traveling to + within japan
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flights
We recommend flying into Tokyo. It’s a city that you have to experience. Tokyo has two city airports: Narita and Haneda. By train (easiest way to town), Narita is 60 minutes and Haneda is 30 minutes. Narita has more international flights.
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Trains
Japan’s train system is vast and somewhat confusing. The bullet trains (Shin-kan-sen) go everywhere. If it’s your first time, read more below. Hint: Book a right side window seat to see Mt Fuji when traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto! It’s truly stunning.
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Taxis
Taxis and Ubers are everywhere urban in Japan. If you take a trip to rural area you’ll likely want to rent a car to get around. Note, most Japanese Taxi and Uber doors automatically open. Sometimes drivers will get upset if you attempt to open the door yourself.
For city specific hotel recommendations, please visit our city pages below:
Food + TEA
Japanese cuisine is Japanese culture… ingredients are fresh, seasonal and local. We recommend you make restaurant reservations far in advance using this Reservation Site.
Pork? Everywhere, but easy to avoid. Fish? Harder to avoid. Veggies? Easy to find. Shojin Ryori (buddhist “food of devotion”) is popular again, making vegan options very accessible.
With over 25 “formats” of Japanese cuisine, we recommend you try at least one “format” per day. Learn more about the formats of Japanese Cuisine.
Japanese Tea is as important as the cuisine, but we won’t do it justice here. Learn more about Japanese Tea Culture.
EtiquEtte
Japanese culture is built on Respect, and its opposite: Shame.
Bowing is one of the most obvious expressions of Japanese etiquette, though etiquette rules exist for food, entering and exiting rooms, footwear use, toilets, speaking volumes, and more. Foreigners may mistakenly believe these rules save them from embarrassment, however they are designed to show others kindness and respect.
To learn more before you travel check out Japanese Etiquette 101.
onsen!
The Japanese (and their Snow Monkeys) are very serious about their hot springs. Japan sits atop giant Onsen and some hotels pipe hot Onsen water into their hotels. These are called Onsen Hotels.
For a zen experience, book an Onsen Ryokan (Inn) located outside a major city. Onsen Ryokan are boutiques serving delicious fresh multi-course meals.
If you only have time for a quick trip to Japan, we recommend booking our favorite Onsen Hotel in Tokyo: Yuen Betti Daita.
For Onsen across Japan, visit Selected Onsen Ryokan.
Sophie + Daniel
April 17 - 19 2025
Kyoto, Japan