Japan trip booked? Soon comes the exciting bit: packing your bags. Since Japan is (sadly) not exactly round the corner, good prep is key so getting through border control is a breeze and you’ve got everything you need over there.

This article only covers trips to Japan for tourist purposes lasting a few days or weeks.

What else goes into our luggage besides clothes:

• Travel docs
• Meds
• Insurance papers

I’ll write a bit more about these three points in a sec. Right at the bottom there’s also a quick word about entry requirements.

What else needs to come along:

• Your plane tickets, or you won’t get far. 😉
• Enough cash and credit cards.
• The Railpass voucher from the travel agency, you can’t get it in Japan!
• Our travel itinerary with the booked hotels and the list of stuff we want to see.
• Our camera gear, obviously.
• A handheld GPS with Japan maps and important spots (sightseeing spots, hotels, train stations).
• A mobile hotspot for internet access.
• Travel guide and phrasebook.
• Plug adapters, though you can get them over there if you’re stuck.

Travel Docs

The absolutely most important travel doc is your passport. It’s got to be valid for your whole stay.

You must carry ID! As a tourist, you gotta keep your passport on you at all times to prove who you are whenever needed.

Plus, you need your driving licence if you fancy driving over there. An international driving permit isn’t enough for Germans, you have to get it translated instead.

If you’re just staying as a tourist for up to 90 days, German citizens don’t need a visa. (As of: December 2019).

Health and Meds

Medical care in Japan is brilliant, but incredibly pricey. Your normal statutory or private health insurance won’t cover treatment costs. You might even get turned away at clinics if you can’t prove an insurance company is footing the bill. That’s why travel health insurance with worldwide cover absolutely needs to go in your bag. It only costs a few quid a year and is worth its weight in gold in an emergency. Before you go, you can ask your provider for an insurance certificate in Japanese or English to prove you’re covered over there.

German prescriptions can’t be used in Japanese pharmacies. So, alongside your usual travel meds, make sure you pack enough of any important medications.

You can bring in enough over-the-counter meds for up to two months of use, and prescription meds – including the pill – for a maximum of one month. Some meds can’t be brought in at all, even if they’re sold over the counter here. Similar rules apply to cosmetics. If you rely on special meds or cosmetics, make sure you check with the Japanese health authorities well in advance!

If you need an exception, you can apply for a yakkan shūmei (薬監証明). You can do this online now via a registration portal. You chuck in your flight details, arrival airport, and the meds you want to bring in. If you’ve done it right, you’ll get a document in a few days to show customs when you land.

Just a heads-up. Everyone’s responsible for their own health. I’d definitely recommend checking early with your GP, the Foreign Office and the Japanese health authorities. Especially if your health needs it, or if you rely on meds or medical devices.

Jabs

For normal sightseeing trips, the standard jabs you get in Germany are totally fine. If you’re staying longer out in the sticks, you might want to think about getting vaccinated against Japanese Encephalitis too.

Covid

Even though there aren’t any Covid travel restrictions right now, it’s a good idea to check with the Foreign Office and the Japanese Embassy in Berlin about any potential rules.

Wearing a mask might still be mandatory in some spots. But generally, folks appreciate it if you, even as a tourist, wear a mask voluntarily in public to protect yourself and others.

Getting In

Getting into the country is pretty straightforward, but I still find it a bit exciting every time.

Before you land, they hand out questionnaires on the plane to fill out for entry. Every visitor gets a personal one asking for your first hotel address, if you’ve got a criminal record or been deported before, and if you’re carrying dodgy stuff (weapons, drugs, parcels from randoms). You also gotta fill out another customs form per family, asking if you’re bringing in stuff to declare or heaps of cash.

Once you hit the airport, you’ll head straight to a border officer. They take your personal form and check your passport. They’ll also scan your index fingers and snap a photo. It’s all electronic and only takes a few seconds. If all goes well, they’ll stick a Temporary Visitor permit in your passport. (Important: You can only get the Rail Pass as a Temporary Visitor!)

After grabbing your bags, you’ve got to go through customs. They’ll take the other form and maybe your yakkan shūmei, and ask a few quick questions: what’s the reason for your stay, what’s your first hotel called, which cities are you planning to check out?

Even if it all seems super strict and formal, there’s zero need to panic. If you’re friendly, you’ll get a friendly welcome right back.

Once you’ve smashed that hurdle, your Japan adventure can finally kick off!

Heading Home

Shopping in Japan is proper fun. Tech nerds, gamers, and manga fans will absolutely love it, and before you know it, you’ve hoarded a massive stash of souvenirs in your bag. 😄

So your trip back from Japan doesn’t end in tears, make sure you keep an eye on import limits and duty-free allowances. You can find more info on the German Customs website. Smuggling goods in from abroad isn’t a petty crime and can lead to some pretty nasty and expensive consequences. There are also specific export limits from Japan that you’ve obviously got to stick to.

If you’re flying to Japan with valuables (like camera gear, a fancy smartphone, or a brand-new laptop), you should either carry the receipts or declare the stuff to German customs before you leave. If you can’t show proof on your way back, customs will probably just assume you bought the items abroad. Customs has more detailed tips on this too.

The Japanese currency is called the yen. Internationally, the symbol ¥ is used for it. In Japan, however, you’ll only find the kanji 円 (pronounced “en”), which actually means circle. There are no cent amounts; the smallest unit is 1 yen, which is roughly equivalent to our penny.

There are coins and banknotes. The smallest coin is the 1-yen coin, and the largest is the 500-yen coin. All notes and coins have their value printed in Arabic numerals. The only exception is the 5-yen coin, which is just stamped in Japanese with 五円.

The notes aren’t as easy to tell apart by colour as ours and are almost all the same size. So it’s pretty easy to mix up a 1,000 yen note with a 10,000 yen note if you aren’t paying attention.

Changing money

In my personal experience, it’s hard to buy larger amounts of yen for a trip in Germany, especially at good rates. But what’s it like in the destination country itself?

Travel guides for all over the world always warn against changing money right at the destination airport, because the exchange rate there is usually rubbish and the fees are high. This doesn’t apply to Japan. At the international airports, you’ll find bank exchange counters that change cash at a fair daily rate and without exchange fees, even for larger amounts. A quick comparison of the displayed exchange rates is still worth it, though.

A lot of hotels offer to change cash into the local currency at reception, but the rates aren’t quite as good. Some hotels even have a currency exchange machine for this purpose.

Of course, you can also change your money at a Japanese bank, but that can be a pretty time-consuming hassle, as forms have to be filled out and signed off by several staff members. There are nicer things to do on holiday than wasting your time in a bank.

In the Seven-Eleven supermarkets, which seem to be absolutely everywhere, you can withdraw money from the cash machine (“ATM”) using major credit cards. Depending on your own card’s terms and conditions, this can be the cheapest way to get your hands on cash.

Plastic money

Japan is very much a cash country. Generally, credit cards are only accepted by large department stores, hotels, and ticket machines. For everything else, you should make sure you have enough cash on you to avoid any nasty surprises.

Even though you’re usually on the safe side with Mastercard or Visa, it’s better to check before booking whether the hotel you want accepts your credit card issuer. Some hotels and car rental places also require a proper credit card and reject debit cards. If you’re relying on paying by card, you should have a real credit card with a sufficient limit to fall back on just in case.

There are loads of domestic payment systems in Japan that are inaccessible to tourists. In branches of larger chains, you can still try paying contactlessly with your own credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. At the till, you should just say “Visa Touch” as the payment method, even if you have a Mastercard. You shouldn’t rely on it, though.

Tip: Before you travel, you should let your bank know in good time about your upcoming trip abroad!

Cash withdrawals by card outside Europe are blocked by some banks for security reasons and need to be unblocked for the duration of your stay. Plus, the bank will then know about your trip and won’t accidentally block the card on suspicion of fraud.

While you’re at it, you can also find out about the fees and daily limits.

Banks also often temporarily grant a higher limit on your credit card for a holiday. It’s definitely worth asking.

Prices

Prices are usually written in normal Arabic numerals, so you can easily read them as a tourist. Every now and then, however, you’ll also spot price tags with Japanese numerals. The system isn’t hard to get the hang of; a little cheat sheet helps a lot.

While over here prices always include VAT, that’s not necessarily the case in Japan. Sometimes two amounts are displayed - the price without tax (税引) and with tax (税込). The VAT rate in Japan is currently 10% (as of October 2019), with a slightly reduced rate if you take food away instead of eating in.

Tipping

It’s true: you don’t tip in Japan. Good service is taken for granted and you don’t need to pay extra for it. Tipping isn’t expected either, so you shouldn’t even try; it often just causes confusion.

Leaving the country

When leaving the country, you can change the money back into your home currency at a fair rate at the exchange counters at the airport. However, you only get notes, no coins.

Or you can just take the remaining money home with you for your next trip to Japan. 😉

The amount of cash you can bring into Japan and back home without declaring it is limited. The limit is relatively high, so even a generous holiday budget will usually not need to be declared. It’s still a good idea to check the latest regulations with the Federal Foreign Office and Customs.

Girocard

You can also withdraw money from cash machines using a Girocard (popularly known in Germany as an “EC card”) with a Maestro logo. Unfortunately, Girocards with a Maestro logo haven’t been issued since 2023, so this handy option is disappearing. Many banks are instead equipping their Girocards with another additional function that’s supposed to enable payments abroad. If in doubt, you should check with your bank to see if your Girocard can be used in Japan.

The Hikawa Maru is moored up as a museum ship in Yokohama’s Minato Mirai district.

She was finished on 25 April 1930 as one of three Hikawa Maru-class passenger ships. The two 8-cylinder diesel engines from the Danish maker Burmeister & Wain pumped out a massive 11,000 hp to the twin propellers, hitting a top speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h). They were totally cutting-edge for their time.

The Hikawa Maru made her maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on 13 May 1930. After that, she started regular runs between Yokohama, Vancouver, and Seattle. The ship had room for 76 guests in first class, 69 in second class, and 186 in third class. Thanks to the top-notch service, great food, and Art Deco vibes, passengers dubbed her the “Queen of the Pacific”. The most famous guest was probably Charlie Chaplin, who spent a chunk of his 1932 world tour chilling on the luxury liner.

When the Second World War broke out in Europe, the Hikawa Maru helped Jewish refugees escape via Japan to Canada and the US. Once Japan entered the war, she was turned into a hospital ship. She was actually one of only two Japanese passenger ships to survive the war. Both of her sister ships were sunk in combat.

They retired the ship in 1961 and transformed her into a museum and restaurant. After some money troubles and a proper restoration, she reopened in 2008 just as a museum ship. She’s part of the NYK Maritime Museum, and getting in will cost you 300¥.

An interesting variation is Japanese potato salad. The potatoes are mashed, so you can even eat the salad with chopsticks.

Ingredients

• 600 g potatoes
• 100 g carrots
• 1 small onion
• 2 mini cucumbers, organic (alternatively, a regular cucumber)
• 120 ml mayonnaise
• 2 tsp mustard (medium)
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• Pepper and salt

Preparation

Finely dice the onion. Wash the cucumbers and cut into thin slices. Put both in a sieve and lightly salt them.

Peel the potatoes and cut into 6 to 8 pieces. Quarter the carrots and cut into roughly 5mm pieces. Put both in a pot, cover with water and boil covered for about 8 minutes. Then drain and let them steam dry. Sort out the carrots and roughly mash the potatoes with a masher. Add the carrots and vinegar and mix.

Squeeze out the onions and cucumbers by hand. Put them in a bowl together with the potato and carrot mix. Mix the mayonnaise with mustard and fold it in. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tip: I put a steamer basket on top of the potatoes and place the carrot pieces in there. That way, I can just take out the steamer basket after cooking, instead of having to fish out the carrot pieces one by one.

Today we’ve got photos of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima.

Of course, it isn’t a cathedral like a church (as the German word “Dom” usually suggests); the name actually comes from the Japanese 原爆ドーム (gembaku dōmu). So Atomic Bomb Dome is the proper name, thanks to its striking roof dome.

The building was built from a design by the Czech architect Jan Letzel and finished in April 1915. It was used as a commercial exhibition hall until “Little Boy” destroyed the city on the 6th of August 1945. While the explosion completely flattened the wooden Japanese houses of the time, the building stayed more or less intact and has served as a memorial against nuclear war ever since. Apart from a few safety measures, the building has remained completely unchanged.