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Travel Tips - Everything you will need to know for your holiday in Japan
In this section we've put together lots of useful practical advice about travelling in Japan. Choose a link from the left menu to jump to a section.
Of course, everyone travelling with InsideJapan Tours is supplied with our complimentary Japan info-pack and those of you taking an accompanied tour will also receive on the ground assistance from your tour 'buddy'!
If there is anything we've forgotten, please e-mail us and we'll do our best to include it soon.
Area: 377,829 sq km (145,877 sq miles)
Population: 126,065,000 (1997)
Population Density: 333.7 per sq km
Capital: Tokyo
Population: 7,967,614 (1995)
Time: GMT + 9
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100 volts AC, 60Hz in the west (Osaka), 50Hz in the east and Tokyo. Flat 2-pin plugs.
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Japanese. Some English is spoken in major cities.
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Shintoism and Buddhism (most Japanese follow both of these religions) with a Christian minority.
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The weather is a favourite topic of conversation in Japan. This is unsurprising given the complexity of the climate in a country spanning 20 degrees of latitude.
From the harsh winters and mild summers of Hokkaido to the sub-tropical Okinawan climate there is a great variety in Japanese weather. Even in the same city both extremes of weather can be experienced in a year - Sapporo in Hokkaido can experience temperatures of minus 10 in the winter but heat waves of 30 degrees in the summer are not a rare occurrence.
On the mainland, summer temperatures are generally between 20 and 30 degree centigrade. In the early part of summer (mid-June to mid-July) there is a rainy season lasting a few weeks, this is however broken up by days of fine weather. Rains come again in late summer thanks to typhoons, although these usually blow over in a day.
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Telephone / Fax: Full international direct dial service.
Country Code: 81.
For outgoing international calls dial either 001 010 (KDD) or 0033 010 (NTT) followed by the country code and then omit the first 0 from the telephone number. You need an international telephone card to make calls from certain public call boxes (regular telephone cards can not be used to make international calls).
Post: Tokyo Central Post Office has some English-speaking staff, it is located in front of Tokyo Station. Osaka central post office is located next to Osaka station.
Airmail to Europe takes four to six days to arrive. All main post offices have Poste Restante and will hold mail for up to ten days. Post office hours: 0900-1700 Monday to Friday, 0900-1200 on Saturdays. Tokyo Central Post Office is open weekdays until 1900 and Saturdays until 1700.
Press: English language newspapers are available in most cities, they include The Daily Yomiuri, The Asahi Evening News, The Japan Times and The Mainichi Daily News.
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This information is intended as a guide only, for official information please contact your nearest Japanese Embassy. An onward ticket is sometimes required in order to be allowed into the country. Your passport must be valid for the duration of your stay and it's always a good idea to make a photocopy of your passport in case you lose it.
No Visa Required, maximum stay of 6 months (initially 3 months, then apply for extension) nationals of:
UK, Germany, Mexico, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Ireland
No Visa Required, maximum stay of 3 months, nationals of:
Other EU, Bahamas, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland, Malta, Mauritius, Singapore, Turkey
No Visa required, maximum stay of 90 days, nationals of:
USA, Barbados, New Zealand
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Although Japan is a clean and relatively safe country it is always advisable to take out Travel Insurance for the duration of your stay.
Come to Japan in the summer or autumn and you will, unfortunately, meet some mosquitoes. You can cheaply buy various repellent sprays and creams in Japan or you may wish to bring some from home.
You can also get electric repellent devices for your room - most rooms have air-conditioning however, so the best thing is simply to shut the windows. If you think you will have a particularly bad reaction then it may be best to cover up, especially in the evenings.
Malaria is not endemic in Japan so there is no need to take any tablets.
Food and drink are generally considered safe but there is a small risk of parasitic infection and toxins from raw seafood.
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The Japanese unit of currency is the Yen. The following exchange rates were taken on 28th July 2003.
1 Australian Dollar AUD = 79.14 yen
1 British Pound GBP = 194.21 yen
1 Canadian Dollar CAD = 86.26 yen
1 Danish Krone DKK = 18.468 yen
1 Dutch Guilder NLG = 62.29 yen
1 Euro EUR = 137.24 yen
1 Swiss Franc CHF = 88.71 yen
1 United States Dollar USD 119.42 yen
You can change your money at the airport, at most banks and at post offices. They should have the current rates of exchange clearly on display. You’ll need your passport handy when you want to change some money. You can get a cash advance on a Visa card at Sumitomo banks but these will not always be convenient and are not found outside of the major cities.
Travellers Cheques can be exchanged at most major banks, larger hotels and some duty free shops. You may avoid some commission by using yen-denominated Travellers Cheques.
The highest denomination note is the 10,000 yen note (Ichiman-en satsu in Japanese). Japan is still a cash based society and relatively safe, thus despite their high value you will see plenty of ichiman-en notes in circulation. The other notes are worth 5,000 yen, 2,000 yen (a newcomer - introduced in the year 2000) and 1000 yen (sen-en satsu).
As for coins, there are three silver coins: the 500 yen coin (not to be confused with a Korean coin of similar size but far less value), the 100 yen coin, and the 50 yen coin which has a hole through its centre. The 10 yen coin and 5 yen coin (again, with a hole in it) are both bronze, the almost worthless one yen coin is silver and weighs next to nothing.
Credit cards and debit cards of the major issuers (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, Diners) are becoming increasingly accepted in the major cities. However they are not used as much as in western countries. At a supermarket there may only be one till where you can pay with plastic and more often than not you will not be able to use a credit card.
Avoid cash machines at banks as these do not normally accept foreign-issued cards. Instead use the Post Office cash machines machines from which you will be able to take out money using Visa cards, Mastercard, Cirrus or Maestro. You will need a 4 digit PIN number to do this.
24hr credit card Emergency Numbers:
American Express 0120-020120
Mastercard (03) 3256-6271
Visa 0120-1331363
There are no personal cheques in Japan - mail order items and the like are often paid for by bank transfer.
As a rule there is no tipping in Japan - just pay the price on the bill!
Japan has a 5% consumer tax (the price shown on goods is before this tax) and some local taxes for restaurant bills exceeding 5000 yen and hotel bills exceeding 10000 yen.
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Japan has a number of companies that offer excellent luggage forwarding services - referred to as “Takkyubin” in Japanese. You can send your bags onwards to a hotel or any of Japan’s 17 airports. This is common practice in Japan so hotels will be more than happy to hold your bags until you arrive. If you are sending bags to an airport allow a little extra time to pick them up. Don’t forget to keep your receipt to prove which bags are yours!
You can send your bags from most convenience stores and some hotel lobbies. Use the Japanese addresses in your info-pack to help and ask the shop / hotel staff to fill out the forms for you.
The most widespread company is Yamato Transport, commonly known by the nickname “Kuroneko” (black cat).
Yamato’s rivals in the Takkyubin market include: Nippon Express, Sagawa Express, Seino Transport, Footwork, and S-Line Gifu.
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Police: dial 110 Fire / Ambulance: dial 119
You should be able to make yourself understood in simple English.
Japan Helpline: 0120 461 997 (for emergency advice in English 24hrs)
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