Get an IC card into your phone wallet
Suica or Pasmo in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet handles every train, subway, bus, vending machine and konbini purchase with a tap. Top up from the phone and skip ticket machines entirely.
Travel guideLast updated August 16, 2026
Japan Travel Guide: Essentials, Local Tips & Mobile Data
Tokyo, Kyoto and beyond: trains and IC cards, cash culture, etiquette, the best seasons, curated traveler tips, and mobile data via eSIM.
Japan is the rare destination that exceeds its hype. Tokyo alone spans neon canyons, tranquil shrines and the world's best food city; Kyoto keeps a thousand years of temples and gardens; and the shinkansen makes it all absurdly easy to link together.
What surprises first-timers most is the contrast: a hyper-modern country where cash is still king, quiet is a public virtue, and convenience stores sell meals you will genuinely miss when you leave.
The food will rearrange your standards. A 1,000-yen ramen counter, a department-store basement (depachika) full of perfect fruit, a conveyor-belt sushi run, and a night in a tiny izakaya where nobody speaks English can all outdo the fancy reservation you stressed about. Follow the queue. It is usually right.
Tokyo plus Kyoto is the classic first arc; add Osaka for appetite or Hakone / the Alps for air. Ride the shinkansen with a day bag, forward the suitcase, and leave room in the plan for getting happily lost on a side street that smells like charcoal and cedar.
Essentials
Japan Travel Essentials
- Currency
- Japanese Yen (JPY). Cards work in cities, but carry cash - many restaurants, shrines and small shops are cash-only.
- Languages
- Japanese. English signage is good on transit; translation apps bridge the rest.
- Plug Type
- Type A / B, 100V.
- Emergency Number
- 110 (police), 119 (fire/ambulance)
- Best Time to Visit
- March to May for cherry blossoms, October to November for autumn colors. June is rainy; August is hot and humid.
- Tipping
- No tipping, anywhere. It can even cause confusion or polite refusal.
- Timezone
- JST (UTC+9)
- Tap Water
- Safe and good everywhere.
- Getting Around
- The shinkansen network is superb; get an IC card (Suica/Pasmo, also in Apple/Google Wallet) for all local trains, subways, buses and convenience stores.
- Internet & Coverage
- Excellent LTE/5G, but open Wi-Fi is rare and cafes rarely share passwords - mobile data is close to essential.
Traveler tips
Tips from fellow travelers
Real advice from people who have been to Japan, curated by our team with links to the original sources.
Convenience stores are your friend
7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart sell legitimately good meals, have reliable ATMs that accept foreign cards, and are everywhere. Onigiri and egg sandwiches will become a food group.
Ship your luggage between cities
Takkyubin luggage forwarding sends your suitcase hotel-to-hotel overnight for a modest fee, so you ride the shinkansen with just a day bag. Most stations and lodgings have very limited big-luggage space.
Eat the department-store basement
Depachika food halls in Tokyo and Osaka are a full meal plan: bento, wagyu skewers, perfect strawberries and a thousand things you will photograph. Go hungry at 6pm when the marked-down boxes appear.
Quiet is a public service
Phone calls on trains, loud speakerphone videos and eating while walking through a crowded station will mark you faster than any fashion mistake. Keep the volume down, eat at the spot, and you will feel the country exhale around you.
FAQ
Japan travel questions, answered
eSIM plans
Stay connected in Japan
With no open Wi-Fi culture and everything from train routes to restaurant queues living in apps, Japan without data is hard mode. An eSIM connects you the moment you land at Narita or Haneda - no airport SIM counter queues, no pocket Wi-Fi rental to return.
Google Translate's camera, Yahoo! Transit and every restaurant's table QR code assume a live connection. Pocket Wi-Fi is a brick on a lanyard. An eSIM is just your phone, working, from the moment the wheels hit Narita.
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