I saw a lot of Japanese youth breaking these ironclad "rules" everyone is supposed to follow like not giving up their seat for the elderly or for ladies, talking loudly on the train, talking loudly on their phone, eating while walking and crossing the street wherever they wanted. The national news talked about it nearly every night! Also I stayed at two really nice capsule hotels (Kyoto and Osaka) for a night, and stayed at a bare bones one (20 minutes from Shinjuko station). Definitely reconsider the bare bones one, although the hot showers and sauna in the basement were pretty good, the capsule itself was like.... ugh.
Excellent List! Just yesterday, I left my wallet in my room and had set out for the local mall, for the supermarket, about 20 minutes by walking. Luckily, I had my IC Transportation card, that worked! These days, most supermarkets can be self checkout, like in the west, or a checker will check your items and ferry your groceries to a payment kiosk. In both instances, you are left to pay via the many options (Cash, Credit card, Transportation IC card, and many other options). Then, you are expected to ferry your groceries to a self bagging area (if you have eco bag(s) or you must have paid for plastic bag(s).
planning my first trip to Tokyo (and second trip to Japan) and im deciding, as a broke solo person, to stay a few days at a capsule hotel, spend a few days at a traditional ryokan in the countryside and then spend the last few days back in another capsule hotel
My wife and I learnt from experience one year when we missed the train at JR Shinagawa Stn by a min and ended up sleeping in the train station with the rest of drunken businessmen till 5:30am!!
Hey .. check out my other Q&A and mistake style videos! Those are covered there (Public transport doesnt quite work all hours of the day unless you count taxi and night buses that are very specific)
LOL yes I shoved food in my mouth once and learnt quick lol I am glad you said about the passport as there is a youtuber out there telling people to not carry it so good on you for mentioning it
The only time I've personally been stopped and asked for my passport was at Narita airport when making a land side international connection (connecting between tickets, had to enter Japan, collect bags and recheck). I was going upstairs from arrivals to departures and a police officer stopped me at the top of the escalator. He wanted to practice his English, so stopped a random person nearby and asked the only thing he was allowed to for such a random stop.
100% made that hot food mistake! Generally speaking I will walk away from where I buy street food to find a spot to sit or at least stand out the way so depending on where I end up I'll either be perfect temperature already or just a quick blow on it and it's fine. No more burning my insides! Oh, and have a drink handy
I found a yakiniku restaurant that was close to where I was staying. Due to connivence, and the fact the food was so good, I ate there a few days in a row, before I thought about what I was spending and realized that $ 35.00 for every meal was not sustainable. So I got a pizza from Domino's which cost $ 37.00, but I got two meals out of it. There are. many great meal deals that I can get for $ 6.00 to $10.00, but I've still got to force myself past my yakiniku restaurant, so I totally don't blow my budget. So much good food, with many great set options for inexpensive rates, and you can still splurge occasionally, just like you would at home.
@@froglady4360 I actually only eat pizza for break from my usual fare. Domino's aren't anywhere close to where I live so really a rare choice for me. I had walked a lot that day and was beat. Domino's delivered so that was the deciding factor. Paid by card, so it wasn't till I'd eaten that I thought about price. So brain was not really engaged, till I figured out if I kept this up I'd spend around six months food budget in three months or less. Sometimes, I'm still that university student who blows the monthly budget in two weeks.
Mistake 10: Awesome, My holiday apartment for my first ever japan visit is in Shinjuku and I need to on my first day, after getting of 13h plane ride, go there via train stepping off at Shionjuku station xD now all of peoples videos have given me anxiety I will never find out of Shinjuku station xD
Just work out which is the closest station exit to where you are staying and follow the signs in the station to that exit. Google Maps has the exit numbers marked if you zoom in enough.
had okonomiyaki as one of the last local meals at food street area. was planning to get some rice meal later but the pancake was so filling... lost at shinjuku station too, ended up walking a station or 2 ahead and completly confused. really liked the capsule hotel but only spent 1-2 nights in one, luggage storage was another issue.. packing lightly helps but not for medium luggage
The food portions it really depends on the restaurant. Many have large portions also tourists don't know about Oomori sizes. Jay walking part you are not supposed to do it but you won't get penalized for doing it . Believe it or not many japanese do it.
Yeah, capsule hotels were expensive, so I don't use them. I've never found a good deal with them, which is not to say they don't exist. The 'business hotels' have been the best, and today Toyoko Inn, a chain you'll find everywhere, is beefing up their free breakfast (not sure if there's actual 'beef', so don't read that too literally, but maybe). For a no details conversation, I feel I can recommend them with confidence in 2024. Minimal, but low price and usually free breakfast. No capsule stuff.
I've told lots of people about the passport thing and they often laughed at the suggestion that police might stop them and ask to see it. Only managed to convince them to carry it with them when I mentioned they needed it for tax free shopping. Also know a lot of people who refuse to book hotels because internet cafes are cheaper.
Oh.. Well, Internet cafes can be cheaper this is true, but sometimes its not worth the difference.. It's also important to remember everyone has different budgets and needs so if it works for them then great :)
I'm not sure if it is true, I have read somewhere that all Japanese phones have the shutter sound permanently on, while phones bought outside of Japan has an option to turn of the shutter sound.
Another tip is during Sakura season when a lot of tourists participate in Hanami, DO NOT take food from 1 vendor and sit at another’s seating space. That is a big mistake. This would also be true for all Japanese festivals. Do as much research as you can before visiting. It will make your trip so much more enjoyable ⛩️❤
I'm trying to book pocket wifi through your QR code. Do I need SIM cards and pocket wifi for iPhone, or is the pocket wifi sufficient? this is for 2 people
Hm, most Japanese people around where I lived in Tokyo would walk against red on smaller streets all the time. But yeah, maybe for bigger streets it's less common. I went with the "do as the locals do" here.
I agree with all your points. Not an 'uncommon mistake' but one of the most annoying ones is tourists with oversized and excessive amount of luggage on trains. I've never seen it so bad as on my recent trip. I saw some ridiculous things from young tourists without the physical strength to manoeuvre their huge cases onto the train, to tourists dumping oversized suitcases by the exit doors on Ltd Express train then going off to sit down. Their super-sized cases rolled around and almost made some poor person miss their stop as they had to shift luggage out of the way. It was some time before the conductor made his way to the carriage. Not enough can be said about luggage mistakes.
My wife and I made 3 long trips to Japan last year and got by with only one backpack. The most unpleasant encounter we had on the shinkansen train was when this family put their humongous luggages on our seats thinking no one had reserved them. When we got to our seats they were reluctant to remove them and even gave us a dirty look.
Yep Agree.. I've mentioned the luggage mistake on quite a few videos but its always good to bring it up again. This video was all about the silly mistakes people might not notice (unless they travel many times)
I know its a legal requirement for all phones sold in Japan to have the shutter sound permanently enabled, but it is legally required to enable it on a foreign phone while staying there, or is this more of a recommendation to be considerate of locals? J-walking was so difficult not to do in Kyoto in early February, especially in the evening when it was so quiet, walking along Naramonocho where there is a side street every block that has a pedestrian crossing was very hard to get used to!
My understanding is there isn't a specific law that mandates foreign visitors to modify their personal devices to conform to this standard. However, given the intent behind this requirement, it's considered good practice and respectful to adhere to local customs and privacy concerns by enabling the shutter sound on your device when taking photos in public spaces. Im not 100% sure about the law as i get mixed reports when researching
Someone correct me, but if you have a phone with dual-SIM, you can have 2 services, which can mean double the data/hotspot. Can someone confirm because I'm planning to do just that for Shinimani/Yumeshima Kaido streaming.
Hiroshima Okonomiyaki wins over Osaka Oko (both delicious) 🥇... Takoyaki, little reward for skin burnt off the roof of your mouth 🔥 😟 ... WhatsApp keeps everyone connected 👍 ... Done the high-end sushi experience @ x10 price, but is it really x10 quality 🤔🍣 ... Capsule hotel, an impractical gimmick while hotel rooms can be same price 🛌 ... YES or NO, yes can mean NO, & no can mean "YES but I'm too shy to risk my english skills 🇯🇵😐" ... Late in Japan starts 1-sec after scheduled time ⌛ ... 🚦Stop/Don't Walk signs with no traffic to be seen 😏 shouganai ... Q&A: maybe not an 'uncommon' mistake, (perhaps often a 'common' mistake) BUT not staying on the Yamanote Loop Line in Tokyo is a BIG mistake and can waste a lot of your time connecting trains 🚇 Been there, wasted that. Good points, well covered, excellent video 👍
In a month in Japan recently I can't think of a time I saw Japanese breaking rules on the train or at red lights. Don't use the excuse that some locals break the rules to be a bad guest.
hmmm,... in Japan most of the rules are broken by the LDP ... they don't like any competition (^_^) ... um, also, the suburban bus in Chiba City is typically late (>_
@@jackh4832 um,... I think the municipal government offices at least try to function ... but in the Tokyo diet it is just corrupt chaos ... no wonder Japan is a terrible place to live ... but the tourists seem so happy ...
@@NinjaMonkeyguy hmmm,... Iwate Prefecture countryside is so depressing with so little opportunity ... there is no other place than Tokyo if you are young and want a future but people can tell by your accent from where you come ... NHK has to post subtitles if people speak Iwate dialect on TV ...
