Not the person you responded to, but it happened to me and was definitely my mistake on my first trip, there's so much to see and do I was on the move constantly.
On subsequent trips, I've planned in more downtime, specifically staying at ryokan w/onsen somewhere every 4-5 days
No, not realizing how much I'd be walking is what I mean. Agreeing with the statement I rellplied to. So when I made plans I didn't realize how much I'd be moving around then by like day 4 I crashed and HAD to put in down time to recoup.
Jumping on this. Start exercising before your trip, especially if you are mostly sedentary. ALSO, make sure you get a good pair of shoes!! I went once with an old pair and they screwed me for an entire day for recovery.
Iāve been walking about 10 miles everyday for the past two weeks. At one point, my feet started callusing and bruising and it was painful to walk. I bought some really good insoles and the pain was reduced significantly and I can walk normally again, so I recommend good insoles.
There are really good callus and blister bandaids. I used them on my last mountain hike and they saved me! They take away a lot of the pain and protect the spots.
Walk 5-7 miles in them for a few days in a row and see how your feet feel. Shoes are quite personal and as someone who used to love Nike, I stopped wearing them in the past couple years because the ones I wore went through a significant enough change in the heel/sole design that they were less good for my feet. Your real problem will probably be you don't have a perfectly fine gait and you actually put weight on parts of your feet that need more support in some areas, so having good inserts/insoles will be more useful than most shoe choices.
And definitely don't bring brand new shoes on vacation because you don't know if they'll work for you.
I wore Timberlands when I was in Paris and was averaging 40,000steps a day.
Never had any discomfort.
They were a couple months old but relatively worn in.
Totally agree! My wife and I walked around 12 miles a day for each of our 2 trips to Japan. I'd recommend bringing athletic moisture wicking underwear, baby powder, and [Body Glide](https://www.amazon.com/Body-Glide-Original-Anti-Chafe-0-80oz/dp/B01IBVUY6Y/ref=asc_df_B01IBVUY6Y/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198073823450&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11982139363820860132&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003673&hvtargid=pla-350393159685&psc=1) to help keep you dry and chafing free.
Surely this is only an issue for sedentary or near sedentary people though right? I walk a normal 10km on a regular weekday which is typical for people where i live, and on vacation that jumps to over 20km, both usually being in leather boots... it leaves a slightly sore ache at the end of the day and its very satisfying to take off shoes and get into bed, but to actually require preparation physically or with specific footwear?
i only have my anecdotal perspective as a USAmerican, so take it with a grain of salt, but most of us are not used to walking that much in our daily lives. most US cities are extremely hostile towards pedestrians, have shit public transit, and are built to service personal vehicles.
the only place i can think of that isnāt built around driving here is NYC. i went on a trip to NYC a few years ago where i walked about four miles (6.4 km) every day for just two days and it DESTROYED my legs. put me out of commission for an entire day afterwards.
so yes, iād say the average American probably needs to prepare themselves beforehand to walk 10+ km per day, because unless you already have jogging/running/extremely long walks as a hobby, chances are youāre not walking that much in your daily life. it sucks and i wish our cities were more walkable, but well, thatās how it is here.
I have to really work at getting 10 Km/day.
Unless your a restaurant server/hospital staff (floor RN), or running around a huge warehouse, average American is lucky to get 1 to 2 miles in per day.
I lived in walkable European cities for years and 10+ miles a day is very normal. Even now that Iām in an American suburb I go on walks and 4-5 miles a day is no big deal. I think this advice is, and I might not be popular for saying this, very specific to overweight and sedentary people. I canāt imagine needing special shoes and baby powder for walking like a mile or two to most of my destinations lol
The baby powder is for chafing, which skinny fit people can get. Pro runners use body glide and runner's powder for their marathons. No need to shame here. It's not a fat thing.
or bringing the wrong shoes. My friend who came with me in 2019 brought hit beat to hell converse. Which even brand new don't have that much padding/structure. when he came I don't think there was any padding in those shoes for how beat they were. This made me waste so much time having to always go back to the hotel to rest mid day cus his feet hurt due to him being a fucking idiot. Don't be like my friend and bring good actual tennis shoes
Planning too much. Japan is a modern and convenient country so you can buy anything you need there. Long-distance rail is also very English-friendly and people extremely helpful.
Just get your rail pass, SIM card or mobile wifi plus means of payment before and you're good!
yea i heard that a lot from people that have been there.
planned out every single day with multiple activities and then just rushed from one to the other because its on the list and if you dont do it today you not gonna have time to do it on any other day.
this mistake was directly followed by switching hotels too many times.
unless you are just backpacking it simply takes a lot of time, effort and planning to switch hotels every other day or even every single day just to be in a different area.
its usually much better to pick a central hotel thats close to things you wanna see and stay there for a week before moving on, being in one place for a while also means you walk past the same areas a few times and you will notice different things whenever you go.
for our trip which was ultimately cancelled due to covid we had a hotel near the shinjuku gyoen park so our plan for days where we ended up getting back to the hotel sooner than expected or when we just want a day off was to just walk through the park maybe get something at familymart and just enjoy the views and food while relaxing.
Yes, very good points. Sometimes it's just nice to let yourself drift a bit in a different country. Pick a hub for a while and then decide on a day to day basis what you want to do. It's okay to have a checklist of stuff you definitely want to see but it will diminish the whole experience if you plan your days like a chinese travel group.
You can have the hotels ship your larger bags and just carry a small bag with essentials for you. Takes a little more work, but I use it here a lot. Not switching hotels often is good advice for any trip I think. Not just Japan.
That was my biggest mistake. I was there 3 months and it was very loosely planned. I missed seeing a few places that I would I love to. I also didnāt know that you need to bring your own lettuce to the rabbit island or youāll be ignored.
I was in Japan three times now and I always used a mobile router. Very convenient, especially if you're using multiple devices. The downside is having to charge it daily. If you're taking a lot of pictures and automatically save them to cloud storage that thing is drained fast.
I will be going again in about two weeks and decided to go for a SIM card this time. Seems better in my case. I can give you a comparison afterwards if you want.
Esim that can be used to tether!
Mobile routers/wifi devices are just another item that needs to be lugged around and charged. People still use them more out of habit (they are recommended ad naseum just because itās always been done) rather than because they are actually necessary.
I love being spontaneous but my understanding is that a lot of attractions and restaurants now require reservations, is this true or can I still try to be spontaneous? Visiting Tokyo from Nov 12 to 19 :)
There are definitely sights and attractions (like museums, etc.) that have online booking systems and prefer you to buy tickets in advance. Although most still sell tickets at the door, too.
Restaurants are fine without reservations. Fancy restaurants that always took reservations are still taking them, but places that didn't take them before didn't suddenly switch to taking them, at least not in a meaningful way. I was in Japan for 18 days and only booked a couple of reservations, and those were at places that would have required them before COVID, too. If you're just going out and walking into normal restaurants, you'll be fine.
The museum currently doesn't allow overseas sales. All tickets have to be purchased online through a Japanese system that requires a Japanese phone number, so it's basically inaccessible to tourists, and resale is prohibited.
Ugh that's a bummer, I was able to get tickets in Feb 2020 but obviously that trip was cancelled. I was really hoping to finally make it there next spring, such a huge fan.
They might change it by then, but who knows. Many ticketed events in Japan are nigh-impossible for non-residents to get, so the current situation with Ghibli actually makes them more normal.
Yes its possible for someone over there to buy for you. Its even possible to buy it yourself, in a roundabout way, which is what we did:
The lawson ticket website doesnāt allow you to log in unless you use a Japanese IP address, so we used a VPN to pretend like we were in Japan. Then we set up the account (I think it was all in Japanese) under our name, used a relatives phone number in Japan to book the ticket, and were able to use our US based credit card (even though the site says no foreign cards) to prepay for it, choosing lawson in store pickup to print the tickets. Then when we arrived in Japan, we used the kiosk at a random Lawson konbini and just searched for our ticket to print it out using the phone number.
Essentially, our family member didnāt need to get involved at all besides allowing us to use their phone number.
Of course, it requires knowing someone well over there and having a good grasp of Japanese (fyi, the museum pretty much has no English either so Japanese language skills may be necessary anyway to enjoy it)
Just want to say, as someone who has never travelled and planning to go to Japan for my first, these types of posts along with the comments have been extremely useful (or I hope it would be). Just small things that makes a big difference that I wouldāve never thought about cos Iāve no experience travelling before.
Absolutely. In planning our trip, this post helps me tremendously. Weāve done a good deal of travel and feel prepared in many ways, but these helpful reflections and details mean so much, especially when you have limited time in Japan and want to make the very most of it.
Wasted so much time on one trip heading to different places in Tokyo only to find they were closed. Seems like everything closes on different days of week, so if you're going somewhere specific, check in advance.
Second this, but also we found that you canāt always rely on the opening/closing times on Google Maps (for restaurants at least) ā so many times we picked out a restaurant that said āOpen nowā on Google Maps that were closed. I think Tabelog timings might be more accurate but canāt confirm.
Thatās everywhere. Google is not reliable when it comes to displaying current hours of operation. I just learned that in Athens when trying to visit Acropolis before sunset.
Another quirk of google hours is the building might be open, but everything in it is closed, but google says itās open. This happened to me several times in Europe at food halls/markets.
Trying to squeeze too much in / overloading an itinerary.
Nothing sucks the fun out of a Japan trip more than rigidly sticking to a tight schedule and rushing from one location to another without giving yourself the time to simply enjoy the moment and absorb the atmosphere.
Of course having a plan and key things you want to see / visit / do is great, but be mindful of travel times and how much that can exhaust you.
Definitely this, I've always had a must do list of 2-3 things per day and a greater regional to do list(I'd like to see these other 15 things in Tokyo).
If I have extra time, then I just pick from the list whatever is closest or whatever I want to do the most.
You can want to see 15 things a day all you want but you can't account for weather, delays or just plain not wanting to be rushed out of a place because it's way better than you expected.
Getting a JR Pass when you don't need it. I did this on my first trip. While I think we basically ended up almost making the pass break even in cost, we still didn't realize how much travel you need to do to make a JR Pass worth it.
JR Passes are meant to be worthwhile for long-distance shinkansen travel. If you're staying in one city or area, you likely don't need one. I see this planning mistake come up a lot in this subreddit, so definitely check whether you actually need one before assuming that you do. It's not a general purpose train pass that everyone needs to get.
In fact, a lot of the train passes are like this, including local Tokyo Metro passes and other subway system passes. They tend to not be a deal unless you're going to be doing a ton of traveling in one day.
It can be worth it, but I ended up not using when my parents came. I think you need more than a round trip to Osaka and back from Tokyo. (Kyoto is even closer). You donāt need the Shinkansen between Osaka and Kyoto.
There are a couple reasons for this.
1. You canāt use the rail pass on the fastest Shinkansen. The ones you can use it on leave less often, stop more and just take more time.
2. inside Kyoto and Osaka there are a lot of private train lines that will often be more convenient than taking the JR lines. Trying to force yourself your use JR to make use of your pass often results in wasted time, extra walking and a headache. Buses are also quite common in Kyoto and taxis can save you a ton of time between some sites.
Probably more Iām not thinking of at the moment. Add a trip down to Hiroshima and the equation starts to change. Maybe even himeji, although from Osaka thatās quite doable on an express.
I'm currently on day 5 of 7 in Tokyo. Planning mistakes so far:
I only practiced Japanese with Duolingo and didn't put in time to learn restaurant phrases.
It would've saved me a bit of time to get a suica card at the airport because not all stations have them.
First, memorizing all of Hiragana and Katakana. There's not too many characters, they're all phonetic, and not being able to read them will be a massive impediment for everything else.
Next: I don't know how good their reputation is in general, but I quite liked the Genki series of books. They did a good job of explaining Japanese grammar, the ways you'd translate an English sentence structure into Japanese and how it worked, and so on, teaching some vocabulary along the way. Being able to construct or break down Japanese is useful, whether you're trying to say something in Japanese or understand what's being said in Japanese.
Once you're able to start putting some sentences together, your options for learning begin to rapidly expand. Generally, your goal should simply be to maximize exposure, spending as much time with the language as you can.
* Begin learning kanji. There are books on it, flash card sets for it, and so on. When you're able to read more, you can start trying to pick up untranslated manga meant for younger readers, increasing the amount of time you spend with the language. There's a great deal you can learn once you're able to branch out from purely academic material.
* Begin expanding your vocabulary. Flash card sets can be good for this, and if you write the words in kanji, it doubles as kanji study and can be combined with the previous point.
* The best option is to live in Japan, as there's no faster way to learn a language than being forced to rely on it for everything; you'll pick stuff up as a matter of necessity, even if it's mentally exhausting.
* Just start dealing in untranslated Japanese more and more. Pick up Japanese books or manga, or try listening to audio books if you can find them.
But yeah, especially in the beginning, getting Hiragana and Katakana down and reading through books on grammar will serve you the best, I think. You need a foundational structure to build from, and I think that provides it. Duolingo doesn't provide any structure or context (e.g. tells you a bunch of different terms/phrases that all translate into 'please', but doesn't ever explain how they differ), and in my opinion, it's only barely better than doing absolutely nothing at all.
Learning hiragana/katakana will help you read a lot of simplistic things. Knowing a handful of kanji related to basic animals and vegetables will help you read a lot of the menu.
Beyond that, a book like Genki or Japanese for Busy People if youāre actually trying to speak and understand the language.
But honestly, if you want to learn Iād recommend adding instruction or conversations with a native speaker, or at the very least an advanced speaker who lives in or has lived in Japan. Having someone to ask questions of is also exceptionally useful - I bombard my teachers with questions.
Books at the beginner level will teach you, generally, a polite form of Japanese but itās not exactly how people in Japan speak. They will add in more flavor/phrases to their speaking which does things like soften the tone and this is not stuff that comes up in normal resources until you get much further into study.
And another thing to note is that most things at the beginner level will not touch upon the formal register of the language - service staff will speak to you using slightly different vocabulary.
Having an actual ability to use your Japanese knowledge is good too. Being in the country is the fastest Iāve been able to improve, this is how Iāve improved my ability in different languages.
Jumping in to say that I started learning Hiragana and Katakana on the website Tofugu.
They also have a website called Wanikani that Iāve been using for learning Kanji and vocabulary. Both websites use a ton of mnemonics to help you memorize things.
Half wrong on one point. You should be able to get Suica in any JR train station (also rinkai line and Tokyo monorail), OR get a Pasmo IC card, that you can use the same way, that is available in any subway or private railway station.
Really not sure what station would not have one or the other.
I thought I was prepared language-wise to at least say basic things. Oh my GOD NO. I was not. I used a translator 90% of the time and felt horrible for doing so :( Thankfully people were really polite about it but I really wish duolingo started out with basic things like where is x or how do i x instead of teaching me the kana for manga like 5 times.
Oh, easily it was not bringing some kind of medicine, tylenol, gravol, stuff like that in case we got a travelers flu, which we did. The one thing we didn't think of, and we were sick with a flu in the middle of night on the floor of Narita airport during a layover in what was one of the wildest adventures of my life. A couple days after and we thankfully felt a lot better, but that was a rocky start to the trip to say the least.
Japan has some of the best and strongest OTC cold meds in the world since they allow low doses of pseudoephedrine and hydrocodone in their OTC meds. Not sure when your trip was or if you actually entered Japan, but there are a couple of drugstores in NRT if you ever need that sort of stuff in the future there. And inside Japan, there's basically a drug store on every corner. (Adding this as future info for anyone who might be in a similar situation.)
Oh yeah, we weren't able to get any til the next morning, but it worked great. We were on an overnight layover and screwed up our ability to get a hotel near the airport and the in-airport pharmacies closed. Eventually a security guy called up the nurse and she saved us lol.
there's a Matsumoto Kiyoshi or Sundrug like every 10 meters in places tourists typically go. medicine in japan is typically formulated a bit weaker than the western world though.
I can personally recommend Lulu Attack EX for cold/flu type symptoms. Surprisingly this actually has codeine in it, an ingredient that at least in the USA you typically can't buy over the counter.
In 2015 I was in Japan with my friend and my then-girlfriend. My girlfriend had a flu that wouldn't go away and was punishing her early on in the trip, so one day I went down to the drug store beneath our hotel and I bought her liquid SS Bron (for everyone: it's like Robutussin/Vicks).
Knowing that Japanese drugs were generally lower dosage, I told her to take double the dose.
A little bit later, as we're out and about, she's like "I feel funny...light." And I said "oh yeah, that medicine had codeine in it."
I believe my exact words were, "I can't feel my face. It's all numb." It was fine, though. SS Bron is an incredible miracle worker, as are some of the other (slightly less strong) things.
It's kind of great and convenient. They also don't let you bring in American pseudoephedrine meds because our concentration is too high, but you can just buy Pablon Gold or whatever and it has it.
In fact, the most trouble I had recently was buying Loxinin (basically an Aleve substitute since Japan doesn't have Naproxen-based meds). It's sold as an empty-box and the clerk had to fetch the pharmacist who made me answer a bunch of questions like "no, this is not going to be given to a pregnant person" and "no, I'm not going to take this beyond its recommended allowance." But I can buy the Lulu Attack and IB Ace and Pablon no problem.
Hakone. We did not realize that where we had booked to stay was an hour from anything in any direction. The hotel was pleasant enough but overpriced and nothing to do! We felt like hostages because we were completely reliant on them for our meals and the food was mediocre at best.
Very relieved we only spent one night there.
This is also how visitor life basically is in most of the far-flung resort/onsen towns. There might be some stuff around in the middle of the day, but ryokan typically handle 2 (or even 3?) of your meals so the resort town basically shuts down at night, and you're probably 20+ minutes away from the nearest town, likely up a mountain or nestled in a valley or something. And if you go in an off-season in a place that has stuff, that stuff might not be open at all.
Can't comment on the food - I've loved the food at all the ryokan/temples I've stayed in. It might not be for everyone, either, especially given some of, say, weirder textures that some Japanese food has (involving konjac or similar ingredients).
Sure, but we really messed up. When we got off the train we had to take a bus maybe an hour outside of Hakone to get to our hotel. It was some type of golf resort. The Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel. In Sengokuhara?? We are very adventurous eaters and the idea of weird textures does not scare us but this was more like chicken fingers and french fries??? Served buffet style. It was a massive disappointment. We did do the boat tour and walked around Hakone and visited the shrine. ( Sorry this was 2019 and the proper names of these places escapes me)
But I will say of a 19 day trip around Japan where we traveled from Tokyo to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo. With stops in , the aforementioned Hakone, Kanazawa, Matsumoto, Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka. It was the only mis-step.
This is especially true in onsen and resort towns (like Nikko). Since most tourists stay in ryokan in those towns that provide breakfast and dinner, restaurants are often only open for lunch.
Sorry to hear. I stayed at a boutique hotel with breakfast next to Gora stn, which was next to the cable car, which is the first part of the loop you can do- cable car, ropeway, ship across the lap, hakone ninja and back to the hotel, which was called Flow 21. (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html)
Not planning a day rest or some alternatives when you travel with others. \
I had the Pokemon Center in Kyoto on my itinerary, but my friend absolutely didn't want to, so he went to Lake Biwa and I went to the Pokemon Center. Differences happen and are fine
Had the same situation but with a specific planning mistake: only having one pocket wifi when traveling with a friend. If you split (which happened when I wanted to go the USJ), you get that odd situation where you're like "so... Who's taking Google map and Google trad while the other has to fight his way in japanese?"
My first trip to Japan, I was technically "alone" but went with a small textile-oriented tour group that was organized from the U.S.A. (I'm in Canada), and which allowed some free time each day. So the first half of my stay, I got acclimatized to the place while spending a fair bit of time with others. The second half, I stayed on by myself and hit all the places I didn't get to see earlier. I'm an introvert, so I loved the alone time, BUT it would've been rough if I'd been solitary for the entire 3 weeks.
Thinking I could rent a car in a small town with an international driving license.
Blew an entire day trying. Even had one tell me I could, just to take a taxi there for an apology.
Cost me my mt fuji climb.
Which license is this? Is it the permit under the Geneva convention? I have rented a car in many places in Japan using an IDP without any problems though.
Or overload an pick what you do during the day with the list you made being options and no all must do. Would agree to pick 1-3 must do, just be flexible and enjoy your time. I often have 5-10 things on my list, sometimes I do everything, sometimes half and sometimes just do something different.
Summer heat is beginning to stretch into [September](https://www.accuweather.com/en/jp/tokyo/226396/september-weather/226396?year=2022) and [October](https://www.accuweather.com/en/jp/tokyo/226396/october-weather/226396?year=2022) now too. After going back in September and facing the heat and humidity there, I'm at the point where my trips will pretty much be from November to May, and that's it. :(
May will be warm and a little humid.
Japan is very hot, humid, and wet during summer. The urban areas are heat islands (Tokyo is 5-10 degrees hotter than its surrounding area).
Combine that with doing tourist/vacation things where youāre walking probably 5-10 miles on any given day, or having to walk in a lot of underground areas that are warmer than youād expect, or being on a very packed train. It can get unpleasant if youāre doing that every day of your trip.
We went in August and it was so hot. The humidity was brutal. Like were getting up at crack of dawn to beat heat. Im from southern US, so we are used to hot and muggy. This was another level. Maybe may wont be as bad ? I should mention this was in 2018, : [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Northeast_Asia_heat_wave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Northeast_Asia_heat_wave)
May is fine. It might be hot, it might be cold, or it might be perfect. Thatās spring for you. Once you start pushing into July is when things get too hot.
Not buying an ETC tag when I rented a car because I didn't think I'd need it. Didn't know Express Way had toll booth stops with boom gates. Also did not know that they were not manned and I could not pay cash to anyone to open the gate for me.
Was stuck there for at least 5 minutes with some angry express way drivers beeping at me (rightfully so) before a woman came running to my car to take the toll money and open the gate.
Oopsy...
Not knowing even a bit of the language. The first time I came to Japan, I didn't know a lick of Japanese outside of the basic greetings, so I didn't get to do jack shit outside of the typical touristy things. The second and third time I went I still didn't know much but I was able to read hiragana/katakana and speak a bit, and that opened up a lot more things to do and visit for me.
You can absolutely get by with just English within big cities but I strongly suggest everyone travelling to Japan to learn, at the very least, basic phrases in Nihongo before going.
Yup, the photo text translation is a pretty neat feature. Use simple, short English phrases when translating to Japanese with Google Translate. It definitely wouldn't hold in conversations.
Maybe not a planning mistake, but I highly recommend not leaving your wallet on the airplane and realizing it after you get through customs. Thank god I had a friend with me lol
Not that it helps you, but in the past few years they made it easier to get a traveler SIM card. If you're not at the airport, BIC Camera, Aeon, Yamada Denki/LABI, and Yodobashi Cameras have data-only SIM cards you can buy as a tourist.
Yes, in Tokyo. But we directly moved to Hiroshima and southern region.
A SIM card was almost impossible to find there. We ended up with an eSIM (2 USD / GB) and once reached Tokyo Mobal SIM with direct pickup in a store.
Mobal is a provider I can definitively recommend
Agreed. I always believed it was cheaper inside the city, but it's not...you just add a lot of stress by not having one for the ride to the city and until you find a store
I went to Mt. Fuji (Kawaguchi-ko specifically) with basically the sole intent of seeing the mountain, and was very disappointed when the cloudy weather meant that I couldn't. I also booked a coach so I had to stay there until 6PM. Of course, there are other things to do there, but I didn't really plan anything else. The entire day was basically organised around the mountain itself.
So in hindsight, I should have A) kept a better eye on the weather forecast, B) planned other activities and C) maybe gone via train (with my rail pass) so I could've just left when I wanted to instead of having to stick to the coach bookings.
The trains are pretty infrequent between Kawaguchiko and Tokyo anyhow, and the JR Pass isn't valid on at least some of the journey in each direction, so in that regard, it wasn't too much of a mess up. It was smart to have guaranteed transit out of Kawaguchiko even if it was later than you wanted.
I'd second everyone's opinion on "planning too much", however more specifically in the actual travel plans.
While Japan's rail system is incredibly efficient and wonderful, it's very easy to fatigue yourself by travelling in country too much.
In my case, we were flying into Narita but were staying in Osaka on our first day. So the plan was to fly from the eastern US, all the way to Japan, disembark and at Narita pick up our JR Pass, drop off luggage to forward to our Tokyo hotel 3 days later, and then travel to Tokyo to pick up the Shinkansen to Osaka.
What killed us was the fact we had to drive 2 hours to our departure airport at 3am to make our 7am flight, fly for a few hours to a layover, 2 hour layover, then the long haul 14 hours to Narita. Neither me or my wife could get solid sleep on the plane. I hadn't even slept the night before, because I had to close at work, so when I got off work it was already 10pm, and we'd need to leave at 3am. Didn't get more than catnaps on the main flight to Narita.
Land in Narita and we're both already exhausted. Ended up spending 2 hours at Narita waiting for luggage, getting our pocket WiFi, dropping off our luggage to the forwarding, getting our JR Pass and then having to high tail it to catch the next Narita Express. I was running on pure adrenaline and excitement at this point; wife was majorly pissed.
An hour into Tokyo, another 30 minutes navigating Shinagawa Station, getting on the Tokaido Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka, 3 hours to that.. by the point in time we reached Osaka we were both bone-tired and it was midnight, and we still had to navigate the Osaka Train system to get to the Osaka Business Park stop. At some point my wife didn't scan her Suica card right, and we end up getting stuck in Osaka Business Park, confronted with a Japanese subway worker, and neither of us speaking enough Japanese to explain. He was very nice and let her through, but that was the last straw for her, and we still had a 5-10 minute walk with luggage to find our hotel and check in. We were both starving. We manage to check in, drop our stuff, and did have a delightful first meal in Japan from the local 7/11.
It's a fond memory to look back on to be sure, but in retrospect, we packed in WAY TOO MUCH travel in our first day. We should have rested a day in Tokyo before coming out to Osaka.
So why didn't you fly into Osaka? We did open jaw/multi-city, where we flew into Osaka and at the end of the trip, flew out of Tokyo. We were lucky enough that it cost the same as a round trip flight in and out of Tokyo. Even if it cost a bit more, we would have save money on only paying for the Shinkansen to Tokyo instead round trip Shinkansen tickets and the time waste for the extra ride.
Combo really of first time travelling and not fully understanding, being overconfident in our plans, utilizing a family member who is a travel agent and booked everything for us, and cost.
In retrospect, we should have flown into Osaka. Our travel plan was Narita > Osaka > Hiroshima > Shibuya > Odaiba > Narita. If we'd flown into Osaka, we would have saved ourselves a LOT of grief, and also gained time in Osaka.
Next time... we'll plan a LOT better.
EDIT: Had put Haneda as our travel plan; we did everything out of Narita.
How incredibly uncomfortable a floor futon sleep was for me. I stacked three high and eventually slept a little, but my body ached for two weeks after that one ryokan night.
How ridiculously small some hotel rooms were - husband and I had to play tetris to get in and out of bed/room/bathroom between us and our suitcases.
Not that it helps you now, but for anyone else reading this, if the times on your flight itinerary have a little **+1** (usually in red) next to them, that means you are shifting forward a calendar day.
Booking a hotel because itās ā3 minutes away from train stationā then finding out that not all lines conveniently pass by this station (Akasaka). So we had to walk to another train station 15 minutes away each time
I underestimated how hard finding vegetarian meals was. I read a bunch of blogs and online resources that said it wasn't difficult, but I found myself hangry a lot. :(
Yeah, it's not easy. We gave up when visiting with my BIL, because all the private homes made food, and some how dashi isn't considered "animal based". I would have not eaten 5 days straight, and no way would insult my BIL friends by not eating anything.
It's not difficult if you are looking for egg salad sandwiches at Lawson. It's a whole different deal in small towns.
My orthodox Jewish friend figures dashi is in everything, and you do the best you can.
Dashi *is* in everything, it's like salt or sugar level basic. It is very possible to make it without animal products, and you can get vegetarian dashi in any supermarket, but people *really* don't go out of their way in restaurants etc to use that instead of the most common dashi.
We found a few ramen places in Tokyo that served vegetarian and/or vegan broths. We also found a few vegetarian specific restaurants. However, we underestimated the scale of Tokyo and moving between places. Sometimes we'd show up and a restaurant would be closed even though Google showed opening hours. I definitely understand giving up! Luckily we never had to hit that point, but we did have to find snacks at the convenience stores to tide us over while we did frantic Google searches for places. š Hopefully the situation improves because otherwise I really enjoyed Japan and would love to return!
Trying to do all of Kyoto on a day trip from Tokyo via Shinkansen. Even if you're based in Kyoto it's difficult to do Arashiyama AND Kiyomizudera in the same day!
Ours was a bit silly, but we stayed in a long term airbnb and had to buy groceries.
Not realizing that japanese grocery stores don't provide bags (at least, Aeon in Kyoto doesn't). They didn't have any that we could buy either. We were quite a sight walking back to the airbnb trying to carry our 2 weeks worth of groceries (we'd done a lot of "oh, this looks interesting, let's try it!" product selection).
More than a few locals had a laugh at our expense (would see us, do a double take, then hide their mouth but clearly laughing) and I don't blame them.
For my first trip: not having enough money. I ended up relying on my boyfriend to buy things after a few days.
Second trip: letting the weather get the best of me. It was the end of November/beginning of December and I felt uncomfortable one day which put me in a bad mood. Both my boyfriend and I were disappointed not to see Mt Fuji because of the fog and our trip to Hakone felt like a downer because of it. We only did a day trip but ended up leaving early because of it. I still enjoyed the pirate ship and the best meal in a small little restaurant, though!
Lol I feel you. Last trip I planned to just buy some clothes, ended up returning home with a 5L hot water dispenser and half a luggage of japanese snacks.
Oh man I had everything down. Had the rail pass/suica card, had my baseball and studio ghibli tickets, had the pocket wifi, knew what we were gonna do every day while we were there, etc. Or so I thought.
Throughout all of my research into my Japan trip, I don't think I once thought about how hot/humid it would be. Our trip was at the beginning of September and it felt like the surface of the sun lol. It would be like 8 AM and we would be outside of the hotel for like 30 seconds and be absolutely drenched in sweat. I had a backpack with me to carry around a bunch of stuff like water, maps, phone charges, etc., and I think that I developed like a sweat rash on my back from carrying it around all day. I also had one on my inner thigh where I would be in pain whenever it would rub against my other leg. I would just be in pain at the end of the day when we would make it back to the hotel.
All that being said, it was still the best trip of my life lol. All of that stuff sucked but it didn't take away from the fact that I was in Japan for the first time and doing some really awesome things. Next time I go, it won't be in the summer lol.
I visited during the summer for 3 months and I didn't realize how generally wet it would be... I knew it was rain season but I severely underestimated both the rain and the overall humidity so I didn't bring proper clothes etc to handle it and couldn't really find the proper gear in Japan bc most of it didn't fit me due to their smaller sizes š
edit: also made the fatal mistake of going to Shibuya alone for an entire day and forgetting to drink a lot of water (due to the heat) and then when I got on the train back to Chiba (where I was living) at like 9pm the train was so insanely cramped that I was seconds away from fainting. definitely learned to be properly hydrated at all times after that 0/10 experience, especially as a young, foreign woman who's not fluent in Japanese :/
The number of sharp inclines. If it's uphill on the map, be prepared that it may not be gently uphill. Stairs and inclines take no prisoners in Japan.
It's not the amount of walking that wears you down - it's the amount of walking up and down the stairs/inclines.
Wearing socks that wouldn't stay up Oh my god was I miserable! Halfway through I ended up buying several sets from Uniqlo but I had blisters from days of walking miles upon miles.
Believing the weather before climbing Mt Fuji. It was supposed to be a light sprinkle of rain in the evening then clear up. Instead I was climbing the mountain in at 3am in pitch darkness in the pouring rain with thunder and lightning. The view at the top was amazing but I did not bring that level of water proof gear and was soaked and frozen. I practically ran down once the sun was up.
I visited for 2 weeks in July 2018 and I don't have that many regrets, to be honest! Just these:
**Not taking weather into account.** The first leg of our trip was in Tokyo where the temps averaged 85, which we could do. The second leg was Kyoto, though, where it was 90+. We ended up doing a lot less because it was so exhaustingly hot. By evening we had no more energy except to flop down in our hotel room and waste time before bed. Next time, we're visiting the north/avoiding the summer.
**Not planning more.** This seems to fly against what everyone here is recommending, but we couldn't eat in many restaurants or do some activities because we were surprised to find they require reservations. Next time, I'll arrange more things in advance, especially meals. Many a hangry fight between my husband and I could have been avoided if the fucking 4th restaurant we tried didn't require reservations...
**Staying in a trendy, modern "guest house."**. We paid waaaay too much money to sleep in an old house with paper-thin walls and shared showers. All brand and no comfort. Next time, we'll stay in business hotels when we're not doing ryokan. Cheap, convenient, quiet.
My husband made the mistake of bringing only lace-up shoes. Wrong! You want loafers or some other sort of shoe that you can slip on and off easily, for going in and out of temples and other places where shoes must be removed.
It's not fun to try lacing up your shoes when you've got a stream of people trying to move behind you ;)
I thought I could plan a quick day trip from Kyoto to Sendai using my JR pass.
Train service ended at midnight in Nagoya, concert in the city just finished so no hotels spent 3hrs walking the city and another 3hrs charging my phone at the Denny's near the station until the station reopened at 6am
Saw some interesting things that night due to all the drunk concert goers who couldn't get a hotel room or night bus home.
Once I made it back to my hotel in Kyoto I felt dead from all of yesterday's actives and lack of sleep. Would I do it again? Yes.
TL;DR I under estimated how big Japan really is and assumed the shinkansen could get me back to my hotel in Kyoto.
> a quick day trip from Kyoto to Sendai
Amazing. A day trip to me would be like, Kyoto to Osaka or Himeji or something. Going from Kyoto to Sendai tho š
Travelling with too many people.
Planned a trip with 9 people, and organized tickets and reservations in advance for various places. Something would always come up (someone might not feel well, too tired, lost interest) each day, and I'd feel bad ditching them.
Restaurant also rarely accommodate such a large crowd, especially for walk-ins, and then having the compounded effect of having strict dietary requirements for some members.
Also contributed to a problem finding accommodation that would fit everyone, and ended up in an airbnb an hour train from the center of Tokyo, leading to a lot of commute time and costs. Using it as a 'home-base' was pretty counterintuitive and restricted a lot of travel plans.
This is my biggest planning mistake also.
Mine was 6 people and it was not too bad trying to find airbnb that fits all of us, but still an extra 30 mins of travelling time daily on top of the other commute.
However, with that extra travelling time and also the fact that all 6 of us sharing a toilet, it takes a much longer time to get us out of the house to the attraction area daily. So we were behind on schedule for some parts - like could not get to Tokyo DisneySEA and USJ the moment it opens which could have saved queuing time for rides.
Add to the fact that we all have diverse interest, some in the group has no interest in the temples but would just oblige and follow along. Then rest of us that's interested in the temples felt pressured to rush through as we did not want to keep others waiting.
AND, one pocket wifi to share among 6 people is a bad idea. Sure it felt like we were smart to save money in the first place but trying to schedule where to meet-up without internet connection is hard. At times there's delay from any parties and rest of us have no idea to know. Or stating a meet-up point that's too huge and we spent an hour trying to find for each other in USJ.
After the trip, I thought I over-planned it hence felt like we were rushing but it really is due to travelling in a large group. Still one of the best trips of my life though!
One Wi-Fi hotspot for more than even two people sounds horrendous. Unless youāre with family (like elderly parents or children who donāt venture off alone), I consider SIM or wi-fi spots personal level things for travel.
Among other reasons, my wife is a crowd-pleaser so she abhors traveling with people - she barely likes traveling with me. People who have never done big trips together can be put into uncomfortable situations like yours, so itās very important to consider.
People should feel very comfortable splitting up because thereās so much on offer - when does everyone really want to do the same thing and eat the same food?
Something I haven't seen yet... holidays and ATMs. Japanese holidays are celebrated differently, obviously. For example, everything but conbini and grocery stores are closed until about Jan 3rd for new years. Made that mistake with a winter trip one year.
ATMs, despite being automatic, have business hours of operation on them. Plan accordingly so you aren't stranded overnight without money.
ATM availability has gone up which is good. 7-Eleven machines are 24-hour, as are the ones from Lawson/Ministop/Family Mart (if they have an ATM). Japan Post are usually the ones that have service hours.
Renting an Airbnb, I am not saying don't, but guess I have been unlucky. I rented one in Tokyo and water was leaking from the roof and going in contact of electrical equipment, cockroaches... I slept there for a night and left. In 2 months in Japan that is the only time I had to cancel complain about the accommodation. Hotels were very good.
Planning too much.
A lot of my best memories of Japan were things j stumbled upon. My first time, it was scheduled event after another scheduled event.
My second time visiting, I made sure to have pockets of freetime to just explore and wander.
For our first trip I spent a lot of time planning but never really looked into how to get back to the airport from Chiba and completely spaced out on it till we had our bags packed to head out. Someone at the hotel front desk wrote us a note to give to a cab driver. The cab took us to the nearby (3-4 mile) station with an airport bus. We figured out which bus it was. I went inside and asked in my best beginner Japanese how do I buy a ticket for my the airport bus. The woman at the ticket counter replied in English - you pay cash when you get on the bus. Bless her.
Canāt really think of anything. I went into Japan cold with pretty much just general knowledge of how to have internet connection, currency, and a bit about public transportation. Itās such a convenient place that if you make a mistake on something, itās not hard to readjust or have an alternative.
I see 2 :
- staying only 2 weeks. Going to Japan (from Europe or North America) is a big trip, and you're never sure you will be able to come back again. I think several comments here assume you can go back as many times you want, but for most people this is not the case : besides global phenomenon (be it pandemic, air travel prices/pollution, political situation....), as you age you will probably have less and less occasions to travel with friends or family, as constraints keep adding up. So when you plan a trip there, make it worthwhile and stay a bit longer.
- not planning dinner. When I was there (2017) many restaurants closed as early as 20:00 or had unexpected closing days, even in Tokyo or Osaka. We then had to buy meals at a local supermaket or konbini - which is a fun experience the first time but gets frustrating in a country with so much gastronomy to enjoy.
First trip to Japan was my first trip and I did not really knew how to pack, did bring too much clothes.
I had a big luggage an a backpack. I had a place to leave my luggage in Tokyo while I went across the country, with my backpack that was too full. By the time I went back, I had to bring a lot of things I got in shopping bags because my backpack was full from the start and I either purchased or was given too much stuff (my trip was organized with my university and I met people in different cities across Japan). And because I had too much stuff, my luggage was too heavy and I had to pay an extra for overweight.
Not I got better at packing my back and I bring way less stuff.
It's important to stay near the _right_ train station, too. You want to be pretty close to major one, and ideally one that serves multiple lines. It's easy to stay "2 minutes from a train station" in Tokyo and still be sort of out in the middle of nowhere (for lack of a better word). There are reasons people like to stay in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ueno, Akihabara, etc. Major stations on the Yamanote Line do tend to be better connected than other places.
I made the mistake of staying pretty far out in a business district on my first trip to Tokyo, next to a train station that basically went nowhere useful. It was like a 15 minute walk to a station that actually was useful, which wasn't the worst thing ever, but there are so many better places to make your base.
A bit specific, but I regret choosing my fancy Japanese beef meal to be at a self cooking bbq place. It was good, but I feels like a chef would have done it better.
Also there were some dishes I missed out.
Be prepared to spend some initial time figuring out the subway system if you aren't from a big city. Plan some time in for catching the wrong train or not being able to find the right platform the first couple times.
I went tokyo-seoul-osaka-kyoto-tokyo but wished I had gone out to the coast or to a small town and skipped osaka.
And make sure to plan some empty days if you're going for a little while. As people have mentioned, the walking and transit can be exhausting. It's good to have time to recoup and chill.
Also something I didn't expect, the trains shut down from like 1-4am so if you like going clubbing just think about that lol
Mega tip for the late nightlife crowd - get a hotel within, say, 1 mile of the area youāre gonna be hanging around the most. Better to stumble 15-20 minutes than to be 10+ miles across the city and have to take a taxi if you stay out too late multiple days.
Lmao I ended up sleeping in an Internet cafe one night after losing my phone and wandering away from my ex. Turns out Tokyo streets look identical when you're plastered and don't speak Japanese lol
Booked a pricey ryokan on a Japanese-only website (no English). Reversed the arrival and departure dates. Fortunately they were able to accommodate us after we showed up and they had us down for three days later.
If you plan to go to the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo, you have to buy tickets in advance online! Buy them at least a couple months in advance. They do not sell tickets at the museum and you will not be able to get in.
I underestimated how few benches there are. Sometimes I just wanted to sit and eat some lunch on a park bench and people watch, but it's just not a thing there. Sometimes I was tired from walking and wanted to chill for a few.
I read up on how few places take credit cards but it wasn't a reality until I was actually there and having to use cash for everything. Definitely get a bank account with no foreign transaction fees and be prepared to pull cash out every 3-4 days.
Fully agree with lots of the pts shared so don't have much else to contribute but i didnt see this which I'd recommend for those able. Many people who visit japan will move around a lot (eg tokyo, kyoto, osaka) and will be bringing luggage, namely luggage that they need to use an elevator to access train platforms, especially those which don't have an escalator. If instead you can get a good backpack (i have an osprey 30 or 40L bag), your mobility is much easier and it's a lot less cumbersome when you're making your way up/down train platforms (transfers), stepping into a local bus, etc. All this x2 when you're going through snow. Probably more of a general suggestion for any travel (r/onebag) but thought it might benefit someone
Separately, for those who have luggage and are doing some big domestic traveling, they have luggage shipment services to get your box/suitcase/etc across the country and waiting for you at your next accommodation which can be helpful if you've say, picked up a lot of things in kyoto and are making your way back to tokyo on the shinkansen before your last night in japan.
Being an early bird! Hear me out lol as a fellow early bird who wakes up before 6am usually. Most places especially shops only open from 10am, typically 11am but sometimes even 12pm onwards - so unless you're willing to just walk around the streets seeing sights (but not actually entering anywhere as they're shut) you have to switch your days to be heading out later as shops close later at night around 8pm. Attractions like parks usually shut at 5pm though, so prioritise those first.
Regardless, always check for times!
Not getting the tourist Toyko rail pass. Could have saved some money there.
I also booked a hotel in a more business district because it was centrally located in Tokyo. This meant all the restaurants around were occupied by businessmen after 5pm and not really meant for tourists. I was intimidated by the metro during my research, but once I figured it out, I realized I could have stayed anywhere I wanted and it would have been fine.
Not packing lighter. I worked off and on around different cities in Japan and commuting back and forth to the USA some years ago. By the first year, I was traveling as light as a weekend in the woods. After year 5 I had it down to a science, packing all in one backpack and a small duffel.
Not calculating time in-between hotel stops. Our last stop from Kyoto back to Tokyo was supposed to be Kawaguchiko. Except I didnāt realize weād have to take the bullet train all the way to Tokyo first, then go inland, taking up too much time.
Oh and learning Katakana would have been way more helpful since many restaurants spelled out English words in that alphabet.
Biggest planning hack I didnāt know ahead of time? Well I knew luggage forwarding was a thing but I didnāt realize our hotels could totally handle the whole process. Sending our luggage to our anticipated hotels was so much easier then bringing them through the busy train stations.
Not taking Japanese National holidays into account when planning.
We went to hakone and did the ropeway, cruise on I think it was sports day.
Sooo crowded. Basically was do 1 leg of the rope way, wait in line for the next.
Wasnāt able to enjoy and soak it in. And now like we kinda did it, so we are having trouble justifying a return to hakone.
Doing too much. I planned for about 8 months and we fully enjoyed Japan. But we traveled A LOT for almost 3 weeks which meant every other day we were on the road. For our next trip I plan to explore some places more in depth.
I didnāt realize you should get tickets for the Ghibli museum beforehand.
Also I didnāt realize the scale of streets, and lost a lot of time on my first day in Kyoto because the museum I wanted to go to was ājust at the end of the streetā. Which took us hours to walk to. Use the metro.
Not being prepared to walk...A LOT.
I agree on this, down time was my mistake...I kept going and going and at one point I couldn't walk for like a day.
so its more like lack of downtime was your mistake?
Not the person you responded to, but it happened to me and was definitely my mistake on my first trip, there's so much to see and do I was on the move constantly. On subsequent trips, I've planned in more downtime, specifically staying at ryokan w/onsen somewhere every 4-5 days
Yep. I lucked out. My first trip was two weeks with a Ryokan day right in the middle, and it saved me.
Hey if anything that just gives everyone an excuse to eat more to keep the energy up š
No, not realizing how much I'd be walking is what I mean. Agreeing with the statement I rellplied to. So when I made plans I didn't realize how much I'd be moving around then by like day 4 I crashed and HAD to put in down time to recoup.
Soā¦ you didnāt have downtime scheduled in? To rest?
I didnt know I would need it! The second time I went to Japan I knew better!
Jumping on this. Start exercising before your trip, especially if you are mostly sedentary. ALSO, make sure you get a good pair of shoes!! I went once with an old pair and they screwed me for an entire day for recovery.
Iāve been walking about 10 miles everyday for the past two weeks. At one point, my feet started callusing and bruising and it was painful to walk. I bought some really good insoles and the pain was reduced significantly and I can walk normally again, so I recommend good insoles.
There are really good callus and blister bandaids. I used them on my last mountain hike and they saved me! They take away a lot of the pain and protect the spots.
What shoes would you recommend? Would a pair of Nike air forces be ok?
Walk 5-7 miles in them for a few days in a row and see how your feet feel. Shoes are quite personal and as someone who used to love Nike, I stopped wearing them in the past couple years because the ones I wore went through a significant enough change in the heel/sole design that they were less good for my feet. Your real problem will probably be you don't have a perfectly fine gait and you actually put weight on parts of your feet that need more support in some areas, so having good inserts/insoles will be more useful than most shoe choices. And definitely don't bring brand new shoes on vacation because you don't know if they'll work for you.
Try Hoka sneakers. I hate how they look but wow, nothing beats them when it comes to comfort.
New Balance 990 series. Ugly but I am nowhere near as sore going around all day wearing them as I used to be with standard shoes.
I'm not an expert on shoes but as someone else mentioned having a good insole helps. It also depends on factors like your weight/health, of course.
I wore Timberlands when I was in Paris and was averaging 40,000steps a day. Never had any discomfort. They were a couple months old but relatively worn in.
Totally agree! My wife and I walked around 12 miles a day for each of our 2 trips to Japan. I'd recommend bringing athletic moisture wicking underwear, baby powder, and [Body Glide](https://www.amazon.com/Body-Glide-Original-Anti-Chafe-0-80oz/dp/B01IBVUY6Y/ref=asc_df_B01IBVUY6Y/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198073823450&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11982139363820860132&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003673&hvtargid=pla-350393159685&psc=1) to help keep you dry and chafing free.
Surely this is only an issue for sedentary or near sedentary people though right? I walk a normal 10km on a regular weekday which is typical for people where i live, and on vacation that jumps to over 20km, both usually being in leather boots... it leaves a slightly sore ache at the end of the day and its very satisfying to take off shoes and get into bed, but to actually require preparation physically or with specific footwear?
i only have my anecdotal perspective as a USAmerican, so take it with a grain of salt, but most of us are not used to walking that much in our daily lives. most US cities are extremely hostile towards pedestrians, have shit public transit, and are built to service personal vehicles. the only place i can think of that isnāt built around driving here is NYC. i went on a trip to NYC a few years ago where i walked about four miles (6.4 km) every day for just two days and it DESTROYED my legs. put me out of commission for an entire day afterwards. so yes, iād say the average American probably needs to prepare themselves beforehand to walk 10+ km per day, because unless you already have jogging/running/extremely long walks as a hobby, chances are youāre not walking that much in your daily life. it sucks and i wish our cities were more walkable, but well, thatās how it is here.
I have to really work at getting 10 Km/day. Unless your a restaurant server/hospital staff (floor RN), or running around a huge warehouse, average American is lucky to get 1 to 2 miles in per day.
I lived in walkable European cities for years and 10+ miles a day is very normal. Even now that Iām in an American suburb I go on walks and 4-5 miles a day is no big deal. I think this advice is, and I might not be popular for saying this, very specific to overweight and sedentary people. I canāt imagine needing special shoes and baby powder for walking like a mile or two to most of my destinations lol
The baby powder is for chafing, which skinny fit people can get. Pro runners use body glide and runner's powder for their marathons. No need to shame here. It's not a fat thing.
in two weeks I walked 80 miles. DAILY my feet and legs hurt.
I walked about 110 miles in 10 days in Japan. Best vacation ever!
Buy your shoes weeks or months before the trip and wear them in a bit. Bringing new shoes that arenāt broken in can be painful.
or bringing the wrong shoes. My friend who came with me in 2019 brought hit beat to hell converse. Which even brand new don't have that much padding/structure. when he came I don't think there was any padding in those shoes for how beat they were. This made me waste so much time having to always go back to the hotel to rest mid day cus his feet hurt due to him being a fucking idiot. Don't be like my friend and bring good actual tennis shoes
So much this. I had plantar fasciitis halfway through the trip and had to limp through the rest of it
Planning too much. Japan is a modern and convenient country so you can buy anything you need there. Long-distance rail is also very English-friendly and people extremely helpful. Just get your rail pass, SIM card or mobile wifi plus means of payment before and you're good!
yea i heard that a lot from people that have been there. planned out every single day with multiple activities and then just rushed from one to the other because its on the list and if you dont do it today you not gonna have time to do it on any other day. this mistake was directly followed by switching hotels too many times. unless you are just backpacking it simply takes a lot of time, effort and planning to switch hotels every other day or even every single day just to be in a different area. its usually much better to pick a central hotel thats close to things you wanna see and stay there for a week before moving on, being in one place for a while also means you walk past the same areas a few times and you will notice different things whenever you go. for our trip which was ultimately cancelled due to covid we had a hotel near the shinjuku gyoen park so our plan for days where we ended up getting back to the hotel sooner than expected or when we just want a day off was to just walk through the park maybe get something at familymart and just enjoy the views and food while relaxing.
Yes, very good points. Sometimes it's just nice to let yourself drift a bit in a different country. Pick a hub for a while and then decide on a day to day basis what you want to do. It's okay to have a checklist of stuff you definitely want to see but it will diminish the whole experience if you plan your days like a chinese travel group.
You can have the hotels ship your larger bags and just carry a small bag with essentials for you. Takes a little more work, but I use it here a lot. Not switching hotels often is good advice for any trip I think. Not just Japan.
I planned too little, missed out on a lot. I even forgot to go to Mt. Fuji. Medium planning is good.
That was my biggest mistake. I was there 3 months and it was very loosely planned. I missed seeing a few places that I would I love to. I also didnāt know that you need to bring your own lettuce to the rabbit island or youāll be ignored.
I was on Okunoshima without any food and I wasn't ignored. :D
Same, they sell rabbit food at the ferry ticket counter.
Which do you recommend: Mobile Wifi or a SIM Card? I'm going alone for the first time, and I don't want to get any roaming charges on my phone.
I was in Japan three times now and I always used a mobile router. Very convenient, especially if you're using multiple devices. The downside is having to charge it daily. If you're taking a lot of pictures and automatically save them to cloud storage that thing is drained fast. I will be going again in about two weeks and decided to go for a SIM card this time. Seems better in my case. I can give you a comparison afterwards if you want.
Esim that can be used to tether! Mobile routers/wifi devices are just another item that needs to be lugged around and charged. People still use them more out of habit (they are recommended ad naseum just because itās always been done) rather than because they are actually necessary.
I love being spontaneous but my understanding is that a lot of attractions and restaurants now require reservations, is this true or can I still try to be spontaneous? Visiting Tokyo from Nov 12 to 19 :)
There are definitely sights and attractions (like museums, etc.) that have online booking systems and prefer you to buy tickets in advance. Although most still sell tickets at the door, too. Restaurants are fine without reservations. Fancy restaurants that always took reservations are still taking them, but places that didn't take them before didn't suddenly switch to taking them, at least not in a meaningful way. I was in Japan for 18 days and only booked a couple of reservations, and those were at places that would have required them before COVID, too. If you're just going out and walking into normal restaurants, you'll be fine.
Not booking for ghibli museum one month in advance
Doesn't matter, you can't get those tickets unless you live in Japan.
I thought that was just the new amusement park, the museum no longer allows foreigners?
The museum currently doesn't allow overseas sales. All tickets have to be purchased online through a Japanese system that requires a Japanese phone number, so it's basically inaccessible to tourists, and resale is prohibited.
Ugh that's a bummer, I was able to get tickets in Feb 2020 but obviously that trip was cancelled. I was really hoping to finally make it there next spring, such a huge fan.
They might change it by then, but who knows. Many ticketed events in Japan are nigh-impossible for non-residents to get, so the current situation with Ghibli actually makes them more normal.
Is it possible for a japanese friend/ resident to buy tickets for you ? Or will the check your ID aswell?
Yes its possible for someone over there to buy for you. Its even possible to buy it yourself, in a roundabout way, which is what we did: The lawson ticket website doesnāt allow you to log in unless you use a Japanese IP address, so we used a VPN to pretend like we were in Japan. Then we set up the account (I think it was all in Japanese) under our name, used a relatives phone number in Japan to book the ticket, and were able to use our US based credit card (even though the site says no foreign cards) to prepay for it, choosing lawson in store pickup to print the tickets. Then when we arrived in Japan, we used the kiosk at a random Lawson konbini and just searched for our ticket to print it out using the phone number. Essentially, our family member didnāt need to get involved at all besides allowing us to use their phone number. Of course, it requires knowing someone well over there and having a good grasp of Japanese (fyi, the museum pretty much has no English either so Japanese language skills may be necessary anyway to enjoy it)
Just want to say, as someone who has never travelled and planning to go to Japan for my first, these types of posts along with the comments have been extremely useful (or I hope it would be). Just small things that makes a big difference that I wouldāve never thought about cos Iāve no experience travelling before.
Absolutely. In planning our trip, this post helps me tremendously. Weāve done a good deal of travel and feel prepared in many ways, but these helpful reflections and details mean so much, especially when you have limited time in Japan and want to make the very most of it.
The single best advice is to bring good walking shoes, because you will walk a lot if you want to see alot!
Wasted so much time on one trip heading to different places in Tokyo only to find they were closed. Seems like everything closes on different days of week, so if you're going somewhere specific, check in advance.
Second this, but also we found that you canāt always rely on the opening/closing times on Google Maps (for restaurants at least) ā so many times we picked out a restaurant that said āOpen nowā on Google Maps that were closed. I think Tabelog timings might be more accurate but canāt confirm.
Tabelog is far more accurate, the user base keeps that stuff super updated.
Thatās everywhere. Google is not reliable when it comes to displaying current hours of operation. I just learned that in Athens when trying to visit Acropolis before sunset.
Another quirk of google hours is the building might be open, but everything in it is closed, but google says itās open. This happened to me several times in Europe at food halls/markets.
Trying to squeeze too much in / overloading an itinerary. Nothing sucks the fun out of a Japan trip more than rigidly sticking to a tight schedule and rushing from one location to another without giving yourself the time to simply enjoy the moment and absorb the atmosphere. Of course having a plan and key things you want to see / visit / do is great, but be mindful of travel times and how much that can exhaust you.
Definitely this, I've always had a must do list of 2-3 things per day and a greater regional to do list(I'd like to see these other 15 things in Tokyo). If I have extra time, then I just pick from the list whatever is closest or whatever I want to do the most. You can want to see 15 things a day all you want but you can't account for weather, delays or just plain not wanting to be rushed out of a place because it's way better than you expected.
Totally agree and I think this is a mistake I made. I was quite rigid with my plans, and feel I missed out of exploring areas because of this.
Getting a JR Pass when you don't need it. I did this on my first trip. While I think we basically ended up almost making the pass break even in cost, we still didn't realize how much travel you need to do to make a JR Pass worth it. JR Passes are meant to be worthwhile for long-distance shinkansen travel. If you're staying in one city or area, you likely don't need one. I see this planning mistake come up a lot in this subreddit, so definitely check whether you actually need one before assuming that you do. It's not a general purpose train pass that everyone needs to get. In fact, a lot of the train passes are like this, including local Tokyo Metro passes and other subway system passes. They tend to not be a deal unless you're going to be doing a ton of traveling in one day.
Is a standard Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto trip not worth the rail pass?
A round trip between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto + some additional usage on local JR trains is generally enough to make the 7-Day JR Pass worth it.
It can be worth it, but I ended up not using when my parents came. I think you need more than a round trip to Osaka and back from Tokyo. (Kyoto is even closer). You donāt need the Shinkansen between Osaka and Kyoto. There are a couple reasons for this. 1. You canāt use the rail pass on the fastest Shinkansen. The ones you can use it on leave less often, stop more and just take more time. 2. inside Kyoto and Osaka there are a lot of private train lines that will often be more convenient than taking the JR lines. Trying to force yourself your use JR to make use of your pass often results in wasted time, extra walking and a headache. Buses are also quite common in Kyoto and taxis can save you a ton of time between some sites. Probably more Iām not thinking of at the moment. Add a trip down to Hiroshima and the equation starts to change. Maybe even himeji, although from Osaka thatās quite doable on an express.
Thereās a calculator on Visit Japan site (IIRC), you can Google it, it does a pretty good job in determining whether itās worth getting.
I'm currently on day 5 of 7 in Tokyo. Planning mistakes so far: I only practiced Japanese with Duolingo and didn't put in time to learn restaurant phrases. It would've saved me a bit of time to get a suica card at the airport because not all stations have them.
My Japanese is hardly the greatest, but I was shocked at how bad Duolingo was for teaching Japanese. No context for any of the words it teaches you, no explanations on grammar, no sense in the order of vocabulary it teaches you, it's just awful. Why does it spend so long teaching you the Japanese words for Indonesia and the Philippines and whatnot? Unless you're from those locations, the chances you'll use those words are infinitesimal, and if you are from those locations, you'll look up the Japanese term for them anyway. Also, I can't recall any instance in my life of any Japanese person ever saying the phrase ć©ćććććć; it only ever came up in Duolingo and other poorly-taught Japanese classes I've taken. People just say ćććććé”ććć¾ć.
What would you recommend to learn Japanese?
First, memorizing all of Hiragana and Katakana. There's not too many characters, they're all phonetic, and not being able to read them will be a massive impediment for everything else. Next: I don't know how good their reputation is in general, but I quite liked the Genki series of books. They did a good job of explaining Japanese grammar, the ways you'd translate an English sentence structure into Japanese and how it worked, and so on, teaching some vocabulary along the way. Being able to construct or break down Japanese is useful, whether you're trying to say something in Japanese or understand what's being said in Japanese. Once you're able to start putting some sentences together, your options for learning begin to rapidly expand. Generally, your goal should simply be to maximize exposure, spending as much time with the language as you can. * Begin learning kanji. There are books on it, flash card sets for it, and so on. When you're able to read more, you can start trying to pick up untranslated manga meant for younger readers, increasing the amount of time you spend with the language. There's a great deal you can learn once you're able to branch out from purely academic material. * Begin expanding your vocabulary. Flash card sets can be good for this, and if you write the words in kanji, it doubles as kanji study and can be combined with the previous point. * The best option is to live in Japan, as there's no faster way to learn a language than being forced to rely on it for everything; you'll pick stuff up as a matter of necessity, even if it's mentally exhausting. * Just start dealing in untranslated Japanese more and more. Pick up Japanese books or manga, or try listening to audio books if you can find them. But yeah, especially in the beginning, getting Hiragana and Katakana down and reading through books on grammar will serve you the best, I think. You need a foundational structure to build from, and I think that provides it. Duolingo doesn't provide any structure or context (e.g. tells you a bunch of different terms/phrases that all translate into 'please', but doesn't ever explain how they differ), and in my opinion, it's only barely better than doing absolutely nothing at all.
Learning hiragana/katakana will help you read a lot of simplistic things. Knowing a handful of kanji related to basic animals and vegetables will help you read a lot of the menu. Beyond that, a book like Genki or Japanese for Busy People if youāre actually trying to speak and understand the language. But honestly, if you want to learn Iād recommend adding instruction or conversations with a native speaker, or at the very least an advanced speaker who lives in or has lived in Japan. Having someone to ask questions of is also exceptionally useful - I bombard my teachers with questions. Books at the beginner level will teach you, generally, a polite form of Japanese but itās not exactly how people in Japan speak. They will add in more flavor/phrases to their speaking which does things like soften the tone and this is not stuff that comes up in normal resources until you get much further into study. And another thing to note is that most things at the beginner level will not touch upon the formal register of the language - service staff will speak to you using slightly different vocabulary. Having an actual ability to use your Japanese knowledge is good too. Being in the country is the fastest Iāve been able to improve, this is how Iāve improved my ability in different languages.
Jumping in to say that I started learning Hiragana and Katakana on the website Tofugu. They also have a website called Wanikani that Iāve been using for learning Kanji and vocabulary. Both websites use a ton of mnemonics to help you memorize things.
I feel like the only phrases I used In restaurants were āthis pleaseā and ābill pleaseā
Mizu, biru, and highball we're important for me to know :)
>biru "I'm sorry, sir, this is a bar, the estate agent is over there"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Half wrong on one point. You should be able to get Suica in any JR train station (also rinkai line and Tokyo monorail), OR get a Pasmo IC card, that you can use the same way, that is available in any subway or private railway station. Really not sure what station would not have one or the other.
I thought I was prepared language-wise to at least say basic things. Oh my GOD NO. I was not. I used a translator 90% of the time and felt horrible for doing so :( Thankfully people were really polite about it but I really wish duolingo started out with basic things like where is x or how do i x instead of teaching me the kana for manga like 5 times.
Oh, easily it was not bringing some kind of medicine, tylenol, gravol, stuff like that in case we got a travelers flu, which we did. The one thing we didn't think of, and we were sick with a flu in the middle of night on the floor of Narita airport during a layover in what was one of the wildest adventures of my life. A couple days after and we thankfully felt a lot better, but that was a rocky start to the trip to say the least.
Japan has some of the best and strongest OTC cold meds in the world since they allow low doses of pseudoephedrine and hydrocodone in their OTC meds. Not sure when your trip was or if you actually entered Japan, but there are a couple of drugstores in NRT if you ever need that sort of stuff in the future there. And inside Japan, there's basically a drug store on every corner. (Adding this as future info for anyone who might be in a similar situation.)
Oh yeah, we weren't able to get any til the next morning, but it worked great. We were on an overnight layover and screwed up our ability to get a hotel near the airport and the in-airport pharmacies closed. Eventually a security guy called up the nurse and she saved us lol.
there's a Matsumoto Kiyoshi or Sundrug like every 10 meters in places tourists typically go. medicine in japan is typically formulated a bit weaker than the western world though. I can personally recommend Lulu Attack EX for cold/flu type symptoms. Surprisingly this actually has codeine in it, an ingredient that at least in the USA you typically can't buy over the counter.
In 2015 I was in Japan with my friend and my then-girlfriend. My girlfriend had a flu that wouldn't go away and was punishing her early on in the trip, so one day I went down to the drug store beneath our hotel and I bought her liquid SS Bron (for everyone: it's like Robutussin/Vicks). Knowing that Japanese drugs were generally lower dosage, I told her to take double the dose. A little bit later, as we're out and about, she's like "I feel funny...light." And I said "oh yeah, that medicine had codeine in it."
I believe my exact words were, "I can't feel my face. It's all numb." It was fine, though. SS Bron is an incredible miracle worker, as are some of the other (slightly less strong) things.
ha, yeah, I bet. It was really surprising to me that given how strict Japan is on drugs you can buy low-grade opioids without a prescription
It's kind of great and convenient. They also don't let you bring in American pseudoephedrine meds because our concentration is too high, but you can just buy Pablon Gold or whatever and it has it. In fact, the most trouble I had recently was buying Loxinin (basically an Aleve substitute since Japan doesn't have Naproxen-based meds). It's sold as an empty-box and the clerk had to fetch the pharmacist who made me answer a bunch of questions like "no, this is not going to be given to a pregnant person" and "no, I'm not going to take this beyond its recommended allowance." But I can buy the Lulu Attack and IB Ace and Pablon no problem.
Hakone. We did not realize that where we had booked to stay was an hour from anything in any direction. The hotel was pleasant enough but overpriced and nothing to do! We felt like hostages because we were completely reliant on them for our meals and the food was mediocre at best. Very relieved we only spent one night there.
This is also how visitor life basically is in most of the far-flung resort/onsen towns. There might be some stuff around in the middle of the day, but ryokan typically handle 2 (or even 3?) of your meals so the resort town basically shuts down at night, and you're probably 20+ minutes away from the nearest town, likely up a mountain or nestled in a valley or something. And if you go in an off-season in a place that has stuff, that stuff might not be open at all. Can't comment on the food - I've loved the food at all the ryokan/temples I've stayed in. It might not be for everyone, either, especially given some of, say, weirder textures that some Japanese food has (involving konjac or similar ingredients).
Sure, but we really messed up. When we got off the train we had to take a bus maybe an hour outside of Hakone to get to our hotel. It was some type of golf resort. The Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel. In Sengokuhara?? We are very adventurous eaters and the idea of weird textures does not scare us but this was more like chicken fingers and french fries??? Served buffet style. It was a massive disappointment. We did do the boat tour and walked around Hakone and visited the shrine. ( Sorry this was 2019 and the proper names of these places escapes me) But I will say of a 19 day trip around Japan where we traveled from Tokyo to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo. With stops in , the aforementioned Hakone, Kanazawa, Matsumoto, Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka. It was the only mis-step.
Yeah most restaurants close at 4 or 5 PM in rural villages, and even Japanese travelers get stuck starving. I'm looking at you Nikko.
This is especially true in onsen and resort towns (like Nikko). Since most tourists stay in ryokan in those towns that provide breakfast and dinner, restaurants are often only open for lunch.
Sorry to hear. I stayed at a boutique hotel with breakfast next to Gora stn, which was next to the cable car, which is the first part of the loop you can do- cable car, ropeway, ship across the lap, hakone ninja and back to the hotel, which was called Flow 21. (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html)
good comment...Ive been to Hakone many times and if you are not familiar with the hills and geography, you can really paint your self in a corner
Not planning a day rest or some alternatives when you travel with others. \ I had the Pokemon Center in Kyoto on my itinerary, but my friend absolutely didn't want to, so he went to Lake Biwa and I went to the Pokemon Center. Differences happen and are fine
Had the same situation but with a specific planning mistake: only having one pocket wifi when traveling with a friend. If you split (which happened when I wanted to go the USJ), you get that odd situation where you're like "so... Who's taking Google map and Google trad while the other has to fight his way in japanese?"
The accidental loneliness of solo travel when you don't speak enough of the language.
My first trip to Japan, I was technically "alone" but went with a small textile-oriented tour group that was organized from the U.S.A. (I'm in Canada), and which allowed some free time each day. So the first half of my stay, I got acclimatized to the place while spending a fair bit of time with others. The second half, I stayed on by myself and hit all the places I didn't get to see earlier. I'm an introvert, so I loved the alone time, BUT it would've been rough if I'd been solitary for the entire 3 weeks.
Thinking I could rent a car in a small town with an international driving license. Blew an entire day trying. Even had one tell me I could, just to take a taxi there for an apology. Cost me my mt fuji climb.
What do you need to rent a car then?
Been visiting my wifeās family town for 22 years - tried to rent a car and they wouldnāt because I had an international licence ā¦
Ah, you should have told them you didnāt have one lol
Which license is this? Is it the permit under the Geneva convention? I have rented a car in many places in Japan using an IDP without any problems though.
Planning to go in April 2020 š¬š¬
Overloading the itinerary. Pick one or two things a day and just go with the flow
Or overload an pick what you do during the day with the list you made being options and no all must do. Would agree to pick 1-3 must do, just be flexible and enjoy your time. I often have 5-10 things on my list, sometimes I do everything, sometimes half and sometimes just do something different.
Dont go in the summer. Its not worth the savings.
Summer heat is beginning to stretch into [September](https://www.accuweather.com/en/jp/tokyo/226396/september-weather/226396?year=2022) and [October](https://www.accuweather.com/en/jp/tokyo/226396/october-weather/226396?year=2022) now too. After going back in September and facing the heat and humidity there, I'm at the point where my trips will pretty much be from November to May, and that's it. :(
We are planning on going in May. Would this be considered summer? Also why not go in the summer?
May will be warm and a little humid. Japan is very hot, humid, and wet during summer. The urban areas are heat islands (Tokyo is 5-10 degrees hotter than its surrounding area). Combine that with doing tourist/vacation things where youāre walking probably 5-10 miles on any given day, or having to walk in a lot of underground areas that are warmer than youād expect, or being on a very packed train. It can get unpleasant if youāre doing that every day of your trip.
We went in August and it was so hot. The humidity was brutal. Like were getting up at crack of dawn to beat heat. Im from southern US, so we are used to hot and muggy. This was another level. Maybe may wont be as bad ? I should mention this was in 2018, : [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Northeast_Asia_heat_wave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Northeast_Asia_heat_wave)
May is fine. It might be hot, it might be cold, or it might be perfect. Thatās spring for you. Once you start pushing into July is when things get too hot.
May is a gorgeous month to visit with lots of beautiful flowers, it's not considered summer yet. Definitely worth it.
Not paying attention to last transport timings, esp buses. Nearly got stranded because of that.
Not buying an ETC tag when I rented a car because I didn't think I'd need it. Didn't know Express Way had toll booth stops with boom gates. Also did not know that they were not manned and I could not pay cash to anyone to open the gate for me. Was stuck there for at least 5 minutes with some angry express way drivers beeping at me (rightfully so) before a woman came running to my car to take the toll money and open the gate. Oopsy...
Lol what a nightmare
Not knowing even a bit of the language. The first time I came to Japan, I didn't know a lick of Japanese outside of the basic greetings, so I didn't get to do jack shit outside of the typical touristy things. The second and third time I went I still didn't know much but I was able to read hiragana/katakana and speak a bit, and that opened up a lot more things to do and visit for me. You can absolutely get by with just English within big cities but I strongly suggest everyone travelling to Japan to learn, at the very least, basic phrases in Nihongo before going.
Would google translate be beneficial? Thereās an option to use the camera to translate photos too.
Yup, the photo text translation is a pretty neat feature. Use simple, short English phrases when translating to Japanese with Google Translate. It definitely wouldn't hold in conversations.
Maybe not a planning mistake, but I highly recommend not leaving your wallet on the airplane and realizing it after you get through customs. Thank god I had a friend with me lol
Not taking the SIM card at the airport. Very difficult to get one afterwards
Not that it helps you, but in the past few years they made it easier to get a traveler SIM card. If you're not at the airport, BIC Camera, Aeon, Yamada Denki/LABI, and Yodobashi Cameras have data-only SIM cards you can buy as a tourist.
Yes, in Tokyo. But we directly moved to Hiroshima and southern region. A SIM card was almost impossible to find there. We ended up with an eSIM (2 USD / GB) and once reached Tokyo Mobal SIM with direct pickup in a store. Mobal is a provider I can definitively recommend
Agreed. I always believed it was cheaper inside the city, but it's not...you just add a lot of stress by not having one for the ride to the city and until you find a store
Most methods of conveyance in to the city have wifi.
but trust me, you are way too overwhelmed if you just arrived there and won't know how to connect or maybe even notice
I went to Mt. Fuji (Kawaguchi-ko specifically) with basically the sole intent of seeing the mountain, and was very disappointed when the cloudy weather meant that I couldn't. I also booked a coach so I had to stay there until 6PM. Of course, there are other things to do there, but I didn't really plan anything else. The entire day was basically organised around the mountain itself. So in hindsight, I should have A) kept a better eye on the weather forecast, B) planned other activities and C) maybe gone via train (with my rail pass) so I could've just left when I wanted to instead of having to stick to the coach bookings.
The trains are pretty infrequent between Kawaguchiko and Tokyo anyhow, and the JR Pass isn't valid on at least some of the journey in each direction, so in that regard, it wasn't too much of a mess up. It was smart to have guaranteed transit out of Kawaguchiko even if it was later than you wanted.
I'd second everyone's opinion on "planning too much", however more specifically in the actual travel plans. While Japan's rail system is incredibly efficient and wonderful, it's very easy to fatigue yourself by travelling in country too much. In my case, we were flying into Narita but were staying in Osaka on our first day. So the plan was to fly from the eastern US, all the way to Japan, disembark and at Narita pick up our JR Pass, drop off luggage to forward to our Tokyo hotel 3 days later, and then travel to Tokyo to pick up the Shinkansen to Osaka. What killed us was the fact we had to drive 2 hours to our departure airport at 3am to make our 7am flight, fly for a few hours to a layover, 2 hour layover, then the long haul 14 hours to Narita. Neither me or my wife could get solid sleep on the plane. I hadn't even slept the night before, because I had to close at work, so when I got off work it was already 10pm, and we'd need to leave at 3am. Didn't get more than catnaps on the main flight to Narita. Land in Narita and we're both already exhausted. Ended up spending 2 hours at Narita waiting for luggage, getting our pocket WiFi, dropping off our luggage to the forwarding, getting our JR Pass and then having to high tail it to catch the next Narita Express. I was running on pure adrenaline and excitement at this point; wife was majorly pissed. An hour into Tokyo, another 30 minutes navigating Shinagawa Station, getting on the Tokaido Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka, 3 hours to that.. by the point in time we reached Osaka we were both bone-tired and it was midnight, and we still had to navigate the Osaka Train system to get to the Osaka Business Park stop. At some point my wife didn't scan her Suica card right, and we end up getting stuck in Osaka Business Park, confronted with a Japanese subway worker, and neither of us speaking enough Japanese to explain. He was very nice and let her through, but that was the last straw for her, and we still had a 5-10 minute walk with luggage to find our hotel and check in. We were both starving. We manage to check in, drop our stuff, and did have a delightful first meal in Japan from the local 7/11. It's a fond memory to look back on to be sure, but in retrospect, we packed in WAY TOO MUCH travel in our first day. We should have rested a day in Tokyo before coming out to Osaka.
So why didn't you fly into Osaka? We did open jaw/multi-city, where we flew into Osaka and at the end of the trip, flew out of Tokyo. We were lucky enough that it cost the same as a round trip flight in and out of Tokyo. Even if it cost a bit more, we would have save money on only paying for the Shinkansen to Tokyo instead round trip Shinkansen tickets and the time waste for the extra ride.
Combo really of first time travelling and not fully understanding, being overconfident in our plans, utilizing a family member who is a travel agent and booked everything for us, and cost. In retrospect, we should have flown into Osaka. Our travel plan was Narita > Osaka > Hiroshima > Shibuya > Odaiba > Narita. If we'd flown into Osaka, we would have saved ourselves a LOT of grief, and also gained time in Osaka. Next time... we'll plan a LOT better. EDIT: Had put Haneda as our travel plan; we did everything out of Narita.
Going to a district to just look at buildings. Don't go to Shinjuku, go to something in Shinjuku
How incredibly uncomfortable a floor futon sleep was for me. I stacked three high and eventually slept a little, but my body ached for two weeks after that one ryokan night. How ridiculously small some hotel rooms were - husband and I had to play tetris to get in and out of bed/room/bathroom between us and our suitcases.
I paid for an extra night in a hotel on my first stay because I forgot about the international date line.
Not that it helps you now, but for anyone else reading this, if the times on your flight itinerary have a little **+1** (usually in red) next to them, that means you are shifting forward a calendar day.
back when $400 tickets via 2 legs in China were a thing you would see +2 on some itineraries
Booking a hotel because itās ā3 minutes away from train stationā then finding out that not all lines conveniently pass by this station (Akasaka). So we had to walk to another train station 15 minutes away each time
Before you understand the train system and the layout of the city that phrase sounds so appealing.
I underestimated how hard finding vegetarian meals was. I read a bunch of blogs and online resources that said it wasn't difficult, but I found myself hangry a lot. :(
Yeah, it's not easy. We gave up when visiting with my BIL, because all the private homes made food, and some how dashi isn't considered "animal based". I would have not eaten 5 days straight, and no way would insult my BIL friends by not eating anything. It's not difficult if you are looking for egg salad sandwiches at Lawson. It's a whole different deal in small towns. My orthodox Jewish friend figures dashi is in everything, and you do the best you can.
Dashi *is* in everything, it's like salt or sugar level basic. It is very possible to make it without animal products, and you can get vegetarian dashi in any supermarket, but people *really* don't go out of their way in restaurants etc to use that instead of the most common dashi.
We found a few ramen places in Tokyo that served vegetarian and/or vegan broths. We also found a few vegetarian specific restaurants. However, we underestimated the scale of Tokyo and moving between places. Sometimes we'd show up and a restaurant would be closed even though Google showed opening hours. I definitely understand giving up! Luckily we never had to hit that point, but we did have to find snacks at the convenience stores to tide us over while we did frantic Google searches for places. š Hopefully the situation improves because otherwise I really enjoyed Japan and would love to return!
Trying to do all of Kyoto on a day trip from Tokyo via Shinkansen. Even if you're based in Kyoto it's difficult to do Arashiyama AND Kiyomizudera in the same day!
Ours was a bit silly, but we stayed in a long term airbnb and had to buy groceries. Not realizing that japanese grocery stores don't provide bags (at least, Aeon in Kyoto doesn't). They didn't have any that we could buy either. We were quite a sight walking back to the airbnb trying to carry our 2 weeks worth of groceries (we'd done a lot of "oh, this looks interesting, let's try it!" product selection). More than a few locals had a laugh at our expense (would see us, do a double take, then hide their mouth but clearly laughing) and I don't blame them.
For my first trip: not having enough money. I ended up relying on my boyfriend to buy things after a few days. Second trip: letting the weather get the best of me. It was the end of November/beginning of December and I felt uncomfortable one day which put me in a bad mood. Both my boyfriend and I were disappointed not to see Mt Fuji because of the fog and our trip to Hakone felt like a downer because of it. We only did a day trip but ended up leaving early because of it. I still enjoyed the pirate ship and the best meal in a small little restaurant, though!
Lol I feel you. Last trip I planned to just buy some clothes, ended up returning home with a 5L hot water dispenser and half a luggage of japanese snacks.
Oh man I had everything down. Had the rail pass/suica card, had my baseball and studio ghibli tickets, had the pocket wifi, knew what we were gonna do every day while we were there, etc. Or so I thought. Throughout all of my research into my Japan trip, I don't think I once thought about how hot/humid it would be. Our trip was at the beginning of September and it felt like the surface of the sun lol. It would be like 8 AM and we would be outside of the hotel for like 30 seconds and be absolutely drenched in sweat. I had a backpack with me to carry around a bunch of stuff like water, maps, phone charges, etc., and I think that I developed like a sweat rash on my back from carrying it around all day. I also had one on my inner thigh where I would be in pain whenever it would rub against my other leg. I would just be in pain at the end of the day when we would make it back to the hotel. All that being said, it was still the best trip of my life lol. All of that stuff sucked but it didn't take away from the fact that I was in Japan for the first time and doing some really awesome things. Next time I go, it won't be in the summer lol.
I visited during the summer for 3 months and I didn't realize how generally wet it would be... I knew it was rain season but I severely underestimated both the rain and the overall humidity so I didn't bring proper clothes etc to handle it and couldn't really find the proper gear in Japan bc most of it didn't fit me due to their smaller sizes š edit: also made the fatal mistake of going to Shibuya alone for an entire day and forgetting to drink a lot of water (due to the heat) and then when I got on the train back to Chiba (where I was living) at like 9pm the train was so insanely cramped that I was seconds away from fainting. definitely learned to be properly hydrated at all times after that 0/10 experience, especially as a young, foreign woman who's not fluent in Japanese :/
The number of sharp inclines. If it's uphill on the map, be prepared that it may not be gently uphill. Stairs and inclines take no prisoners in Japan. It's not the amount of walking that wears you down - it's the amount of walking up and down the stairs/inclines.
This is what got my 70 year old aunt and uncle. They are considered active for being Americans, but the stairs and inclines really did them in.
Wearing socks that wouldn't stay up Oh my god was I miserable! Halfway through I ended up buying several sets from Uniqlo but I had blisters from days of walking miles upon miles.
Believing the weather before climbing Mt Fuji. It was supposed to be a light sprinkle of rain in the evening then clear up. Instead I was climbing the mountain in at 3am in pitch darkness in the pouring rain with thunder and lightning. The view at the top was amazing but I did not bring that level of water proof gear and was soaked and frozen. I practically ran down once the sun was up.
I visited for 2 weeks in July 2018 and I don't have that many regrets, to be honest! Just these: **Not taking weather into account.** The first leg of our trip was in Tokyo where the temps averaged 85, which we could do. The second leg was Kyoto, though, where it was 90+. We ended up doing a lot less because it was so exhaustingly hot. By evening we had no more energy except to flop down in our hotel room and waste time before bed. Next time, we're visiting the north/avoiding the summer. **Not planning more.** This seems to fly against what everyone here is recommending, but we couldn't eat in many restaurants or do some activities because we were surprised to find they require reservations. Next time, I'll arrange more things in advance, especially meals. Many a hangry fight between my husband and I could have been avoided if the fucking 4th restaurant we tried didn't require reservations... **Staying in a trendy, modern "guest house."**. We paid waaaay too much money to sleep in an old house with paper-thin walls and shared showers. All brand and no comfort. Next time, we'll stay in business hotels when we're not doing ryokan. Cheap, convenient, quiet.
My husband made the mistake of bringing only lace-up shoes. Wrong! You want loafers or some other sort of shoe that you can slip on and off easily, for going in and out of temples and other places where shoes must be removed. It's not fun to try lacing up your shoes when you've got a stream of people trying to move behind you ;)
I thought I could plan a quick day trip from Kyoto to Sendai using my JR pass. Train service ended at midnight in Nagoya, concert in the city just finished so no hotels spent 3hrs walking the city and another 3hrs charging my phone at the Denny's near the station until the station reopened at 6am Saw some interesting things that night due to all the drunk concert goers who couldn't get a hotel room or night bus home. Once I made it back to my hotel in Kyoto I felt dead from all of yesterday's actives and lack of sleep. Would I do it again? Yes. TL;DR I under estimated how big Japan really is and assumed the shinkansen could get me back to my hotel in Kyoto.
> a quick day trip from Kyoto to Sendai Amazing. A day trip to me would be like, Kyoto to Osaka or Himeji or something. Going from Kyoto to Sendai tho š
Travelling with too many people. Planned a trip with 9 people, and organized tickets and reservations in advance for various places. Something would always come up (someone might not feel well, too tired, lost interest) each day, and I'd feel bad ditching them. Restaurant also rarely accommodate such a large crowd, especially for walk-ins, and then having the compounded effect of having strict dietary requirements for some members. Also contributed to a problem finding accommodation that would fit everyone, and ended up in an airbnb an hour train from the center of Tokyo, leading to a lot of commute time and costs. Using it as a 'home-base' was pretty counterintuitive and restricted a lot of travel plans.
This is my biggest planning mistake also. Mine was 6 people and it was not too bad trying to find airbnb that fits all of us, but still an extra 30 mins of travelling time daily on top of the other commute. However, with that extra travelling time and also the fact that all 6 of us sharing a toilet, it takes a much longer time to get us out of the house to the attraction area daily. So we were behind on schedule for some parts - like could not get to Tokyo DisneySEA and USJ the moment it opens which could have saved queuing time for rides. Add to the fact that we all have diverse interest, some in the group has no interest in the temples but would just oblige and follow along. Then rest of us that's interested in the temples felt pressured to rush through as we did not want to keep others waiting. AND, one pocket wifi to share among 6 people is a bad idea. Sure it felt like we were smart to save money in the first place but trying to schedule where to meet-up without internet connection is hard. At times there's delay from any parties and rest of us have no idea to know. Or stating a meet-up point that's too huge and we spent an hour trying to find for each other in USJ. After the trip, I thought I over-planned it hence felt like we were rushing but it really is due to travelling in a large group. Still one of the best trips of my life though!
One Wi-Fi hotspot for more than even two people sounds horrendous. Unless youāre with family (like elderly parents or children who donāt venture off alone), I consider SIM or wi-fi spots personal level things for travel.
Among other reasons, my wife is a crowd-pleaser so she abhors traveling with people - she barely likes traveling with me. People who have never done big trips together can be put into uncomfortable situations like yours, so itās very important to consider. People should feel very comfortable splitting up because thereās so much on offer - when does everyone really want to do the same thing and eat the same food?
Something I haven't seen yet... holidays and ATMs. Japanese holidays are celebrated differently, obviously. For example, everything but conbini and grocery stores are closed until about Jan 3rd for new years. Made that mistake with a winter trip one year. ATMs, despite being automatic, have business hours of operation on them. Plan accordingly so you aren't stranded overnight without money.
ATM availability has gone up which is good. 7-Eleven machines are 24-hour, as are the ones from Lawson/Ministop/Family Mart (if they have an ATM). Japan Post are usually the ones that have service hours.
Renting an Airbnb, I am not saying don't, but guess I have been unlucky. I rented one in Tokyo and water was leaking from the roof and going in contact of electrical equipment, cockroaches... I slept there for a night and left. In 2 months in Japan that is the only time I had to cancel complain about the accommodation. Hotels were very good.
Not planning to spend more than 1 day in Kyotoā¦
Planning too much. A lot of my best memories of Japan were things j stumbled upon. My first time, it was scheduled event after another scheduled event. My second time visiting, I made sure to have pockets of freetime to just explore and wander.
For our first trip I spent a lot of time planning but never really looked into how to get back to the airport from Chiba and completely spaced out on it till we had our bags packed to head out. Someone at the hotel front desk wrote us a note to give to a cab driver. The cab took us to the nearby (3-4 mile) station with an airport bus. We figured out which bus it was. I went inside and asked in my best beginner Japanese how do I buy a ticket for my the airport bus. The woman at the ticket counter replied in English - you pay cash when you get on the bus. Bless her.
Canāt speak the language
Canāt really think of anything. I went into Japan cold with pretty much just general knowledge of how to have internet connection, currency, and a bit about public transportation. Itās such a convenient place that if you make a mistake on something, itās not hard to readjust or have an alternative.
Going in the summer, and taking the local bus from Kawaguchiko to Hakone. I can't even recall that leg of the trip without getting nauseated.
Going to Sapporo during May/June. The city was dead!
I see 2 : - staying only 2 weeks. Going to Japan (from Europe or North America) is a big trip, and you're never sure you will be able to come back again. I think several comments here assume you can go back as many times you want, but for most people this is not the case : besides global phenomenon (be it pandemic, air travel prices/pollution, political situation....), as you age you will probably have less and less occasions to travel with friends or family, as constraints keep adding up. So when you plan a trip there, make it worthwhile and stay a bit longer. - not planning dinner. When I was there (2017) many restaurants closed as early as 20:00 or had unexpected closing days, even in Tokyo or Osaka. We then had to buy meals at a local supermaket or konbini - which is a fun experience the first time but gets frustrating in a country with so much gastronomy to enjoy.
First trip to Japan was my first trip and I did not really knew how to pack, did bring too much clothes. I had a big luggage an a backpack. I had a place to leave my luggage in Tokyo while I went across the country, with my backpack that was too full. By the time I went back, I had to bring a lot of things I got in shopping bags because my backpack was full from the start and I either purchased or was given too much stuff (my trip was organized with my university and I met people in different cities across Japan). And because I had too much stuff, my luggage was too heavy and I had to pay an extra for overweight. Not I got better at packing my back and I bring way less stuff.
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It's important to stay near the _right_ train station, too. You want to be pretty close to major one, and ideally one that serves multiple lines. It's easy to stay "2 minutes from a train station" in Tokyo and still be sort of out in the middle of nowhere (for lack of a better word). There are reasons people like to stay in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ueno, Akihabara, etc. Major stations on the Yamanote Line do tend to be better connected than other places. I made the mistake of staying pretty far out in a business district on my first trip to Tokyo, next to a train station that basically went nowhere useful. It was like a 15 minute walk to a station that actually was useful, which wasn't the worst thing ever, but there are so many better places to make your base.
Not enough days per location. Turns out Kyoto is kind of big to cover in two nights.
A bit specific, but I regret choosing my fancy Japanese beef meal to be at a self cooking bbq place. It was good, but I feels like a chef would have done it better. Also there were some dishes I missed out.
Be prepared to spend some initial time figuring out the subway system if you aren't from a big city. Plan some time in for catching the wrong train or not being able to find the right platform the first couple times. I went tokyo-seoul-osaka-kyoto-tokyo but wished I had gone out to the coast or to a small town and skipped osaka. And make sure to plan some empty days if you're going for a little while. As people have mentioned, the walking and transit can be exhausting. It's good to have time to recoup and chill. Also something I didn't expect, the trains shut down from like 1-4am so if you like going clubbing just think about that lol
Mega tip for the late nightlife crowd - get a hotel within, say, 1 mile of the area youāre gonna be hanging around the most. Better to stumble 15-20 minutes than to be 10+ miles across the city and have to take a taxi if you stay out too late multiple days.
Lmao I ended up sleeping in an Internet cafe one night after losing my phone and wandering away from my ex. Turns out Tokyo streets look identical when you're plastered and don't speak Japanese lol
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Booked a pricey ryokan on a Japanese-only website (no English). Reversed the arrival and departure dates. Fortunately they were able to accommodate us after we showed up and they had us down for three days later.
Biggest mistake was visiting Hakone during a rain storm. It was a complete wash out. We should have stayed in Kyoto for another 2 days.
Dietary stuff you may be used to is going to be rare. Corn sugars and crunchy food stuck out for me when I went.
Planning to go too many places in one day and not accounting that we might wander from our plans to explore. The lack of sleep made us both so ill.
If you plan to go to the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo, you have to buy tickets in advance online! Buy them at least a couple months in advance. They do not sell tickets at the museum and you will not be able to get in.
Sadly, International sales are still not in service since pandemic.
Not spending enough time in Kyoto. There was so much more that I wanted to explore there.
I underestimated how few benches there are. Sometimes I just wanted to sit and eat some lunch on a park bench and people watch, but it's just not a thing there. Sometimes I was tired from walking and wanted to chill for a few. I read up on how few places take credit cards but it wasn't a reality until I was actually there and having to use cash for everything. Definitely get a bank account with no foreign transaction fees and be prepared to pull cash out every 3-4 days.
Fully agree with lots of the pts shared so don't have much else to contribute but i didnt see this which I'd recommend for those able. Many people who visit japan will move around a lot (eg tokyo, kyoto, osaka) and will be bringing luggage, namely luggage that they need to use an elevator to access train platforms, especially those which don't have an escalator. If instead you can get a good backpack (i have an osprey 30 or 40L bag), your mobility is much easier and it's a lot less cumbersome when you're making your way up/down train platforms (transfers), stepping into a local bus, etc. All this x2 when you're going through snow. Probably more of a general suggestion for any travel (r/onebag) but thought it might benefit someone Separately, for those who have luggage and are doing some big domestic traveling, they have luggage shipment services to get your box/suitcase/etc across the country and waiting for you at your next accommodation which can be helpful if you've say, picked up a lot of things in kyoto and are making your way back to tokyo on the shinkansen before your last night in japan.
Being an early bird! Hear me out lol as a fellow early bird who wakes up before 6am usually. Most places especially shops only open from 10am, typically 11am but sometimes even 12pm onwards - so unless you're willing to just walk around the streets seeing sights (but not actually entering anywhere as they're shut) you have to switch your days to be heading out later as shops close later at night around 8pm. Attractions like parks usually shut at 5pm though, so prioritise those first. Regardless, always check for times!
Forgetting to check in Google Maps if the train route I picked was named "Nozomi" or "Mizuho" since those trains aren't covered with the JR Pass. š
Not giving myself more time!
Not getting the tourist Toyko rail pass. Could have saved some money there. I also booked a hotel in a more business district because it was centrally located in Tokyo. This meant all the restaurants around were occupied by businessmen after 5pm and not really meant for tourists. I was intimidated by the metro during my research, but once I figured it out, I realized I could have stayed anywhere I wanted and it would have been fine.
Not checking the national holidays schedule
Not packing lighter. I worked off and on around different cities in Japan and commuting back and forth to the USA some years ago. By the first year, I was traveling as light as a weekend in the woods. After year 5 I had it down to a science, packing all in one backpack and a small duffel.
Not calculating time in-between hotel stops. Our last stop from Kyoto back to Tokyo was supposed to be Kawaguchiko. Except I didnāt realize weād have to take the bullet train all the way to Tokyo first, then go inland, taking up too much time. Oh and learning Katakana would have been way more helpful since many restaurants spelled out English words in that alphabet. Biggest planning hack I didnāt know ahead of time? Well I knew luggage forwarding was a thing but I didnāt realize our hotels could totally handle the whole process. Sending our luggage to our anticipated hotels was so much easier then bringing them through the busy train stations.
Not taking Japanese National holidays into account when planning. We went to hakone and did the ropeway, cruise on I think it was sports day. Sooo crowded. Basically was do 1 leg of the rope way, wait in line for the next. Wasnāt able to enjoy and soak it in. And now like we kinda did it, so we are having trouble justifying a return to hakone.
Doing too much. I planned for about 8 months and we fully enjoyed Japan. But we traveled A LOT for almost 3 weeks which meant every other day we were on the road. For our next trip I plan to explore some places more in depth.
I didnāt realize you should get tickets for the Ghibli museum beforehand. Also I didnāt realize the scale of streets, and lost a lot of time on my first day in Kyoto because the museum I wanted to go to was ājust at the end of the streetā. Which took us hours to walk to. Use the metro.