estnet

LOL

MSPeconomist

In addition to the tips to purchase food in convenience stores and street stalls, check out the basement food halls of major department stores. It's a fun tourist activity IMO to stroll around and see the variety of items offered as well as the $100 melons and other fruit meant primarily as gifts. You can purchase takeout stuff at a wide variety of price points to eat in your hotel room

I'm also fond of visiting the Yakatori under the tracks hole in the wall restaurants near the Imperial Hotel, although foreigners might feel more comfortable if they avoid the "after work happy hour for salarymen" time periods when these places can be very busy.

ksandness

Yes, the basement food departments are a good place to pick up a quick meal if you just feel like retreating to your hotel room at the end of the day or at any other time. On one occasion, a the participants in a meeting I was attending simply walked over to the nearest department store, bought some take-out, and returned to the meeting.

The fish departments of such places often have sushi bars, and these are a good place to sample some fresh sushi.

Even if you're not hungry, you can marvel at the utter variety of prepared foods and ingredients sold, including entire counters with various types of miso or dashi (dried fish flakes used in making stock), or, on a more familiar note, fancy decorated confections.

freecia

The efficacy of the average face mask sold in a combini is not conclusive. It is more of a "do no disturb" indication than scientifically proven to keep the germs inside the face mask. Just wanted to point that out so people will still give sick people their personal space and wash hands with soap and water as a general precaution.

The pushing and shoving which does occur is generally impersonal. If you get into a crowded elevator or subway car, everyone pretends that the person next to them does not exist and angle yourself to not make eye contact with those pressing against you. This also means that when you want to get out of a very crowded subway car, you need to watch for the stop and move in that direction before the door opens so obstacles (other passengers) can shuffle and suck in to let you out.

A few tips for subway/local JR
1. Avoid the rush hour. Especially if you stay in Shinjuku and want to get on in the morning. The street exits can be like swimming upstream.
2. Some cars are women only at certain hours and marked on the windows & platforms, usually in pink.
3. Don't stress too much if you get a bit lost on the subway in Tokyo/Osaka. It is generally safe and you can get back on in another direction. If you are riding the Tokyo JR Yamanote line, it is all a loop anyhow.

Advice for second timers or first timers not into cities - Get out into the countryside or at least out of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. There's a lot more to Japan than visiting big cities. Odigo Travel sponsored trips to all 47 prefectures if you'd like to get a feel
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...7rc3fQ9GnrK_Iv

Pureboy

Great tips on this thread.

Try to do a some homework on Japanese cultural dos and don'ts - there are some examples above (train and trash etiquette). If you are from a "low context" culture (U.S. is a prime example) try to understand that the Japanese rarely say "no" to a request, so learn the behavior and language that means "no." Hesitation, sucking air in the teeth, saying "it's difficult" or "chotto" are a few.

If you are a Westerner, you will generally be given a "cultural pass" and not be expected to get many of the nuances, so don't be nervous. You will get a very positive reaction when you do behave appropriately, but general public behavior should be understood.

Learn shoe/slipper etiquette, especially toilet slippers- not to be used anywhere else- and shoes coming off in the entranceway to some types of establishments.

Last of all, don't be afraid to ask for help. In Tokyo, you may not get much more help then being pointed the right way. Outside of Tokyo, even in big cities, you may have someone accompany you to your destination- this happened to me and my mother separately on trips decades apart.

angra

This tip reminds me of one of my favorite memories of Japan, and part of why I keep going back. My first trip, I was looking for a particular restaurant in a busy shopping district. Technology was not as helpful back then, and the closest I got was about a block away. I couldn't speak the language, couldn't read the signs, and was quite hesitant to go in the wrong place. It felt like it would be the equivalent of walking into McDonalds and asking if they were Burger King. Eventually I gave up on being completely sure, and just headed in to one place that was my best guess, and asked if they were that restaurant. The person handling the entry of customers (host?) said that they were not, and insisted on walking me to my intended restaurant - leaving his own place of business, walking me around a block, and handing me off to the proprietors there.

LAX/HKG

Thanks everyone for all the great tips!

Any tips for family travel?

LapLap

It really depends on the family, how many and ages of the kids, lethargic or energetic or very energetic, whether you carry your baby or use a stroller, are your kids fussy when it comes to eating, do you expect your kids to adapt to your needs or do you fit around theirs when it comes to cultural and recreational activities, what time of the year are you visiting, etc...

Number 1 tip:
When my family visits Japan and we meet other families there we often arrange to eat lunch at an izakaya. There are a wide range of izakaya in Japan and while there are indeed a number that are unsuitable or inadvisable for children, many are extremely family friendly or have private non-smoking rooms that allow you all to properly relax and be your (awful) selves. The menus are usually more extensive at izakaya than at conventional restaurants allowing the kids to try a variety of foods - or just stick to the bland and unadventurous.

Number 2 tip:
STAMPS!
Get the kids a plain paper book (and ideally an ink pad) and help them find the commemorative inking stamp that is somewhere in most rail stations and in practically every tourist site and museum. A little tricky to begin with, but once your kids have a couple in their collection it's easy to show these stamps when enquiring about new ones. Your own ink stamp is useful as you'll come across many that have been left open too long and run out.

WorldLux

Q: Is one allowed to have aerosol deodorants (150 ml /little over 5 oz.) in checked items?

A colleague told me that you aren't allowed any such aerosol on flights departing in Japan. It would be a shame if that was the case and if I was forced to throw them away. If that's the rule, then I would buy non-aerosol one.

Cheers.

AlwaysAisle

I think it is not Japan specific thing.

For example British Airways U.K. site says:
“You can take non-flammable, non-toxic, non-corrosive aerosols for sporting or home use in your checked baggage only.”

Where American Airlines U.S. site says:
Household aerosols and Pressurized Spray Cans not allowed.

Check with airline and origin country.

jib71

Deleted

redleader74

Regarding trash, keep some small plastic bags with you (the disposable type you might get from shopping) to hold your trash until you find a trash bin. Unlike back here in the states, you’ll be hard pressed to find public trash bins on street corners, so if you generate any trash (for example, drink cans from vending machines, etc.), you’ll need to hang on to that until you get to some place with a trash bin.

Also I wholeheartedly agree on learning Japanese before you go (or the local language of any country you visit). Yes, in big cities there will be English on signs everywhere and most shop staff, station agents, etc., will probably speak some English and you can use your Google translate app to do all your translating for you. But I think it’s just good manners to learn at least some of the local language and do your best to offer thanks and greetings in that language. In addition, it will make your trip much more enriching. Even in Tokyo we found there were plenty of restaurants where there was no English anywhere. My specific example is with regards to the ramen shops that use a ticket vending machine outside where you purchase tickets for the meal/food you want, and then give the ticket to the staff inside. Some places, like larger train stations will have Japanese, English and even a picture of the food, on the vending machine buttons, but on small side streets or more local neighborhoods, you’ll be hard pressed to find even pictures on the buttons, it’s all in Japanese. So knowing the language also opens you up to much more local experiences.

There are many ways to learn a language, from just casually using language apps on your phone, to listening to audio language lessons, all the way to taking a course at your local community college. Before our first trip to Japan last year I used a phone app called JapanesePod101, which I found very helpful, enough for me to get into a taxi and tell the driver where I needed to go and maybe order food. The app also provides transcripts of the lessons so you can learn the kana and kanji. After that trip I decided on somewhat more formal education and started taking a courses with the Japan Society of Northern California. Their classes are catered to working people so classes are at night. And while it’s a difficult language to learn, I think what little I have under my belt will go a long away once I’m there.

estnet

Two tips - one for cost and one for comfort

There is a 1000 yen bus to Narita that stops two places downtown (and was much cheaper than the same trip on the 2900 yen bus that I took on arrival) They leave very often, but once it's full you have to wait for the next one (at least that's what happened when from Ginza to NRT) but it was only about 20 minutes

PACKAGE TRANSPORT OPTION - as an older person I struggled a bit with luggage (not wanting to take taxi's) when the distance from public transport to the hotel was quite long. Then I discovered - you can have your luggage transported by carrier for a reasonable cost! An example is about US15 for a roll aboard from hotel to hotel in town and about the same for town to a hotel near the airport. The hotels are quite efficient - either having my bag already in my room when I arrived or delivering it within a few minutes!
This was especially helpful since I chose the stay near Narita the last 2 nights and would have had to lug my bag from the bus stop at Narita to the bus stop for the hotel - was much easier without the luggage

estnet

Also as for trash - 7/11 and the other chain like it have trash bins outside their stores, but there isn't any place to dispose of trash on the main streets.

moretimeoffguy

Ouch! ~ USD $90 for a one-way bus? And ~ USD $262 for the other one-way bus? My JR pass cost me around USD $252 and provides free use of NEX. I'll be staying, initially anyway, in Shinigawa. So the real tip / savings here is time then? Believe it's at least 60 mins from NRT to Shinigawa Station on the Nartia Express train. Just checking on the digits there.

This I like, thanks for posting. The trucks with the cat on the side? Considering using this service when going from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Shinkansen, then back to Tokyo.