muji

This is an important one; many tourists are probably unaware of it (while they may be aware of things such as "no shoes in the house", "no soap in the bathtub", and so on).

jib71

Shh!

codex57

Bring a backpack. Eat your food where you bought it, like locals do. That's because of the trash can issue. There are none. Not even in bathrooms most of the time. Food vendors typically have a small bin, but they're pretty strict about only letting you put in trash from food you bought from them. It's easy to accumulate plastic bags to store trash, because they like to wrap up everything like you're gifting it to the emperor. Just use one of those plastic bags to store your trash and stick it in your backpack until you can finally find a real trash can (remember to sort when you finally reach a trash can).

JR Pass may not be worth it. For me, I did the typical tourist stuff in Osaka, Kyoto, and then going to Tokyo. Unless you're doing a round trip, I didn't find a JR Pass to be remotely worth it. JR isn't anywhere as dominant as I thought they were. It was much more convenient to be able to use trains from any company I wanted. Being able to avoid the horribly overcrowded Yamanote line (the JR loop one in Tokyo) was sooooo worth it.

Buses suck. Especially in Kyoto. You can end up waiting an hour or more outside tourist spots because the buses don't hold a lot of people. Plus, they're confusing as hell and there's little to no English to help you figure things out while you're on it. I had Google Maps running the whole time to make sure I was going in the right direction and to tell me when to get off. Not once did I end up going the route Google Maps told me I was supposed to be going, even though I boarded the right number bus at the right time. Plus, their pay system has a horrible time with ICOCA cards. Messed up multiple of our cards, and a lot of the bus drivers get mad at you for holding them up. Adults and kids. No rhyme or reason to it. And they want EXACT change. Had to get the cards unlocked and unfrozen at a train station later. Avoid the buses if at all possible.

Just bring cash and exchange it at a post office or bank when you get there unless you have a Charles Schwab no fee debit card. Just change enough to get you into town. Then find a bank or post office to change your money. The rate is SOOOO much better. Never do it at a Travelex. Their rates are horrific.

Every stop will take a lot longer than expected. It will either be because of crowds, or because there's so much stuff to look at it takes a lot longer to get through. That and travel time can take a lot longer than expected.

ksandness

It sounds as if you didn't have a very good time.

It has long been conventional wisdom on this board that a JR Pass is worth it only if you are making at least a roundtrip between Tokyo and the Kansai region (Kyoto, Osaka). A visitor making a one-way trip (into NRT and out of KIX or vice versa) is better off buying single tickets, and the JR Pass is especially a poor deal if you are spending all your time in the Tokyo area. A Suica Card will not save you a significant amount of money, but it is good on every kind of transportation that a tourist is likely to take.

Actually, according to traditional Japanese etiquette, you're supposed to eat what you buy at the place where you buy it or take it somewhere else (your office, hotel room, home) to eat it. Buying a freshly blended fruit drink? Drink it while standing near the vendor's stand. Walking around while eating has been considered rude, although that may have changed.

On my visits to Kyoto, I have always obtained a bus map from the Tourist Information Center. I have not had problems with it (Google Maps isn't infallible when it comes to transit, since it concentrates on directions for pedestrians and private cars), although I agree that, unusual for Japan, the bus schedules seem to be just suggestions rather than dependable rules.

If I'm in Japan for three weeks, as I will be on my upcoming trip, I'm not going to carry that much cash over from the States. Yes, the international withdrawal fees from my home bank are huge, but I counteract that by making withdrawals as large and infrequent as possible and using a credit card that doesn't charge international fees for my hotel bills. I do bring a couple of hundred dollars of "walking around money," which I exchange at the airport, so that I don't have to worry about finding a bank or post office the first couple of days, especially if I arrive on a weekend.

That's good advice about taking it slowly, especially in Kyoto. The major sites are located in several compact "clumps," but these clumps may be rather far apart. When planning a January trip for a student group during my previous career, I had not been to Kyoto for many years, and it's a good thing I did a "dry run" of the trip the previous summer, because everything was farther apart than I remembered it. That advice goes double for summer trips to Kyoto, which can be miserably hot and humid in July and August. I always shake my head when I see people present suggested itineraries that have every detail planned to the minute.

codex57

Actually, I had a fantastic time. I certainly didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't or that Japan is that hard. It isn't. Except for a couple of bus drivers (which I get as being prompt is super important and us clueless tourists were delaying them), everyone who helped us was super friendly and happy to help. Japan is so far, my absolute favorite destination I've been to.

But Kyoto buses just do not fit the mold. On the shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo, I asked the conductor when we would see Mt. Fuji. He told me a time down to the minute. We saw it only a minute later than what he said. Maybe he would have been right if there was a little less haze? This is 2 hours into the trip. They are PROMPT. But Kyoto buses are not. And like you said, a lot of the big sites are clumped together. So LOTS of tourists, all trying to get on the same bus. It's just chaos and not very Japan like. We ended up going out of our way, walking to other bus stops and just riding to a train station. Luckily, many tourist sites are within reasonable walking distance to train stops.

The train system is color coded. Just look for the color and hopefully you have an idea of what major stops are in the direction you want to go. The signs usually list 2 or 3 major stops in each direction so it's not too hard to figure out. Worst case, just ask a worker or a local. If you show them your phone with Google Maps, they can confirm if you're going the right way or point you at the right sign to follow.

For first time visitors, listen to this board about the JR Pass. I was on a tour with some people who had the JR Pass. Conventional "advice" generally is "just get the JR Pass; it makes your life easier". It doesn't. I had to disabuse some traveling companions of that notion and wanted to emphasize that again here in this First Timer's thread. One other reason it's not as convenient as an IC card is that you have to show your JR Pass to the ticket person. However, that's also who the other tourists ask for directions, help with faulty cards, etc. It can be a short wait. If you just use an IC card, there are plenty of turnstalls which you can just breeze through. It's not a huge deal, but it all adds up.

fransknorge

I strongly disagree with your advices on Kyoto buses.
I am currently in Nara, after having spend 5 nights in Kyoto. and I used only two modes of transportation: buses and walking. The lines were all in English, there are clear maps inside the bus and electronic displays in English, with English announcements on all lines but one in the bowels of to Arashiyama.

jib71

I certainly got the impression that you didn't. Maybe everyone else understood that you had a fantastic time and I'm just a bad reader. But I sometimes have fun as a bad reader - I was amused when I misinterpreted one of your comments as a complaint that there was too much to see.

Pretty shoddy of Japan not to have sorted out its tourists.

blitzen

I can say I highly recommend getting yourself a volunteer guide. While these volunteers vary in depth of knowledge about the history (aka maybe not suitable for the hardcore japan buff) but they will give you more info than you can process and you won't need to think about how to get from here to there
Just google "volunteer guide kyoto/nara/tokyo/....." and you are set
I had 9 guides in 10 days and while I did the touristy stuff I met some people and got a better rounded experience

jib71

It would be great if you could write up the experience. Who were the people who guided you? How long did they spend with you, what were they able to tell you, and what costs did you cover? Did it feel awkward, or comfortable? I think a lot of people hesitate to use volunteer guides because they're not sure what the experience will be like - both from the point of view of what they can expect from a volunteer guide, and in terms of what the volunteer expects from them.

blitzen

The costs generally were their transportation and other expenses (meals) during the tour.
all in all it was nice to spend a day with students up to retired people and get a glimpse into normal Japanese life.
everyone was very accommodating and nice.
will go through my email to find the various organizations but will not rate guides as I liked them all and they were just different

Gradfly

I'd like to share my experience as well.

Who were the people who guided you? - Ranged from office workers my age all the way to retirees. I used Tokyo Free Guide and SGG (Systemized Goodwill Guides) for places outside Tokyo. SGG has a network covering most of Japan.

How long did they spend with you? - Depends on what both parties agree on. I've had a guide spend the whole day and then the evening in Tokyo.

What were they able to tell you? - SGG guides seemed to be the most prepared. They always had a binder on hand in case something needed further explanation.

What costs did you cover? - Generally, I covered entrance fees and food. For transportation, I recall paying that once and it was due to the areas being covered.

Did it feel awkward, or comfortable? - I'd echo Blitzen's comment, everyone I met was accommodating and nice. They were very enthusiastic and sincere in their efforts. Also, they were a great resource for local restaurants and gladly showed them to me.

kayla ahmed

thanks for this useful information it really benefit me and all japan traveler its good japan travel guide

blitzen

Depending on the area (I think) the guides had access to temples/shrines for free)
Kyoto / Osaka / Nara> used for Kyoto
Visit Kansai
another used for Kyoto
Good Samaritan Club ? Kyoto student volunteer guide
used for Nara
Nara Student Guide
for Tokyo (had the guide for two days as he offered once he saw what we wanted to see)
Shinagawa SGG Club
Kamakura
Kanagawa SGG Club ? Kanagawa Systematized Goodwill Guide Club
Hakone
OHSGG | Odawara and Hakone English Guide: Volunteer since 1996
and I used showaround (here you will find the most variation ... I had an expat living in JP for 30 years and a Russian student for Yokohama and Kyoto > not tour guides but they could relate to my experiences better and understood which things were weird/new to me)

Next timeI will probably use a guide every other day as I enjoy meeting people this way

codex57

LOL, I certainly don't mean to imply that Japan should sort out it's tourists. In some ways, I think countries do need to set some basic guidelines and expectations across to even the tourists (like don't let your kids crap anywhere China), but Japan doesn't seem to have much of that problem. I was just trying to say that the Japanese are generally so nice and orderly, it's much nicer any place that does NOT have a lot of tourists (from any country).

For example, in Shibuya, it's crazy crowded. But tons of locals. You just follow them and get where you need to go with minimum fuss. They duck out of the way or stop if they see you trying to get a picture. Conversely, in, say, Gion, it was mostly tourists (I can recognize most of the major Asian languages and there were multiple times more caucasian and black tourists there than anywhere else in Japan that I saw; the place was chock a block full of tourists). People walking against the flow of traffic, standing in the middle of the streets ignoring cars trying to get by, getting into someone else's shot knowingly, dropping garbage on the streets, cutting in line, ignoring no trespassing signs, etc. Really highlights how well behaved the Japanese are.

MSPeconomist

The guides generally need to be set up fairly far in advance so that they're able to match you with a volunteer.

IIRC there's even a service based at NRT airport, maybe if you want to see Narita village.