Plan Your Trip
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…
Travel style: First-timer
Plan Your Trip
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…
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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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14 Days in Japan: Getting Past Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka
Two weeks is enough to leave the golden route and still see it. A rail-based loop through Kanazawa, Takayama and Hiroshima that…
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The Classic 7-Day Japan Itinerary (and How to Stretch It to 10)
Two cities, one Shinkansen, three day trips and no repacking after day four. The route that works for a first week in…
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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…
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How Much Does a Trip to Japan Cost? A Real Daily Budget
Three budgets built from actual prices — backpacker, mid-range and comfortable — plus the four costs that blow a Japan budget apart…
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Japan for First-Timers: Everything to Sort Before You Fly
The twelve decisions that shape a first trip to Japan, in the order you actually have to make them — from when…