On my trip to Japan in June / July 2025, I came across a few issues that I had never thought about. While I knew it would be summer when I arrived, I soon learnt the heat and humidity can knock you around. I thought I would share some tips from my trip that might be common sense. I will keep adding more as I think of them to another blog, but the tips and tricks can work just about anywhere.
Trains are easy to catch and found having an IC card convenient like the ICOCA from the Kansai area. You can top them up at any train station that has the topup machines for IC cards.
Google will at times give you the answers to your questions instead of trying to look through the website like for the Shinkansen. The English answers seem to come straight from the website.
Some locations like in Osaka will have several stations in the area like Namba station does. There is the JR station, Metro, Kintetsu and Nankai. Make sure you don’t enter the wrong station as the IC card doesn’t always let you out. Really doesn’t help if you are in a rush. I spent half hour at the Kintetsu station, when I was meant to be at the Nankai station in Namba.
Walking above ground can be easier to find your destination. Sometimes shorter too. An idea I had was to walk to the closest underground entrance to the station you will catch the train. Might be less crowded especially if there are other entrances along to the like the metro.
The exits to the underground walkways can get confusing and if you aren’t paying too much attention send you in circles. The bigger areas like in Tokyo can send you anywhere.
Don’t really need to carry water around as vending machines are nearly everywhere. Helpful in summer.
People lining up for the train aren’t always waiting for the train that is at the platform, but the next one. I nearly made that mistake and got on the train by the skin of my teeth.
The summer heat and humidity can knock you around, and you might make silly decisions on the fly. Wear a hat and UV sleeves are helpful, but you can buy umbrellas for UV protection too
Some problems with trains have easy solutions. I jumped on a train only to realise it wasn’t the one I was after. That one was actually next and an express. The one I accidentally caught terminated two stations before my actual destination. I caught another train and could use the ticket to get out of the station. I arrived around 5 mins after the train had departed even though I was around an hour away on the wrong train.
Google can help if you are wanting Eki or train stamps. They can give you locations to find them in bigger stations. Some Metro stations have them too. Try airports too and the customer service people might tell you where the next one is.
Google maps can be good in telling you what platform you need for your next destination. Some stations have lists of the next stations along the line.
Kombini, or convenience stores are not only good for food, but other things like band aids and utility knives if you have problems with your shoes like fabric on your sole bunched up.
Some of the smaller stations in cities might not have takeaway meals like bentos. The bigger stations can be 5 min walk from the smaller stations.
Be aware not every town has footpaths everywhere outside the main roads. You could be walking on the side of the road next to traffic. The narrow one way streets are always interesting to walk down. The narrow roads might even send you around rice paddies. A strange experience at first.
Take a walk through the various shops like bookshops. The visuals can be interesting even when you don’t know the language.
Some items might not be what they seem. Bought a CD and the packaging made it look like a record / vinyl in size. Google translate with the staff can be fun and frustrating when you are unsure on what to expect.
