Things to Know Before You Go to Japan

Children on the subway

Don't be surprised if you see small children navigating the subways and trains by themselves. We found it discouraging that 6-year-olds could find their way around the Japanese transit system better than we did. 

Nara Park, 1240 acres and not a trash can in sight

There is no place to throw anything away. Ironically, this is how Japan stays so clean, by eliminating trash receptacles. If you get a bottle of water or soda, plan to carry the empty with you for hours. Or if you get a matcha ice cream cone, plan on being stuck with sticky green paper and sticky hands the rest of the day. Pack it in, pack it out, leave no trace, the whole country is using the national parks system.

Enjoy a bidet a day, every day. Toto’s Washlet Toilet does it all, deodorizes, makes bird chirping sounds, warms the seat, and even raises the toilet seat when you approach. As if it sees you! Bidets abound—in five-star hotels, department stores, subway stations, and convenience markets. 

Room service

Automation rules. When I called the front desk to ask for extra coffee pods at my hotel, they sent me a robot! A large metallic rectangle on wheels somehow managed to find my room, ring the doorbell and display a touch screen that said “Open.” There was my coffee. 

My companion at a Japanese waffle restaurant

You’ll also be ordering your own food in many restaurants. Why bother the staff when a barcode will do the job! A tour guide explained that every sector of the Japanese economy is suffering from a reduced job force, because of an aging population. Baby Boomers to blame again. 

Inexplicable whimsy

Pack your own paper products. Japan is thin on paper, except for toilet paper. Despite the fact that you get a warm cloth at every restaurant, paper napkins are skimpy and in short supply, and tissues are undersized. 

Even the fruit is well dressed

Plan to be killed with kindness. All transactions and interactions include a slight bow and an outpouring of politesse, well-wishing, and appreciation. In the waiting area at an airport, ANA flight attendants bowed to customers upon arrival. And the ground crew waved bye-bye to the passengers on board. When you think about it, being killed with kindness is not a bad way to go. 

Kind characters Pikachu and Totoro