The practical part
- Visit Japan Web is the official online pre-registration for immigration and customs. It gives you a QR code to show on arrival (vjw.digital.go.jp).
- Some common medicines are not allowed into Japan, including amphetamine-based ADHD medicines and some pseudoephedrine products. More than a month's supply of a prescription medicine needs an import certificate (Yunyu Kakunin-sho). Your Japanese embassy has the details.
- If you plan to drive, Japan accepts only International Driving Permits under the 1949 Geneva Convention. A few countries use an official translation of the licence instead.
The general trip list still applies: passport, insurance, plug adapter and the rest. See things to do before a trip.
Eat your way there
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Make onigiri
Shape warm short-grain rice around a filling like salted salmon or umeboshi plum, then wrap in a strip of nori. Wet, salted hands are the trick.
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Cook a bowl of miso ramen from scratch
Simmer a quick broth, stir in miso, and top with a soft-boiled marinated egg, spring onion and corn, Sapporo style. Slurping is polite.
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Make a bowl of matcha slowly
Whisk matcha powder with hot water (not boiling) in a zigzag until frothy. Sit with it quietly, the way a tea ceremony asks you to.
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Choose your Japan must-eat
Okonomiyaki in Osaka, sushi at a counter, tonkatsu, a bowl of soba, or kaiseki in Kyoto? Pick the one you will not leave without.
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Plan your first konbini snack
Japanese convenience stores are famous: egg sandwiches, onigiri, fried chicken, melon bread. Decide what you will buy on your first walk.
Watch and read
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Watch Spirited Away or My Neighbour Totoro
Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films are full of Japanese bathhouses, shrines and countryside. Watch one and look for spirits on your trip.
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Watch Ozu's Tokyo Story
Yasujiro Ozu's quiet 1953 masterpiece about a family is often named among the greatest films ever made. Notice how still the camera is.
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Watch Lost in Translation
Sofia Coppola's film catches the jet-lagged wonder of Tokyo: hotel bars, karaoke and Kyoto temples at dawn. Perfect for the final weeks.
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Read a Haruki Murakami novel
Norwegian Wood is a good start, or try Kafka on the Shore. For something lighter, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is short and sharp.
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Read about Kyoto's Gion Matsuri
Every July, huge wooden floats are pulled through Kyoto in a festival dating back over a thousand years. Look up the floats and why it began.
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Listen to Japanese city pop
Put on Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi and Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara, then explore Tatsuro Yamashita. Ideal for an evening drive or dinner.
Learn the small courtesies
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Learn five phrases in Japanese
Start with arigatou gozaimasu (thank you), sumimasen (excuse me) and oishii (delicious). Say them out loud until they feel easy.
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Say itadakimasu before every meal
Itadakimasu (I humbly receive) is said before eating, gochisousama deshita (thank you for the meal) after. Use both at home for a week.
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Learn the basics of Japanese etiquette
Shoes off where you see a step up, no tipping, never stand chopsticks upright in rice, and keep phone calls off trains. Small things, big respect.
Slow rituals for the last weeks
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Fold a paper crane
Origami cranes stand for hope and long life, and a thousand of them make a senbazuru. Fold one from a square of paper with a tutorial.
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Wrap a gift furoshiki style
Furoshiki is the art of wrapping with a square of cloth. Use a scarf or tea towel to wrap a small gift for someone you love.
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Try shinrin-yoku, forest bathing
Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese practice of slowly soaking up a forest. Walk in a park or woods near home with no phone and no goal for an hour.
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Write a haiku about the waiting
Five syllables, then seven, then five. Read a few by Basho first, then write one about the trip that is almost here.
Questions people ask
Do I need to register on Visit Japan Web?
It is the official online pre-registration for immigration and customs, and it gives you a QR code for arrival. Check the current guidance on vjw.digital.go.jp a week or so before you fly.
Can I bring my medicines to Japan?
Most, but not all. Some ADHD medicines and some pseudoephedrine products are banned, and more than a month's supply of a prescription medicine needs an import certificate. Check with your Japanese embassy at least a month before you go.
Do I need cash in Japan?
Bring some. Cards work in most cities, but smaller restaurants, shrines and rural shops still often prefer cash. IC cards like Suica or Pasmo cover trains and many shops.
What are the emergency numbers in Japan?
110 for the police, 119 for an ambulance or the fire service. Save both in your phone before you leave.
More guides
- Things to do before a trip: a calm checklist by week.A short checklist of things to do before a trip abroad, sorted by when to do them, with extra steps if you fly, drive or travel with children.
- Things to do before going to Italy, and how to start living a little Italian now.Before going to Italy: timed tickets, the Venice fee, ZTL zones and train tickets, plus pasta, films and a passeggiata to enjoy while you wait.
- Vacation countdown ideas for grown-ups.Small things to do while you count down to a trip: a playlist, a dish to cook, five phrases, a first-hour ritual. Sorted by how long you have left.