Travel notebook

Guide

Practical: what you need every day

The useful moves of a trip to Japan: arriving and clearing customs, paying and claiming tax-free shopping, getting around by train and taxi, staying connected, reacting in an emergency, and daily life between konbini, toilets, rubbish and weather.

Checked on 15 Sept. 2026

The five key points

  1. An IC card (Suica, PASMO, ICOCA), on your phone or as a plastic card: it pays for trains, buses, konbini and vending machines.
  2. Bank cards work in most places, but keep some cash: small restaurants, clinics and country taxis sometimes take cash only.
  3. Tax-free: until 31 October 2026 the tax is taken off at the till. From 1 November 2026 you pay it, and the shop refunds it after the customs check on departure.
  4. Emergencies: 110 police, 119 ambulance and fire service. Japan Visitor Hotline: 050-3816-2787, 24 hours a day, in English.
  5. In November, expect about 17 °C in the afternoon in Tokyo, and nightfall around 4:40 p.m.: dress in layers and plan visits early.

Arriving in Japan

Immigration, customs and the first moves at the airport.

  • Careful Every traveller must hand in a customs declaration, even with nothing to declare. One declaration per family is enough if you travel together. Open the source 50
  • The paper form, handed out on the plane or at the airport, still works. Open the source 50
  • Do Customs recommend Visit Japan Web: you fill the declaration in before leaving and get a QR code to scan at the electronic gates. Prepare it at home, with a screenshot of the QR code: the airport network can be slow. Open the source 50
  • Careful Always carry your passport: it is your identity document in Japan, and it is needed for tax-free shopping. Open the source 44
  • At the airport you can already buy an IC card, rent a Wi-Fi router and send your suitcases on by takkyūbin. Open the source 41

Paying

Cards, cash, tax-free shopping and the accommodation tax.

  • International bank cards are generally accepted. Even so, keep a little cash. In the countryside some taxis take cash only, as do many small clinics. For a short train ride an IC card is simpler, see “Getting around”. Open the source 16
  • Do To withdraw yen, use Seven Bank machines, inside 7-Eleven stores, or Japan Post Bank machines: they accept foreign cards. Seven Bank: up to ¥100,000 per withdrawal, 24 hours a day. Japan Post Bank: up to ¥50,000, hours depending on the location. Fees from the machine and from your own bank may apply. Open the source 17
  • Japan Post Bank machines are in post offices: their hours follow the office's. Open the source 18
  • Do not Do not leave a tip, not at a restaurant, a hotel or in a taxi: it is not the custom. Open the source 19
  • Tax-free: you need at least ¥5,000 of purchases before tax, on the same day, in the same shop. Show your passport at the till. 免税menzei Open the source 20
  • Purchases until 31 October 2026, old system: the shop takes the tax off at the till. Ordinary goods and consumables (food, cosmetics) count separately. Consumables are handed over in special packaging, capped at ¥500,000 a day. Open the source 21
  • Careful Old system: keep the tax-free goods with you when you leave Japan and show your passport to customs, or the tax is claimed back from you. Open the source 21
  • Careful Purchases from 1 November 2026, new system: you pay the price including tax. The shop refunds the tax once customs have confirmed, on departure, that the goods are leaving Japan. Methods vary by shop: bank transfer, credit card, app, or cash at the departure airport after the check. Ask at the till how the shop refunds, and keep the receipts. Open the source 22
  • New system: goods and consumables are added together to reach the ¥5,000, and the special packaging disappears. Open the source 20
  • Do On departure, before checking your suitcases in: scan your passport at the tax-free terminal in the departures hall. Green screen, no check. Red screen, show your purchases to customs. Open the source 20
  • Careful Keep tax-free goods with you until that terminal: once the suitcases are checked in, the step is no longer possible. Deadline: 90 days after purchase. Open the source 20
  • Do not Food, drink and cosmetics bought tax-free from 1 November 2026: do not consume them in Japan, or the tax is not refunded. Open the source 20
  • Accommodation tax: several cities levy one, per person per night. It is paid at the accommodation, on top of the room price. Open the source 51
  • In Kyoto it runs from ¥200 for a night under ¥6,000 per person, to ¥10,000 for a night of ¥100,000 or more. The rates were revised on 1 March 2026. It covers every kind of lodging, Airbnb-style rentals included, and is settled on the spot, often in cash. Open the source 51

Getting around

IC cards, Shinkansen, large suitcases and taxis.

  • An IC card (Suica, PASMO, ICOCA) is tapped on the reader when entering and leaving the gates, and on buses. It works almost everywhere, though not on every line. It also works as a wallet: konbini, drink machines, some taxis. ICカードai shī kādo Open the source 1
  • Careful On Android, a mobile Suica needs a phone sold in Japan (Osaifu-Keitai): with a phone bought in Europe, take a plastic card. Open the source 1
  • Do On iPhone, the Welcome Suica Mobile app creates a Suica with no deposit and no fee, valid for 180 days. It needs iOS 17.2 or later. You top it up with a bank card registered in Apple Pay. Any remaining balance is not refunded: spend it before leaving, in the airport shops for instance. Open the source 3
  • Another way on iPhone: in the Wallet app, tap “+”, then “Transit Card” to create a Suica, a PASMO or an ICOCA. Express mode turns itself on: hold the iPhone near the reader, without unlocking it and even without a network. Open the source 4
  • Plastic cards: ordinary IC cards ask for a ¥500 deposit. Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO, for visitors, have none. Open the source 1
  • TOURIST PASMO: on sale at Haneda and Narita airports, valid for 28 days. Any remaining balance is not refunded. Top up at station machines, on buses or at konbini, up to ¥20,000 on the card. Open the source 2
  • In Kansai, JR West's ICOCA costs ¥2,000, including a ¥500 deposit, even for the visitor version. It works anywhere the IC or ICOCA logo is displayed, and holds up to ¥20,000. Open the source 5
  • Shinkansen: 指定席 = reserved-seat car. 自由席 = non-reserved car, where you sit wherever there is room. 指定席 / 自由席shiteiseki / jiyūseki Open the source 13
  • Do On Nozomi trains, only cars 1 and 2 are non-reserved. With suitcases, or at a fixed time, book a seat. Open the source 6
  • Careful On some long weekends, Nozomi trains are fully reserved: in autumn 2026, from 10 to 12 October and from 21 to 23 November. On those days Hikari and Kodama trains keep their non-reserved cars. Open the source 7
  • Booking online, in English: smartEX for the Tōkaidō, Sanyō and Kyūshū lines, JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION, and JR East's reservation site. With JR West, seats open one month ahead, at 10 a.m. Japan time, paid by card. Tickets are collected from machines marked e5489. Open the source 10
  • Careful A large suitcase over 160 cm (the three sides added up) on the Tōkaidō, Sanyō, Kyūshū and Nishi-Kyūshū lines: book a seat with luggage space. Booking is free, online, at a machine or at a ticket office. Without it: ¥1,000. No large suitcase in a non-reserved car. Over 250 cm, the suitcase is refused on board. 特大荷物スペースつき座席tokudai nimotsu supēsu tsuki zaseki Open the source 8
  • Free luggage on trains: at most 2 pieces, each up to 250 cm and up to 30 kg. Open the source 9
  • The Japan Rail Pass is not always worth it. Add up the price of your tickets first and compare with regional passes. Open the source 11
  • Since 1 October 2026, the 7-day ordinary-class pass costs ¥53,000 through an agency, and ¥50,000 on the official booking site, for a limited period. Open the source 12
  • Do Google Maps gives train, metro and bus routes with timetables. In large stations, find the name of your exit before leaving the platform. 出口deguchi Open the source 13
  • Do not Taxi: the rear door opens and closes by itself, do not touch it. Red light in the windscreen: available. Green: taken. The word 空車 (kūsha) means “available”. 空車kūsha Open the source 14
  • Do Show the driver the address written in Japanese. Cards work in city taxis, not always in the countryside. Open the source 14
  • Taxi apps in English: GO, S.RIDE, Uber, DiDi. GO covers all 47 prefectures and accepts international cards. Open the source 15

Phone and internet

Staying connected and charging your devices.

  • Do Travel eSIM: buy it before you leave, on a provider's site or app. Your phone must support eSIM and must not be locked by your operator. Open the source 23
  • Pocket Wi-Fi router: the surest way to have internet everywhere, according to the Japanese tourism board. You rent one at the counters of the main airports. Open the source 24
  • Free Wi-Fi: in the main airports, most large hotels, some cafés and konbini. Ryokan and small lodgings do not always have it. Open the source 24
  • Do The free Japan Wi-Fi auto-connect app connects by itself to Japan's free and trustworthy hotspots. You have to register in the app. Open the source 25
  • Do Download the area in Google Maps before leaving: offline maps work without a network, even in the metro. Open the source 13
  • Power: 100 V everywhere. Eastern Japan, including Tokyo: 50 Hz. Western Japan, including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka: 60 Hz. Open the source 26
  • Careful Japanese sockets take two flat parallel blades, type A: European round-pin plugs do not fit, so bring an adaptor. Open the source 27
  • Do Read the label on your chargers: “INPUT 100-240V” means an adaptor is enough. A device made for 230 V only needs a transformer. An adaptor does not change the voltage. Transformers are sold in the large electronics stores. Open the source 26
  • On recent Shinkansen, window seats have a power socket: choose a window seat when booking. Open the source 13

Health and emergencies

Useful numbers, earthquakes, bears, care and medicines.

  • Careful Emergency numbers: 110 for the police, 119 for the fire service and ambulance. Open the source 31
  • To have someone call an ambulance, show them this sentence. Translation: “Please call an ambulance.” 救急車を呼んでください。Kyūkyūsha o yonde kudasai. Open the source 32
  • Do Japan Visitor Hotline: 050-3816-2787, or +81-50-3816-2787 from a foreign phone. 24 hours a day, in English, Chinese and Korean. Help with accidents, illness and natural disasters, and tourist information. Open the source 28
  • Embassy of Switzerland in Japan: 5-9-12 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8589, +81 3 5449 8400. For a lost passport, a serious accident or a stay in hospital, tell the embassy after the police. Open the source 53
  • Do Swiss FDFA helpline, from abroad, around the clock and all year: +41 800 24-7-365 or +41 58 465 33 33. The FDFA's Travel Admin app carries the same contacts and travel advice, offline once installed. Open the source 53
  • Do Install the Safety tips app, backed by the tourism agency: earthquake, tsunami and severe weather alerts on your phone. It exists in 15 languages and offers “what to do” diagrams and cards for asking for help. Open the source 29
  • Do Earthquake indoors: protect your head and take shelter under a solid table. Do not run outside. 緊急地震速報 is the earthquake early warning: as soon as it sounds, do these things. Do not insist on putting a fire out. 緊急地震速報kinkyū jishin sokuhō Open the source 30
  • Do In a shop or a crowded place: follow the staff's instructions and do not rush for the exit. Open the source 30
  • Do On a train or a bus, hold on to the straps. In a lift, stop at the nearest floor and get out. Open the source 30
  • Careful Outdoors: watch out for falling walls, signs and glass. If you are near a solid building, go inside. By the sea, after a strong earthquake, head for higher ground because of the tsunami risk. At your hotel, find the emergency exits on arrival. Open the source 31
  • Careful Bears: in autumn they look for food and come close to villages and paths. Accidents are on the rise. This concerns forest walks, hot spring villages and the surroundings of mountain sites, in broad daylight too. Open the source 48
  • Do Six official rules: read local sighting reports before setting out, never go alone, avoid early morning and dusk. Make noise with a bell or a radio, look around you and up into the trees, since bears climb. If you see tracks, leave without running and without shouting. Open the source 49
  • Ill but not urgently: go to a pharmacy or a drugstore and ask the pharmacist. For a doctor who speaks English, use the JNTO facility search. ドラッグストアdoraggu sutoa Open the source 32
  • Careful Care can be very expensive. Large hospitals take cards, small clinics often cash only: travel with insurance that covers medical costs. Open the source 32
  • Personal medicines with no formality: at most one month of treatment for prescription drugs, two months for the rest. External-use products without prescription: 24 units per product. Beyond that you need an import certificate (輸入確認証), obtained before departure from the Japanese Ministry of Health. Open the source 33
  • Do not Cold medicines: if the leaflet lists pseudoephedrine, do not bring them, or ask for authorisation before leaving. The simplest course is to buy on the spot. Open the source 34
  • Do not Banned, even with a prescription: medicines based on amphetamine or methamphetamine, and cannabis in every form. A medicine high in codeine counts as a narcotic in Japan: it needs prior authorisation, requested at least two weeks before arrival. Check the leaflet of your cough syrups. Open the source 35

Everyday life

Konbini, luggage, water, toilets, rubbish, manners, daylight and weather.

  • Konbini (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson) are usually open 24 hours a day, public holidays included. コンビニkonbini Open the source 40
  • At 7-Eleven: a Seven Bank machine, photocopying and printing, show tickets, and parcel sending with Yamato. 宅急便 (takkyūbin) is Yamato's delivery service. Some stores also keep luggage, only where the service is offered. 宅急便takkyūbin Open the source 39
  • Lockers in most stations: many take IC cards. In busy stations they fill up fast. コインロッカーkoin rokkā Open the source 41
  • Do To travel light, send your suitcases on by takkyūbin: up to 160 cm and 25 kg at a konbini, up to 200 cm and 30 kg at a Yamato office. The details are in the “Sending your suitcases” guide. Open the source 42
  • Tap water is drinkable: the law sets quality standards and checks for water utilities. Open the source 36
  • In restaurants, water is usually served free, chilled in summer and hot in winter. Open the source 37
  • Toilets: the 止 button stops the jet. おしり washes the bottom, ビデ is the bidet, 乾燥 dries. 止 / おしり / ビデ / 乾燥tome / oshiri / bide / kansō Open the source 38
  • Flush: 大 for a large flush, 小 for a small one. If the panel has neither, look for a button on the wall or the word 流す (nagasu), “flush”. 大 / 小 / 流すdai / shō / nagasu Open the source 38
  • Do Take your rubbish with you: keep a small bag to throw it away later, at your lodging for instance. Open the source 43
  • Do In an Airbnb-style rental, the host must explain the rules on noise and rubbish. Follow them. 民泊 (minpaku) is the Japanese name for this kind of lodging, in someone's home or in a rented flat. 民泊minpaku Open the source 45
  • Do On trains and the metro, put your phone on silent and do not take calls. Avoid speaking loudly. Open the source 43
  • Do not Do not smoke while walking: use the smoking areas. Open the source 43
  • Do Night falls early in autumn: in Tokyo the sun sets around 4:45 p.m. in early November and around 4:30 p.m. at the end of the month. Put outdoor visits in the morning and early afternoon, and keep museums, galleries and illuminations for the end of the day. Open the source 52
  • Do November in Tokyo and Kyoto: about 17 °C in the afternoon and 8 to 9 °C in the early morning, on average. In October: 22 to 23 °C in the afternoon. Further north it is markedly colder. October is rainy in Tokyo, 235 mm on average: bring a folding umbrella. Averages for 1991-2020 from the Japan Meteorological Agency. Open the source 46
  • Do Dress in layers: interiors are heated, temples and trains less so. Open the source 47
  • City shops: usually 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day. In the countryside, some close as early as 6 p.m. November has two public holidays: the 3rd, Culture Day, and the 23rd, Labour Thanksgiving Day. Open the source 40

Sources

  1. JNTO — IC Travel Cards checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  2. PASMO — TOURIST PASMO checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  3. JR East — Welcome Suica Mobile (App Store) checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  4. Apple — add a transit card to Wallet in Japan checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  5. JR West — ICOCA, international site checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  6. JR東海 — fully reserved Nozomi trains checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  7. JR Central and JR West — fully reserved Nozomi trains (PDF) checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  8. JR東海 — bringing oversized baggage on board checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  9. JRおでかけネット — oversized baggage checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  10. JR West — JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  11. JNTO — JR Rail Passes checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  12. JR Group — Price Changes for the Japan Rail Pass (PDF) checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  13. JNTO — Shinkansen checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  14. JNTO — Taxis in Japan checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  15. GO — taxi app checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  16. JNTO — Credit Cards checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  17. Seven Bank — foreign cards accepted checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  18. ゆうちょ銀行 — International ATM Service checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  19. JNTO — Tipping in Japan checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  20. 観光庁 — Japan Tax-free Shop, the new system checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  21. 観光庁 — comparison of the old and the new tax-free systems (PDF) checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  22. 国税庁 — reform of the tax-free system towards refunds checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  23. Apple — using eSIM when travelling abroad checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  24. JNTO — Wi-Fi & Connectivity checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  25. NTT Broadband Platform — Japan Wi-Fi auto-connect checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  26. JNTO — plugs and electricity checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  27. Electrical Safety First — travel adaptor for Japan checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  28. JNTO — Japan Visitor Hotline checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  29. 観光庁 — useful tools in a disaster checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  30. 気象庁 — what to do when the earthquake early warning sounds checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  31. JNTO — Staying Safe in Japan checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  32. JNTO — Guide for when you are feeling ill checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  33. 厚生労働省 — personal import of medicines checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  34. Japan Customs — Customs Answer 9005, prohibited medicines checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  35. 厚生労働省, regional bureau — Q&A for those who bring medicines into Japan (PDF) checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  36. 環境省 — tap water quality standards checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  37. JNTO — Drinking Water checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  38. 日本レストルーム工業会 — standard toilet pictograms checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  39. セブン-イレブン — in-store services checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  40. JNTO — Business Hours & Holidays checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  41. JNTO — Luggage Storage & Delivery checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  42. ヤマト運輸 — 宅急便 checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  43. JNTO — Customs & Manners checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  44. JNTO — Local Laws checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  45. 観光庁 — minpaku portal, being a good neighbour checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  46. 気象庁 — monthly normals, Tokyo checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  47. 気象庁 — monthly normals, Kyoto checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  48. 環境省 — bears: damage, sightings and prevention checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  49. 環境省 and the government public relations office — the six rules about bears (PDF) checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  50. Japan Customs — customs declaration and Visit Japan Web checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  51. 京都市 — 宿泊税, the accommodation tax checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  52. 国立天文台 — sunrise and sunset in Tokyo checked on 15 Sept. 2026
  53. Embassy of Switzerland in Japan (FDFA) checked on 15 Sept. 2026

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