airport, and the easiest way to get from the airport to the city is on the Narita Express. This train runs regularly from terminal 1 and terminal 2 into the city and back again at a cost of around 3000 Yen. You can’t use your Suica card for the Narita Express, you will need to purchase a paper ticket either from a ticket vending machine or a ticket office.
If in doubt, ask
If in doubt, just ask a rail attendant or other staff member. Most staff speak a little English and are more than happy to help you. I was at Tokyo central looking for a ticket office to get my Narita express ticket without much luck. I simply asked an attendant at the platform gates, and he actually walked with me to show me where the ticket office was. Wonderful customer service in Japan!
3. Hotels
Nominate how many people in each room
This is one tip that would have been very helpful to know before we left…. make sure you nominate how many people are staying in the room you are booking! Don’t make the mistake of assuming when you book a twin room it is booked for 2 people, it isn’t. We used a booking site and typed in the number of people travelling in our group which was 5 people, 3 of us had our own rooms each and 2 were sharing a twin room. We assumed because the twin room was more expensive that it was accounting for 2 people. No, it wasn’t!
When we went to check into our hotels both in Tokyo and Kyoto, it was revealed that we had booked a twin room for just 1 person – so we had to pay for an extra person at check-in which is much more expensive than doing it beforehand at the time of booking. I think a lot of people would be caught out with this little technicality, so I thought I should mention it.
Toiletries
I was told before our trip that I would hardly need to pack any toiletries as all the hotels have all the toiletries you will ever need. I was skeptical, but it is mostly true! Unless you are super fussy about brands, the hotels typically supply shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothbrushes, combs, razors, washers, cotton wipes, etc. One of my hotels even supplied hair bands, facial cleanser and moisturizer!
For a more detailed look at what toiletries are typically included in your hotel room, have a look at the post I wrote on the hotel I stayed in at Takayama.
Toilets
You know you are going to try the various functions on your Japanese toilet, you just have to!
Apart from the squirter function, some public toilets even have a music function to cover a noisy pee! 😂 All I am going to suggest is to put your glasses on and read the function settings before you go or you might be like me…. sitting on the toilet enjoying the most unusual sensation of a water jet reaching its intended target with surprising accuracy but then realizing you don’t know how to turn it off!
At first, I thought it would just turn itself off…but alas, it just kept squirting. I didn’t want to get off the toilet to get my glasses because I was afraid of water shooting all over the place…so I sat there, laughing at myself. Squinting, I tried to make out the little icons on the control panel. Finally, after about 2 minutes, and a very clean butt hole I might add, I just started pressing buttons and prayed one of them was the off button…. and it was.
4. Crowds
Japan is an ever increasingly popular tourist destination, and with good reason …. it is stunning! The problem with growing popularity is growing crowds at all major tourist destinations as well as putting strain on local infrastructure.
There are several ways you can try and avoid crowds if you find that a big stress trigger.
Firstly, travel outside of peak season or outside school holiday periods. Sometimes, though, if you are a teacher like me, or you want to travel with your kids, travelling in school holidays is unavoidable.
The second thing I would suggest then, is to pre-purchase as much as you can. If you intend on hitting the big theme parks that have notoriously long queues, then think seriously about purchasing jump-the-line tickets. Nothing worse than paying money to enter Universal Studios and only getting to go one ride because the lines were so long!
Lastly, and it is said a lot, go early or late in the day to key tourist attractions. Japan is a country that gets going a little later in the day. Shops and cafes often don’t open until 10 or 11am. So, head to those places, that don’t require entrance fees nice and early to avoid tour groups and big crowds. The Philosopher’s path in Kyoto, is one such place, get there around 9 or 10 and you will share the path with only a handful of other people.
Consider heading to popular shrines and temples late in the afternoon. The tour groups are all gone and the crowds are a lot less but give yourself enough time to explore them properly before they close.
Sometimes, the crowded buses or trains are unavoidable. when I say crowded, I mean CROWDED! Just when you think they can’t possibly fit another person on, they squeeze in 3 more! However, no-one pushes or shoves. No-one gets angry or frustrated. People stand for the elderly…. the elderly sometimes stood for me…. what does that say about me!?!
In the end, can you really say you’ve been to Japan, if you haven’t experienced being sardined in a bullet train?!?
5. Language Barrier & Cultural Differences
For me personally, I love moving out of my comfort zone and experiencing new things, trying new foods and immersing myself in different cultures. I feel that is what I love most about traveling. I do understand, however, not all people feel the same way.
Trust me when I say, if you can learn just 2 or 3 key phrases in the destination language, not only will the locals really appreciate the effort, but you will feel pretty proud of yourself when they understand and acknowledge what you’ve said.
Try these few simple phrases
- Domo Arigato Gozaimasu – thank you very much
- Sumimasen – excuse me/I’m sorry
- Ohayo Gozaimasu- good morning (formal)
- Kudasai -please
Technology is a wonderful asset when traveling too…. Google translate can be used to translate restaurant menus or signage. Simply open the app, use your camera to frame the text and google will translate it for you.
Another handy tip is to carry a little fold away bag that you can use to put your rubbish in. You will be hard pressed to find public rubbish bins in Japan. It makes you realize just how much rubbish you compile in a day when you have to carry it around with you! Perhaps that is why they don’t have a lot of bins, to make you conscious of your waste? If you are desperate, you will find small bins inside the 711 stores near the coffee making stations.
One thing that I really wanted to try during my stay in Japan was a traditional onsen, or hot spring bath. The only thing holding me back was my western shyness…. you see a traditional onsen is done nude. I was assured by friends that lived in Japan for many years that you are self-conscious for all of about 1 minute then you forget about it. Sure!!
What a tragedy it would have been if I let my shyness rob me of my chance to experience something so wonderful. Embrace the cultural differences! Other people don’t give a toss about what you look like, they only care that you are clean! As it turns out, when I put my big girl pants on and finally went to an outdoor public onsen, I was the only one there! No-one to laugh at my pink bits but me! 😂 It was amazing!!
If you tend to get a bit stressed before trips, my advice is to just do your research, try and just go with the flow and remember it’s the things that don’t quite go according to plan that we love to talk about when we get home!
I loved my time in Japan and am already talking about planning a return trip.
Deb Morrow is a wife and mum of two in her 50’s, who works in education. She has a passion for travel and through sharing her travel experiences, tips and recommendations, wants to encourage other women her age to start making time for themselves, grab their besties, and go see the world!
