The snake number one flying into Narita Airport. If you are flying into Tokyo and you have a choice, definitely fly into Haneda over Narita Airport. It’s true. The tickets might be a little bit more expensive to fly into Haneda. However, you will make up for it in time and you will also save money on the transportation going from the airport into Tokyo.
You see Narita is far out in Chiba Prefecture. Where is Haneda? Is actually in Tokyo. Here’s an example. If you take the case skyline from Narita into Tokyo station, it will take you about an hour and 15 minutes. Whereas if you take the Tokyo monorail from Haneda to the same location and Tokyo station, it will only take you 34 minutes.
Mistake number two, arriving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. If you arrive too late at night, the trains will no longer be running and the chances are you’re going to have to take a taxi to your accommodation. And guess what? The prices are going to go way up. One time we picked up a friend at the airport around 11 p.m., but by the time we got outside, it was past midnight and it cost over $150 on the taxi to get to our accommodation in Tokyo.
Also, offices such as if you’re trying to pick up your pass, you’re trying to pick a pocket Wi-Fi, or you’re trying to ship your luggage through a service like Chronicle will most likely be closed.
Mistake number three, not pre-ordering your Japan Rail Pass by September 29th, 2023. If you’re considering getting a JR Pass and you will arrive in Japan by December 28th, I highly recommend pre-ordering your JR Pass by September 29th. Prices are scheduled to increase on October 1st by as much as 70%. We’ll leave our link below where you can preorder. We share tons of tips here in your quest for using the JR Pass and taking trains in Japan.
Mistake number four, arriving late for your train. Trains in Japan usually run on time. You need to be waiting on your platform before your scheduled departure time and give yourself extra time as the stations can take a long time to navigate. And it could take a while to get your platform.
Mistake number five, thinking you cannot pay by credit card. Everybody tells you that you’ll need cash to make payments in Japan. Yes, there are small restaurants that only accept cash. However, on our couple most recent trips to Japan, I’ve paid for almost everything by credit card. 7-Eleven, grocery stores, shopping malls, attraction tickets. I pay with a credit card.
We’ve just tapped my card. The one thing that I always pay cash for is topping up my IC card. I don’t even need change for using the vending machine anymore, since I can just tap my IC card on many vending machines as well.
But it’s still good to take cash. Some restaurants and if you’re at a festival, the chances are the vendors will only take cash.
Mistake six. Not knowing the conversion rate. Before your trip to Japan, check the conversion rate between your local currency and Japanese yen. Then check it again when you arrive. Either start doing the mental math or install a conversion app on your phone so you’ll have an idea of how much things cost. ¥3,600 sounds like a lot. It’s currently about US $24.
Knowing the conversion rate is also important when you go to take out money from the ATM, so you know how much to withdraw.
Mistake number seven. Accepting a marked-up conversion rate. On the topic of using the ATM: If you go to make a withdrawal and the ATM offers to convert to your home currency with a markup fee of, say, 4 to 7%, do not accept the conversion. Instead, proceed on without conversion in Japanese yen. Your bank back home will give you a better rate without that markup.
Also, when you pay a business with your credit card, pay in Japanese yen rather than your home currency. You’re likely to get a better rate that way. But make sure your credit card does not charge foreign transaction fees.
We have a whole separate video with more details on this topic.
Mistake eight. Assuming you can just show up at an attraction or themed cafe without pre-booking. Japan is super crowded. Many attractions sell out months in advance. Don’t think you can just waltz up to Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, pay admission, and go right in. It’s likely been fully booked a month in advance.
Tokyo Disneyland doesn’t even sell tickets at the gate anymore, but you can purchase them online through our affiliate link and save 5% with our code.
Themed cafes such as Pokemon Cafe and Kirby Cafe can be very difficult to get a reservation for. We have a separate video explaining how to make reservations for Kirby Cafe, but for Pokemon Cafe, we have still not been successful at scoring a reservation.
Not knowing how to use a toilet. If you are unsure how to use a Japanese toilet, don’t just start pressing buttons, especially if you’re already standing up. Otherwise, you might get sprayed right in your face. On the side, there’s usually a panel that has a bunch of buttons and it might have some English and it might not, but they usually have some little icons that’ll explain what they do.
The ones you want to look for are this one here, which will spray your butt, and this one here, that says bidet, with a picture of an icon of a woman. The flush button will either be on the wall or it can be on the tank. If it’s on the tank, the handle can usually go up or down. You’ll see these two symbols — one for big flush and one for a little flush.
Mistake ten. Assuming restaurants will provide spoons and forks. You may want to practice using chopsticks or bring your own utensil set with you. Some restaurants only provide chopsticks and soup spoons. We often do ask for kids spoons and forks, and most restaurants are able to provide them, but not all.
Mistake eleven. Missing breakfast. If you’re staying at a hotel where breakfast is included and the breakfast is served until 10 a.m., most likely the last call is at 9:30 a.m. If you arrive right before 10 a.m. at the hotel restaurant, you probably won’t get to eat. Make sure to get there before 9:30 a.m. They also close and clean up right at ten.
Mistake number twelve. Not cleaning up after yourself. Most of the food courts will have a cleaning station where you can get a cleaning rag and some water. They’ll also have a trashcan beneath it. After you’re done eating, you are expected to wipe off your table clean so the next person can use it.
Mistake thirteen. Expecting there to be trash cans in public. Heads up — there are usually no public trash cans to be found. Don’t expect to see them on the sidewalks or in public parks. If you get a drink from a vending machine, there might be somewhere to recycle bottles or cans right next to the vending machine or small market.
What we do is we carry small trash bags with us so we can bring our trash home to dispose of it. Bullet trains, however, do have trash cans. So I collect up the whole family’s garbage from snacks we’ve eaten and throw it away before we get off the train.
Mistake number fourteen. Not taking off your shoes. Please be respectful and remove your shoes when expected. Places where it’s common to remove your shoes are temples, people’s homes, and hotel rooms. If you see a genkan or a shoe rack, that’s a good indicator that you should remove your shoes. After removing your shoes, place them in a nice, neat order with the toes facing the door.
Also, it is recommended to either wear socks or bring a pair with you. And if you’re traveling in the winter months, you might want to bring an extra thick pair as the floors can get really cold.
Mistake fifteen. Not packing waterproof shoes for summer. It rains a lot in Japan in the summer. Out of nowhere, it can just start pouring. On our last trip, we packed the wrong type of shoes. I was happy that everybody in our family at least had one pair of closed-toed shoes, since we live and travel in the tropics most of the time.
But I didn’t think carefully about the type of shoes. We had shoes made out of mesh fabric, and the rain went straight through them. So pretty soon we had soggy, wet feet, and then stinky feet. I recommend bringing at least one pair of either water-repellent or waterproof shoes with you if you’re visiting Japan in the summer.
Mistake sixteen. Talking too loudly in public. If you’re American, you’re going to make this mistake. That’s one way they can always spot us in a crowd — that and our tennis shoes.
Not knowing any Japanese words. At the bare minimum, you should know:
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“Excuse me” – Sumimasen
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“Sorry” – Gomen nasai
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“Thank you” – Arigatou gozaimasu
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“Please” – Kudasai or Onegaishimasu
Kudasai is less formal and fine for use with friends or in casual settings like a restaurant. Onegaishimasu is more formal or used when you really need something, like buying tickets.
Other common words you’ll hear include Irasshaimase – which means “Welcome.” You’ll hear this everywhere.
Mistake number eighteen. Not having internet connection on your phone. You’re going to need internet to navigate and use Google Translate. Having Google Maps and internet will make traveling on transportation systems so much easier. Just turn on your location and set your destination. It’ll show you the fastest route and other options. Before your trip, consider switching to an international plan or get a SIM card or a pocket Wi-Fi. We have a whole video on that — link in the description below.
Mistake number nineteen. Packing too heavy. Japan is a very crowded country and you are most likely going to be taking public transportation. The last thing you want on your vacation is to have to struggle with your luggage. Carrying it up and down stairs at a subway station is not going to be fun. So please pack as light as possible.
But if you have no choice, you can have your luggage shipped to your destination and travel hands-free. It has been a complete game changer for us. We use a service called Yamato Transport — link in the description below.
Mistake twenty. Not getting travel health insurance. If your regular health insurance from your home country does not cover you when traveling abroad, be sure to get travel health insurance. We recommend using SafetyWing, which can cost as little as $8 for five days of coverage. And if you have children under ten years old, for each adult, one child is covered in the SafetyWing plan for free.
Safety Wing Nomad Insurance also provides coverage for travel delay, lost luggage, natural disasters, and personal liability. It’s super easy these days to sign up for travel health insurance. We’ve been using Safety Wing for years now and highly recommend them — link below.
Now you know — don’t make any of these 20 mistakes on your trip to Japan. Our family is traveling long term and we share tons of travel tips here to help you travel throughout Japan with ease.
Be sure to join us for a live Q&A about the Japan Rail Pass this Sunday, September 17th at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. You can either leave your questions below this video or on our community tab. Hope to see you there. Hope to see you there. Hope to see you there. Hope to see you there. Hope to see you there. Hope to see you there. Hope to see you there.
