Some notes for future visitors, like myself.

Get an eSIM

If your phone supports eSIMs, as most modern phones do, you can have a phone plan in Japan without having to swap physical SIM cards.

And unless you splurge on unlimited data, make your data allotment go farther by selecting which apps can use cell data, and opting for low cell data usage in your phone settings. Learn from me, those Gigabytes can go fast!

Plan ahead!

Plan your itinerary weeks in advance, make reservations for everything whenever possible. I wanted to go to the Ghibli Museum and take a tour of a brewery, but didn’t realize both sell tickets online weeks or months in advance, and are usually sold out week of, as was the case for me.

Being Social

There’s the widespread impression (see “Lost in Translation”) that Japan is a socially isolating place for foreigners. While there may be some truth to that, there are absolutely many ways to connect with locals and other travelers. Ultimately, it’s about putting yourself out there, just perhaps slightly more than in other places.

Always talk to the volunteers

Every major attraction has volunteers there eager to talk to guests about the significance of the location, its lore, how to get the most out of your visit… In some cases they can even offer a free tour.

Stay at Guesthouses

If you want to be social, it’s hard to do better than a good guesthouse. What differentiates them from hostels is the active role the host(s) play in greeting guests, helping them get oriented, and facilitating connection with other travelers and the local environs. Some guesthouses even organize tours to local attractions.

Go to meetups

Meetup.com is very active in Tokyo and other major cities. You’re bound to find something that interests you.

Just try your best

A little Japanese goes a long way. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on learning the language (sorry Duo). All you need are spoken numbers and a dozen or so commonly used phrases while travelling. Also nice to be able to recognize and distinguish:

1. Hiragana
2. Katakana
3. written numbers Make some flashcards and you can be travel fluent in a few weeks.

By the way, you can download the Japanese data in Google translate so you can get fast translations offline.

Eating well

Use an app called Tabelog to find restaurants. At the time of writing, it has the most comprehensive data of any app I’ve tried, and Japan-specific features.

That said, my nose led me to one of the best dining experiences I had in Japan. I was walking near the train station in Kanazawa, when the smell of garlic and ginger wafting through the air stopped me in my tracks. I saw a line of people standing outside Taiga Ramen and got in it. Had the Noto beef bowl and their ramen, both were incredible. Opt for the excellent selection of prepared food from a nearby konboni for dinner.

Fruit is expensive but extremely fresh and seasonal. Savor it when you can. Most konboni carry bottled fruit juices and smoothies, so you can also get your fruit fix for less yen.

Enjoy the abundance and variety of affordable mushrooms in grocery stores.

Getting around

Getting directions

Tell the clerk at the train station can print out an itinerary showing all the information, trains, stations, times etc, I needed to reach your destination. It’s better than Google maps, in my opinion.

Save your energy

Take escalators, trains, buses etc whenever possible. The walking, standing and stair climbing will wear you out, even if you’re in shape!

Sign up for bicycle sharing apps. Ride safely and observe the local laws regarding cyclists. Left side!

Coin lockers and luggage storage services are usually available wherever you are. They’re cheaper outside of the train station.

Wear shoes the slip on and off easily, because you’re going to be doing that a lot.

Save your money

When it comes to trains, there’s usually many itineraries that get you where you want to go. Faster is usually more expensive.

Buy tickets in advance online or from discount resellers located near train stations.

JR West offers the most bang for your yen.