Japan: What To Do Before Going
What Should I Do Before I Go? - Japan Edition
I took this photo at Zojoji Temple
First off, I just want to say, this honestly can apply to any trip - not just Japan. Though, since I’ve traveled to Japan twice now, I have some experience which allows me to speak to that.
Here is what I will be discussing in order in case you want to skip directly there:
Passport & Plane Ticket
Packing
Accommodation
Scheduling
JR Pass & Train Pass
International Drivers License
Currency Exchange
PASSPORT + TICKET
The biggest thing obviously is to have a valid passport and to book a ticket to Japan. Knowing your dates will allow you to plan your trip accordingly. For example, if you go in April, you will most probably plan to go see the cherry blossoms. If you go in November, you may want to plan to go see the autumn leaves.
You’ll get this sticker in your passport!
For Canadians, you won’t need any further documentation to vacation in Japan for a maximum stay of 90 days. I want to say you are OK if you reside in the United States and Europe (but do a quick Google search on that).
PACKING
Packing should be another easy step to tackle - try not to leave it last minute! Just remember to look up the weather in Japan before starting to pack… Japan is quite humid in the spring and especially in the summer season and is still quite warm into October, which was when I traveled.
A quick list that I used:
T-shirts & pants (and/or shorts)
Underwear & socks
1-2 pairs of shoes - running shoes are a must
A light jacket (preferably windbreaker, something waterproof)
Toiletries (if you stay in a hotel, yes they usually provide these)
Any medication you take (in original packaging)
Razor for shaving
I packed mainly t-shirts and pants, maybe 1 or 2 pairs of shorts for very hot days and running shoes. While I was in Japan, I didn’t see many Japanese men wearing shorts - just a random piece of information - don’t worry though, it’s not like offensive to wear shorts, they just typically don’t? Also, you could bring an extra pair of shoes if you are looking to take really aesthetic Instagram photos.
If you want to know more specifics on what I packed, let me know and I can definitely make a post going in depth.
ACCOMMODATION
Now that you know when you’re going to Japan, go ahead and book your accommodation(s). I used the website Expedia.ca (NOT SPONSORED) to book my flight and hotel together - usually you’ll save a bit of money this way. You may want to book according to your travel plans. For example, you may want to explore Tokyo and the greater Tokyo area for a couple days and the Osaka/Kyoto area for a couple days, so you’ll want to book different hotels. Note: you can technically travel from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto by bullet train (using your JR pass - more on this later) but it’s about 2.5h each way, so doing this multiple days will greatly shorten your explore time. Yes, Airbnb exists in Japan - you can probably find great prices but a little further away from central Tokyo.
I do want to say that if you choose to stay in the heart of any major cities like Tokyo, your living space is quite small - Tokyo is quite dense. Again, you can choose to live further from the city and you can get a bigger place and usually for cheaper as well. I prefer being ~5 minutes from the nearest train station so I stayed around the Tokyo Station/Ginza area (both times I went, I was about 15-20 minutes from Tokyo Station (the big daddy station) and 5-10 minutes from any train station. The APA hotel is a major hotel chain in Japan, you can find many, many locations all around Japan. It’s still quite pricey for a small space but you are paying for location! And of course you get the service of having your sheets change/made and towels replaced. When I booked 1 month prior to my trip in 2018, I had to pay approximately $100CAD/night.
I didn’t have any great photos from my stay there, sorry. All I had was a Snapchat story I took just before I left (hence the “bye” in the centre). It might look small and that’s because it was. I don’t have a photo of the bathroom but it’s tiny. Enough for a toilet, small sink, and a bathtub probably a third of a regular tub we have here in North America.
Small desk area w/ a huge mirror
You can sort of see the bed on the side (Queen size - comfortable)
I know hostels are a great way to save money - you can sometimes find them as cheap as $20-$40CAD/night. Though I wouldn’t recommend this if you are a light sleeper or you really enjoy your own space because you’ll be in a room with a few others…
Capsule hotels are also a great option. You get your own pod, they are very clean and cheaper than a hotel costing ~$50-$70CAD/night. I stayed in First Cabin capsule hotel which has a few locations around Japan - they aren’t the cheapest capsule hotel out there but I’ve had amazing stays with them (again NOT SPONSORED).
SCHEDULING
Even though transport using the JR line is free with the JR pass (more on this later), you wouldn’t want to travel east from central Tokyo for 1h and then travel 2h to get somewhere west of Tokyo station - your trip will just become a series of train rides. So I would recommend you make a list of all the things you want to do in Japan, check the distances between them and group things nearby into one day. For me, I planned about 2-3 things to see/do each day.
You’ll notice that things aren’t too close to each other… I’d say a good travel time between each is ~1h. This should leave you more than enough time to enjoy and take everything in. One piece of advice I would give is to list all the things you want to eat and search the area around your destination to see if there’s a restaurant serving it and this way, you can hit 2 birds with 1 stone.
You can put this all in your phone but I like to write it all in a notebook so I can easily refer to it and change it if I need. You can make it as detailed as you want - if you want to put which train to take, the cost, etc. But this is what I did for my trip:
JR PASS & TRAIN PASSES
JR PASS
If you’ve done some research on traveling in Japan, you most likely would have stumbled upon the JR pass. The JR pass is only for foreigners traveling to Japan and you must order it PRIOR to entering Japan. I believe there are options of obtaining this pass within Japan if you are a foreigner but it may or may not be more expensive - I don’t know.
So again, please order the pass before going to Japan. You will be mailed the exchange ticket so when you land in Japan, you can exchange it for the actual pass at a JR counter at the airport.
Now, the JR pass will allow you to ride all of JR companies’ transits (local train, bullet train, some boats I believe, etc) without a limit. Note that not all train lines are run by the JR company, there are some local ones. The JR pass is quite expensive… you can find it on their website: here. I’ll also provide the prices here:
The Ordinary is essentially economy class on a plain and Green is like economy plus. As you can see, the adult Ordinary is 33,610 YEN or roughly $400 CAD, so yeah, it isn’t cheap.
The main question people ask is, “is it worth it for me to buy the JR pass?” If you are planning to travel solely in Tokyo, I would say no, it is not worth buying. Just stick to the bus pass, which I will be talking about next.
However, if you plan on taking trips to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara or any other prefecture requiring you to take the bullet train then yes, oh for sure get the JR pass! If you buy these tickets regularly, it’ll be about $250 CAD round trip. There are a few more nuances with the JR pass which I can go into on another post but the JR pass may or may not be necessary depending on your trip.
TRAIN PASS
There are multiple train companies that run throughout Japan. The JR pass again only covers for the JR line. It is possible to use just the JR line to get places if you don’t mind walking more. Also, you aren’t required to have this train pass to travel on the train, you can get individual tickets at the counter or at a machine. Though the price isn’t a standard fee, the cost varies depending on the distance traveled - you will need to know the station you start and end and how much it will cost for that trip… and if you don’t speak Japanese, I’d rather avoid that headache and just buy a train pass
With the train pass, traveling will become a BREEZE. You can buy these from almost all convenient stores and have them loaded there as well. The card itself costs $5 and you can load it with how much you want. And all you have to do is scan to enter the train gates and tap to leave the train gates. That’s it. It’s that simple! As you scan, there is a small screen that tells you how much money you have remaining and how much is being deducted as you scan.
I highly, HIGHLY recommend you just get the train pass and load it with $100-$200 (depending on the length of your trip) so you can forget about it. The card is valid for 5 years after its last scan, so if you plan to return to Japan, just take it home with you! Otherwise, at the airport, go to the Suica branded counter and ask for a refund and they will give back whatever is left on the card.
The two main train cards are Suica - the one I have pictured to the left, which is the one I got - and Passmo. To my knowledge, there is no difference. Both are equally valid to travel with and use.
INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE
If you are planning to rent a car to travel in Japan or if you’re looking to do the extremely popular Mario Karting on the streets of Japan, you will be required to have an international drivers license. If you’re Canadian, yes our license does transfer - specifically the G class in Ontario. You will need to apply for this and have it mailed to your house prior to entering Japan.
Some countries already have a contract with Japan allowing you to drive with your native drivers license but most require the IDL. Please check your countries websites for more information on driving internationally and if your Canadian, you can use this website here.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Despite Japan being way ahead in terms of technology, they are still mainly a cash-based country. Many shops, especially mom and pop shops, and especially street vendors only accept cash. Though major department stores, luxury stores and larger companies do take credit card. Visa is the most universal, I hear Mastercard is good too but few or even none (?) take American Express. So cash is key in Japan!
A very easy conversion is 100 YEN is ~$1 USD - just move 2 decimal places to the left. So for example, something that costs 4,500 YEN is approximately $45 USD!
Airports are notorious for having bad exchange rates, so I recommend you place an order through your bank before heading to Japan. If you run out of cash, I recommend you go to a 7-11 (which can be found basically everywhere) and draw cash with your Visa. 7-11 ATMs will recognize most cards.
So when traveling to Japan, there are a few things to consider doing before heading there. I hope you found this somewhat informative, if you have anything I forgot or if you would like me to write and explain, please let me know! Enjoy your trip to Japan!
-Thomas