How much cash should I carry in Japan?

Carry ¥5,000–10,000 a day as a cushion. Cards work in most city shops; cash covers shrines, markets and small family restaurants. The best ATMs for foreign cards are at 7-Eleven and Japan Post.

Can my phone hold a Suica card?

iPhone — yes: add Suica in Apple Wallet in about two minutes. Android phones bought outside Japan usually cannot, so pick up a physical Welcome Suica card at airport JR counters instead.

What should I do in an emergency in Japan?

Police 110, Ambulance/Fire 119. JNTO runs a 24/7 visitor hotline in English at 050-3816-2787. Convenience store staff and station attendants are also very helpful in a pinch.

The two of us in kimono, walking ahead down a stone-paved street

The Perfect Japan Guide

Q: Is the JR Pass worth it?

Only if you are doing several long-distance legs, such as Tokyo to Kyoto to Hiroshima and back. Since the 2023 price rise it is no longer an automatic yes — add up your actual routes first.

Q: Do people tip in Japan?

No — never. Not taxis, not restaurants, not hotels. Great service is simply the default, and a sincere thank-you lands better than any coin.

Sachi and Ichi, in Nagoya. Written from what we bought, booked and ate.

In Japan right now · autumn 2026

🍂 Warm by day and cool once the sun drops, so bring one light layer (no coat needed)
💴 ¥100 ≈ $0.62 LIVE
🌀 September is peak typhoon season. Check your flight the night before, not just on the morning you leave
🍁 Autumn colour: Hokkaido from late September, but Kyoto and Tokyo not until late November. In October the maples there are still green

Prices we actually paid

10 Tokyo hotels under ¥17,000 a night

7 Kansai hotels from ¥10,533 a night

Kuramae on foot: scones ¥340

Ginza Itoya, floor by floor

DAISO: what ¥110 really buys

Don Quijote, with real prices

Where are you on your trip?

Tap any card to go straight there 👇

💴 Yen ⇄ your money

≈

Checking today’s rate…

🗣️ Say it in Japanese

Tap 🔊 to speak, or just show the big Japanese to staff. Each one is written so the answer comes back as a point, a nod, or a number (you don’t need any Japanese to understand the reply).

🙇

Excuse me!すみませんsumimasen · the magic word for everything

🔊

🛒

This one, pleaseこれをくださいkore o kudasai · just point at it

🔊

💰

How much?いくらですか？ikura desu ka · they’ll show you the number

🔊

💳

Card OK?カードは使えますか？kaado wa tsukaemasu ka · yes/no answer

🔊

🚻

Toilet? Just point for meトイレはどこですか？
（指をさして教えてください）they’ll point, no words needed

🔊

🗺️

Show me on my mapこの地図で、指をさして教えてくださいopen your map first, then show this

🔊

🥢

English menu?英語のメニューはありますか？eigo no menyuu wa arimasu ka

🔊

📷

Could you take our photo?写真を撮ってもらえますか？hand them your phone with a smile

🔊

🤧

I have an allergy. Is this OK?アレルギーがあります。
これは大丈夫ですか？show the ingredient word in a translator tooWhich allergy? Tap to say it:

🔊

Need a real back-and-forth? Google Translate’s conversation mode is what locals hand tourists anyway 🙂

🔖

Save this page to your home screenYour pocket companion for the whole trip.

Hotel lobby at Citadines Harbour Front Yokohama

🛬 Just landed

Three things. Twenty minutes. Then you’re free.

📶 Get onlineeSIM on · or the airport counter

💴 Get cash7-Eleven ATM: English menu, foreign cards

🚉 Get a SuicaiPhone → Wallet · Android → Welcome Suica card

🚄 Airport → city 🏧 ATMs 🧳 Drop bags

📶 Get online

Buy an eSIM before you fly, and you land already connected.

✈️ Before: install the eSIM on home Wi-Fi
🛬 Landed without one? Airport SIM counters sort you out
⚠️ Street Wi-Fi is patchy, so you want your own data for maps

📱 Apps to install before you fly

Five apps do 95% of the work. Install them at home before you leave.

🗺️Google Mapstrains, walking, saved lists; it works really well in Japan› 🈂️Google Translatepoint the camera at any menu · conversation mode for real talks› 📶An eSIM app (Airalo)buy & install at home and you land already online› 💳SuicaiPhone: already inside Apple Wallet, nothing to download · Android bought abroad: skip it and get the physical card 🚄Japan Travel by NAVITIMEroute planner in English, with rail-pass filters›

Nice to have:

🚕GOthe taxi app locals use (Uber also works in big cities)› 🌀NERV Disaster Preventionearthquake & typhoon alerts in English; locals use it a lot› 🎟️Klookbook teamLab, USJ & day trips before they sell out›

Links go to official pages. If we join partner programs, some may become affiliate links. We will always say so, and it never changes what we recommend.

💳 Money

Cards work in cities. Cash still rules the small places.

💳 Card OKchains · stations · malls · konbini

💴 Cash onlyshrines · markets · small eats

👛 Carry ¥5,000–10,000 ≈ $46 as a cushion
🏧 Best ATMs: 7-Eleven & Japan Post: everywhere, with English menus
🧾 Tax-free: ¥5,000+ in one store, one day, passport in hand
🙅 No tipping. Ever. It’s never rude not to.

🧾 Tax-free steps 🚉 Paying for trains

🚉 Getting around

One Suica works for trains, buses and konbini.

🍎 iPhone users: Wallet → ＋ → Transit Card → Suica · top up with Apple Pay 🤖 Android (bought abroad) usually can’t hold Suica, so grab a physical Welcome Suica at airport JR counters

🚄 Narita → city: Skyliner or N’EX · Haneda → monorail or Keikyu (~30 min)
🚕 Taxi from Narita: ¥25,000 ≈ $155… take the train 🙂
🧭 Google Maps handles Japanese transit very well

🧳 Lockers 🎫 JR Pass: is it worth it?

🧳 Bags & lockers

Hands free in minutes: ¥400–800/day, paid by Suica.

📍 Find lockers near me now

…or where you’re heading:

…or near your hotel / any spot:

🚚 Moving hotels? Takkyubin forwards your suitcase overnight, ¥2,000–3,000 ≈ $15. Ask any front desk. My favourite trick in all of Japan.

🛍️ Shopping & deals

Drugstore beauty beats brands 3× the price.

🧾 Tax-free:spend ¥5,000+ in one store, same day

🛂 Show your passportat the tax-free counter

✅ Donedrugstores, Don Quijote, department stores all do it

🗓️ Prime Day is July, long gone. Next up: Black Friday late Nov. We only post confirmed dates here, with no fake countdowns

💄 What I actually buy →

🍜 Eating out

“Sumimasen!” is how you call staff. It’s polite, not rude.

🎫 Ramen shops: pay the ticket machine first, hand over the ticket
🏪 Konbini food is really good, so enjoy it
🙅 No tipping. A warm gochisousama! beats any coin

🏨 Where to stay

The local formula: ryokan for one night, business hotel for the rest.

🏯 Ryokan are best for one night, which gives you the full experience (dinner + onsen). Five nights would blow most budgets.
🏨 Business hotels (Dormy Inn, Mitsui Garden…): small, spotless and good value at ¥8,000–15,000 ≈ $71/night
🛏️ Capsules & hostels are fine for a night, but pack earplugs
📍 Rule of thumb: book near a JR / metro hub rather than “near the sights”. The train gets you everywhere anyway

🧭 Our hand-picked stays will be listed here city by city, starting with Nagoya. Nobody pays to be included.

🚉 Getting around 🗾 Regions of Japan

🎒 Packing checklist

Screenshot this. Everything else you can buy here.

🛂 Passport: carry it for tax-free shopping
📶 eSIM installed before the flight
💳 Visa/Mastercard: tell your bank you’re travelling
🪙 Coin purse, because Japan will hand you coins
👟 Comfy shoes: you’ll walk 15,000 steps without trying
🖐️ Small hand towel, since dryers are rare
🗑️ Small bag for rubbish, since bins are rare
🔌 Type-A adapter (US-style, 100V)
💊 Your meds: some common ones are restricted, so check first
🔖 This page, saved to your home screen

🆘 Quick answers

💴 How much cash should I carry?

¥5,000–10,000 a day as a cushion (≈ $46). Cards cover most city shops.

📱 Can my phone hold a Suica?

iPhone: yes, two minutes in Wallet. Android bought abroad: usually no, so get a physical Welcome Suica at the airport.

🚄 Is the JR Pass worth it?

Only for several long-distance legs (e.g. Tokyo → Kyoto → Hiroshima and back). Add up your actual routes first. Since 2023 it’s often not worth it.

💸 Do people tip in Japan?

No, never. Good service is normal here. A sincere “gochisousama deshita” means more than any coin.

🚨 What if something goes wrong?

Police 110 · Ambulance/Fire 119 · JNTO 24/7 visitor hotline 050-3816-2787 (English OK). Konbini staff and station attendants are quietly heroic too.

What I buy at the drugstore

Drugstore beauty I actually use

Regions of Japan

The regions we have written about so far. We add one only after we have been there and paid.

⛩️ Tokai & Nagoya: our home. Most of our guides start here.

OUR HOMENagoya & Tokai · our backyard, and where most guides start

Tokyo · Kuramae, Ginza, hotels under ¥17,000

Kansai · Osaka, Kobe, Himeji, Nara

⛩️ Tokai & Nagoyaour home 🗼 Kanto / TokyoKuramae · Ginza · hotels 🦌 KansaiOsaka · Kobe · Himeji · Nara 🌺 KyushuYanagawa · Beppu

👋Who writes this?Sachi and her husband Ichi, in Nagoya. That is us in the photo up top. Every price here we checked ourselves — photographed on the shelf, or taken from the company’s own menu. Never copied from another blog.

Update log · 19 Sep 2026: autumn refresh (the seasonal panel now changes by season instead of weekly) · 13 Jul: compare-and-book panel · Japan map · where-to-stay + regions framework · our own photo up top · This week in Japan · regions preview · Letter from Japan · 12 Jul: apps-to-install section · native voice audio · v2 overhaul · locker finder · phrasebook · launched.
Disclosure: some links may earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
By Sachi in Nagoya, with Ichi on the spreadsheets. The exchange rate updates automatically.

ALL 51 GUIDES

Everything we have written

Written from what we bought, booked and ate in Japan.

Before You Go 11

Planning, money, transport, packing, where to stay

Places & Days Out 16

Cities, neighbourhoods, seasons

Food & Drink 14

Every price checked in person

Made in Japan 10

Shops, stationery, beauty, craft

The Perfect Japan Guide — From Your Local Partner in Nagoya