17 Things We Wish We Knew BEFORE Visiting Japan
We just finished one of the most incredible trips we’ve ever taken… 🇯🇵
Before visiting Japan, we had so many expectations — expensive, confusing, hard to navigate — but the reality completely surprised us.
In this video, we’re sharing 17 things we wish we knew before travelling to Japan, from hidden cultural rules to surprising costs, food, transport, and things that honestly shocked us.
If you’re planning a trip to Japan, this will save you time, money, and a few awkward moments 😅
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0:00 We Just Got Back From Japan…
0:32 Is Japan Actually Expensive?
1:29 No Trash Cans Anywhere
2:18 Convenience Store Food is INSANE
2:46 Traveling Japan with a Baby
3:29 Japan’s “All-in-One” Cafes
5:06 Roadside Stations (Van Life Secret)
6:06 No Tipping Culture
6:57 Safest Country We’ve Ever Felt
7:17 Japan’s Train System Explained
8:08 Eating While Walking (Don’t Do This)
8:50 IC Cards Explained
9:20 Cash is Still King
9:51 Robot Restaurants?!
10:31 Why Japan is So Quiet
11:43 Japanese Hospitality
12:33 The Language Barrier Myth
13:01 Strict Culture Around Complaints
14:10 Why Japan Does Everything So Well
14:47 Final Thoughts
#japantravel #japan #travelguide
38 Comments
What surprised YOU the most about Japan? 🇯🇵 Or if you haven’t been yet… what shocked you in this video?
We reply to everyone 👇
Japan is amazing if everybody in the world were like the japanese the world would be such a bettet place
My favorite place in the world! I’ve been to Japan every October for the last 5 years. I travel from San Francisco to Narita my cheapest flight was 760 round trip. I take two empty suitcases and one carry on with two weeks of clothes to wear and come home with my two check in bags full. I love Japan so much I don’t have the desire to travel anywhere else.
Thank you, so good to know!
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Are you guys stupid? Don’t you do research before you go to another country and of course they’re cheaper right now the yen low and also the trash cans are not there because of the terrorist use the trash cans a couple years ago and everybody knows about the convenience stores it’s all over the Internet you’re just don’t you do your homework before you go to another another country you’re just showing that you have no brain wow and everyone knows how safe Japan is again not doing your homework before you go to another country
Great overview. What was the approximate cost per week or per month for your RV?
Maybe Japan is not so cheap but your country is simply ripping you off?
I visit Japan often. Trash cans are in every convy store. Sushi is 50-75% less expensive at major grocery stores and the selection is 100x more choices. Taste is every bit as delicious as some higher end Sushi restaurants. Japan is cheap. Off season hotels are less than most mortgage payments in the USA and many include two full meals
Good bathrooms basically on express way parking and trainstation. Train every 5 min is only in very large city area. Eating while walking is ok as far as you do not trash wrappings and not in crowded area. Some of the Michino-eki now prohibits overnight stay. They are basically temporary rest area.
I'm glad you had good time in Japan.
約30年前に地下鉄でテロがあった為ゴミ箱が無くなりました！でも、日本人の性格的合っていたかもw綺麗な場所にポイ捨ては出来ないしゴミ箱が合ったら余計に汚くなっていそう…大阪住みですがビジネス街はタバコのポイ捨てが酷いです…日本が綺麗な国と言われてますが恥ずかしい…自分が住んでる街や職場や家が汚い方が良いのか？綺麗な方が良いのか？簡単なのにね😅
もう十分過ぎるくらい沢山の外国の方々にお越しいただいていますので、他の方々に来日を勧めないでください。こっそり楽しむのが日本の楽しみ方です。
日本のトイレは世界一と言って過言では無いと思います。公共のトイレは税金から成り立ち、お店のトイレはお店の好意です。なので利用するのであれば商品を購入したり、その地域にお金が入る考慮をしてもらえたらと思います。
Holiday where you’re hated less.
Lol, Yeah cheap if you using dollars. Try living here on a Japanese salary. Cheap God forbid maybe 10 years ago but now NAH!!!!😂😂😂
また日本へお越しください。
I was stationed in Japan for a total of two years. Years later, my wife and i returned to Japan as tourists and still enjoyed the time. No complaints. When in Rome do as the Romans.
私は６０歳を過ぎています。日本は安全ですが、今の日本は昔ほど安全ではありません。どんどん日本の良さがなくなってきていかます。それが悲しいです。
In Japan, many people are sensitive to smells. It’s recommended to keep perfumes and deodorants subtle to avoid bothering those around you.
日本はルールが多いと感じてしまう海外の方は多いですが、マナーを注意事項として文章化すると項目が多くなってしまうだけなのです。
基本は至ってシンプルで、
「自分が不快に感じることはやらないようにする」
「皆んなが快適に過ごせるようにする」
「人には敬意を払う」
これだけです😊
最近は迷惑行為がSNSでも晒し上げられていて、日本を守るためにも大切なことなのかしれないと思う反面、
それ以上に日本を大切に思ってくれている方々がいると考えると寂しく感じます。
心無い人の迷惑行為が増えているせいで、渡航者への規制がかかることは日本を愛してくれている人に悲しい思いをさせてしまうことにもなります。
皆が気持ちよく過ごせるように、発信力のある方々は「日本に行く前に知っておいた方が良いこと」に加えて、上記のようにやってはいけない事などもお伝えいただけると助かります。
また日本に遊びに来てくださいね！
チップは外国人の大きな勘違いです。相手の具体的な善意や好意を受け取らないのは会社の方針が大きいですが、日本の美徳でもあるからです。私はそれを受け取るに相応しい働きをしていませんという謙譲の意識ですね。でも貴方からの気持ちは受け取っています。なので失礼には全く当たりません。
そしてチップを受け取る習慣のある業界も存在します。それが宿泊業です。会社の規則によって受け取らない場合も勿論ありますが、特に日本式の旅館は各部屋へ入って食事時、就寝時に用意をする係がいるので、その方に渡すこともできます。勿論渡さなくても大丈夫です。
この場所では相手は子供では無いので、小銭で渡すのは客の立ち場でもみっともない仕草になります。一般的には紙幣で渡し、客が日本人だと専用の小さな紙袋に入れて渡したりもしますが、外国人だと知らないのでそこまでする必要はありません。
紙幣なので当然最低金額は1000円（約6ドル）になりますが、紙幣をそのままの伸びた状態で渡すのも少し格好悪いので、できれば長方形の四つ折りや二つ折りにし、紙幣の数字（金額）が内側になり見えないようにしてから渡します。日本はこういう明文化されていない細かい礼節が数多く存在しますが、外国人は知らないのが当たり前なので、日本人から失礼な奴とは思われないので安心してください。
From a Japanese perspective, it’s hard to understand why people generate trash while walking around sightseeing in the first place. If you don’t eat or drink while walking, there shouldn’t be any trash at all.
Also, are accommodation costs really that high? Compared to hotels overseas, lodging in Japan should be several times cheaper.
道の駅いいよね。
なんか安心するというかほっこりする雰囲気があって、つい立ち寄りたくなるw
I feel a strong sense of discomfort with the tipping system in Western countries.
First of all, I find it strange that business owners do not properly pay their employees for their labor—in other words, a regular salary. The idea of “if you want money, get it from the customers” feels very odd to me. In Japan, employers are responsible for paying wages to their staff.
Because of this, If you were to offer, say, 400 yen as a tip—about 20% of the bill at a restaurant—it could come across as a serious insult to the staff member. It would be almost like saying, “You’re only worth 400 yen.”
However, it’s not that people in Japan never accept extra money. For example, when paying a taxi driver, saying “Keep the change” is not considered rude. Also, giving about 3,000 yen to a room attendant at a traditional Japanese inn is acceptable. That said, amounts under 1,000 yen would be inappropriate and could be seen as disrespectful.
So in practice, carrying cash is often necessary.
イレズミしているから温泉には入れない。
日本をおすすめしてくれるのはうれしいけどたくさんの外国人がきているので日本のことをおすすめするのやめてほしい。
It sounds like you had a fun trip. One thing that caught my attention was that the ramen shop only accepts cash. Currently, due to rising raw material costs, many ramen shops cannot afford the costs associated with installing IC card and credit card machines, so many shops only accept cash. Therefore, be sure to bring cash. While most large chain restaurants have installed machines, small, independent shops still only accept a It's cash only. I'm sure there are people climbing Mt. Fuji, but please be careful about this. It's a mountain of over 3000m. Even in summer, the temperature at the summit drops below freezing. As a result, there have been many cases of foreign tourists climbing in shorts and t-shirts becoming stranded and subsequently requiring human rescue, and then emergency airlifts using helicopters. So please be very careful when climbing. Also, earlier I see drinking beer and eating ramen.I hope you guys was drunk driving, but please be careful about that. Drinking drive alcohol is prohibited in Japan.
洞察力が素晴らしいです。日本の価値観を世界に広げてくれてありがとう。日本の文化と人を尊重してくれるならばウエルカムなのが日本です。価値観や宗教観を押し付けてくると途端に噛みつきますので気をつけてください。
食べ物で遊んだり無駄にすると怒ります
日本でチップを渡すのは侮辱と解釈される可能性があるので注意が必要です。
観ていてとても楽しさが伝わり、我々の文化も尊重しつつ楽しんでくれたことは
嬉しく思います。
今、日本はオーバーツーリズムで問題になっていますが、あなた方の様な家族は大歓迎です。
またお越しください。
僕は昔、オーストラリアに住んでいたことがあってあなた方にはいっぱい助けてもらい感謝しています。
Aussies are the best!
ぜひまた日本にお越しください！😀
Great video, I am moving to Japan. Thanks so much for the information.
Thank You for coming to Japan and choosing Japan for your special trip, Please come back again Japan is small country but Sooo many place to see and travel ❤
I think you mean well, but you should know that tipping is a very patronizing and demeaning practice, which Westerners (esp. Americans) stupidly take for granted and Japanese disdain. Thank goodness, there's no tipping custom here in NZ.
また来日してくだしね🎉🎉
キャンピングカーで移動されたのかな？車での移動は正しい選択ですね。例えば富士山を見たい場合、河口湖の混雑を避けたいのであれば、西湖や精進湖に行けばいいのです。
Come here and teach as an alt! Come on, give up all other income and teach on an Alt's salary. Not as a JET, but as an ALT! Oh wow, exchange rate works in your favor… But does not mean Japan is cheap and affordable for the residents.
日本のお店やサービスにチップを払いたくなる時はコンビニにある寄付の箱や神社にある賽銭箱に多めのお金を入れてください
それは人々や文化への助けになります