Japan Travel Tips: 50 Essential Tips

Before You Go

• Book popular attractions (teamLab, Ghibli Museum, some restaurants) months ahead — they sell out
• Get a Welcome Suica IC card at the airport — your most-used item in Japan
• Download Google Maps Japan offline and Google Translate Japanese offline pack
• Set up eSIM before departure — activates automatically on landing
• Get cash from 7-Eleven ATM on arrival — accepts all foreign cards

Transport

• Always check if the Nozomi shinkansen is excluded from your JR Pass — take Hikari instead
• Trains in Japan are never late — if it says 14:23, it leaves at exactly 14:23
• Stand on the left on escalators in Tokyo (right in Osaka)
• Reserve shinkansen seats at the JR ticket office when you activate your JR Pass
• Highway buses are 1/4 the price of shinkansen for the same route

Food

• Lunch sets at nice restaurants are 50–70% cheaper than dinner
• Never leave a tip — it causes confusion or offense
• Convenience store food is genuinely excellent — not just emergency backup
• Slurping noodles is correct behavior — it signals appreciation
• Say “itadakimasu” before eating and “gochisosama” after

Etiquette

• Remove shoes whenever you see a step at the entrance
• Queue properly — always, for everything
• No phone calls on trains — ever
• Don’t eat while walking in traditional neighborhoods