Top Tips for Traveling in Japan with Your Family
Our family just finished a wonderful month-long adventure in Japan, so we wanted to share our top tips so others can have as great a time as we did!
A few things to consider that were unique to our situation and influenced our trip.
I used to live in Japan
After I graduated from university, I went to Japan for three years on the JET program to teach English in schools. This means:
- I still had many friends living there we could visit or call upon for advice and information.
- I had traveled extensively when I lived there before, and was very familiar already with the country and what to do, where to go, and how to get around.
I can speak and read some Japanese. Although I brushed up on my reading skills before we went, I was actually really proud of myself at how much of my Japanese came back to me! I was able to ask questions and have basic conversations.
2. We traveled at the outbreak of the Covid 19 Breakout
When we booked our trip, the virus had yet to begin. When we left for Japan, the virus was contained to China and had not yet really surfaced in Japan. As time progressed, and cases increased, many things in the country were cancelled. All museums were shut down, schools were closed, so we had to scramble at the last minute to find things that were still open to do.
We did not let this overshadow our trip. We focused on our adventure on what we could do, rather than what we couldn’t.
However, because of the closures, it did effect where we could go and what we had planned to do.
This topic in itself could be its own blog post!
** All of these points are based upon our own experiences. There are no sponsored links in this blog post.**
Here are our Top Tips for Traveling in Japan with Your Family
Overall, Japan is a great family-friendly place to visit. It is so clean, people are so friendly and you feel totally safe. All you have to do is pull out a map, stand in a station looking confused and people will come ask you in English if they can help you. In many cases, they walked over 10 minutes out of their way, to take us to a destination!
Prices are comparable to Canada, but the experience is out of this world!
Get a Japan Rail Pass
By far, the best way to travel in Japan is by rail. The JR rails are practically everywhere throughout the country, and they are valid for the Shinkansen bullet trains (except for the super fast ones), local lines, and some buses.
Apparently, you can get discounts on hotels with the JR pass as well at participating chains. (More on hotels later).
The JR Pass must be ordered from outside of Canada and be shipped to your house. You cannot buy it in Japan.
BUY JAPAN RAIL PASS HERE
Some of the larger cities have a multitude of transportation systems, including trams and private train lines and subways. Not all of these are JR routes. You may need to pay other transportation fees depending on where you are going.
When we booked our accommodations, we always made sure they were in walking distance to a JR station.
It is so easy to find out which train to take!
- Ask someone at the ticket gate. Most speak some English, if you say your place name destination, they will tell you a platform number.
- Use Jourdan Train website. There is a button on the left that allows you to limit the search to just JR trains. We sometimes cross-checked with Google as Google maps would give the platform number, where Jourdan did not. Plus, you know what time the train is scheduled for, so just look at the digital sign board (also in English) to find the platform number.
2. Stay in Air B&Bs if traveling with more than 3 people
It is virtually impossible to find a hotel for 4 people. Japanese hotel rooms are made for 1-3 people.
I’ve asked many people about this, and no one seems to know why – smaller families? People don’t travel as much except to resort-type areas? They tend to travel to stay with family?
Regardless, it is almost impossible to find a hotel for 4 people. In one town where we could not find an Air B&B, we had to book 2 separate hotel rooms for parent +child/ parent+ child.
Through the Air B&B app, there is a translation feature, so we could easily communicate with our landlords. We had wonderful experiences, and the great thing is, some of the places are traditional Japanese houses, so you get to see that side of life, rather than from the perspective of a hotel!
And, one of the great things is getting to know the people who operate these places, including Tomoaki from Ikeda House in Tokyo!
He was such a great help in putting together our Tokyo itinerary!
As previously mentioned, if you have a JR Pass, look for an Air B&B near the train lines. Most descriptions will list. Or, if they just list a train station, we cross referenced on Google to make sure it was a JR station, and not private line.
It was a lot of work to do the research and planning of the places to stay, but it paid off in the end, when we could get off the train and immediately know how to get to our next home.
3. Get a Pocket Wifi
This is a great gadget, and I’m not sure why I have yet to see them in Canada! It is literally, a small box that fits in your pocket, allowing you to access the internet.
When we were heading over, we weren’t sure what to do about a SIM card WiFi access, or what – until we discovered Pocket Wifi.
The vast majority of the places we stayed in for Air B&Bs gave its guests the use of a Pocket Wifi during their stay. This made life so easy, for us to check directions, research restaurants, etc.
There are a lot of WiFi hot spots throughout the country, and the Shinkansen has wifi (not local lines), so the times we did not have a pocket wifi, we were able to survive.
When booking your accommodation, we recommend looking to see if one is also included. If not, or just to be sure, you can also book a Pocket WiFi when you get your JR pass. Then, pick it up when you get to Japan.
4. Banks
When I lived in Japan more than 20 years ago, it was still a cash-based society, and credit cards were rarely used. We weren’t sure what to expect.
Most places did accept VISA (although, when paying online, especially for Tokyo Disney, the would not accept international VISA, so we had to go through a third party.)
To withdraw money, (Scotiabank in Canada) we had to use the ATM machines at 7-11 convenience store (found on almost every corner). These were the only bank machines that would work.
5. Eat Lunch at Convenience Stores
Our Air B&Bs all had a basic kitchen, so we stocked up on breads and cereals for breakfast in the room. For lunch, we found our cheapest option was to grab a picnic lunch from the convenience store. There are so many convenience stores – almost one on every counter. Many have English labels on the items, too!
Be brave and try some of the unique combinations of sandwiches, or our favourite – onigiri – rice balls with yummy fillings!
6. Learn some Basic Japanese. Bonus Points for Learning the Katakana Alphabet
A little Japanese goes a long way, even if you use basic words like
Hello: Konnichiwa
Thank you: Arigato
They will be really impressed and appreciative!
Japan uses three different alphabets: Chinese characters, Hiragana and Katakana.
When you read Katakana, you will end up with a “foreign word” usually something in English. Knowing some of these characters can help you read menus or basic signs.
However, we found that really there is so much English now in Japan, especially in the big cities. Train stops and bus stops are announced in English, and signs are often in English, too.
There are lots of translation apps, and apparently ways to take a picture of something and have it translated. I have nothing to recommend, as we didn’t need to use any of these options.
QR codes are really big in Japan, so do get one of those apps!
Even if you don’t bring a chart of basic Japanese alphabets, still learn a couple of words!
7. Take a tour or Hire a Guide
If you are worried about the language, or not really sure where to go in Japan, then find a package tour where everything is taken care of. You can hit the highlights, and not have to worry about transportation and scheduling!
If you still like to plan your own vacations (like we do) then, I would recommend hiring a tour guide.
My friend, Setsuko Hamai is a professional English tour guide.
When I worked in Japan, she was also an English teacher, and we worked together. We had the pleasure of spending the day with her visiting a tea farm and taking in the sights of Mt. Fuji. She is available for most areas of Japan.
Find her under Fusion Guide for a guided tour of Japan!
8. Essentials to Pack
There are a few items that are a must have in your day pack or purse.
- Reusable cloth bag. Japan loves over packaging. Things are wrapped inside of things inside of bags, inside of bags. One of the first sentences I learned how to say was “Fukuro ira nai” = I don’t need a bag!
- Notebook. At almost every location there was a commemorative ink stamp. we made sure we collected them all and cut them out to glue into the boys’ daily journals. Preferably a small notebook without lines! If you know you are going to look for stamps, consider a small notebook for each child to keep them all in one book.
- Portable Charger. We bought one online before we went and carried it around to charge our phones and the pocket wifi. It was so useful and a great purchase for under $30!
- Snacks. Might seem obvious, but when the kids were little, I never went anywhere without snacks. But, when they are older, having snacks in your bag does a great deal for getting rid of those “hangry” feelings! And, the best part is, you can pick up some fun new ones to try from the convenience store!
- Reusable Chopsticks in a Case. One of our first stops was to the Japanese dollar store to pick up everyone a set of their own chopsticks in a carrying case. Many restaurants use the disposable wooden ones, so for our environmental duty, we carried our own. I was impressed, though, at how many more restaurants are now using washable chopsticks!
9. Be Brave
Most importantly, you must be brave! Try food you’ve never had before. Daniel tried octopus, or just about anything going!
Try the weird or unique experiences! Jump on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Eat the pizza made in a vending machine. Try a beer when a local offers you one.
Embrace life. When else will you get this experience again?
