Before You Go to Japan

Are you ready for Japan?

Preparing for Japan can make a holiday feel like a small administrative project. It does not have to. Check the things that could stop or seriously disrupt your trip first. Then make one workable plan for your arrival. Leave the smaller decisions for Japan.

This guide follows those three levels. “Can wait” means usually, for an ordinary independent trip—not that a sold-out event, a peak-date train or a personal medical need can be ignored. If one of those applies to you, move it into your own must-check list.

Passport and visa: check your own eligibility

Start with the passport you will actually travel on, your nationality, reason for travel and intended length of stay. Japan has visa-exemption arrangements for many short-stay visitors, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list includes country- and document-specific conditions. Do not assume that a friend’s visa-free visit covers your passport or trip purpose.

Make sure the passport will be valid for your stay and check any airline or transit-country requirements too. Japan’s consular FAQ does not present a blanket six-month rule for ordinary foreign passports; special travel documents can have different rules. If your document is unusual or near expiry, ask the relevant Japanese mission and your airline before departure. Our entry requirements guide explains the next checks. No website can guarantee individual admission.

Visit Japan Web: useful, free and official

Visit Japan Web is the Japanese Digital Agency’s service for arrival procedures, including immigration and customs information, and related tax-free shopping functions. It can make those steps easier to prepare. It is not a visa or a guarantee of entry. Japan Customs recommends electronic declaration, while a paper customs declaration remains an option. Use our step-by-step Visit Japan Web guide if you choose the service.

Use the link from the Digital Agency rather than a search advertisement. Visit Japan Web is free. Japan Customs has warned about false sites and paid application assistance; Customs does not charge a fee for completing the arrival customs declaration. You only need a small amount of caution, not another elaborate travel task.

Customs: know what you are carrying

Before you close the suitcase, ask whether any item needs a declaration, permit or quarantine check. Medicine, food, meat, fruit, plants, large amounts of currency and high-value goods can have different rules. Japan Customs explains passenger declarations; the specialist authorities below govern medicine and agricultural goods. An airline accepting a bag does not mean Japan permits every item inside it.

Keep purchase and medicine details reachable if a question comes up on arrival. If an item is uncertain, check its exact category with the official authority before packing instead of guessing at the airport.

Medication: check the ingredient, not only the brand

A medicine being prescribed or sold legally at home does not automatically mean it follows the same import rules in Japan. Write down its name, active ingredient, amount and intended use, then use the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s personal-import guidance. Some medicine quantities can be brought without an Import Confirmation; other categories or amounts require different steps. Controlled items have separate restrictions. A “one-month supply” is not a universal permission slip.

If you take a regular medication, check early enough to apply for any document you need or ask the responsible Japanese authority. Keep the original packaging, prescription or medical information when relevant. This guide cannot approve an individual product, and showing a phrase to a pharmacist does not replace the import check.

Food, meat, fruit and plants

Food souvenirs deserve a closer look than an ordinary packing list suggests. Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service places strict controls on meat products; cooking or vacuum packing does not automatically make them importable. The Plant Protection Station explains restrictions on many fruits, vegetables and plants. The exact item and its origin matter, so neither “all food is fine” nor “all food is banned” is a useful rule.

That leftover sandwich from the plane can be more complicated than it looks. Check anything with meat, fresh produce or plant material before arrival; if you cannot establish that it is permitted, leave it behind or ask an official at the relevant inspection point. Do not hide it in a bag.

Know what your insurance covers

Travel insurance is worth checking as a practical backstop, not as a box to tick blindly. JNTO advises visitors to consider coverage. Read the policy for medical treatment, pre-existing conditions, activities you plan to do, emergency contact details and whether you may need to pay first and claim later. Third-party liability can matter too.

Save the policy number and help line offline. If you already have coverage through a card or another policy, check its conditions for this trip. We do not recommend a seller or offer an affiliate link here.

Choose one first-day internet plan

You need a realistic way to find your first hotel and booking details after landing. Home-carrier roaming may be simplest if its cost suits you. An eSIM or physical SIM can work if your phone and plan support it; a pocket Wi-Fi router can serve a group but needs charging, pickup and return. Airport or free Wi-Fi is a fallback, not a promise of continuous coverage. JNTO describes the available models.

Check phone compatibility and provider terms before paying. A physical SIM may need an unlocked phone. eSIM installation, activation and the start of a plan’s validity are not the same moment on every service; follow your chosen provider’s instructions rather than a universal “activate before departure” rule. Keep the provider's setup instructions available offline.

For the device checks and a practical comparison, see Internet in Japan: eSIM, SIM, roaming or pocket Wi-Fi?.

Bring a backup way to pay

Cards are widely useful, but a small shop, a particular ticket machine or a card issuer may still defeat a card-only plan. JNTO’s payment guidance is a better starting point than either “Japan is cash only” or “you never need cash.” Bring a working primary card, a backup kept separately, and access to some yen. Know any PIN you may need and how to contact your issuer if a security check stops a payment.

You do not need an invented daily cash figure. Your accommodation, activities and ability to use an ATM determine the amount. Check your card issuer's overseas withdrawal rules before departure.

Must you get a Suica before flying?

Usually, no. You can decide how to pay for local transport once your route is clearer, and an eligible physical IC card can be bought in Japan. Mobile card availability depends on device, software, region and payment setup, so an app-store result is not a test of whether you can travel. A paper ticket remains a workable option in many situations.

If your trip depends on a specific mobile card, family setup or refund plan, use the Suica and IC Cards Complete Guide before you go. It owns the purchase, top-up, phone, family and leftover-balance detail; this page only answers the pre-flight decision.

Plugs, power and the device label

Japan uses 100 V electricity, with 50 Hz in eastern and 60 Hz in western regions; Type A-style plugs are common. JNTO explains the supply. Check the voltage range printed on your charger or appliance, especially a hair tool or other heat-producing device. A label such as “100–240 V” tells you more than the shape of its plug.

A plug adapter changes the shape; it does not change the voltage. If your appliance cannot accept Japan’s supply, get an appropriate solution or leave it home. Bring a charger you have actually tested, not just a collection of adapters.

Pack for your destinations and dates

Tokyo, Hokkaido, Okinawa and the mountains do not share one packing forecast. JNTO’s season guide is useful orientation, but check the forecast for your actual stops a few days before departure. Summer heat and humidity, rainy periods, typhoon-season disruptions and winter snow affect different regions and trips differently.

Pack clothes you can layer and shoes suited to the walking you expect. If something ordinary is missing, you can often buy it after arrival. Specialist clothing for a cold or outdoor itinerary deserves more deliberate planning.

Pack for Japan, not only the airplane

Your suitcase also has to survive station stairs, transfers and the space in your accommodation. You do not need to travel with a tiny bag, but decide whether you can move your case without help. Lockers and luggage-forwarding services can help on some days; availability, size and delivery timing vary.

If you are taking the Shinkansen, check your exact train and baggage rules. Some routes require an advance baggage-space reservation for oversized cases. See the Shinkansen Complete Guide rather than assuming all large cases are banned or that every railway uses the same rule.

What should you book before Japan?

Book what your trip truly depends on: your first accommodation, a high-demand event or attraction, a hard-to-replace restaurant or experience. The value of booking a Shinkansen, airport transfer or regional transport ahead depends on the date, route, service and how flexible you are. JR Central, for example, announces peak periods when Nozomi is all-reserved; do not assume there will always be a non-reserved fallback.

Ordinary local trains, convenience-store purchases and many everyday meals usually do not need pre-flight reservations. You do not need to schedule every convenience-store visit before boarding the plane. Keep the few bookings you do make in one offline-accessible place.

Know how you will reach your first hotel

Before flying, note the arrival airport, terminal if relevant, hotel name and address, and one plausible route to it. If you land late, check when the relevant train or bus stops running and what your alternative would be. Do not wait until you have cleared customs with a tired phone to ask, “Which airport did I land at, and how far is the hotel?”

Depending on the airport, your options may include a train, airport bus or taxi. Your arrival time, luggage, group size, hotel location and budget can change which option works best. A taxi may be useful with heavy bags, young children or a late arrival; check the actual route and likely cost before relying on it.

You only need a rough first-night plan: know at least one realistic way to reach your first hotel, not every turn of a route. The after-landing guide takes over from the aircraft door through immigration, baggage, customs and the journey onward.

Planning to drive? Check documents now

If you plan to drive, verify your entitlement before you leave home. The National Police Agency guide describes routes including an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention and certain designated foreign licences with the required Japanese translation. Your nationality, licence and issued document determine the answer; not every item called an “international licence” qualifies.

This can be hard to fix after arrival. Confirm the current rules and your rental operator’s document requirements before committing to a car. If you are not driving, you can skip this decision entirely.

Apps worth preparing

Focus on jobs, not a list of twenty “essential” apps: a map, a translation tool, your airline and actual booking confirmations. If disaster alerts would help, the official Safety Tips app is an option for earthquake, tsunami and weather notices. Check its current device and notification setup; an app does not replace immediate safety guidance.

Make sure you can sign in and retrieve essential bookings before departure. An app you never open is not preparation. A web page or saved confirmation can be enough.

Keep a few essentials offline

Save the hotel name and address, first-night route, flight and accommodation confirmations, insurance help details, and important contacts where you can open them without mobile data. A secure copy of a passport may help you supply details if it is lost, but it is not a replacement passport. Protect copies of personal documents and do not leave them on a shared device.

Check that at least one companion or trusted contact knows how to reach you. You do not need a giant offline archive: the aim is to get through the first few hours even when the phone connection is unhelpful.

Your final 24-hour check

The day before departure, review the items that could still change the trip. If a check reveals a problem, follow the relevant official or booking source. If it is already handled, you can stop re-researching it.

These things can wait until Japan

If the essentials above are covered, you do not need every local train ride, taxi trip, meal and convenience-store purchase planned before departure. A physical IC card, extra cash withdrawal, many local train tickets and day-to-day route changes can usually be handled after arrival. Do check your rough airport-to-hotel plan before you fly; then let the rest of the trip breathe.

There are exceptions: a timed event, a peak-date train, a special accessibility need or a medicine requirement deserves earlier action. This is reassurance about ordinary decisions, not permission to ignore a known constraint. You do not need everything figured out before you fly.

Next: what happens after you land?

Follow Arrivals signs, complete immigration, collect your bags and clear customs before you sort out your connection and travel to the hotel. Transfer passengers should check their airline and airport instructions rather than automatically joining the arrivals queue. The after-landing guide takes you through that sequence one step at a time.

That is enough of a plan for now. You have checked the things that matter, and the next step will be waiting when you arrive.

Useful Japanese on arrival

These are words you may see on arrival; you do not need to memorize them before you fly.

入国審査

nyūkoku shinsa
immigration inspection

税関

zeikan
customs

申告

shinkoku
declaration

薬

kusuri
medicine

処方箋

shohōsen
prescription

荷物

nimotsu
luggage

両替

ryōgae
currency exchange

Common questions before flying

Entry, customs, tax-free shopping, medicine and driving rules can change. Check the linked official guidance for your own documents and travel dates before departure.