Matsumoto, Japan - Free image from Pexels.com Submitted by: James Wilson
Japan has been growing in popularity as a travel destination for many years now. With the popularity of anime, manga, and Japanese video games continuing to increase, I don’t see that changing any time soon. I recently came back from my second trip to Japan and in this article I would like to share some tips for making your own trip to Japan as enjoyable as possible.
Japan has been growing in popularity as a travel destination for many years now. With the popularity of anime, manga, and Japanese video games continuing to increase, I don’t see that changing any time soon. I recently came back from my second trip to Japan and in this article I would like to share some tips for making your own trip to Japan as enjoyable as possible.
- Don’t go in the summer. Now, I’m not anti-summer. Summer in Canada is fine. Autumn is better, but if you like summer I won’t hold that against you. Summer in Japan though is a different matter; it's hot, humid, and the bugs are everywhere. It's also typhoon season which can mess up travel plans. Personally, I recommend the end of October or even November as being the best time to go (early April if you want to see the cherry blossoms).
- Get a Suica card as soon as possible. The Suica card is a train pass that can be used to pay for subways, railways, and bus routes throughout Japan. It is reloadable and just makes travel a lot less of a hassle. The last thing you want to be doing in a busy subway station is fiddling with getting tickets. It can even be used for some vending machines and arcade games.
- You don’t need to know Japanese to travel in Japan. Some people might be deterred from traveling to Japan due to the language barrier. Don’t be. You will find there is a lot of English signage and announcements, especially in the major cities. Many Japanese involved in tourism also know some English. The group I traveled with had no significant communication problems the entire time we were there. Still, I do recommend having a translation app on your phone (I used Google Translate). A few words of Japanese worth knowing are; ‘sumimasen’ (pardon me, excuse me) and ‘arigato’ (thank you) but this is more for politeness reasons than necessity.
- Travel the Yamanote Line. The capital city of Tokyo can seem intimidatingly large to visit effectively. One way to explore the city is by taking the Yamanote line which is a subway line that does a loop around the city and hits many of its most prominent locations (Shinjuku, the Imperial Palace, and Akihabara are all on this line). Subway cars can be crowded at peak hours but we found that the car at the front of the train tended to be slightly less crowded in general.
- Visit the convenience stores early & often. In Japan’s major cities you can find a convenience store on practically every block. While you will find the more familiar chips and soft drinks, you will also find ready-to-eat meals, canned coffee (hot), and beer. Special mention goes to the Family Mart chicken (‘Fami-chiki’) which is better than anything KFC has done in years. The prices are low and the food is fresh. Many also have ATMs for withdrawing money from your bank account in Yen. During both my trips to Japan we typically got breakfast at a convenience store before heading out on whatever day trip we had planned.
- Keep some Yen on you at all times. While Japan has grown more accustomed to credit/debit cards since the pandemic, it still very much is a cash-based society.
- Try the food. Japanese food is often treated as short-hand for sushi. While sushi is certainly a part of Japanese cuisine, it's so much more than that. Ramen (of many regional styles), curry (very different from Indian curry), fried foods, and unique takes on western cuisine are all commonplace and delicious.
- Be polite. Japanese etiquette can seem complex at times but it really boils down to common sense and putting other people first. A good rule of thumb is to consider how an action might inconvenience someone else and if you can think of anything, don’t do it. As a foreigner no one is going to call you out but that is no excuse for bad behaviour.
Japan is incredibly beautiful and one of the more tourism-friendly places you can visit. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a vacation destination.
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