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JAPAN TRAVEL INFORMATION & TIPS

Japan Travel Tips

General Information

Area: 377,864 sq km (145,894 sq miles).

Population: 127,130,000 (official estimate 2001).

Population Density: 336.4 per sq km.

Capital: Tokyo. Population: 8,130,000 (official estimate 2000).

GEOGRAPHY:

Japan is separated from the Asian mainland by 160km (100 miles) of sea. About 70 per cent of the country is covered by hills and mountains, a number of which are active or dormant volcanoes. A series of mountain ranges runs from northern Hokkaido to southern Kyushu. The Japanese Alps (the most prominent range) run in a north–south direction through central Honshu. The highest mountain is Mount Fuji at 3776m (12,388ft). Lowlands and plains are small and scattered, mostly lying along the coast and composed of alluvial lowlands and diluvial uplands. The coastline is very long in relation to the land area, and has very varied features. The deeply indented bays with good natural harbours tend to be adjacent to mountainous terrain.

Language:

Japanese is the official language. Some English is spoken in major cities.

Time: GMT + 9.

Electricity: 100 volts AC, 60Hz in the west (Osaka); 100 volts AC, 50Hz in eastern Japan and Tokyo. Plugs are flat two-pin and light bulbs are screw-type.

Communications:

Telephone: Full IDD service. Country code: 81. Outgoing international code: 001. KDDI produces phonecards for international calls which can be bought at convenience stores for ¥1000, ¥3000 and ¥5000. Credit cards can also be used directly in some phoneboxes.

Mobile telephone: The Japanese mobile network uses PDC (Personal Digital Cellular System) technology, which is not compatible with GSM or other mobile services. Visitors to Tokyo can hire handsets under NTT’s ‘Do Co Mo’ agreement. For more information contact NTT Hibiya Building, 1st Floor, 1-1-6 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8019 (tel: (0120) 680 100 (toll free in Japan). Handsets can also be hired from a number of other companies in Japan, including Japan Handy Phone (tel: (3) 5225 2125; fax: (3) 5225 2124; website: www.japanphone.com) and Rentafone Japan (tel: (0909) 272 8987 (toll free in Japan); fax: (7) 5812 6214; website: www.rentafonejapan.com).

Fax: Sending and receiving can be arranged at any hour at major hotels. KDDI (Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co Ltd) offers facilities in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama and Nagoya.

Internet: There are many Internet cafes in Tokyo and in the main cities in Japan. The main ISPs include ASCII (website: www.ascii.co.jp), Starnet and Jeton. Some hotel telephones and the new grey telephones have modular sockets for computer network access.

Telegram: These can be sent from the main hotels and from the above company, also from larger post offices in major cities. Two rates are available. Overseas telegrams can also be sent from the Central Post Office in Tokyo until midnight.

Post: Letters can be taken to the Central Post Office in front of Tokyo Station or the International Post Office, near exit A-2 Otemachi subway station, which provide English-speaking personnel. Airmail to Europe takes 4 to 6 days. All main post offices have Poste Restante facilities and will hold mail for up to 10 days. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700. The International Post Office and Central Post Office are open weekdays until 1900 and Saturday until 1700.

Press: The English-language daily newspapers in Tokyo include The Asahi Shimbun, The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times and The Mainichi Daily News.

Radio: BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.

travel tips

Do remember that you will have to remove your shoes quite often - when visiting a restaurant, a home, a traditional inn (ryokan) and many of Japan's attractions. And don't, under any circumstances, walk into a temple wearing shoes.

Do take along plenty of toilet paper. Japanese toilets seldom supply it.

Do use chopsticks for Japanese food. Use Western utensils - and only Western utensils - for Western food. Stabbing your french fries with chopsticks may be fun, but it'll just make you look silly.

Don't forget that the moist towelette you get in restaurants should be used to wipe off your hands before you eat.

Do buy a colorful handkerchief (they're sold everywhere). You use it to wipe your hands after washing in the toilet - towels are not provided. (Some establishments have installed electric hand dryers.)

Do try to learn some basic phrases, including "thank you" (arigato), "good morning" (ohiyo), "good day" (konnichi wa) and "goodbye" (sayonara).

Don't expect to find escalators in the subway and train stations. Although they are becoming more common, many stations don't have them.

Do take along an inflatable pillow to support your back on the bullet train, especially if you're tall. The seats were designed for generally shorter people. Tall people also need to watch out for the height of doors: Some are very low, especially in older establishments. Train doors are especially unforgiving - if you're not careful you may end up wishing you'd brought a helmet.

Don't be surprised - or alarmed - if someone stops and asks if you need help. On our last visit, this happened to us four times.

Don't expect shrines to be solemn and orderly. Prayer, chatting and photography occur simultaneously. And every shrine seems to have a busy gift shop.

Dining in Japan

As would be expected, the sushi (raw fish, rice, seaweed and vegetables) is excellent. Other specialties are Kobe beefsteak (very expensive), sukiyaki, salt- and fresh-water fish (often served whole), miso soup and a wide variety of vegetables. Try teriyaki, gyoza (dumplings) and mori soba (a cold buckwheat-noodle dish) in the summer and ochawan mushi (a kind of egg custard) in the winter. If you're feeling a little adventurous, try eel - it's delicious. Tofu is common, and in fancy restaurants it may be served in different shapes and colors (order tofu dengaku to see a good variety).

Those on a budget may want to have a quick and delicious meal at a noodle shop, Japan's primary fast-food outlet (feel free to slurp - in Japan it means you are enjoying the dish). Japan is a good country for vegetarians to visit, and it also boasts excellent Chinese food. In Hiroshima, try okonomiyaki, a pancake with cabbage and meat. Be sure to specify how you want your meat cooked - it's generally presented in the raw-to-medium stage.

Following the meal, refresh yourself with green tea ice cream. (One of the best versions is made by Haagen-Dazs.)

Almost every restaurant will have a window display of the food it serves - the plastic food is very realistic. Sometimes this display takes the place of a menu: One waiter took us outside to the window so we could point out our choices. If you cannot understand a printed menu, you can (discreetly) look at the dishes on the other tables and (discreetly) point out to the waiter what looks good to you. By all means, experiment.

The appearance of a meal is an important aspect of the art of Japanese food preparation; take a moment to appreciate the visual presentation before you dig in. Try a Japanese breakfast. . .at least once. Even if you don't prefer sticky rice, fish and miso soup for breakfast, the presentation will brighten your day. Expect to eat a lot of eggs if you order the "American" or "Western" breakfast.

There are also Continental restaurants in most cities, as well as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and other fast-food imports. Don't expect to find decaffeinated coffee, however. The Japanese drink the real stuff - and really strong.

Tipping
Don't tip, as it's considered rude (a service charge is generally included). If someone has been especially helpful, a small gift, rather than money, would be appreciated. Don't be discouraged if they refuse it, even twice; they're just being courteous. Offer it a third time.

Shopping in Japan

Shop for pearls (including black pearls from Okinawa), lacquerware, silks, pottery, furniture, jewelry, furs, cloisonne, paper lanterns, yukatas (the cotton robes worn to the bath), dolls, Imari porcelain, shells and red coral, cameras, china, crystal, art, local handicrafts, calligraphy supplies, karate gear, good-luck charms (usually covered in silk brocade) from the gift shops of the many shrines, packaged seaweed, green tea, kites (especially the traditional carp kites), beautifully printed books, comic books, weavings and silk screens. Don't assume you're going to get bargains on electronic goods, pearls or silks - familiarize yourself with sale prices of these items prior to leaving home.

A word or two about lacquerware: A lot of the shiki (black) lacquerware comes from the Kuroe district; today, you'll find that modern designs (in/out trays, for example) are at least as plentiful as the more traditional boxes and trays. Look carefully before you buy - these days, most lacquerware is lacquer over plastic, rather than lacquer applied to wood.

Take time to visit one of the department stores. They sell everything from rice paper to pressed flowers to a dozen kinds of stuffing for pillows. The Japanese are ardent consumers, so it's fun to shop with them.