10 things good to know about Japan

Hello to you 🙂

I hope your start in this week was relaxing and you enjoyed the lovely autumn days. I love this time of the year. The leaves turn into wonderful yellow and red colours and the weather invites you to a good cup of tea or coffee with a cozy book.

As you know I am very excited about our trip to Tokyo in 8 days (who counts already 😂). I thought I write about 10 things which are good to know before you visit Japan.

My first version of this post contained a lot of words and even more bla bla bla. But I will shorten it up.

So here is a quick checklist for things good to know:

• learn some sentences in Japanese – not everybody speaks English (some understand it but won‘t speak to you due to fear of making a mistake)
• be polite and respect the etiquette like blow your nose low and don’t speak on the phone on the train or bus
• try the delicious food – try soups, noodles (ramen, soba or udon), eat rice triangles (onigiris); Japanese food is so much more than just Sushi (which you should try too)
• buy a Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) – you want to see more than Tokyo? Then the pass is perfect for you. It is one expensive issue but it is worth (train rides in Japan can be quite expensive)
• Pasmo / Suica – a little card which you can upload money for the local metro companies but you can also use it for other services and even vending machines too
• get a data sim card for your mobile – you want to stay in touch with family and friends via messenger, use google maps or check your mails, then it is a good way to save money and avoid a huge bill
• cash vs. credit card – have some cash with you because you can’t pay with credit cards in every shop
• cafés – in Japan, there are so many different café types like cat café, pug café, maid café and many, many more; give them a try, you won’t find anything comparable outside Japan
• before you book the flight, read progress reports or reviews, or watch Youtube videos like Perer Barakan’s programmes „Begin Japanology“ and „Japanology Plus“, respectively, to check your ideas with reality and to find out more about certain cultural aspects
• shopping souvenirs – there are a lot of stores where you can buy souvenirs in every price range (Daiso, Loft, Tokyo Hands, Oriental Bazaar etc.)

My wisdom of the day: Explore a new world by going to different countries!

Love to you all,

Chrissi