Guides to Japan: Etiquette, Onsen, Trains and More
What to do and what not to, and why, plus the practical side of the trip. Each guide is short enough to read on the train.
How to behave
Etiquette in Japan, the Short Version
The few rules that matter most in Japan: quiet in public, queues, shoes off, no tipping, carrying your rubbish, eating at the stall and phones on trains.
Temples and Shrines in Japan: How to Visit
Shrine or temple? How to walk through a torii, wash at the temizuya, pray with two bows and two claps, light incense, draw omikuji and ask for goshuin.
Staying in a Ryokan: Slippers, Yukata and Dinner
How a ryokan works: shoes at the door, no slippers on tatami, toilet slippers, wrapping the yukata left over right, dinner at a set time and the futon.
Onsen Etiquette: How to Bathe Without Embarrassment
Wash first, keep the small towel out of the water, tie long hair up, no swimsuits, no photos. Tattoos, alcohol and how long to stay in.
Eating Out in Japan, and How Locals Choose
Oshibori, chopstick taboos, slurping, ticket machines and paying at the till — and why locals pick restaurants on Tabelog, not Google Maps.
Japanese Phrases for the Trip
Twenty phrases for restaurants, shops and trails, with how to say them and what they mean.
Trains and Shinkansen: Manners and Luggage
Queue marks, quiet cars and calls, eating on the shinkansen, priority seats, and the 160 cm luggage rule on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines.
Hiking in Japan: What to Do About Bears
Bear bells, daylight, cubs and closures; what to do if you meet a bear and if one attacks. With the Nakasendo as an example.
Nara’s Deer: How to Feed Them, and Where to Start
Only shika senbei, one at a time; bowing, bags and antlers; the autumn rut; and why to enter Nara Park from the Kasuga Taisha side.
Practical matters
The Konbini Shelf: Stomach, Hangover and Energy Drinks
What a konbini sells and what only a drugstore does: stomach medicines, hangover and turmeric drinks, energy drinks, and drinks mixed over a konbini ice cup.
Eat Cheaper in Japan: Supermarkets vs Konbini
The same bottle of tea costs 1.6 times as much at a konbini. Evening discount stickers, depachika before closing, the 8% and 10% tax, and dinner in your room.
Tax-Free Shopping in Japan Under the 2026 Refund System
Since 1 November 2026 you pay the tax at the till and get it back when you leave: from ¥5,000 per shop per day, 90 days, the airport check and how the money comes back.
JR Pass or Single Tickets? Doing the Sums
A 7-day JR Pass costs ¥50,000; Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and back costs less on single tickets. The Nozomi ticket, smartEX, and when a pass still pays off.
Suica, Welcome Suica and IC Cards in Japan
Tap in, tap out: Welcome Suica for visitors, Suica in Apple Wallet, topping up, the ¥20,000 limit, where IC cards work and the one trip they can’t do.
eSIM, SIM or Pocket Wi-Fi in Japan
How to stay online in Japan: a travel eSIM set up before you fly, a SIM or pocket Wi-Fi from the airport, free Wi-Fi, roaming and phone numbers.
Sending Luggage in Japan: Takkyubin, Hotel to Hotel
Send your suitcase ahead from the hotel desk: next day to most places, sizes and prices, and to the airport two days before you fly.
Travel Insurance for Japan: What to Check
Japan doesn’t require it, but treatment and the flight home can cost ¥10 million. What cover to look for, direct billing, card insurance’s fine print, and who to call.
Plan your days
The planner shows these tips at each stop of your trip, offline too.
