Common Mistakes 99% of Tourists Make in Japan | Travel Mistakes

Common Mistakes 99% of Tourists Make in Japan | Travel Mistakes

There are many mistakes that tourists make in Japan. From not understanding how the train tickets work to not making necessary reservations. In this video, we are going to learn from the mistakes of others so that you don’t make the same mistakes. Let’s go to Japan. The next station is Hey guys, Wong here and today we are going to dive into mistakes that tourists make. I made a video sharing my own mistakes and regrets from my travels. So if you want to see that, I’ll link to it here. But in this video, we’re going to learn from other people’s mistakes as well. There’s a lot you could easily miss or simply just overlook as you try to plan for Japan. So, the goal of this is to give you a list of things that you should or shouldn’t do to make your time more pleasant in Japan. Let’s dive into it. First, let’s take a look at this Reddit comment which says, “If you are outside of major cities, always have a backup plan for dinner. Some restaurants just don’t open even if they should be open according to their schedules. So this typically isn’t the case in big cities. So if you are going to Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, etc., you should be fine. But once you go into the smaller cities and the more rural towns, you may find yourself at the whim of the store owners as places can often be run by just one or two people who if they aren’t feeling well that day could decide not to open up the shop. So, just be prepared for that. Now, another post talks about how buses don’t accept cash larger than 1,000 yen notes. And their whole story is about how they were on a bus in Kumamoto and it did not take their IC card as it only took local IC cards and they didn’t have any bills less than 10,000 yen. So, a few things to know here. They did add an update that stated that they accepted national IC cards instead of just the local ones. now. So that’s good to know. Next about the larger bills. So generally speaking in Japan, having smaller bills is more useful as vending machines, buses, and arcade machines all take smaller bills. Some newer vending machines do take larger bills, and some arcades have machines to break larger bills, but again, having small bills on hand can be helpful. You can break your bills by going to a convenience store if needed. So that’s something to keep in mind. Cash is king in Japan and many more traditional or older places may not take card such as shrines and temples and older businesses in smaller towns. Looking at another post, this person states a bunch of things, but the one I wanted to focus on is the one at the bottom. ATM fees are cheaper at 7-Eleven than Lawson. And I’ll add Family Mart as well. 7-Eleven ATMs have a feefree service for foreign cards that are on the Maestro Mastercard network. There is a 110 to 220 yen fee or around.75 cents to a dollar and a half for US cards on the Visa network depending on the amount you withdraw. So, while this may not be too much, if you are doing a lot of withdrawals, then these fees can add up. Now, this Reddit post is so long it won’t fit on the screen, but it starts off talking about this person’s terrible day and experience during their first week of solo travel in Japan. And I think a little bit of planning can help avoid most of these things. So, let’s take a look. The second bullet point here is about booking hotels in advance, and I’ll cover that in a minute. The third bullet point is about not having a voice SIM. basically being able to make phone calls in Japan. So, this is an interesting one as I have not had the experience where I have needed to make a phone call to make reservations for either a hotel or for restaurants like this person seems to have encountered. If anyone has more insight into this, please do leave a comment because I am genuinely curious. But in my experience, I have not had any issues booking things online without the need for a Japanese phone number or making a phone call while in Japan. In some cases, I have seen people say that for restaurant reservations, they need a Japanese phone number to fill in and you typically can use your hotel phone number or contact your hotel and they can usually help you make the reservation if needed. Also, if you are looking for restaurant reservations, then you can check out this app here, which is a Japanese site/app and is great for making restaurants or reservations in Japan. I’m not 100% sure if it’s called Tab Log or Tablo or whatever it is, but check it out. The next bullet point is about their credit cards locking up, and this usually applies more to people who travel less or have non-travel credit cards. A lot of banks now don’t require you to notify them when you travel. Mainly if you have the cards with the chip as they are more secure, but if you don’t have a card with a chip or even if you do, you always can notify them anyway just to be safe. If you do end up in a situation where your card is locked, you will need to call your bank to unlock it. There is typically a number on the card itself for you to call. You can use services like Skype or anything that allows you to do Wi-Fi calling if your data plan or SIM doesn’t have voice calls. Just remember that you may be on hold for a bit. So, best to do these Wi-Fi calls from your hotel or from somewhere where you can sit down for a bit. The only other point that I’m going to cover here is spending a lot of daytime/core business hours transiting or getting around. Using your time efficiently is helpful if you are trying to maximize your time in Japan. But something to know is if you want to use any public means of transportation, watch out for rush hour. In the mornings around 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and in the evenings around 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. are the rush hour times during the weekdays. And I have missed my Shinkansen train because of the rush hour delays where I planned on taking a taxi but forgot to account for rush hour and could not book a taxi during that time and had to take the local trains instead which were also packed and took longer than I had planned for which caused me to miss my Shinkinson train. So just plan some extra time if you are traveling during rush hour. Next, someone posted a list of four misfortunes that they had in Japan as a response to the previous post. So, let’s walk through them. The first one was not researching mobile Wi-Fi until it seems like during their flight over. I would definitely want to have purchased an eim or a mobile hotspot beforehand or at least rented one so that you can pick one up from the airport when you get there to avoid unnecessary stress. Some of the biggest eSIM brands are SY, Ubigi, and Holaflat. Just make sure to double check that your phone is unlocked and can accept eSIMs because I ran into someone at the airport in Singapore who purchased an eSIM and their phone was not unlocked and they couldn’t use it. The next point was not getting a physical sua and not purchasing Shinkansen tickets beforehand. Then they said they waited 4 hours in total to purchase seats. And my immediate question when seeing this was, “What in the world made it take 4 hours?” A few comments down, I got my answer where a typhoon hit and caused delays. So, I’m not sure why they specified a physical sua. If you have an iPhone, you can add a Suika to your Apple wallet and use that in place of a physical one, but either way, having a Suika card will save you a lot of time as opposed to having to buy train tickets every single time. It also gives you the flexibility to change your destinations mid trip. Whereas if you buy the physical tickets, you have to go to your original destination as opposed to just getting off at a random stop. Now about the Shinkansen tickets, you can purchase that ahead of time. And barring a natural disaster causing big delays, you can even purchase them on the same day, usually without issues. The only time you really need to book in advance is if you have a large party and you really want to ensure seats on the train and hopefully especially seats next to each other or if you want specific seats like say the Mount Fuji side seats when going from Tokyo to Osaka or vice versa. Also, something to know that a lot of people overlook is that you need two train tickets. one to get on the train, which is the standard base fair, and one to reserve a seat, unless you want to stand the whole time. If you are purchasing Shinkansen tickets, a one-way ticket from Tokyo to Osaka can cost you roughly around $120. But if you book through Cook and use my promo code Hong Fam, you can save 10% off your first purchase or 3% off for existing users. So, if you are buying tickets for a party of five, that’s up to $60 in savings. Links below. Back to the comment. Misfortune number three was not packing enough clothing and planning on buying things there. So, the reason they put this was not finding the right styles. And that’s hit or miss. But the reason I wanted to mention this is one of the most commented things on my packing for Japan video where I gave a tip to buy clothes in Japan in order to pack light was that a lot of people were commenting about how they don’t fit the sizes in Japan. So this is an issue for many people as Japanese sizes do typically run on the smaller side, typically one size smaller than the US sizing. So, if you fit a medium in the US, then you will probably be a large over there. And XL sizes and larger can be quite hard to find in Japan. The same goes for shoes, which can be quite hard to find larger shoe sizes. The last misfortune on this person’s list was analysis paralysis when making food or gift purchases. Japan can be a very stimulating and overwhelming place, and it can be tough to make choices between many great foods or things to buy. As far as buying things, if you see something that you like, get it. Because a lot of people make the mistake of thinking on something or figuring that they will see it again at another store later in their trip and then never seeing that item again and regretting it. So, if you have the chance to get it, unless you know for sure that you can find it somewhere else or that you are coming back to that store later, just save yourself the regret and get it now. Now, this comment talks about their friend who is going to Japan and looking for lastminute bookings. It ends with for the millionth time, if you’re going to come during Golden Week, then you got to book things 6 months in advance. You didn’t. Everything everywhere is completely sold out, so I can’t help you. So, if you are going to go anywhere during a country’s major holidays, then you can expect things to be both crowded and booked. Japan has a lot of major celebrations and events that people love to flood to the country for, such as Golden Week or during the cherry blossoms. And believe it or not, hotels do fill up during these times. I’m working on a video that details the best and worst times to go to Japan and just how to plan for and book during major holidays. So, if you are looking at booking cherry blossom tickets, keep an eye out for this helpful video. The TLDDR, book in advance. There are quite a few attractions such as the Pokemon Cafe, Team Lab Museums, Jibli Museum, Shibuya Sky, and many restaurants, especially Omaz Places that do require reservations and don’t take walk-ins. So, I highly recommend doing some research into the things that you want to do ahead of time and making reservations. I have two different videos on things that you need to book in Japan along with guides on how to book the more complicated ones like the Pokemon Cafe and the coveted Shabuya Sky Sunset slots because these things do sell out instantly upon release. So, check out my guides to optimize your chances of booking these and much more. Some of these are interesting ones like lining up for 2 hours for Ichiron Ramen. What you choose to wait for is completely up to you. But I find that if you are able to offset your meals just a bit from peak hours, like eating an early lunch or an early dinner, then you will save yourself a lot of time waiting and then you can use that time to enjoy more of Japan. Now, going with the wrong people. Like the follow-up comment here, this is a life lesson. I tend to travel with groups of people. And I have definitely learned more about the kinds of people that I can and can’t travel with. Traveling with a fun person can make a terrible trip great, whereas traveling with an incompatible person can make a great trip unbearable. Traveling with a group of people can be tough because there’s just simply so much to do in Japan that everyone wants to do different things and it can be hard to factor all of that into one itinerary. One of the most fun times I’ve had on my recent trip to Japan was when my group of six people split up in Shabuya and everyone used that time to go to various stores and shop at places that others didn’t want to go to. I used that time to explore the station itself in search of a specific photo spot that I wanted to capture. But I didn’t want to drag everyone along with me as I searched for the spot. And it was a good thing I didn’t because I was out there walking and taking photos for over 2 hours, which would have been a complete waste of time for the others in my group. Here’s a good one. If you are going to do luggage forwarding from your hotel to the airport, you need to do it two days in advance. This can definitely ruin your trip as you stand at the airport wondering why your bags haven’t arrived. Yumato Transport has a fee and shipping time calculator to help you figure out how much it will cost and how long it will take for your bags to get from your location to your destination. So check that out and make sure you don’t end up in a situation like this. Speaking of suitcases, one problem Japan is having is people disposing of their old suitcases here. People bring their old suitcases with the intent of buying a new one there for a cheap price and then just leave their suitcase in the hotel or on the streets. As the comment states, hotel and Airbnb owners explained the time-consuming process it takes to ensure that there is nothing hazardous inside, which can involve police, and then delivering it to a disposal company after ensuring that it was not abandoned or forgotten. This is definitely a burden that they should not have to take on. And some hotels do have a fee to dispose your suitcase for you. And while yes, some people don’t want to pay the fee, but it does make a difference to be kind and to make their lives easier instead of just trying to save a few dollars. This one is more of a good to know, but on the trains, people carry their bags and backpacks on the front instead of on their backs to prevent from accidentally bumping into people. And it also has the added effect of allowing you to keep an eye on your bag to deter any pickpockets as well. Another comment talks about bringing a USB charging hub if you have a lot of devices. And this can be super helpful if you’re someone like me who brings a lot of electronics and camera equipment around. All of which needs to be charged. Also remember that Japan’s outlets are the typeA outlets which are similar to the USA but are different from the traditional typeB outlet that you see in the USA which has the additional third grounding prong. So, if you have a device with a third grounding prong, you may need a converter. The voltages are also different, too, as it is a lower 100 volts as opposed to the standard USA 120 volts or European 220 to 240 volts. The last thing on this comment is a suitcase with four quality wheels, and I 100% agree with this. As on my recent trip to Hawaii, I brought an older suitcase with me knowing that I was flying smaller planes and having to check it in. But as soon as I got to the airport, I remembered why I stopped using that suitcase. The wheels were super old and don’t spin well, which led to me having a ton of difficulty throughout my entire trip with my suitcase catching on things and going in random directions or just straight up falling over when I was pushing it. So, yes, get a good suitcase. Now, here’s a Reddit thread on things you wish you didn’t pack on your Japan trip. The top comment was bringing their Nintendo Switch. This is a tough one in my opinion because I too brought my Nintendo Switch to Japan. And yes, I did not use it a single time while I was there in Japan, which in my opinion is expected. But I did however use it almost the entire flight to and from. So if you are someone like me who doesn’t want to watch movies on the flight, the Switch came in clutch and gave me something to do. Now that being said, aside from the flight, 100% you will not need it in Japan. A reply to that comment was about noiseancelling headphones, which I think is kind of a similar case to the Switch thing. I personally can wear noiseancelling earbuds for a very long time, so I opt for bringing those instead of using up my precious luggage space for headphones, but for some that might be too uncomfortable. So, this is another one that’s up to you. Another comment on this thread said that they wish they didn’t bring a second pair of shoes. And I’ve seen a lot of people comment about how bringing a second pair of shoes is helpful. So, I’ll put it this way. This comment was specifically about bringing a fancier shoe to complement their comfort shoes. And when traveling in Japan, 99.9% of the time, you will take the comfort shoe over the fancy shoe because there is just so much walking in Japan. The only exception that I can think of is if you are on a business trip or you are a model or influencer taking photos. On the flip side, two pairs of walking shoes can come in handy if one does get wet. The top reply talked about bringing an extra pair of Gortex hiking boots, which helped in the snow, though the comment ends with how a girl complimented said shoes and something about getting a kiss at the end of the night, which now I find this comment to be less believable. Another comment actually made me laugh when I was reading it, and it was, “My boss had me lug around his luggage while we were on a business trip to Japan. It was super heavy for some reason. When we got to the hotel, I learned it was because he packed his juicer so he could make fresh juice at the hotel. So, yeah, I wish he hadn’t brought his juicer. I got a kick out of that one. Another regret was packing extra clothes when you can do laundry at the hotel. Definitely make space for souvenirs and things by not overpacking. That was 100% something that everyone I went to Japan with agreed as we all tried to cram our souvenirs into completely packed suitcases. And if you are able to fit the clothes sizes in Japan, then you can always buy things there as needed as well. Now, one thing that I can totally relate to, bringing too many camera lenses and only using one or two. I actually brought four camera lenses with me and ended up using my 2470 almost 100% of the time. The remainder of the time I used my wide angle. I actually took two lenses with me into Team Lab Borderless and only ended up using the 2470 the vast majority of the time with my photos closer to the 24 mm side and never touching the other lens, which was a pain to carry around. Another comment here said that their regret was bringing their laptop and steamer. The laptop I can understand though I wouldn’t bring it. But the steamer, yeah, no need. And last but not least, the biggest mistake that all tourists make is buying a return ticket. Now, what are your biggest Japan mistakes? Let me know in the comments section down below, and I will see you guys in the next one.

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📅Booking Things in Japan: https://youtu.be/z_BNE1G48Jk
🙅My Biggest Japan Regrets: https://youtu.be/yIrJgumgB5s
🛬First Hour in Japan: https://youtu.be/n3tw0ST-8Og
🚯What NOT to do in Japan: https://youtu.be/EXerZ2VOGwA
🛏️Where to Stay in Tokyo: https://youtu.be/NsPVbbf5Gv4
🈹Shinjuku Guide: https://youtu.be/EEDOaxROrAM
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Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:59 – Backup Plans
1:40 – Large Bills
2:46 – ATM Fees
3:24 – Terrible Day
3:48 – Phone Calls in Japan
4:38 – Restaurant Reservations
4:55 – Credit Cards
5:21 – Card Locked
5:48 – Rush Hour
6:47 – Data in Japan
7:30 – IC Cards and Train Tickets
8:22 – Shinkansen
9:04 – Save on Tickets
9:28 – Packing Clothes
10:24 – Analysis Paralysis
11:10 – Last Minute Bookings
12:07 – Booking Attractions
12:55 – Lines and Waiting
13:19 – Travelling with the Wrong People
14:34 – Luggage Forwarding
15:06 – Suitcases
16:00 – Backpacks
16:18 – USB Charging
17:00 – Wheels on Suitcase
17:39 – Things You Wish You Didn’t Bring
18:44 – Second Pair of Shoes
19:42 – Made me Laugh
20:05 – Overpacking
20:30 – Camera Equipment
21:03 – Don’t Bring This
21:15 – The Mistake All Tourists Make

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