First Time Japan Travel Tips

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Here We Go!

I am here to provide you some first time Japan travel tips based on our family experience. We hope you enjoy your vacation like we did! Our adventure started at the end of September. We left our quiet home in Florida to Chicago. It was a short layover until we boarded the very long plane ride to our final destination of Tokyo. We were very excited to start our journey. I had always wanted to visit an Asian country and how we chose Japan came from our younger son who was (and still is) a huge Anime fan. Anime originated in Japan.

The plane food on this flight was amazing! We flew ANA Airways, a Japanese airline. The stewardess was so accommodating to our son who is gluten intolerant.

Tokyo Arrival

Our arrival to Japan was jetlagged, but filled with excitement and anticipation for new experiences! We were going into this adventure with open minds and a courtesy for their culture.

Our Itinerary

Before we go further into our adventure, let me share our itinerary with my notes. I have never shared my travel planning with anyone other than family, but this is how I do things. I just use Word, highlight, bold, bullet points and sort by city. Pretty much anything that stands out to me and makes me feel organized.

3D Billboards

The 3D billboards are a huge tourist experience! I had never seen any until we went to Tokyo. You will see many tourists standing across the street and taking videos/photos. They are really cool. One of the most popular ones is the cat.

Culture

The culture in Japan is nothing like I’ve ever seen before. I was expecting culture shock, but this blew it out of the park! When we first rode the subway in Tokyo no one, I mean NO ONE, spoke. I have ridden the subway in New York City and that is NOT what happens. The overhead speaker in Tokyo said to “please silence your cell phone and refrain from talking.” It also said to “please give up your seat for those in need.” A lot is said in both Japanese & English.

I was shocked on how courteous & respectful Japan is overall. And that’s not all! Cleanliness is Japan is superb! You won’t see debris or litter of any kind on the streets of Japan. We went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, & Hiroshima and it was the same everywhere. In fact, public trashcans are not a thing. You are supposed to hold on to your trash until you go back to your hotel/home or find a 7-11 or similar convenience store and throw it there. But be forewarned that the trash receptacles at the convenience stores are very small!

It is frowned upon to eat & drink while walking in public places. If you’re visiting Japan in the future, take a reusable bag you can tuck into your backpack for potential trash. Also, many restaurants have a box or bag where you can place your purse and/or bags next to your table while you dine.

Let’s talk toilets. Oh my goodness, the toilets are VERY different than the U.S. toilets. They are high tech. There were a few instances at the beginning that I had to figure out this contraption just to flush. Luckily I found the main buttons because it said in English FLUSH. The public restrooms are also super clean! There are also many places that offer hand sanitizer stations.

And most importantly, before you go to Japan, read up on culture & customs, like you’re doing right now. Get informed and don’t be an ugly tourist. Many tourist spots have signs at places where they don’t want you to take photographs. Most of those spots are places of worship & homes/street they live at. Also, if you want to take a photo of someone specific (not speaking about in public place) like Geishas in Kyoto, ask first before taking their photo. It is considered rude otherwise.

Food

If you’re a foodie like me, you will fall in love with Japan! You can grab a bite to eat practically anywhere. Keep in mind that it’s best to eat there and not while walking. If you buy food from a street vendor where there are no tables & chairs, which is very clean by the way, it’s best to eat it right there in front of the vendor. That is acceptable. However, if you have a food allergy, I strongly recommend you make & bring a card yourself using a translation app like this one.

If you want some fast food, there are plenty of choices. From KFC to McDonald’s, they are there. However, many have been tweaked to fit their cultural diet. For instance, many McDonald’s sandwiches include an over easy egg! I wish I could’ve shipped cases of that canned nectar juice because it was AMAZING!

With so many great choices, you won’t go wrong. Osaka is actually nicknamed The Nation’s Kitchen because it is rich in its culinary culture. We had a lot of fun, as you can see with the vast food photos, exploring all the food!

One of the coolest places we dined at was in Tokyo’s DAWN Avatar Robot Cafe. This is where the servers/waiters/host are controlled robots! There will be a full post on this a little later.

Mario Go-Karts

Although we didn’t do this experience, I wanted to include it here because it looks like a lot of fun. The honest reason why we didn’t do this is because I didn’t like that you’re riding side by side with actual vehicles and I read some reviews that locals frown upon this experience. But you do you and if this is something you’d really like to do, then go for it.

Gacha Machines

If you’re anywhere near my age, then you will remember walking into a grocery store or a department store with your parents and seeing that iconic childhood memory machine of the bouncy ball dispenser or cheap plastic giant ring. Right? Well, Japan has taken it to a whole new level! These machines are called “gacha machines” or gashapon machines. They are machines that dispense round capsules that contain a small toy or collectible. You insert a coin, turn the crank, and a toy capsule comes out. Normally, you can see a selection of that gacha machine’s toys that you could get. This is not just for children, but many adults use them for fun.

Kimono Rental

It’s not everyday that you can walk around town in a kimono. I wanted to do something different. Gladly to my surprise, I wasn’t the only one renting a kimono for photos. You can rent the kimono, accessories, shoes, plus a professional hairstyle for under $50. You get to choose the kimono style, colors, and hairstyle with accessories. It was so much fun dressing up and having photos done.

Shopping

Shopping in Japan is amazing because there are SO many things! If you’ve ever shopped at a flea market where your eyes are overwhelmed with all the stuff there is to buy, that’s the feeling I got. Looking for a souvenir? You will find it. Looking for a keychain, you will find it. If you’re looking for stickers, you will find it. The only thing to be aware of is that if you are shopping for clothing, t-shirts for example, make sure you go up one or two sizes. I am an XL in the U.S. and I had a very hard time finding my size. An XL in the U.S. is marked as an LL in Japan, BUT it fits like a L in the U.S. It is extremely hard to find a shirt in Japan that fits like a U.S. XL.

Transportation

Japan overall is a really budget friendly place to visit. There are, however, three things you will spend money on that will take up most of your vacation budget: Flights, hotel, and transportation. I’m talking about transportation to & from cities, not within a city. The subway system within each city is economical, but if you want to visit different cities like we did (Tokyo-Osaka, Osaka-Kyoto & back, Osaka-Hiroshima & back), the best way to travel timewise is to take the bullet train called the Shinkansen. It’s not cheap, but VERY well worth it! We were there on the Tokaido Shinkansen’s 60th anniversary. This is the bullet train that runs between Tokyo & Osaka.

Furthermore, if you need to store your luggage many, if not all, subway stations offer lockers!

Disney transportation is THE best in Tokyo!

Heading Home

It’s always bittersweet going home after a nice vacation. We had a fantastic time and made the best of every place we went. Thank you Japan for welcoming us so nicely, helping us when we needed directions, and the delicious food!