Eating in Japan
How to Order in a Japanese Restaurant Without Japanese
Ticket machines, plastic food, counters with no menu at all, and the six phrases that cover every restaurant in the country. Eating…
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Guides that apply anywhere in Japan.
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Destination Guides
Where to Go in Japan: All 47 Prefectures, Ranked by What You Want
Japan has 47 prefectures and most visitors see four. This is the map of the other 43 — organised by what you…
Plan Your Trip
Accessible Japan: Travelling with Limited Mobility, a Buggy or Big Luggage
Japan is better than almost anywhere for step-free rail travel and worse than you would expect at the last hundred metres. What…
Plan Your Trip
Where to Stay in Japan: Hotel, Ryokan, Business Hotel or Minpaku
Six kinds of Japanese accommodation, what each actually costs, and why the cheapest chain hotels are better than the international brands at…
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Staying Connected: eSIM, Pocket Wi-Fi or Roaming?
You will use maps and translation constantly, so this is infrastructure rather than a convenience. Four options compared on real prices, with…
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Money in Japan: Cash, Cards, ATMs and Tax-Free Shopping
Japan is far less cash-dependent than its reputation and still more than northern Europe. Where cards work, where they do not, which…
Plan Your Trip
What to Pack for Japan — and What to Buy After You Land
Pack for 15,000 steps a day, small hotel rooms and a lot of taking your shoes off. Half the list everyone tells…
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Your First 24 Hours in Japan, Hour by Hour
Landing, SIM, cash, IC card, hotel, and something good to eat — in the right order, without overpaying at the airport or…
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Japan Entry Requirements: Visit Japan Web, Customs and Duty-Free
The fifteen minutes of admin that turn a long immigration queue into a walk-through, plus the two things visitors genuinely get stopped…
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When to Visit Japan: Month-by-Month Weather, Crowds and Prices
Twelve months, with what the weather actually does, how busy it gets, and what you pay. Includes the two weeks either side…