After living in Japan going on three years now, I have traveled to more then half of the 47 prefectures here. I’ve spent many hours riding trains, sleeping in hotels, ordering food at restaurants, and simply just living like a local. I do most my grocery shopping at local grocery stores and markets, live in a Japanese apartment, and have many friends that are from here.
With the current Covid-19 situation, travel to Japan has been non-existent since early 2020. Lately, it seems that restrictions in Japan are headed in a promising direction. I am hopeful that this year, 2022, will finally be the year Japan accepts visitors and I can finally see my family and friends. I want to share my Japan Travel Recommendations. These recommendations have proved extremely useful to both Jill and myself while traveling around Japan and I can honestly say that these recommendations will make your travels around Japan so much easier and stress free!
Stay up to date with the latest Covid-19 restrictions through my post on Japan Covid-19 Updates.
Japanese is a very difficult language. I speak fluent English and German. I have been learning Spanish for a while and even picked up some Dutch. For me all these languages are pretty easy to grasp. I’ve been in Japan for years now and struggle to learn Japanese. For Westerners like me, we are used to seeing letters. Even if it is a foreign language we can still pronounce the letter and say the word, although we might not know what it means. Japanese is very different, as their language is based on phonetics and not a set alphabet.
What makes Japanese even more confusing is that it uses three different sets of characters: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Technically there is a fourth writing system here known as Romaji, which is basically the romanization of Japanese words using western letters.
Confusing right? When I first moved here, I could not wrap my mind around this and no one explained it to me in a clear way. I finally understand the differences of these characters and have memorized both Hiragana and Katakana.
Hiragana & Katakana
Memorizing Hiragana and Katakana are probably my number one recommendation when visiting Japan. I say this for many reasons. Learning these characters can assist with reading a good portion of Japanese signs, menus, or anything else. Plus it’s fun to have these memorized as you can read random things walking around any Japanese City.
So what is Hiragana and Katakana and what is the difference?
Both Hiragana and Katakana are phonetic lettering systems where each symbol represents a certain sound.
Hiragana is the Japanese writing system based on syllables developed by the Japanese. Hiragana is used primarily for words that are native to the Japanese language.
Katakana was developed and used primarily for words and names that are foreign to Japan.
Here are some examples of Western Words in Katakana. Use the table below to sound them out.
アメリカ = America
オ-ストラリア = Australia
フランス = France
Each set has 46 characters or symbols. It is pretty easy to tell the difference between Hiragana and Katakana. I was taught that Hiragana uses more curved lines like cursive while Katakana symbols appear straight.
Below is a chart I grabbed from Google Images (Adobe Stock). Hiragana is on the left while Katakana is on the right. Using this chart, you can view the symbol, underneath the symbol is the sound it makes.
For example, in Hiragana the symbol ぬ makes the sound “nu”.
By memorizing these charts, you will be able to read menus and signs around Japan and have a much more enjoyable experience.
Kanji
Kanji is found in the Japanese language and consists of Chinese characters. Kanji was introduced to Japan in the 5th century, overtime it became ingrained in Japanese writing. Kanji is made up of characters and every character represents a word or meaning. Individual characters can also be combined to form new words. There are literally thousands of Kanji symbols. Though, I heard that in order to read a newspaper in Japan, you need to know around 2,000 characters.
What makes reading and writing in Japanese incredibly difficult is that they use all three scripts (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji) in the same sentences. Someone like me who knows Hiragana and Katakana but can’t pick out most Kanji symbols would have a very tough time reading complete sentences.
You can learn more about Kanji and see some examples of common characters on the Japan Guide website
Useful Phrases
No matter where we travel around the world, it’s always polite to pick up a few common and polite key phrases or sentences. Here are some basic Japanese words and phrases to memorize. The Japanese below is written in the Romaji form, so it should be easy for everyone to read and sound out.
Kon’nichiwa – Hello
Genki desu ka? – How are you?
Arigato – Thank you
Arigato gozaimasu – Formal Thank you
Onegaishimasu – Please
Ohayou gozaimasu – Good Morning
Konbanwa – Good Evening
Oyasuminasai – Good Night
Itadakimasu – Thank you for the food (said before eating, like how we say bon appetite)
Gochisousama – Thank you for the meal (said after eating)
Hai – Yes
Iie – No (Not commonly used as it is considered direct and negative)
Sumimasen – Excuse Me
Doko Desu ka? – Where is?
Wakarimasen – I don’t understand
Travel & Transportation
Best Time to Visit Japan
Japan can be visited all year long, it really depends on you and your preferences. If you are coming to Japan to snowboard then obviously winter is the best time to come. If you wat to scuba dive in some of the world’s best locations, then I would recommend coming to Okinawa during the summer months. But for the traditional traveler that just wants to take in the Japanese culture, see the wonderful cities, and get out in nature, then I recommend visiting Japan in either the Spring (April to early June) or Fall (late September to early December) seasons.
Take in to account, Japan has a typhoon season that generally runs from July to October. There is also a brief rainy season that tends to occur early in June until about mid July.
Spring in Japan is refreshing. It usually starts with Sakura season. Sakura season is when the cherry blossom trees bloom around Japan. During Sakura season, locals and tourists flock to areas with cherry blossom trees to take photos, walk around, and share the moments with family and loved ones. Spring time in Japan is also a great time to explore the natural beauty Japan has to offer. Many people spend the spring season hiking and camping, before the humidity arrives that come with the intense summer heat.
Fall is probably my favorite season in Japan, especially in Mainland Japan. During the fall months, humidity drops and the temperatures become a lot more comfortable. The leaves, especially the maple leaves start to turn colors. Like spring, fall is an ideal time to go for a hike and spend time in the outdoors. There are also a lot of seasonal food items and festivals going on around this time of year.
Curious on what to do and see around Japan during fall? Check out this 2 week itinerary in Japan during autumn.
Although Okinawa and the rest of the Ryukyu Islands do not see a traditional fall like mainland, it is still a great destination to visit during the fall months. The hot summer temperatures begin to decline as does the humidity. This is a perfect time of the year to get out and hike, walk the beaches, and explore many of the WWII sites.
One of Japan’s most exciting festivals the Naha Great Tug-of-War Festival in October takes place around the beginning of fall. If tug-of-war, large crowds, and a once in a lifetime experience sounds right up your alley, you can read more about Naha, Japan and the World’s Largest Tug-O-War Festival.
Hotel Amenities
Traveling to Japan and headed to your hotel but forgot your tooth brush, or comb, or razor? No problem! Most of these bathroom items will come included in your hotel room, usually at no extra cost. One time we stayed at a hotel and they charged a small fee for bathroom amenities. But 95% of the time hotel rooms come stocked with brand new tooth brushes and tooth paste, razors, travel sized combs, bath sponges, and even shower caps.
Most hotels have these amenities already stored in the bathroom of the hotel room, but other hotels will have a section in the lobby with amenities that are free to take.
Japan Travel App
The Japan Travel App has saved us so much time and headache. This app is perfect for traveling around Japan and probably my #1 recommended app. We primarily use the Japan Travel App for looking up train stations and departures, but it also includes taxi and bus routes.
The Japan Travel App is easy to navigate. you can find any train station within Japan and check departure times, stops, estimate arrival times, and even the cost for the particular route.
A brief overview of how the app looks and works below.
Select the Route tab, bottom center of the page. Here you can enter in either the current position which locates the closest train station, you can also use this to search for any train station. For this example, I types in Hakata Station in Fukuoka. For the destination I entered in Tenjin Station, Fukuoka.
You can then select the time you want to leave and the app will show a list of available options.
Rail Pass And or ICOCA Card
The Japan Rail Pass is highly recommended for tourists. Unfortunately, for those like me that live here cannot take advantage of this deal. There are six JR Line companies that are grouped together in this pass, meaning you can travel just about anywhere in Japan. Types of Transportation included in the JR Pass are the Shinkansen (Japan’s High Speed Trains), limited express trains, and other regular and rapid trains. Other then trains, the rail pass can be used on buses and ferries.
Visitors can select the amount of days they wish to travel using the JR pass, I believe there are 7 day, 14 day, and 21 day passes available.
For a list of the current transportation and fees included with the rail pass, I recommend visiting the Japan Rail Pass website.
For those that do live here, or wish to travel longer past the JR Pass dates, I recommend an ICOCA card or one of the other similar cards available. These cards are regional, the ICOCA card belongs to JR West, I was able to use it for throughout most of Southern Honshu and recently in Hokkaido.
These cards can be purchased at JR West Stations from the ticket machines. There is an initial fee for the card, I think it was ¥500 then you can freely load money onto the card either at train stations or even convenience stores. Once you have an ICOCA card, you can use it at automated gates within the train station, simply touch it to the card recognizer on the gate and the doors will open!
The ICOCA card isn’t only good for trains, it can also be used for shopping at certain stores and even selected vending machines.
General Travel Recommendations
Daiso and other ¥100 Shops
¥100 shops are popular throughout Japan, and the most popular ¥100 shop is Daiso. Daiso can be found in every city and most small towns. These ¥100 shops are much different then $1 stores in the United States. ¥100 shops like Daiso have great quality items and some food and drink selections. At Daiso you can find basically everything to include: dishes, plants, accessories for pets, car stuff, school supplies, arts and crafts, and so on. Daiso carries a lot of seasonal items as well, so their stock is constantly changing. I’ll be honest, not everything here is ¥100, a few items do cost more, but the majority say 95% of the items here are ¥100.
There are other ¥100 shops in Japan that are worth visiting like Can Do and Seria.
Bento Boxes at Convenience and Grocery Stores
I’ve said this before but I’ll mention it again. Japan is cheap when it comes to eating and dining. Getting a Bento Box at a local grocery store is one of the cheaper and more delicious options. Every grocery store and convenience store in Japan has Bento Boxes. For those that don’t know. A Bento Box is basically a premade lunch box that is Japanese in origin but is becoming popular around the world. Generally a Bento will include your major food groups, it will have some type of meat, rice, and vegetables.
Bento Boxes are convenient as they are premade and ready to go. They range in price but are generally very cheap between ¥100 and ¥800 give or take. Many grocery stores and convenience stores even have microwaves so you can warm your food. Most of the time napkins and chopsticks are also provided. Bento Boxes are quick, cheap, and delicious!
Craft Beer at Grocery Stores
I love beer, especially Craft Beer. Japan doesn’t have many breweries or taproom like many other countries. But they do have a lot of good craft beer. When traveling to cities around Japan, I’ve noticed some of the big grocery stores carry a decent selection of craft beer. From my experience a lot of the beer is regional. So say if you are in Kyoto, and go to a grocery store, you are likely to find beer from Kyoto and the surrounding area. Generally, purchasing beer at the grocery store is cheaper then buying from restaurants or breweries.
Japan is a non-Tipping Culture
In my Dining and Eating in Japan post I mentioned that tipping is not common here. Employees make a living wage here and don’t rely on tips. In fact, tipping can be seen as rude. By tipping an employee you are basically judging them by their work and performance. Plain and Simple, no need to tip here. This includes all services like taxis, restaurants, and other services.
Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store.
Plan Your Trip: 🗺 ✈️ 🇯🇵
Booking Accommodations ⛺️ 🛖
For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out Agoda or Booking.com
Activities and Tours 🏖 🚁
Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor. If you are looking for tours and day trips, Viator and Get Your Guide have a lot of great options.
In need of a car rental? 🚗 🚘
I recommend checking with Rental Cars.
Train Travel 🚂 🚊
For the JR Pass, tickets can be purchased on the JR Pass site.
Comments (6)
That’s fantastic info, thanks! Hopefully will be able to visit Japan sometime in the 2020s – it’s just a fascinating country 🙂
Thanks for reading! I hope you get a chance to visit as well! There is a lot of beautiful things to see here.
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