11 Things You Should Know Before Travelling to Japan

So, you're off to Japan. Good for you! A country that looks like a Studio Ghibli film and runs like a Swiss watch. It’s clean, calm, and chronically polite, which means you'll either thrive or feel like a feral gremlin.

Here’s everything I wish someone had drilled into my skull before I touched down in my midlife crisis.

You Are Not in the UK Anymore, Toto

Everything in Japan works. The trains arrive on time, the bins are never full, and people queue like they’ve trained for it since birth. No shoving. No sighing. No “where’s the manager?” energy. It’s all very… civilised. You’ll feel awkward at first, but you’ll learn quickly.

Bonus: no one wants to make small talk with you. It’s heaven.

Don’t Tip. Seriously. Stop It.

Tipping isn’t just unnecessary; it’s borderline offensive. The Japanese take great pride in doing their job well. Being handed money for simply existing is seen as insulting.

Yes, I knew this. Yes, I did it anyway. Yes, the adorable café owner in Ebisu looked like I’d kicked her dog.

It’s not rude to not tip. It’s rude to tip. Just say thank you, bow, and leave with your change and your shame.

The Toilets Will Change Your Life

The toilet experience is an emotional arc. Heated seats, bidet settings, privacy music to cover your bodily shame. Japanese loos are smarter than most of us. But beware, pressing buttons without reading the symbols first may result in unexpected jets of water or ambient forest sounds you can’t turn off. Again, just talking from personal experience here.

And yes, there are squat toilets in some places. You will learn. You will survive. You may come home with thighs of steel.

Cash is King

Japan isn’t as card happy as the UK. A lot of smaller shops, restaurants, and even some transport options are cash only. Always carry some yen, ideally withdrawn from a 7 Eleven, Lawson, or FamilyMart ATM (they *always* work with foreign cards).

You can also find standalone ATMs in places like international airports, including the arrivals halls of Narita, Haneda, and Kansai Osaka airports.

Convenience Stores Are Better Than Your Childhood

7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, aka the holy trinity. And they are everywhere. Think hot meals, fresh coffee, warm pastries, face masks, socks, and a secret portal to happiness. If you're worried about the food like I was, you'll be set with these to ease your way in gently.

I lived off egg sandwiches and canned peach fizz from the 7-Eleven next to my hotel.

Honestly? No regrets. Michelin stars could never.

The Trains Are Brilliant, and They Will Humble You

Trains are clean, cheap, fast, and eerily quiet. But the system? It’s... intense. There's the JR Line, Tokyo Metro, private lines, rapid expresses, and some stations with 50+ platforms. It’s less a public transport system, more a logic puzzle with a time limit.

Tips:

• Get a Suica or PASMO card for seamless travel (and vending machines!). Very easy to get through the app or at stores and airports.

  
  

• Google Maps works well, but Navitime Japan Travel is better for train info like routes, times, and platform numbers. I used Google Maps at first for the familiarity of it, and it worked a treat, with colour-coded stops and an easy user interface.

• Make sure you're checking the signs at the stations. They will have maps and information screens displaying information in English. Look for the line colour, the line letter, and the station number.

• Stand on the left on escalators in Tokyo. On the right in Osaka. Yes, really.

• Don’t talk on the phone on the train unless you enjoy passive aggressive silence.

  
  

This is a good read from the JRPass website

Manners Are Everything

Speak softly. Keep your phone on silent on public transport. Don’t eat while walking. Don’t jab your chopsticks upright into food (that’s a funeral ritual, and no one wants your bad vibes with their bento). Don’t slurp your soup like it owes you money, although ironically, slurping noodles is encouraged.

Basically, observe, copy, and apologise profusely when you inevitably mess it up.

The Language Barrier is Real, But You’ll Manage

I spent about a year learning Japanese and I was just baffled, but most signage has English, and people will try to help you, but don’t expect fluent conversations. Learn a few basics:

• Hello = Konnichiwa

• Thank you = Arigatou gozaimasu

• Excuse me = Sumimasen

• Sorry = Gomen nasai

  
  

Google Translate’s camera function is your new best friend. Also, pointing at menus like a cavewoman is universally understood. Just smile. A lot.

There Are No Bins. You Will Carry Your Shame.

You won’t find public bins. Don’t panic, you’re not being punished. Japan encourages people to take rubbish home and sort it properly. You’ll end up carrying your empty coffee cup and snack wrappers in your tote like a walking landfill. It’s normal. Everyone’s doing it. Suffer in solidarity.

Wear Good Socks!

You'll need to take off your shoes when entering homes, some restaurants, and temples. Just make sure you're always prepared with easy slip on/off shoes and nice socks (coming from the woman who'd just walked 20,000 steps and forgot this was a custom).

Tattoos Are Still Basically Public Enemy Number One

Although Japan is getting more accommodating, tattoos are still a hard no in certain places, especially onsens (hot springs), gyms, and some pools. It’s less about your dainty little butterfly on your ankle and more about the lingering association with the Yakuza.

Some places will let you get away with covering them up using plasters or special tattoo stickers like these*. Others? Forget it. You’ll be turned away quicker than you can say “kanpai.”*

If soaking naked with strangers while taped up like a Poundland craft project doesn’t appeal, then research ahead and find tattoo friendly onsens and hotels. They do exist, you just need to hunt them down before you end up standing awkwardly at the reception desk with your sleeves pulled down to your knuckles.

Bonus - You’ll Fall in Love, and It’ll Ruin You Forever

The food. The calm. The vending machines. The backstreets of Harajuku. The chaos of Shibuya. The view of Mt. Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi when you finally exhale and think, I could stay here forever. Japan doesn’t just get under your skin; it rents space in your soul.

Travelling solo to Japan was the best thing I’ve ever done for my brain. I went from burnt out to calm and clear headed.

There’s something about navigating trains alone, crying quietly while eating cake that costs nearly £30, and staring out at Mount Fuji with no one asking what’s next that rewires your system.

You get to know your own rhythm again. You eat when you’re hungry, stop when you're tired, and no one talks over your thoughts. It’s terrifying, liberating, and weirdly healing.

And above all, it’s safe. If you're a solo traveller, especially a woman, Japan will ruin you for everywhere else. I walked dark side streets at midnight with no fear, left my phone on a café table and came back to find it untouched, and found myself constantly surprised at how normal it felt to be alone, but never unsafe.

The culture of respect and honesty runs deep, and it shows in every interaction.

So if you’re teetering, book the flight. Not for the Instagram pics, but for the version of you that comes home with clearer skin, a full camera roll, and the kind of peace no therapist can charge you for.

Want More?

I've written a full breakdown of my solo Japan trip, including costs, weird discoveries, and the best places to eat, cry, shop, and overthink. Click here to read it.

You’re welcome.