Start Here to Plan Your Japan Trip

Congratulations on deciding to plan a trip to Japan! Japan is one of our favourite destinations, however there are some elements of travelling there which can be a bit tricky, so our aim is to help you work through planning and booking your Japan trip with confidence.

In the articles below, the first section is where you should start – check out our articles on getting started to plan your trip to Japan with our articles about the best time to visit, itineraries and also package tour options.  The second section is all about how to book the tickets and tours you need for your trip.  The final section is all about your pre-departure phase and making sure you are ready to go.

We are regularly producing new articles about Japan, so new articles will be added to this page as they are created.  Please note that we also regularly update these articles to ensure you are getting the latest information.

Note that some articles are located on our Pretraveller travel blog and some articles are located on this Japan Travel Planning website.

Most Popular Articles for Japan

Our most popular articles are as follows:

• Our pages for each Japan region are very popular, check out our pages for the Tokyo Region, Mt Fuji Region, Kansai Region, including Kyoto, Osaka and Nara, the Nagano Region, the Nikko Region, with much more regional information to come!
• Buying Tickets for Japan.  If you want to purchase tickets to the sumo wrestling, baseball, Ghibli Museum, Universal Studios Japan or Mario Kart then click on the relevant links to find our detailed articles which will help you to book your tickets.
• Data Access in Japan.  Most visitors to Japan either purchase an eSim plan, rent a pocket wifi or buy a pre-paid data only sim card, as these are very cost effective options to have access to data during your visit.  Check out our articles on the Best Pocket Wifi, the Best Japan eSim Plan and the Best Pre-paid Data Sim Card. Our article on the best phone apps to load onto your phone is also very popular!
• Airport Transfers are a very common request – we have a set of detailed articles on how to transfer from Narita airport to different parts of Tokyo.  Check out our articles to travel to Tokyo and Ginza, to Haneda Airport, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Shinagawa, Ueno, Asakusa and Akihabara and to Yokohama.
• Our packing list article for Japan is also very popular.  It doubles as a pre-departure checklist to ensure you are ready to go!

Check out our most recently published articles on Japan below:

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Early Planning for Japan

Itinerary Planning for Japan

Itinerary planning for Japan is a real challenge!  As a result we have put together articles to help you understand the best time to visit Japan, we have developed itinerary articles which each contain several itinerary options for either a 10 day or two week visit to Japan. As Tokyo is a big and complex city to explore we also have our detailed article on what to do in Tokyo to help you work it out and also decide where to stay!

We also have some great guide book options to check out and purchase (and let’s just say that there are many more options than you realise!).

Purchasing Tickets for Japan

If you want to purchase tickets to the sumo wrestling, baseball, Ghibli Museum, Universal Studios Japan or Mario Kart then click on the relevant links to find our detailed articles which will help you to book your tickets.

Package Tour Options for Japan

Quite a few of our readers are interested in booking multi day package tours to Japan – these can be a great option if you prefer to let someone else make all of your arrangements rather than having to invest a lot of your own time and effort to arrange your trip.  They are also a great option for solo travellers to meet like minded people and have companionship as they travel.

We have put together detailed articles to help you find the best Japan tours, and also the best Japan tours for families.

Visiting and Climbing Mt Fuji

Many visitors to Japan are keen to see, climb or ski Mt Fuji – as a result we have put together detailed guides on how to find the best Mt Fuji climbing tour (which includes a lot of information to help you plan your climb, both as part of a tour and for independent climbers) and also how to find the best one day Mt Fuji tour.

You may not also realise that in winter you can go skiing, snow boarding and snow play on Mt Fuji!  We have a detailed article on how to plan your day snow trip to Mt Fuji from Tokyo.

Visiting the Snow Monkeys

Another very popular activity for visitors is to visit the snow monkeys.  While winter is the peak time to visit, you can also visit them all year round.  Check out our detailed guide on how to visit the snow monkeys!

Accommodation Guides for Japan

A very common question is where to stay in Tokyo – but did you realise that before you book your accommodation you should also decide what to do in Tokyo? Tokyo is very large, so check out our article on what to do in Tokyo first, and in the article are also a heap of links to help you book your accommodation through Booking.com.

We also have good accommodation information about where to stay near Universal Studios Japan.  People with tattoos have particular issues in Japan when visiting onsens, so we have a detailed article on how to find tattoo friendly onsens including accommodation recommendations for each area.

Pre-Departure for Japan

Packing and Equipment Lists for Japan

Our packing list article for Japan is also very popular.  It doubles as a pre-departure checklist to ensure you are ready to go!  We also have detailed guides to help you select the best luggage and best camera options for your trip to Japan.

Japan Phone Apps, Pocket Wifi and Sim Cards

Most visitors to Japan either rent a pocket wifi or buy an eSim plan or a pre-paid data only sim card, as these are very cost effective options to have access to data during your visit.  Check out our articles on the Best Pocket Wifi, the Best Japan eSim Plan and Best Pre-paid Data Sim Card, we also have specific articles to help you rent or purchase Japan Wireless (check out our great coupon code deal!).  Our article on the best phone apps to load onto your phone is also very popular!

Airport Transfer Articles for Japan

Airport Transfers are a very common request – we have a set of detailed articles on how to transfer from Narita airport to different parts of Tokyo.  Check out our articles to travel to Tokyo and Ginza, to Haneda Airport, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Shinagawa, Ueno, Asakusa and Akihabara and to Yokohama.

For Travellers to Japan with Tattoos

People with tattoos have particular issues in Japan to visit onsens, so we have a detailed article on how to find tattoo friendly onsens which also includes accommodation recommendations for each area.  You may also like to check out our FAQ for visitors to Japan with tattoos.

Happy planning your trip to Japan!

Thanks Anne and Tony.

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