Japan
Kangei: Welcome to our guides on Japan 🙂
Japan was top of our bucket list for ages, and for valid reason: fantastic food, rich culture and history, incredible landscapes and seriously kind people.
What is not to love?? Lets find out some more..
Key Info!
Language: Japanese! For some useful words scroll down 🙂
Currency: Yen (current exchange rate is about ¥200 = £1 = €1.20
ATMs: ATMs are widely available throughout Japan, with most convenience stores such as Family Mart, Lawson and 7-Eleven having one. While credit cards are accepted for most purchases at shops and hotels, some attractions and importantly ticket machines may only take coins and cash (Max found out the hard way, and had to try his luck searching for 10p on the ground when we visited Kamakura to afford his train ticket).
Plugs: In Japan, the plugs are Type A and B, and the standard voltage and frequency are 100V and 50Hz, respectively.
Safety: Japan is in the top 10 safest countries in the world, just make sure you get travel insurance regardless.
Additionally, in Japan you need to carry your physical passport with you at all times – as it is a legal requirement for visitors but can also get you some pretty decent discounts when buying tax-free items.
When to Go:
We suggest visiting Japan in either March to May or September to November. The weather is temperate and perfect for seeing the cherry blossoms of spring and the rich autumnal colours.
However, these months can be busy with elevated costs, so if like us you are on a tight budget, we found late May/June to be much more comfortable, in terms of temperature and crowds.
Costs....
To our surprise, Japan can be relatively cheap (obviously not factoring in flight costs), especially if you eat in authentic restaurants and stay clear of tourist traps – even though the Ninja Experience Café did sound cool ☹…
Anyway, here are some average prices of what you can expect to pay in Japan (all prices shown in EUR):
Hostel bed in a shared dorm: 15-25/night
Hostel private room: 30-60/night
Budget hotel: 40-60/night (check out AirBnB etc for cheaper options)
Ramen (Max’s favourite!): 3-8 depending on toppings
Bottled water in a shop: 0.50
Lunch specials (a full meal from 7/11 or FamilyMart): 10-12
Cocktails (Shochu lemon sours are Mia’s fave): 3-5
Beer: 2-4
Attractions: some are free (like walking Shibuya crossing and most shrines) whilst temples and other attractions might cost you 3-5 euro.
Sloth Tip: Ramen breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Language Tips!
As a linguist (Max here), I absolutely love learning (at least some of) the local language of the countries I visit. It is not only fun and satisfying, but also respectful and allows for interactions with new people. So, here are some essential words and phrases that can help you during your Japanese adventures, which I found to be quite helpful…
English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
Hello | Konnichiwa | Kon – eech – iwa |
Goodbye | Sayonara | Sigh – o – nara |
Welcome | Kangei | Kan – guy |
Yes | Hai | Hi |
No | No | No |
Please | Kudasai | Koo-da-sigh |
Thank you | Arigato | Aree – gah – toe |
Thank you (polite) | Arigato gozaimasu | Aree – gah – toe Goh- zai – masu |
Excuse Me | Sumimasen | Sumi – mas- en |
Have a nice day | Yoi ichi-nichi o | Yo- eechee – neechee o |
One ramen, please | Ichi ramen, kudasai | Eechee ramen koo-da-sigh |
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