Trip planning basics
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Golden Week and Obon in Japan: the crowd dates to plan around
Plan around Golden Week, Obon and New Year with official holiday dates, likely travel pressure and flexible booking tactics for a calmer Japan trip.
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Onsen etiquette and tattoo rules in Japan: what to check first
Wash before you enter, keep towels out of the bath and check tattoo policy with each facility. A practical first-time guide to Japanese onsen.
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Seven days in Japan: a first-timer's itinerary that doesn't waste days
A Tokyo resident's honest seven-day plan for a first trip to Japan: which cities to pick, what to book early, and the days people quietly lose.
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Coin lockers and luggage storage in Japan: a practical guide
How to use station coin lockers in Japan, find your bag again, handle full lockers, and choose staffed storage or luggage forwarding instead.
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Renting a car in Japan: the permit rules, tolls and when it's worth it
What a visitor needs to legally drive in Japan, what the tolls and regional expressway passes cost, and the trips where a car beats the train — and the ones where it does not.
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Do you need travel insurance for Japan? What a hospital visit costs
A Tokyo resident on travel insurance for Japan — why medical bills aren't cheap, what to look for in a policy, and why you must read the wording and check your own eligibility.
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The two-week countdown: what to sort before a Japan trip, in order
A Tokyo resident's ordered checklist for the two weeks before a Japan trip — arrival paperwork, mobile data, IC cards, money, transport and bookings, in the right order.
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Visit Japan Web: the arrival paperwork, done before you fly
What Visit Japan Web is, why it's worth doing before you fly, and the QR-code and screenshot traps that trip visitors up at Japanese immigration and customs.