Japan Travel Tips – Avoid these mistakes we made as first time visitors

Here are some essential Japan travel tips – be sure to avoid these mistakes!

Book Transportation Directly & Avoid 3rd parties

• Stay away from websites that end in “.com” and find the websites that end in “.jp”. Here’s the website we wish we used.
• When using Google search engine, many third parties populate. When we booked our bus transportation to Nikko (or other cities), you’ll see a bunch of companies that have paid to have their names pop up first. Companies like “Klook”, “Rome2Rio,””Tokyo Cheapo”, etc. It may sound obvious, but all these companies have “.com”, and while they are perfectly legitimate, they typically charge an additional fee to use their services. In our experience, buying transportation directly from “.jp” is the most economical way to purchase.

Izakayahs (Japanese bars or taverns) have table charges and make it more difficult to bounce around

• To discourage patrons from going to multiple izakyah’s, the izakayah’s we checked out had table charges. While this is not the case for all izakayah’s, it is common to have a table charge.

No need to pack umbrellas, perfumes, cologne, bathing suits, or hair appliances

• If you’re concerned about getting caught in the rain, or want to stay away from the sun, we found many subway areas, as well as hotels have umbrellas you can rent or borrow.
• Unless you’re planning on going to the beach, there is no need for bathing suits. Japanese onsens (bathing areas) are almost always nude and separated by gender. They are incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating experiences, but no one wears bathing suits.
• No perfumes or colognes. It’s not common (and in different areas, frowned upon) to wear strong scenting perfume or cologne.
• For hair appliances, the voltage is not consistent.

Expect to wait for good restaurants. Exercise patience.

• Like any good restaurant, you’ll need to wait to be seated sometimes. Quite a few restaurants are on a first come, first serve basis. If you want to get in at a reasonable time, it’s not uncommon to wait for an hour or more. We found being patient was totally worth it.

Bring cash. Many restaurants still don’t accept credit cards.

• Always have cash on you in Japan. While many restaurants, izakayah’s, and cafe’s accept credit card, there is a good amount that are cash only. Bring a debit card and you can easily withdraw Japanese yen from many convenient stores, including 7-Elevens and Lawsons.

Make reservations ahead of time, especially in Tokyo & Kyoto

• If the place is not an izakayah, and has a good reputation, chances are you need a reservation. Got burned a couple of times going to a restaurant and finding they had nothing available.

If you’re traveling over New Years, most restaurants will be closed until January 4th or 5th.

• We had no idea, but most of the city of Tokyo shuts down around New Years. It was fascinating seeing how empty and quiet Tokyo was. Chain restaurants seemed to be the only restaurants that were open. Don’t let it dimmer your spirits -we had some ridiculously good cheap ramen at a couple chains.