6 Key Tips for Travel to Japan!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 дек 2022
- If you’re heading to Japan, here’s our ⓺ most useful travel tips! 🇯🇵✌️
❶ while out, make sure to always have cash on you! it’s always easy to find an ATM at convenience stores if you need
❷ to make reservations for restaurants, you can ask your hotel reception to help book if they’re not available to book online. we found this incredibly helpful when booking!
❸ write down some basic Japanese phrases to get around. Google Translate + Google Lens will be your best friends to easily share addresses with cabs, or read menus + signs. pointing at things also does the trick!
❹ you’ll want to wear easily removable shoes- some restaurants will have tatami mats or areas without shoes required and being able to slip your shoes on and off will make this a lot easier.
❺ lower your volume of talking and on your phone, especially indoors to be respectful of others and how loud your conversations are!
❻ load up your metro card! You can load your PASMO or Suica card and easily tap in and out of subway rides and you can use it to pay at some stores and vending machines. Its super convenient!
➢: trash cans are infrequent, so you’ll have to carry trash with you. if you need to find one urgently, there are usually ones in subway stations or convenience stores. 
Хобби
Another good tip is to bring an empty plastic bag. There are absolutely no public trash cans. Your garbage is your own so keep a bag handy so you don't have to make your pockets or bag dirty.
Agreed! We ended up stashing in our pockets at first haha
Carry some tp or a pack of tissue. Some restrooms don't have tp. This is more common in older areas and country side restrooms. Modern and metro areas will likely have tp, but better safe than sorry
pretty stupid they went overdrive and removed all the thrash cans because of some bomb attack
@@mathfreak666cheese spray your anus with water
Just use the ones at a convenience store
1) don't walk while eating/drinking, it's bad manners (edit: apparently this one is debatable, I saw a bunch of signs in markets saying not to eat/drink while walking, but locals are saying that's not a thing, so do what you want I guess)
2) if there's a restroom or garbage can, use it. You don't know when you'll see another one
3) you will need an IC card for every individual person if you're going to use it on trains/subways. I only got one and ended up having to manually buy tickets for my fiancé
4) waitstaff will not generally check in on you periodically like they do in America, you'll have to flag them down. Master the "sumimasen" and especially "okaike onegaishimasu," as otherwise you won't be leaving the restaurant in any timely manner until they notice you looking uncomfortable lol
5) double check the direction of travel of the train you're about to board. This may be obvious if you're used to public transportation, but I drive everywhere where I live and have basically never been on a train before going to Japan, so early in my trip I neglected to check the direction of travel and ended up going one stop in the wrong direction. No biggie, I just went back, but that leads me to the next tip:
6) if you ride the wrong direction, get off the train at the next stop but then get back on the platform heading the right direction rather than exiting the gates and getting a new ticket to come back in, if possible. I paid for a ticket unnecessarily because I didn't realize I could've just found my way to the other side of the tracks without exiting the gates and ridden back the direction I was heading on the ticket I already had. It only cost me like $2 extra, but it was annoying.
I can probably come up with more if folks find these helpful, these were a lot of the ones I wish I could've known before I went
I’m Japanese and I don’t know if you’re lying about the first one just to get attention. We don’t care if you’re eating/ drinking and walking at the same time. We do it too.
For your last tip, sometimes the trains have stairs to go to the correct platform going back (Ginza and Marunouchi lines, for example.)
@Julius Caesar when I was in Osaka at the street market there were signs that said "NO WALKING AND EATING" very boldly lol
@@Paintplayer1 then that's exclusive to the market. Did you think that sign was inclusive of all of Japan?
Dont walk while eating and drinking, its disrespectful? As someone whos a resident here this is absolutely not true lol.
IC Card is not a norm, you can use apple pay for public transits and if you ARE a tourist, buy a preset package for JR that is only available for foreigners. Rather than buying individual tickets if you are often using it/traveling with shinkansen.
@@hola542 is it exclusive to street markets? It said the same at Ameyoko
The hotels will help with reservations and holding stuff for you.
I’d add that if you’re traveling to different areas, like from Tokyo to Kyoto, send your luggage first. The hotel will have an area for this and some hotels will take them to your room so they’re already up in your room when you arrive. It costs a little per bag, but it’s so convenient to travel without a bunch of luggage.
This is super helpful, thank you!
Hi, how do go about doing this?
@@MayonaiseJ hotels will usually have this service set up in baggage claim. It’s a third party, most likely Yamato transport. I did Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and back to Tokyo and never had issues.
@@marar8045 Oh thank you! This is so helpful! I was in Shinjuku last December and will be going back to Japan at the end of January. This time going to Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima.
@@marar8045 so this luggage transfer service can be done at hotel receptionist? no need to make a reservation online at some website or something?
if i will go to tokyo - kyoto - osaka, but want to send my luggage from tokyo to osaka only, is it possible?
my luggage probably already arrive at osaka when I'm still at kyoto for two days..
When I went to Japan a few years ago i tried using google lens on a seasoning at this curry restaurant & it came back as “construction worker” 🤣😅 Hopefully their tech is a little better now. You guys are definitely giving some good tips tho 👍
haha it has gotten better for sure! Was pretty accurate for us most of the time!
Ahhh yes. The delicious taste of construction worker. I enjoy it with my dishes as well.
I mean, they had to do something with that one construction worker who fell into the spice mixing machine 😂😂
This made me LOL!
Hahahahaha, it’s definitely gotten better but I had similar issues in Peru when it kept calling yogurt “happy cars.”
Personalize your passmo/metro card and keep it as a souvenir. You'll have the option to put your name on it, consider doing [your name] [year].
Where do you get one?
@@mal4003 any train station, should be a few machines some for buying tickets and some or all where you can deposit 500 yen to get a suica or passmo card which you'll then have to load with more money for fares. If you have no Japanese they usually have a button on the first screen to switch to English.
I just want her shoes! Thank God the 90's/2000's are back!!! I had those & wore them so much that by the time they became worn out to the core, I couldn't find them anywhere! Thanks for the vid!
Thanks for checking it! :)
I have visited Japan long ago. And yes, you need to wear comfortable walking shoes, and learn their metro system. The cab was too expensive for us (we are a group of 6), so we rely on trains.
Always bring a plastic bag to keep your trash. Trash bins aren't always accessible in some areas.
Super helpful tips! Thanks for sharing :)
I see comments about how public restrooms are hard to find. It's actually not -- people use restrooms at convenient stores all the time. You don't have to pay or buy anything in the store.
However, if you're uncomfortable with that, google a park or train station nearby. Some stations might have their restrooms inside the gate, but it's fine to ask the person at the window to use the restroom if it's an emergency. Speaking of restrooms, please allow yourself to experience the magic of Japanese bidet toilets. It's heaven ☺️
The bidet was game changer! haha
Another tip is wear COMFORTABLE shoes that are made for walking. I’ve traveled to Japan multiple times throughout my life and stick with shoes with a supportive arch/properly designed sole. Also leave the converse sneakers at home as the sole tends to be way too flat.
Super helpful! Especially with how many steps you end up doing each day exploring haha
Any recommendations for cute and comfy shoes? I still wanna look cute, if that’s at all possible.
Things to worry about less than you think
#1 food is going to be cheaper than you think, especially for US citizens good food in japan is on average 50% cheaper than good food in the U.S.
#2 tipping is not expected and actually a little rude, so don't worry about tipping
#3 the train lines are super easy to use, so while the metro cards (suica or welcome suica are great for travelers) are very practical and will save you a little money, if you don't want to have to figure the whole business with them out its not a huge deal.
#4 Customs is WAY easier than the US or most countries, that's basically all on that
#5 I see a ton of comments here talking about public trash cans or the lack thereof, don't worry to much about this in most major cities public trash cans may be sparce but are available near points of interest like parks, mueseums, shops and other areas, this may be a new change but in our trip we never had to carry garbage very far
#6 walking and the metro are your two biggest forms of travel, there are very few locations in major cities that can't be reached within an hour on the metro and some walking taxis are super duper overpriced so be ready to go up and down stairs a lot
That first sushi chef (0:10) sure is easy on the eyes!
hahaha
Team Pasmo, there we go; it’s always suica this suica that haha
I would buy a rail pass 7,14or 21 day before l left the USA. Can be purchased at Japan embassy. Also you can get a list of hotels that are cheap as well. Make a reservation before leaving for Japan.
I did this when I went, but it's hard to reach the value necessary to break even without using the Shinkansen more than twice. Also the pass will work for just JR trains, which is fine, but it makes it so that you might have to take roundabout trips and you'll still be paying for buses if you use them. Also, you have to carry the pass and use a special line a the gates and it's often the same line as customer service, which means you could be waiting a bit which could be the difference between making the next train.
Once mine timed out I had a much more chill experience just using my passmo card.
haha I went to 熱烈酒場 ドンちゃん in Shinjuku several times in December 2023. Great food and great atmosphere!
Love your shoes too! 😍
Thank you! 💛
All these are great tips but I would also add Google Map, using google map on public transit schedule is super helpful.
For sure! We used Google maps all the time while in Japan!
BROOOO THAT SEASON IS SOOOO GOOOD
Looking very nice!!😊
great tips! Thank you!
of course! :)
Just so you know, most locals live without carrying cash but travelers often don’t have the QR payment that’s popular in Japan. Sometimes the card machine isn’t actually for credit card but local IC cards (like transport ones or Eddy). So unless you can get QR payment service it’s better to have cash!
Google Translate rocks - in Thailand, and I'm sure that it works great in Japan
Thanks 😊 for the great video 📹 short, great people 👍! #Saturdays
Thank you! Have a great week :)
I’ve had that furikake it was so damn good!
I want to see Japan so badly
So many good spots! I just uploaded my Tokyo video, I miss it so much 🍻
I think the "lower your voice" is a standard for US Americans no? They're always so LOUD
I felt attacked by the handsomeness of that chef
haha hes dangerous with it!
She’s gorgeous ❤
Awesome Japan 😊❤ just want to ask , for your opinion only~ for first timer to visit Japan better go to Tokyo or Osaka first😅🙏🏻
Tokyo! We love Osaka but even more things to do in Tokyo! haha
@@nom_life ouhh I I see thankyou for your helpful opinion .. I oftenly keep asking people abt this and they say Tokyo is more to shopping and Osaka is more of sightseeing + shopping and also nature vibes but i still got confuse cuz both city have a nice view😉🥺
Even though I can’t travel to Japan (which I definitely do) I’m scared thinking about how I can’t be loud! Like I get loud when I’m with my friends (but if I’m with my family I’m usually a lot less talkative and loud) and I keep imagining the glares I would get from accidentally getting excited and raising my voice 😂😅
haha it can be hard! we def are loud as Westerners with our regular tone which we've never thought much of until going to Japan
I like your shoes :)
Thank you!! :)
美しい
Try not to use google translate cause it can be inaccurate at times, some tend to use DeepL more often or, at times, there are people on youtube who teach basic japanese phrases as well
We tried to use basic phrases we learned as much as possible, but sometimes needed Google translate in a pinch!
Love your shoes! ❤
thank you! :)
Suica is king
Man, I lived in Japan for 2 years and I always see videos like this with the dumbest advice. But this has actual good advice, it's great!
haha we tried to give the most useful info possible! Thank you! 🫶🏼
Also, use a bathroom when you get a chance to use one! Public bathrooms are often hard to find, almost as hard to find as rubbish bins!
So true! We had to plan out bathroom breaks for the day haha
well now I know that I'm never going to Japan with my family case they are super loud.
😂😂
haha I'm sure you guys can manage! 🙌🏽
A tip Chris Broad (abroad in japan) gave is to just give them all a lolly when you step on a train. that can very much help.
Tip: Learn some basic Japanese or learn the language before hand.
Agreed! Super necessary haha
What other tips do you guys have for travel in Japan? :)
This is brilliant thank you ❤
Of course! :)
I'm glad i can speak Japanese even not so fluent.
(Sorry, i'm not very good in grammar so....)
Ah so useful! We could only use basic phrases haha so sounds like it would be much easier for you! :)
I think having loud phone conversations anywhere indoors in public is rude! On the bus or in the office break room or in a waiting room, but especially in a restaurant!! That should be considered rude everywhere!!
Loud conversations for sure! But even regular conversation had to be quieted down out to match everyone else haha
Don't talk on your phone while you are using public transportation. If you are traveling by Shinkansen, you may talk on your phone at the area connecting cars. Talking on the phone on the bus or the train is a major no-no here.
Yes! We tried to be as quiet and respectful of others in public transportation as possible! Such a different energy from the US haha
Grab a seat before you order your coffee
Where do you get the pasmo card ?! We go on Dec 😍😍
Where’s your bucket hat from?
Bruh the Japanese are loud Af in the trains and restaurants when we were there
Any app recommendations ? Taxi ,
wow you can ask a hotel concierge to do their job? Mind blown!
hahah it was quite a shock! 😹
Crocs
Every one is so much more chill am buy a house in the mountain and chill 😊
Yess very relaxing vibe there! :)
basic
issuing Pasmo temporally suspended due to a global shortage of semi conductor
Just wondering, in Tokyo, is it safe to leave more expensive shoes outside restaurants? Is it likely that nice shoes will get stolen?
For us, we left our shoes in rooms inside the restaurants within designated space, they were never outside on their own!
Shoe theft is almost unheard of! I lived in Tokyo for a few years and never saw that
I live in japan.
In japan, you don't need to worry for your shoes is stolen.
In Japan we rn
But can’t speak
Cash is king for avoiding taxes
haha truee, but still surprising how many places did not take card!
Im going in February, but really nervous cause ill be going a day after my sister and cousin land and ill need to find them on my own.. is the public transit easy to use for a foreigner? Thank you!
be sure to use Google Maps!
Most boots in Asia have zipper on the side to facilitate how much you take it on and off. They are great so you don’t have to resort to low cut slip-on stuff in cold winter places.
Can I please know where you got those shoes? 🥰
they're naked wolfe :)
Another good tip is don't take taxis lol
just study Japanese till 2026 and then go to Japan.
wow super ambitious! haha cheering you on! 🥳
How much should a pasmo card be loaded with
Foreigners don’t lower their volumes and usually interrupt others (service people while they are helping others) which is really really rude
Something we are trying to help educate on and change!
I’m really lucky i bring my headphones around with me ALOT because if I don’t, I’m pretty sure id be kicked out…
haha it's a quiet place!
How do you convert dollars to yen? Can you go to any ATM? Can I use Apple Pay? Are their exchanges at airports?
ATM's can be found at any convenience store! or cash exchange at the airport
@@nom_life thank you! I’m working on getting my passports for me and our son! We are going to leave the country for the first time.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
About how much money would I need for a week
What’s a PASMO card, I only know icoca😔
To add to the shoes thing. WEAR SOCKS. They do not like bare feet on tatami.
Super helpful tip! :)
Japan to still use cash as preference for such a technologically advance country is kind of weird.
The cash use everywhere was quite surprising!
the joke is they have the best tech there is but most people are stuck with the versions you had back in the 1980's
partly do to the majority being older people.
yea i keep hearing about this lower then i'm used to talking volume. What if i'm on my phone with my 95 year old granny that is starting to loose some of her hearing. I assume it would end up being fine in the end cus i hear they polite over there or at least fiarly understading but i would still feel like a elephant in a chinashop so to speak. Well that and also cus i'm 2 meters tall or about 6'5 and a half.
If you believe Jesus is lord in your ❤HART ❤and you DONT sin,lust,kill,rape and the most important mock 💪🏻🕊️🤴🏽God🤴🏽🕊️💪🏻and you repent and you forgive your enemies and you spread Gods word like this then you will go to HEAVEN with Jesus Christ.!JESUS CHRIST IS THE TRUE LORD AND SAVIOR IN HIS NAME AMEN.!❤️⛪️👑👍🕊️💕💪🏻☝🏼🙏🏼🙏🏻🙏🏽✝️☝🏼👑❤️🕊️✝️❤️✝️🕊️❤️🕊️✝️.!
Will my American card work at a Japanese ATM?? Does it just convert it like that?
you can use american debit cards yes!
@@nom_life that's very cool, never knew it worked like that
Do you have to make a reservation before going into a restaurant? What if I see a nice one and just wanna go spontaneously? 🥺
You will have to make a reservation beforehand by several weeks!
@@nom_life wow that's... not spontaneous.
@@MirkwoodCrow I think it will definitely depend on the restaurant :) I went a few years ago and didn’t make a single reservation for any of the places I went to but who knows how busy it is now with Japan reopening
@@soopy5364 Thank you so much for the reply! The first reply of the "experts" just felt wrong
@@MirkwoodCrow All good!! Yeah I wonder if they misinterpreted what you were asking.. Happy travels :))
wow a short with actually useful tips.
We try our best to give good info! :)
Bayashi??
the removal of shoes confuses me doesn't everyone remove their shoes at home anyway?
we're showing that some restaurants or businesses (not just homes) request you remove your shoes-- but yes, agreed removing shoes at home is normal (and sanitary)!
@@nom_life at home im barefoot haven't come across a restaurant where i was asked to remove my shoes though atleast where i live
can you reload your pasmo/suica card using credit card?
You actually don’t need a physical card at all and can just add it to your apple wallet (and I think google pay too). This way you can reload it easily using credit card
@@TinOfBeans321 i heard it doesn't work with non-Japan phone though
1 Key Rule: Just don’t do the opposite of what a regular person would do. This applies for any country really
haha true! Learning from surroundings is def a must! :)
I wish ppl in Canada lowered their voice . Respect others what is that ? Well not in Canada anyways lol
I heard that Google translate isn't that accurate for Japanese
We were able to get around pretty well with it!
It might not be accurate but can be a help if you can't speak the language. Most of the time you just need logical thinking and clues to master life with Google translate.
it isn’t really, especially if you’re using google lens to translate japanese that’s written up to down and right to left. but it’s good enough to get you around, and that’s what matters most👍
I have a tip . Have Japanese friends
hahah yes! that is probably the best one 😹
. Infamously redone
It is actually considered good manners to slurp while eating in japan :)
haha yes! We were given that lesson by a soba chef
as a japanese, i don't think slurping is good manners. we slur noodle just because It's easy to eat. So nobody care even if you slurp noodle or not.
and even some japanese don't slurp noodles so slurping is no mandatory
Translation is key number 1 as it is gonna be pain
I want to go to a Japanese 711 so bad 😩
The 711 is crazy good! I wish we had them like that in the States :(
@@nom_life bro, that's it. I'm going to Japan. Gotta see me some 711s and Skyline R34s! 😩
Number one tip. Don’t commit crimes or look suspicious. Japan has over a 99% conviction rate, with steep penalties.
It has a 99% conviction rate because you don’t get put into trails unless they are 100% sure you are guilty.. different to the west where you get put on trial much faster
So what's the protocol if you have custom shoes to correct for a medical disability and need them to walk safetly. Amputations, missing parts of your feet or legs, one leg shorter than the other and so forth?
I'm sure they would make accommodations for those!
Look up the phrase for "I have a medical disability/am missing part of my foot/have one shorter leg" and put it on a card you can hand to people
I'll tell my friends that plus one of my legs is shorter so while I can go barefoot getting my shoes on and off easily is difficult and I end up with a fall risk without a walker. It's rotten to deal with( I think sucking is a good thing. I love noodles and lollipops and hard candies so I say rots instead of sucks) the surgery to correct my spine and hips only has a 30ish% success rate and usually leads to additional surgeries within 3 years and most ppl end up in a wheelchair after a second or 3rd procedure
E-emma stone?
haha I don't really see it!
No need to have cash on u. Everything can be paid by card. Groceries, vending machines, subway, train everything Or you can add suica card in your apple wallet
Is pasmo accepted more widely than IC?
Pasmo IS an IC card. An IC card is just what you use to get around on the trains and metros in Japan. Pasmo and Suica are most commonly found in the Greater Tokyo Area. Pitapa and Icoca are primarily found in Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto). Nimoca and Sugoca are used in Kyushu, but they are all usually interchangeable. I have used my Kyushu IC card in both Osaka and Tokyo.
Cyberjapan 2023
haha it feels like it!
what are the best shoes for walking around Japan, brooks or new balance? I wanted to get those dress shoes that look like sneakers
It would be better manners to take off your hat while eating. But I don't think that's specific to Japan. Perhaps it's more of class thing than culture.
I moved to Japan in 2009. Life sure was interesting before smart phones. It's been...holy crap 10 years since my last visit to Japan, are reservations really common now? Never something I had to do.
It depended on where! For some places like this omakase, most definitely, but for any casual place to eat, we didn't need one! This was one of a few meals the whole trip we had a reservation in advance
How can I get friends to show me around there if I’m foreign is there an app 🙏
Dont go in summer. Its unbeatably hot and ac isnt even that cool
we went in June/ early July haha, it was fine in June but July was a bit brutal
Additionally, you look Asian (looking Japanese) they don’t believe you are not able to speak Japanese. They don’t rly know some Asian people have grown up overseas lmao
Don’t say ichi when asking for an object or thing say hitotsu saying ichi makes your sound like a kid
I always feel bad because I’m a very naturally loud person who talks a lot, so I’m a bit scared I’ll be out of place in quieter areas.
It was a bit of a challenge for us too! But you quickly adapt to the surrounding! :)