Things to know:
- A few key words that you will use very often (listen to the pronunciation below):
Konnichiwa = Hello
Arigatou Gozaimasu = Thank you very much
Onegaishimasu = Please
- Respect is very important in Japan and they show it in their everyday life.
- Upon arrival, you can buy an unlimited data sim for 30 days for ¥9500. This comes in very handy for translations, google maps and to use on the move.
Late March – Early April is the best time for cherry blossoms in places like Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. Try to avoid the Golden week in Late April – Early May where Japanese have many bank holidays so are given the whole week off.
December – Early February are for those interested in the ski season in the northern region of Hokkaido. Catch some famous festivals in early February such as the Sapporo snow festival and the Asahikawa winter festival if you go at the right time. I hear they are exceptional to watch.
Buy a Japanese rail pass before leaving as this cannot be bought in Japan, it will take some time to arrive so don’t leave it to the last minute. This pass allows you to use most trains for free to travel within Japan for a certain number of days. You can choose between 7, 14 and 21 day passes which will cost you from ¥30,000 - ¥60,000 (£230 – £450) for an ordinary pass. You will have to then exchange the letter you get in the mail at certain stations to get your JR Pass. All information can be found on the website linked above.
Transport is very convenient and straightforward throughout Japan; you can get to most places without any problems by train especially if you have the Japan Rail Pass as costs of trains between cities can range from ¥10,000 - ¥30,000 (£77 - £230) for 1 train.
Buy an IC card which works everywhere in Japan except Hokkaido region which requires a different pass, each region has their own card, see images below.
The IC card costs ¥2000 with a ¥500 deposit that gets refunded once you return the card.
When it comes to choosing accommodation, this will depend on multiple criteria such as:
Preference
Budget
Number of people
If you are a solo traveller with a fairly low budget, then you will most likely opt for a Hostel. Whereas if you are a family with an average budget you might opt for hotels or Ryokan which is a Japanese style Inn generally run by families (worth trying out).
You can generally find these using websites like Hostelworld, Booking.com or Agoda.
My personal favourite is Agoda as they offer a lot of discounts the more you use it and is generally cheaper than the other two.
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