Visiting Japan is always a mix of wonder and challenge. On one hand, it’s a country where trains run like clockwork, mouthwatering meals are available at every price point, and a sense of simplicity shapes daily life in ways that feel refreshing compared to the chaos of the United States. But like any destination, it has its quirks. From carrying your trash around all day, to struggling with the nuances of social interactions, to the occasional bad tourist spoiling the moment. Japan isn’t always picture-perfect. Still, the good far outweighs the bad, and that’s what keeps us coming back.
Three Things We Will Always Love About Japan
1. Safe and Reliable, Cheap Public Transport
Japan’s train system is one of the best in the world. Whether it’s the high-speed shinkansen gliding across the country or the punctual local trains, you can rely on getting where you need to go, on time. It’s also affordable compared to taxis or car rentals. For travelers, having such a smooth system makes exploring stress-free without worrying about traffic jams, parking, or safety late at night. Once you’ve experienced it, you’ll wish every country worked this way. Buses also allow for local and regional travel that is cheap, clean, and allows for seeing many sights you can`t see from the trains.
It’s hard to beat all of the fun of taking the train. All the fun jingles, exploring the different train stations, and ultimately getting lost in the chaos. Where we are in the Southern United States, public transportation is inefficient, unsafe, and often does not take you anywhere near where you need to go. Additionally, the U.S. is also extremely car centric due to the distances between things such as work and home. While in Japan it tends to be much cheaper and easier to take public trains and buses everywhere you go.
2. Excellent Food Options for Every Budget and Palate
Japan is a food lover’s dream. You can eat like royalty at a Michelin-starred restaurant or grab a steaming bowl of ramen at a tiny shop for less than ten dollars. Even convenience stores (konbini) コンビニ serve fresh and surprisingly delicious meals something most countries can’t match. With so much variety and high quality at every price point, eating in Japan never feels like settling for “just okay.” Small local restaurants are the heart and sole of Japanese culinary arts. With so much history, flavor, and tender love and care, they create an environment of friendship and belonging over a tasty meal.
Convenience store food has a special place in my heart, after arriving in Japan for the first time in March of 2023, the first ever meal I had in the country was a 7/11 sandwich, a Boss Coffee, and a bag of 7/11 branded potato chips. Lord it was a lovely meal, a far stretch from the usual gas station/convenience store food I was used to in the U.S. Although I do enjoy going to small restaurants with just a counter, getting to banter with the chef with my horrible Japanese, while they use their horrible English, bonding over a mutual lack of language over some of the best food you can find. Food will always be a fast way to connect to people.
3. Simplicity and Minimalism
There’s a calming sense of simplicity in Japanese design and lifestyle. From clean hotel rooms to minimalist Muji goods, Japan embraces the idea of doing more with less. Spaces are uncluttered, packaging is thoughtful, and daily life feels a little more organized. As a traveler, this simplicity makes everything feel less overwhelming and much more enjoyable.
The minimalism helps remove some of the worries for daily life back home. You only have what you need, and all you need is what you have. It brings me great peace when in Japan to know that life will be simple and I have all that I need and nothing more. I often enjoy staying in traditional style Japanese homes when I can, such as machiya, or other traditional style inns. There is something cozy about staying on tatami floors, minimal furniture, and a simple bath.
Three Things We Will Not Miss About Japan
1. No Trash Bins and the Constant Rules of Sorting
One of the first things you notice in Japan is how few trash bins there are in public spaces. You end up carrying your garbage with you all day, hunting for a place to toss it. And once you do find a bin, there are strict sorting rules, burnable, non-burnable, plastics, bottles, cans. While this system helps recycling, it can be frustrating for visitors who just want to throw away a bottle of water.
We usually buy items from a convenience store first thing in the morning and get a plastic bag. That bag will be used as a trash bag for the rest of the day, which is kept in our back pack. There has been an increase in trash cans attached to some vending machines, but the best place to find public trash bins are at the convenience store or train stations. Just please for the love of all things holy, do not litter or create a mess due to a lack of trash cans. Try your best to sort the trash if you can, if you are not sure where it goes that’s okay as well. The Japanese value the cleanliness of public spaces and will go as far as to take their trash home to make it so.
2. The “Many Faces” of Social Interactions
Japanese culture is built around politeness, but sometimes that makes it difficult to know what people are really thinking. A cheerful “yes” might actually mean “no,” and a warm smile might not reflect true feelings. This cultural layer of tatemae (the public face) versus honne (true feelings) can leave visitors wondering if interactions are genuine. The idea of inferring information is extremely common in Japan, “reading the room” is the term often used.
What someone is saying to you may not be literal, they may be trying to say something else, but in a nice way. This can be very frustrating if you see honesty as an important trait in people. I always appreciate honesty and straight forward communication with people on their feelings and thoughts. For the average person going to Japan they will think everyone is just super nice, which most people are, but sometimes what people are telling you is not what they truly mean. Since the Japanese are rarely rude or confrontational, they use seemingly subtle speech to convey true feelings, similar to that of the Southern United States. Terms like, “Bless your heart”, in the South of the U.S. is a nice way of calling someone stupid. The Japanese are similar in this form of communication, which means you have to analyze things you hear for authenticity.
3. Bad Tourists
Ironically, one of the least enjoyable things in Japan is caused by fellow visitors. In tourist hotspots like Kyoto or Tokyo, large crowds and poorly behaved travelers can spoil the atmosphere. From blocking streets for photos to ignoring local customs, these moments can make sightseeing stressful. Japan itself is wonderful, it’s the crowds that sometimes aren’t.
Do your best to read up on customs and the expectations of the Japanese in public. The more you behave like them in public, the better time you will have. I have had to deal with bad tourists every time during my visits to Japan. It is not mutually exclusive to Japan, there are bad people everywhere, and sometimes people just make mistakes, which is okay. From skipping in line, people running into you, people without any spatial awareness, drunks, and scammers, there are many instances of bad people and bad behavior you will likely come across. Personally I have had to deal with drunk tourists trying to fight and being verbally aggressive, which is not what I want to do on my vacation.
To prevent from looking like a bad tourist, try and research as many of the rules and expectations the Japanese hold themselves to. Showing that you are trying to behave will mean more than you think.
また後で!
Jacob