Pick your weeks 旅程
A few quick questions; each answer opens the next.
Nothing dated fits all of that yet. Events are added as organisers publish their dates; try adding a nature interest or loosening the avoid list.
Things repeat visitors take for granted. Skim once; the last group is picked for your weeks.
Before you go
- Put a Suica or PASMO card in your phone wallet before you land: it pays for trains, buses, lockers and convenience stores everywhere.
- Price your train legs one by one before buying a Japan Rail Pass; since the 2023 price rise it rarely pays off for a normal itinerary.
- A big suitcase needs a reserved oversized-baggage seat on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen if its three dimensions add up to more than 160 cm.
- Get an eSIM or pocket wifi; maps and train apps are how everything works here.
- Onsen and many pools still refuse visible tattoos; look for tattoo-friendly baths or book a private one.
Getting around
- Google Maps handles Japanese trains well, down to the platform and the car to board; trust it over the signage.
- The last trains leave around midnight and taxis after that are expensive; plan the evening around them.
- Send suitcases ahead by takkyubin from any hotel desk or convenience store; they arrive next day and you ride the trains light.
- Coin lockers at every big station take IC cards; the large ones go early in the day.
Everyday
- Convenience stores are the safety net: good food, tickets, parcels and ATMs that take foreign cards. Seven Bank machines are the reliable ones for cash.
- Cash still matters at shrines, small restaurants and country places; keep ten thousand yen or so on you.
- There are almost no bins on the street; carry a small bag for your rubbish.
- No tipping, anywhere. Shoes off wherever there is a step up onto tatami or a shoe rack.
- Most museums and many gardens close on Mondays; check before planning a museum day.
- Keep calls and voices down on trains; eating while walking is frowned on in most places.
