Top 10 Tips for Stress-Free Travel

1. Use a luggage delivery service.

This tip once would have been, ‘Take a hiking pack, not a suitcase.’ My advice has now changed, but the reasons behind it remain the same.

Japanese streets and railway stations can be difficult to negotiate with a suitcase, especially if you’re going through smaller stations where stairs are the only option or if you intend to visit during a snowy winter. Trains, including the shinkansen, generally have very limited space for large luggage (with the exception of airport services like the Narita Express), and your fellow passengers won’t thank you for trying to squeeze past them. Taxis have less space in the back for luggage than you might be used to and aren’t really recommended.

2. Plan your transport connections before your trip.

If you’re into the spontaneous feel of travelling by the seat of your pants, go to Tip #3. If you’d like to make the most of your holiday time and avoid lengthy delays, read on.

Japanese trains are very reliable, so it’s possible to plan your connections down to the platform before you leave home.

I highly recommend using either Hyperdia or Google Maps to plan your connections. If you’re super keen, take advantage of Google Street View and downloadable station maps to familiarise yourself with the layout of stations, particularly major ones like Tokyo, so you’re not wasting time looking for your train. This is particularly important at these big stations, where you have several different railway companies with similarly named stations all with dozens of lines converging at the same place. It is confusing enough for those of us who can communicate in Japanese. So take out the stress and plan it in advance!

(If you do get stuck, a friendly station employee is never too far away.)

3. Get a Japan Rail Pass.

The JR Pass is an easy way to save time and money on your trip. This special pass is available for foreigners and Japanese citizens living outside Japan (excluding foreigners and citizens resident in Japan) and can only be purchased outside Japan – so make sure you organise it well in advance of your departure date.
The national pass will give you unlimited travel on all JR trains (excluding Nozomi Shinkansen), as well as JR bus company buses, some ferries and Tokyo monorail. There is a large selection of region-specific passes that offer better value if you’re sticking to certain areas.

4. Download the 7-Bank ATM Navigation app.

Japan has traditionally had a very cash-based economy. Twenty year ago, there were only a couple of ATMs in Kyoto from which you could withdraw cash from a foreign bank account. Credit cards were only marginally more convenient.

Happily, this has changed quite a bit and credit cards are accepted in ever more places.

Getting cash has also become a lot easier. 7-Eleven convenience stores have very helpfully installed 7-Bank ATMs that accept many foreign keycards and these stores are conveniently located all over the the country. Their website has a useful ATM locator and mobile app.

5. Avoid the summer!

Don’t be tempted to think that images of wild monkeys bathing in hot springs surrounded by snow are an indication of mild Japanese summers. Unless you’re planning to restrict your visit to Hokkaido or Tohoku, or you happen to really enjoy tropical humidity, do not book your trip in summer!

If you think I’m being a little dramatic, picture yourself drying off after a shower and realising that the towel is getting wetter, but so are you! Now picture yourself on that same day on a train whose passenger per square metre ratio is reminiscent of a mosh pit, with small oscillating ceiling fans creating only a small amount of air movement and you’ll start to get my drift. I have lived through 3 Japanese summers and I’m not keen to do it again. If you do like the weather to be a little warmer, you won’t miss out by visiting in September.

6. Wear slip-on shoes.

Before entering a Japanese home, ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), temple, shrine, castle or many other places, you will be required to remove your shoes. Often you will leave them on a shelf in the entrance and be given slippers to wear around inside. Make sure you take your slippers off before walking on tatami mats or going to the toilet (you should use the special toilet slippers provided). At other places, like castles and larger temples, you may borrow a plastic bag to carry your shoes in during your visit.

While slip-on shoes are by no means compulsory, sometimes it isn’t very convenient to have to sit down to tie and untie your laces at busy tourist destinations.

7. Keep some loose change on you.

Japan has a Consumption Tax (like VAT or GST) of 8% that is usually not included in the displayed price of goods sold in retail stores. This means that if you get ¥100 in cash out to pay for your snack, you’ll be short ¥8 at the check out. This is generally the case, except that sometimes shops do include the tax in the displayed price, usually indicated by the characters 税込 (zeikomi) next to the price. Vending machine prices also include tax. Because of the inconsistency, I recommend that when paying cash, always allow a little more than you think you need, just in case.

The tax rate is set to be raised to 10% in October, 2019, which will, at least, be easier to calculate mentally.

8. Learn some basic Japanese.

Japanese people learn English at school, although their written language skills tend to be stronger than their conversational English. On top of this, most signage around stations and tourist destinations and many restaurants and shops are bilingual (and are more often including simplified Chinese, Korean and even Russian). In other words, it’s perfectly possible to avoid needing any Japanese at all on your holiday.

Despite this, Japanese people tend to be very appreciative of any attempt to use their language and will compliment you on your efforts. As well as this, it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with some of the common kanji (Chinese characters) that you will help you navigate your way more efficiently.

9. Know how to use a Japanese-style toilet.

Most popular tourist destinations will have a familiar Western-style toilet, but there are two other types of Japanese-style toilets that may be a bit of a challenge. It’s good to be versed on how to use them both, just in case that’s all you can find when you’ve gotta go.

One is the traditional-style squat toilet. The first thing to do is to roll up the hems of long pants, if that’s what you’re wearing, to prevent them from dragging on the ground. The trick here is to face the wall, or the higher part of the bowl, as you squat with a foot on either side. Usually you flush by depressing a metal lever in front of you, but very occasionally you’ll have to ‘flush’ with a trigger hose.