This is a new segment that I talked about earlier. This is an easy guide to help you explore and be prepared for your trip to Japan. This is going to be an on going series where I will explain on what to do, what you need, how to get there and so on. For now, it’s just going to be small to detail posts on what you need, but once I go back to Japan in the summer, I plan to take some videos in which will go towards this series. Let’s start off this new series with what do you need when heading to Japan. Depending on what you plan to do, some of these items is essential on your survival in Japan. This guide is based on my personal experience when I went to Japan.

What do you need:

This differs from person to person. It differs from how long you plan to stay in Japan and what kind of business you are going to do. For the purpose of this guide, lets say you are going to Japan on vacation and going for 2 weeks.

Clothes

You have to pack a good amount of clothes when heading to Japan. Depending on how long you plan to stay in Japan, you might want to pack a good amount of clothes for your stay in Japan. My suggestion is to pack at least (if you trip is around 2 weeks) a good 2 weeks worth of clothes, minus sleeping clothes. If less then 2 weeks, then pack at least enough clothes per day. If you go in the summer, you would need at least one t-shirt or shirt a day due to the fact of the hot and humid weather of Japan and that people tend to sweat in these kind of condition. Also, pack for the weather, you do not want to bring winter clothes to Japan when it is summer there. Some hotels have a laundry services but you have to pay a good amount of money for them or there are laundry mats where you bring your own clothes and waste them yourself, which is a cheaper option, just make time for it.  So bring enough clothes for the duration of your trip if you want to avoid doing laundry. This including a good amount of clothes for the time you stay in Japan and sleeping clothes.

Money

When heading to Japan, you might need to pack a good amount of money. This might be obvious but sometimes you might want to think about how much things cost and what you want to buy. If you are anything like me, Japan will make you spend. There are deals you might find and cannot resist in spending your hard earn money on. Be sure to plan out on how much you want to spend and how much you can have buy the time of the trip. Japan is a cash country. Most places prefer that you pay cash, but there are places that accept international credit cards. Places such as large malls and well known big stores should accept credit cards. Restaurants on the other hand most likely requires you to pay in cash (Never took the chance in using credit cards in Japan). Also, credit cards are helpful when reserving hotel rooms and helping pay for expensive items if you ran out of cash. Just be careful when spending large amounts of money and remember about the exchange rate from your country’s dollar to the Japanese yen.

Passport

One of the most important item that you need. Not only that you need to when you arrive in Japan and for leaving, but you need it for ID purposes. Also, at some stores, you can receive a discount if you show your passport. Not sure which stores, but there are stores in Japan that does accept passport discounts.

Entertainment

Japan can entertain you with only so much. Well, also the flight to Japan can take a while, and also entertainment on the plane can just entertain you to a point. So I do recommend to bring your own source of entertainment. These sources of entertainment can range from a simple MP3 to a PSP (Playstation Portable) to even a laptop or net book. These small portable devices can either keep you entertained during the time you staying in the hotel to the plane ride to just riding on the train. I find myself needing my laptop during my stay in Japan when I was in the hotel. I used it to update my blog to just talking to my family and friends back home. I used my MP3 during long train rides and during the flight to Japan.

Planning

Plan a head. It’s something I point out to people when going to Japan. When going to Japan, you would need to know where and how to get to the place you want to go to. Planning also helps on how much you want to spend day to day. Planning helps decide where you go on which day, instead of deciding where to go during your trip which waste time on exploring the area you want to go. Knowing how to get to point A to point B is also part of planning. By knowing how to get there to the place you want to go and back is important. You do not want to go to Japan and not know how to get to the place you want or get lost. Japan is one of the worst places to get lost in as cities in Japan are like mazes and you can get lost easily.  Just in case, bring a guidebook with maps of train routes and the places you plan on visiting. Guidebooks are a must when going to Japan. It helps for first timers to the country figure out how to get to the place they want to go.

Learn Japanese

Most people in Japan speaks Japanese. Some speaks English but not many. I suggest learn simple words that you would need to use. Such as “Ikura desuka?” which means “How much?” in Japanese or “Sumimasen” which means “Excuse me”. Learning simple phrases and words you think you would use in Japan will come in handy. Just in case, bring a Japanese phrase book that would help you learn or to use during your trip to Japan. If all else fails, you can just point your way through Japan (which I did but I do not advise it ).

Others

You might need to bring a small bag or backpack. This helps hold whatever you buy to a water bottle to camera. It helps a lot when walking around and when you do not want to hold anything in your hand. Another item you can bring is a camera. Take pictures of places you’ve been for memory sake or if you have a blog, you can go take pictures for it. Bring your toothbrush or any other cleaning items such as shampoo or toothpaste. Some hotels don’t provide them but most of them do. I feel more comfortable when using my own toothbrush from home then using a hotel toothbrush. Also using home toothpaste, I like more due to the fact I’m used to it. A plane ticket to Japan and back. When going to Japan, you can’t forget to go get a plane ticket to get to Japan and one ticket to go back home.

Well, this ends the first in which I hope of many Easy Guide To Japan. I hope you enjoyed this and would use some of these tips for your trip to Japan.

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