First Trip

Many people asked me, “I want to go to Japan for the first time - what do you recommend?”

My first trip to Japan was a family trip when I was a kid. Therefore, I went with the flow rather than planning. The destination was Tokyo, and here are a few things I remember vividly:

• Most people didn’t speak English. It was hard for us to navigate because we could not read Japanese signs. People were friendly though so I remembered them pointing us to the direction we need to go, so we could bother the next stranger for the next direction. Honestly, that was also the cool part about it - I didn’t know what the signs say or what people say. It was exciting to figure out the unknowns.

• Everything was expensive! Of course, this is relative to what you are used to. I was a kid and didn’t have much pocket money. I remember saving my pocket money and thinking really hard which ones I could afford to buy home. Everything was so different, and cute.

• Food was amazing. It still is amazing. I love the freshness of the seafood, the umami flavors in the soups and dishes, the refreshing tastes of the vegetables, kawaii sweets, and of course, mochi! Everything was so yummy and I couldn’t stop eating everything.

As an adult, I have been suggesting a few things to my friends depending on what they want from the first trip.

1. First, Japan is big in the sense that every prefecture, every city is different. It’s hard to say “oh, i went there for two weeks, and that’s enough”. As I keep going back to Tokyo years after years, it still amazes me and I keep finding new areas to explore.

2. Japan has a lot to offer: powdery snow, clear beaches, densely populated metropolitan cities, old towns full of history, Mt Fuji, relaxing hot springs/onsens, huge selection of beauty products, abundant produce, delicious wagyu, etc. I am sure you will find something you love to explore.

3. If you don’t have much time, definitely check out Tokyo. It’s one of a kind. It has the wow-factor that you hear so much about. Let it alone be the robots, anime, maid cafe, pokémon center, shibuya crossing, Mt Fuji, Shinjuku, Imperial Palace, or just Japanese cuisine, I am sure you will learn a lot about Japanese culture by just going to Tokyo. It’s still one of my top destinations even though I have been there so many times. A city that changes all the time.

4. Kyoto/Osaka will be another destination I highly recommend. They are fairly close to each other, and if you have more than a few days, they are not far from Tokyo either. Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka is definitely the most common combo for first trip among my friends and it is not without reasons. While Tokyo is super duper modern and futuristic, Kyoto gives you the serenity and zen and history that brings you back in time. Osaka has great food, and is a more personable city. People are so friendly and food are slightly cheaper than Tokyo.

5. Hokkaido is great for anyone who loves the nature, the snow, and/or the seafood or produce. I still cannot find any other place where I can get a fresher scallop sashimi than Hokkaido. The pure sweetness in the seafood is out of this world. Another place where I can easily feel the friendliness of locals - I feel welcomed.

6. There are of course a LOT of places in Japan where you can explore. I notice that many of my friends want to go to the “famous” spots of Japan, and these are the first few that come to my mind. In later posts, I will share more about these cities, and others. In the interim, I would highly suggest you looking at the JR Shinkansen map. One great way to explore Japan is by train and Shinkansen (bullet train) can take you across Japan pretty comfortably.

Greetings and Gestures

Japanese are very polite, and so it would be good to learn a few phrases to greet them, even though you don’t speak Japanese. They appreciate foreigners learning and understanding their language, and I always get encouragement when I talk to them in Japanese.

Note that there are shorter forms of some phrases that you probably have heard of before, and they are used usually between friends because they are more casual. Therefore, you should try to use the longer forms to sound more polite.

Similar to other asian cultures, the choice of words that you use in communication in Japan may imply seniority and respect, especially in a work environment. To ensure that you don’t offend anyone unintentionally, I would suggest trying to use the longer forms. However, since you are a traveler and not native Japanese, even if you use short forms, the locals probably won’t get mad at you.

Other than verbal communication, Japanese also tend to nod or even bow to customers. Note that nodding does not necessarily mean they agree with what you say, it’s more like “I heard you” in the States. When they nod, you can simply nod back to show respect. It’s not uncommon for a store assistant to walk you to the door after you are done paying for the purchase, and then bow as you walk away. The ones I write here are not the formal Romanji, but it’s a way for me to teach my friends how to say it in English if I send them a text.

• Good morning. = おはようございます。”o-hai-yor (longer) go-za-i ma-su” OR “o-hai-yor go-za-i-mas”. The “su” sound can be replaced with “s”. You probably have heard of “ohayo”, which is the short form.

• Good afternoon. = こんにちは。 “kon-ni-chi-wa”. This is used during the day, after the morning.

• Good evening. = こんばんは。”kon-bah-n-wa”. This is used in the evening to say hi, but not to say good night.

• Thank you. = ありがとうございます。”a-li-ga-tor (no need to stress “r” sound) go-za-i ma-su”. You probably have heard of “arigatou” before, which is the short form.

• Sorry or Excuse me (in American conversation). すみません。”su-mi ma-sen”. This is used when you want to get attention of somebody like trying to get the waitress’ attention at a restaurant. You can also use this phrase if you accidentally step on someone’s shoes.

• This is not a good direct translation but it’s been used by us many times in shopping when we want to use credit card to pay. It’s something that I teach my friends to use when they don’t speak Japanese at all so this is not grammatically correct or a phrase you will find in a Japanese textbook. “カードOK?” = “card-do okay?” One way to call credit card is simply “cardo”. Note that you may need to ask if you can use credit card because not every place accepts credit cards for payment. Cash is still golden in Japan, but many places take credit cards now.

Language

First, I would like to start off by saying that you don’t need to know Japanese to enjoy traveling in Japan! It definitely helps, like in any other country, but it’s not needed. I have been to Japan more than a dozen times before I started taking Japanese language classes.

While Japanese is the official language, English signs are everywhere from airport to train stations, at least in the major cities. Some shops, restaurants, and hotels even have English speaking staff (and other foreign language speaking staff) so they have been making it easier for travelers to enjoy Japan without language barrier. In addition, translation apps have improved tremendously over the years, and so it’s definitely getting easier to travel around. Other languages like Chinese and Korean are also spoken in certain stores, and signs in other languages can be seen at airport and certain train stations as well.

Thanks to Tokyo Olympics 2020 (which delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), more Japanese people in the service industry are now speaking English fluently! I have recently been to Tokyo in the winter of 2022, and I noticed that more and more Japanese are speaking English to us; and more restaurants now have English menus (and in other languages)!

While learning Japanese is not necessary in order to travel in Japan, knowing some definitely helps! In this website, I will try to add in some useful words, pronunciations and phrases. Bonus point is that Japanese LOVES foreigners who try to speak their language, and learn about their culture.

Japanese language = 日本語, “ni-hon-gor” for pronunciation. Note that this is not the correct romanji, but I am putting down how I would teach my American friends to pronounce it because “go” in romanji is pronounced more similarly to “gor” (no need to stress the “r” sound) with the pitch going up at the end.

Here are a few useful phrases, and I suggest using translation apps to listen to Japanese pronunciation a few times to get used to the language:

• Can you speak English? = 英語を話せますか。”ei-ei-gor o ha-na-sei ma-su-ka?” In written Japanese, you end a question with a period, instead of a question mark. However, when you pronounce it, feel free to end the sentence with a higher pitch at the end just like English.

• Sorry, I don’t understand Japanese. = すみません、日本語がわかりません。”su-mi-ma-sen, ni-hon-gor ga wa-ka-li ma-sen”.

• Excuse me, where is the toilet? = すみません、トイレはどこですか。”su-mi-ma-sen, to-i-lei wa dok-ko de-su-ka?”

General Transportation

Japanese public transportation system is very great. We prefer traveling by train, especially Shinkansen 新幹線 (bullet train), since we can enjoy the scenery while sitting comfortably. One of our favorite things to do is to buy some bentos and drinks from the train station and enjoy them on the shinkansen while looking outside through the windows. There are also a lot of domestic flight options if you want to travel by air. Since I mainly use trains, my posts will be focusing on trains with other modes of transportation mentioned as well.

Train system is very good in Japan and super reliable. I would suggest downloading some apps that are preloaded with the train maps offline, or getting familiar with map apps like Google Maps or Maps for directions. The map apps are so good now that not only do they tell you the mode of transportation (i.e., walk, type of train/bus) and estimated time of arrival, they even tell you the timetables, which door is closest to your exit, and whether your IC card has sufficient funds for this itinerary (this function shows up when you have the IC card on your Apple Wallet - for iPhone users). If you prefer paper maps, most train stations and airports (especially Information Booths) have them available for travelers. These are helpful when you are asking for directions so both you and the staff can draw on the map.

Services provided by the taxi drivers are amazing. They always make sure they handle your luggage with care (they even wear white gloves!). They are courteous and helpful, especially when you cannot speak Japanese, they will try their best to make sure they understand where you want to go to. The only downside is that it can be expensive. Our recent trip from Haneda International Airport (HND) to Shinjuku during peak hours was about 9500 jpy (at the time of writing this post, it’s about US $72) for 40 minutes of ride (due to traffic). In comparison, taking airport limousine bus would be around 1300 jpy (or US $10) per person.

Another point to note is that a normal sized taxi can fit two adults comfortably sitting in the back, one big luggage in the front passenger seat, and one big luggage and two small carry-ons in the trunk. Therefore, if you have more people and/or more luggage, you may need to get more taxi’s. I have been in bigger taxi before but since you usually get a taxi at the taxi stand, you have to take the next taxi available no matter what size it is.

Money and Currency

In Japan, official currency is certainly Japanese Yen (円). Note that in Japanese, this is pronounced as “en” not “yen”. But of course they understand what you mean when you say “yen”.

I have exchanged yen in many ways: in the US through banks, in other countries, and in Japan through foreign exchange places (at tourist spots like Shibuya, and at airport). Based on my experience, getting the money exchanged (from US dollars to Japanese yen) in Japan has a slightly better rate. In all honesty, I just exchange the yen whenever the rate is favorable since I go visit so often. And since cash is still golden in Japan, it’s convenient to have yen ready for my trips.

Important culture point is that Japanese don’t like their bills folded, or damaged, or wrinkled. The main exception is the otoshidama (お年玉). This is the New Year money envelope. Similar to Chinese New Year red envelope, except it’s not red, and it’s usually tiny in size. You may have seen them in Japanese stores like Daiso. The envelopes are very small, so if you put bills into it, you will have to fold it. But even for this, you will have to fold a perfectly straight bill nicely for the kids. Don’t get me wrong - you can still use the wrinkled money, especially if you got them from currency exchange, but they do prefer straight money.

IC Card (pronounced as “i-shi-cardo” in Japanese because they don’t have “c” sound in their language. It is widely used and accepted in metropolitan cities like Tokyo and Osaka, for example, as a method of payment. You can use it in convenience stores (“konbini” in Japanese), and some stores/restaurants. Other than the physical cards, you can also get it through Apple Wallet. This is super convenient as I recently just bought an electronic Suica on my iPhone and since I use my phone for directions anyway, it helps that I can just use the phone to enter/exit train station gates while looking at directions.

Coins are essential in Japan. With the wide use of credit cards and IC cards, they still remind essential when you pay in cash. If you don’t want to carry too many coins, you can always use the coins to add funds to your physical IC Cards at the train station. I think they take as low as 50-yen coins. So for the 10-yen, 5-yen, and 1-yen coins, I suggest using them when you pay cash. The cashier usually waits patiently when you count coins since we are foreigners.

Another important cultural note is that in Japan, you don’t have to pay tips. It is not expected or needed, and in some cases, it can be considered offensive.