Travel Tips

Contents

• Facts about Japan
• Electricity
• Language
• Religion
• Climate
• Communications
• Mobile Phones
• Passports
• Health and Safety
• Currency
• Getting money in Japan
• Luggage forwarding
• Emergencies

Useful information for your trip to 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 has 24/7 support from our office in Japan. Those of you taking a Small Group Tour will also receive on the ground assistance from your Tour Leader.

If there is anything we've forgotten, please e-mail us and we'll do our best to include it soon.

Facts about Japan

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

Electricity

100 volts AC, 60Hz in the west (Osaka), 50Hz in the east and Tokyo. Flat 2-pin plugs.

Official language

Japanese. Some English is spoken in major cities.

Religion

Shintoism and Buddhism (most Japanese follow both of these religions) with a Christian minority.

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Climate

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.

Communications

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. Kyoto station also had a large Post Office located adjacent to the main station building.

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.


Mobile Phones

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the use of overseas mobile phones in Japan. Please note that the information given here is intended as a guide only. We cannot be responsible for charges made by operators or rental companies. You will find that charges for using a mobile phone in Japan are expensive and this is especially the case for data (e-mail and internet) - we recommend you turn off roaming on your mobile telephone to avoid a nasty surprise!

One great option is to hire a mobile phone in Japan:

Click to learn about hiring a mobile phone and mobile wi-fi in Japan

The mobile network in Japan works on a different system to the rest of the World and until recently no overseas mobile phones would work. However, with the advent of 3G phones this has changed. The rule is basically this: If you have a 3G handset it will work. If you do not have a 3G handset it will not.

Be careful: If you ask your mobile provider they may inform you that your phone will work in Japan if it is tri-band or quad-band. It will not.

BLACKBERRY: If you have a 3G Blackberry it WILL work in Japan. If it is not 3G it will NOT work in Japan.

Please note: The main exception to the above is that some mobile phone contracts do NOT INCLUDE ROAMING. if your contract does not include roaming YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE IT IN JAPAN.

Another option is to hire a SIM card in Japan and put this into your own mobile home which you have brought with you from home. Two companies offer this service, Softbank and Mobal Narita (only available at Tokyo Narita Airport). As of September 2010, Softbank is much cheaper for domestic calls within Japan (105 yen per minute). Calls to the US are 200 yen per minute and to the UK 250 yen. The Mobal Narita service is 240 yen for domestic and international calls. text message son MobalNarita are 140 yen each. For Softbank international SMS messages are 150 yen. Data charges (internat and e-mail) for both are very high. Your phone will need to be 'unlocked' in order to be able to use the SIM card.

Note that the SIM has to be returned and is not pre-pay. You will need to provide credit card details and will then be billed for usage.

http://www.mobalnarita.com/
http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/phones/sim3g.php


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Passports

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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Health and safety

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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Currency

The Japanese unit of currency is the Yen. The following exchange rates were taken in September 2012. These are market rates so the rates you get as a tourist are unfortunately likely to be a fair bit worse (but see below for a link to some advice on getting the best rates).  Please do keep in mind that exchange rates can change, so do check for the latest rates.

1 Australian Dollar AUD = 80 yen
1 British Pound GBP = 125 yen
1 Canadian Dollar CAD = 80 yen
1 Euro EUR = 100 yen
1 United States Dollar USD 78 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. You can use Visa and Mastercard cards to withdraw money at Post Office and 7-11 ATMs (see below).

For the definitive guide to buying your currency check out the blog post from InsideJapan Director, Alastair Donnelly.

How much money will I need in Japan? - Click to go to our FAQs section with the answer!

Getting Money in Japan

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.


Please Note: When changing money in Japan you will get a significantly better rate if you exchange foreign currency traveller's cheques rather than foreign currency cash. For example, at Kansai Airport on 22nd March 2009 GBP traveller's cheques could be exchanged for £1 = 136 yen whereas the rate for cash was only 126 yen.

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 and Debit Cards & ATMs
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 or ATMs at branches of the Seven Eleven convenience store 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 020 120      
Mastercard: 03 3256 6271      
Visa: 0120 133 1363  

Be sure to take the phone number of your card issuer with you to Japan - if you have a problem with your card then most likely a quick call to your card issuer will solve it.     

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 (included in most displayed prices) and some small local taxes for restaurant bills exceeding 5000 yen and hotel bills exceeding 10000 yen.

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Luggage forwarding

Japan has a number of companies that offer excellent luggage forwarding services - referred to as takuhaibin 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).

 
Emergencies

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)