How to Travel to Japan: Tips for 2024

Ninjas, haiku, samurai, kigurumi, Murakami, kawaii, Sailor Moon… If at least half of the words on this list make your heart skip a beat, urging you to visit the mysterious Land of the Rising Sun, you should dispel all doubts about “it’s far away, everything is in Japanese, it’s hard to get a visa” because the main thing is to want it! Attention: preparing for a trip takes time and a bit of effort, but remember, Pikachu isn’t as scary as they paint him!

The main feature of obtaining a Japanese visa is the mandatory requirement of a guarantor (a host party). The guarantor of your trip can be a travel agency in Japan or a person from there who is ready to send you an invitation and gather the necessary documents. Applying for a tourist visa entirely independently (without a Japanese intermediary) is impossible! Simply put, you handle everything as usual, collecting documents and filling out forms, while your guarantor gathers the documents in Japanese, which you will just submit to the embassy along with yours. There are many options online; we used word of mouth and chose a Russian-speaking travel agency located in Tokyo. The only condition was booking and paying for the hotel through them (if desired, you can find intermediaries with other requirements). Then each of us took care of our own part: we prepared personal documents, and the travel agency prepared the documents for the host party. The set of documents varies for each individual case (check everything in detail at the embassy), but generally, you need to present:

Valid passport and a copy of its first page
Bank statement (for 6 months)
Certificate from your place of work/study, or copy of your pension certificate
Flight reservation
Hotel reservation and full payment
Color photographs 4.5×4.5 cm
2 embassy application forms, filled out in English or Japanese
Schedule of stay
Set of documents from the guarantor
We live in Seoul, so in addition, we presented our Korean ARCs (Alien Registration Cards) and their copies, as well as certificates confirming registration (on links12.com)

No consular fee is charged for citizens of the Russian Federation, but be ready to pay $100–140 for visa support, processing, and document shipping. After paying the travel agency through PayPal, we received the package of documents via EMS (the mail took 4 days from Tokyo to Seoul). Time was tight, with just a bit over a week until our flight (yes, it was a risky venture), and with our hearts in our throats, we submitted the documents to the embassy. Everything was filled to the letter, collected, checked, and double-checked, but it was still nerve-wracking. Days of anxious waiting dragged on… And then, exactly one week later (oh, these Japanese), the visas were in our passports. Ta-da!! But it’s too early to relax. Before meeting Japan, some prior preparation and gathering valuable information are essential. We decided to head to the Kansai region to see three cities at once: Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. The story is just beginning!

Update: From 2017, obtaining a Japanese visa has become easier! Changes affect the set of documents from the guarantor and the possibility of getting a multiple entry visa for 3 years!

A full list of documents will be posted by the embassy by the end of 2024 after agreement with Tokyo.

And now, joyfully packing your suitcases, remember:

To charge your phone and camera, an adapter is needed. In Japan, power outlets are of the American type with two flat vertical pins, and the voltage is 100 Volts.
Google maps work fine in Japan. You can build subway and train routes in Osaka in the Osaka Metroman and Osaka Rail Map Lite apps. The Hyperdia app/website hyperdia.com builds routes throughout Japan, calculating travel time and cost (there is an English version).
In public transport, station names are shown in Japanese but are also duplicated in English, and all diagrams are intuitive, so it’s hard to get lost. But even in this case, you can always approach subway staff or fellow passengers; they will gladly help!
At Osaka airport, you can buy a prepaid SIM card at a machine or from sellers. 1 GB of internet costs 3000 yen. You need internet for activation (Osaka Kansai Airport has free working Wi-Fi, as do other Japanese airports), and changes may need to be made to your phone settings. Follow the instructions on the card carefully or ask for help at the information desk. Another option is to rent an internet router. For those who are in Japan for a long time, or those who need to connect multiple devices to the internet simultaneously.
At the airport, you can buy a travel pass. There are many options for transportation cards in Japan. We chose Kansai One Pass (a type of ICOCA card). Its benefits: covers the entire Kansai region, so it works in Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. It works in subways, trains (except high-speed Shinkansen), and buses. You tap it at the entrance and exit turnstiles. Information on types of Japanese travel cards: IC-cards in Japan.
You should always have yen cash with you. Not just small change, but a decent amount. Many small restaurants, shops, and paid attractions do not accept credit cards (cash is still cash in the land of robots). Japan is safe, so you can walk around with cash in your wallet without any worries. If it gets lost, 99% of the time it will be returned to you intact.
In cafes and restaurants, you do not need to leave tips! Not a yen! It’s not customary in Japan. Waiters will simply chase you down to return the “forgotten” change:)

Arigato and safe travels!