Trip planning Updated 18 August 2026
Golden Week, Obon and New Year: The Weeks to Avoid
Three periods when the whole country travels at once, trains sell out months ahead and prices rise. Here is roughly when they fall and what to do about them.
Money, etiquette & practical
Every guide about Money, etiquette & practical for a trip to Japan, in one place.
Money, etiquette & practical Updated 18 August 2026
Cash, Cards and IC: Paying for Things in Japan
A country with contactless everywhere and a stubborn cash habit underneath it, where the machine that takes your card is in the convenience store rather than the bank.
Getting around & the shinkansen Updated 18 August 2026
Regional Rail Passes: When the National One Is the Wrong Buy
The national pass is the famous one and it is frequently the wrong purchase. The regional passes are cheaper, narrower and better matched to how most people actually travel.
Attractions, temples & culture Updated 18 August 2026
Temples and Shrines: Telling Them Apart and What to Do at Each
Two religions, two sets of buildings and two sets of manners, visited by the same people on the same afternoon without anybody finding it strange.
Nature, mountains & onsen Updated 17 August 2026
Onsen With Tattoos in Japan: What Actually Works
Why many hot springs still refuse tattooed bathers, how to find the ones that do not, when cover stickers are worth trying, and the private bath options that sidestep the question entirely.
Nightlife & bars Updated 17 August 2026
Karaoke in Japan: How the Private Room Actually Works
How karaoke really works in Japan: renting a private room by the hour, what nomihodai buys you, finding English songs, box etiquette and why going alone is normal.
Food & restaurants Updated 16 August 2026
Wagyu and Kobe Beef: What the Grades Actually Mean
Wagyu is the breed, Kobe is a brand, and A5 is not automatically the best meal. How Japanese beef grading works, the regional names worth knowing, and how to eat it well without the dinner bill.
Food & restaurants Updated 29 July 2026
Konbini: Japan's Convenience Stores Explained
Why you never go hungry in Japan: what to buy at each of the three big chains, the onigiri and sandwiches worth knowing, the hot counter, and the ATMs that take foreign cards.
Money, etiquette & practical Updated 29 July 2026
Japanese Etiquette: The Rules That Actually Matter
The Japanese manners a visitor genuinely needs: shoes, chopsticks, trains, queues, cash trays, temples and tipping, plus the ones you can safely ignore.
Nature, mountains & onsen Updated 29 July 2026
Onsen Etiquette: How to Bathe in Japan Without Getting It Wrong
How onsen actually work: the washing ritual before you get in, the small towel, the tattoo question, what a ryokan night involves, and how to find a bath you can have to yourself.
Getting around & the shinkansen Updated 29 July 2026
Suica, Pasmo and Japan's IC Cards Explained
The tap card that runs the country: what it covers beyond trains, the digital version that solved the card shortage, how to top up, and whether the regional cards differ.
Money, etiquette & practical Updated 5 April 2026
What Japan Actually Costs
Japan has a reputation for being expensive and is cheaper than most of western Europe for food and transport: where the money really goes, and where it does not.