22 Simple MISTAKES to AVOID when you first visit Japan

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I moved to japan in February and main thing i would say is relax. Like i rushed get the train from the airport to Tokyo when i really did not need to after 20 hours on a plane

Remember these things and you will be fine. 1) Be quiet, whisper to your travel buddies only when in public. Being loud is a huge no no. 2) Japanese are almost British about lining up. Respect the line, 3)There is NO customization of restaurant food unless you DIY after purchase, 4) Use headphones for your phone, don't talk on your phone in public transit 5) Wear socks without holes because there are places you must take your shoes off like entering a private home, etc. There will be a step up or a change in floor color to indicate shoes off. I carry folding slippers so I don't have to use shared slippers. 6) Be soft-spoken. Direct, sustained eye contact is considered aggressive in Japan

I spent at least 20 minutes queuing for my jr pass at Handea airport before realising that the jr office there only activated passes that started that day. My number one tip as a recent first time traveller is to treat the first day as a write off and not make too many plans. Even if your flight is landing at 7am in the morning, chances are youll have had a 13 hr flight and you will be too knackered to do anything. Especially avoid booking certain time specific events or attractions, even if you have 4 hrs, you could spend that time trying to navigate an unfamiliar rail system

For big suitcases - all hotels have service to ship it to your next destination - it is not expensive and you don't need to carry it or even think about it. We went on a 2 weeks trip having 2 very large ones and only part when I was pulling it was from airport and to airport....

Less is more is clearly a good motto. (even in life in general, being able to live with less is a gift) Also wanting to do too much thing in a day in not only exausting, it's also a bit stressful and that's not the point of a vacation in my opinion. Sometime having time for the unexpected is the way to go. A beautiful pond to recharge half an hour after walking all day, a nice café to make a stop by or a nice person to chat a little to without having to rush the conversation and possibly being impolite. In general, being able to slow down your life is a key element, at least for me, for being happy.

I'm on my first trip to Japan, and currently finishing my 3rd night (in Tokyo). One piece of your advice, on particular, is golden: as a foreigner, you must, must, must learn the basics. Not just to be polite, but because most services you'll encounter (public transport, in bars and restaurants, shop assistants) will noticeably appreciate it and seemingly offer you an even better service!

Watching before my trip to japan in 3 hours. Binged your whole videos man, keep them up. Thank you for the esim hack, got it using ur code !

I was there in September (for the first time) and it was very manageable. I think the most prominent item that you noted, is learn the basic language/terms. I got by on 5 or 6 phrases and encountered no issues. Everyone was more than happy to help and they obviously recognize that you’re a foreigner so they are patient. Communicating may seem daunting for first timers, but know the basics and be patient and everything will be alright.[

Andrew! Well done lad, as always!  Great tips and info, will definitely help the noobs... (and even the not first timers)

Thanks for the videos and great tips! Love the sassy attitude! 🙌🙌

Ciao, italian boy here; I'll travel to japan in a few months and I really appreciate your video. Even though I've already seen, here and then, some of this tips, you did a great job on putting all those together and taking your time to explain them in detail. I'll watch all your other videos for sure, certainly that I'll not being disappointed. Ad maiora, Gianvito.

Agree , I live here and he is correct! Don’t worry if you are a good person then Japanese will still be good with you.

Very helpful! Thank you

Im going to Japan in late December and I will definitely go slow, I have a few but not to much I want to see so I can really enjoy my stay there.

Thank you for the tip on the e-Sim, Andrew. We were waiting to buy a physical one when we arrive in Tokyo but an e-Sim is much more convenient. 😁

I loved the error of staying in Tokyo because Japan has a lot of hidden gems but people mostly go to the same cities (Tokyo - Osaka - Kyoto - Nara and maybe Hiroshima).

I am going to Japan in two weeks, these videos are really helpful. I learned Japanese to a pretty fluent (can speak quickly about more or less any topic somehow and people understand what I say more or less 100% of all times, and understand speech, also if its fast and slurred mostly) to essentially prank my wife (she has no clue) during our visit. I realize that now, that I might come in more handy than I thought...

Happy to find your page!

That luggage tip is a godsend. I was concerned I’d either have to waste 2 trip days waiting for my check-ins or lug my luggage around while trying to do stuff