Before & during the trip

IC card: your everything-pass

Suica / PASMO / ICOCA are all interchangeable and work on every train, subway and bus in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, plus konbini, vending machines and lockers. On iPhone, add a Suica in Apple Wallet and top up with your card. Otherwise buy a Welcome Suica at Narita's JR East Travel Service Center. Keep ¥2,000+ on it; top-up machines in every station take cash.

Some lines (Osaka Metro, Keisei, Odakyu, Kintetsu, Nankai and others) also accept tap-to-pay Visa/Mastercard at the gates, but the IC card works everywhere.

Apps

• Google Maps: excellent for trains, with platform numbers and exact departure times. All the Route ↗ links on this site open it.
• SmartEX: book Shinkansen seats in English, pay by card, link your IC card or use a QR ticket.
• Japan Transit Planner (NAVITIME) or Japan Travel by NAVITIME: backup for routes and fares.
• GO or Uber: call regular taxis (Uber in Japan books normal taxis).

Rules of thumb

• Trains run to the minute. Queue in the marked lines on the platform; let people off first.
• Rush hours are ~7:30–9:30 and ~17:30–19:30 — avoid moving with suitcases then.
• Last trains are around 00:00–00:30. Taxis start at ¥500 and add ~20% after 22:00.
• In Kyoto, buses are slow and packed. Combine the subway, Keihan/Hankyu lines, walking, and short taxis (good value for two).

• Seats can be booked about a month in advance on SmartEX; early December isn't a peak season, so a week before is usually fine — but early booking gets you the window on the Fuji side.
• Luggage with length + width + height over 160 cm needs a reserved "seat with oversized baggage area" (last row of each car); otherwise there's a ¥1,000 fee. Normal cabin bags go on the overhead rack.
• Eating on board is normal — buy an ekiben (station lunch box) before boarding. Keep voices down; phone calls in the vestibule.

Japan's luggage forwarding is cheap and reliable: you hand the suitcase to your hotel's front desk, pay, and it appears at the next hotel. It means you travel Tokyo → Osaka → Kyoto with just a backpack, and never haul suitcases through stations.

Per suitcase, depending on size: ¥2,500–3,500Pay at the front desk (cash or card)Tell the hotels a parcel is coming for a guest

Keep 2 nights of clothes, chargers, medicines and passports in the backpack.

• Cards (Visa/Mastercard/Amex, Apple Pay) work in most shops, chains and hotels. Small izakaya, Golden Gai bars, temple entrances, market stalls and shrines are often cash-only.
• ATMs that take foreign cards: 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) everywhere, Japan Post, and some FamilyMart/Lawson. Withdraw in larger amounts to limit fees.
• No tipping, ever — it can even be refused. Izakaya often add an otoshi: a small appetiser and table charge of ¥300–700 each. It's normal.
• Coins pile up fast: use them at vending machines and konbini. Shrines like a ¥5 coin offering (it sounds like "good relationship").
• Tax-free shopping (from 1 Nov 2026): pay the full price including 10% tax, show your passport, keep receipts, and get the refund at the airport after customs checks the goods. There's a minimum spend per shop per day (traditionally ¥5,000) — ask at the till.

• An izakaya is a Japanese pub where the food is the point: small plates to share, ordered a few at a time. The plan has one drink with dinner each evening.
• Toriaezu, biiru! ("beer for now!") is how many dinners start. Nama = draft; a chu (medium) mug is plenty.
• The big four: Asahi Super Dry, Kirin Ichiban, Sapporo (Black Label / Yebisu), Suntory Premium Malt's. Craft worth a glass: Hitachino Nest, Coedo, Kyoto Brewing Co., Minoh Beer (Osaka).
• Not drinking is completely normal. Uuron-cha (iced oolong tea) is the classic izakaya soft drink; most places also have alcohol-free beer.
• Kanpai! Wait until everyone has a drink, clink, then drink. Pour for each other, not for yourself.
• Tiny bars (Golden Gai, Pontocho) can have a seat charge of ¥500–1,500. Look for a posted price or ask "chaaji wa ikura desu ka?".
• Drinking in public is legal, but banned at night around Shibuya Station. Never walk and drink in temples and shrines. Smoking only in marked areas outdoors; some small bars still allow it inside.

• Quiet on trains: no phone calls, low voices.
• Shoes off where you see a step up or slippers (ryokan, some restaurants, temple halls). Toilet slippers stay in the toilet.
• Few public bins: carry a small bag for your rubbish; konbini have bins near the door.
• Don't eat while walking on busy streets; stand by the stall or vending machine.
• Temples: bow at the gate, wash hands and mouth at the water basin (left hand, right hand, mouth, handle). Shrines: two bows, two claps, one bow.
• Gion (Kyoto): don't chase or photograph geiko and maiko; private side alleys ban photos.
• Escalators: stand on the left in Tokyo, on the right in Osaka (Kyoto: mostly right).

• Fully naked; men and women bathe separately.
• Wash and rinse thoroughly at the shower stools before entering the bath.
• The small towel never goes in the water — fold it on your head or leave it on the side.
• Tattoos are often not allowed in shared baths; small ones can sometimes be covered with a patch. Check the onsen's website.
• Drink water, don't bathe after drinking alcohol, and keep your head out of the water.

Layers: a warm jacket, light down or fleece, scarf and gloves for Fuji. Very comfortable walking shoes (15–20k steps a day) that come off easily for temples. Small towel for onsen, a folding bag for rubbish and shopping. Sunsets around 16:30 mean long evenings — perfect for izakaya.

• eSIM (Ubigi, Airalo, Holafly...) for 10 days: about €10–25 for 10–20 GB. Install at home, activate on landing. Free Wi-Fi exists in stations and konbini but isn't reliable.
• Sockets are type A (two flat pins), 100 V. European plugs need an adapter; phone and laptop chargers work fine on 100 V. A small power bank is handy for long map-heavy days.

• EU citizens: no visa for stays up to 90 days. Passport must be valid for the whole stay; carry it with you (required by law, and needed for tax-free).
• Visit Japan Web: register flights and fill in immigration/customs before departure for QR codes.
• Police 110 · Ambulance / fire 119 · JNTO 24 h visitor hotline (English) 050-3816-2787.
• Lost something? Japan is famous for returning it — ask at the station office (lost and found) or a police box (koban).

All photos come from Wikimedia Commons. Each link opens the original with its full licence.