I'm 29, never left the country. My bucket list is visiting Japan at the very top. I have no idea what you do or if you have to go through travel agencies, how much money you should bring etc

  • gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world
    16·
    1 year ago

    Hey, this is an exciting first step in planning your trip. I'm 27 and have traveled a lot on my own and with friends, if you need any advice or have any questions feel free to PM me.

    1. Get your passport - this let's you leave your country and enter others. Depending on your country you may need to get a visa but assuming you come from the US you don't need a Visa (if a passport let's you enter into your native country, a Visa let's you enter and stay in a foreign country under certain conditions).
    2. Book a flight through something like Google flights, no need to go through any company besides the airline's.
    3. Book housing - if you're going alone and packing light I would highly recommend a hostel. Hostels are shared rooms where you sleep in the same room, share bathrooms, etc. If you're a light sleeper you may not like this, it will cause you to interact with other tourists which can be a pro or a con, and when you leave stuff in your room It'll need a lock (no issues in my experience but I also wouldn't bring 2 grand of electronics and lock them in the room). The main benefit is it's cheaper for individuals. Eastern hostel culture is way better than western, and Japan has some of the best in my experience.
    4. Pack your stuff. You need clothes, but you can do laundry there if that interests you so you don't need too many clothes. You need a way to get japanese currency. My card let's me pull money out of international ATMs, you can also bring US dollars and convert it there in the airport, but Japan mostly takes card in my experience.

    That's the bare necessity. I got to stop now but like I said, I'd love to help past that.

    Depending on where you're going transportation can be handled entirely by public transit. Don't get a car.

    • Thisfox@sopuli.xyz
      51·
      1 year ago

      Even the yanks need a visa for most countries; Japan being an exception not the norm. Just pointing that out because I have seen multiple USians confused by thinking they have the ability to travel everywhere without a visa.

      • gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world
        52·
        1 year ago

        "Most countries" is a hell of a stretch in my opinion. I've traveled to something close to 20 popular countries and only needed a visa for China when visiting, Singapore when studying, and Germany when moving there.

        Here's the official list and I'd wager a guess that more than 75% of native US Tourist Traffic goes to these countries.

          • gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world
            6·
            1 year ago

            You shouldn't be scared of hotels. If you're getting a reasonable room you'll have an entirely normal experience. If you cheap out, then you are taking a risk in exchange for money.

            But if you're going to travel internationally, you should default to not afraid. It is by and large safe out there. Be smart, but not media-sensitized.

              • gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world
                2·
                1 year ago

                Again, don't be. I don't have data off the top of my head, but I'd wager Japan has shockingly few cases of bed bugs in their tourist sector.

                  • gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world
                    3·
                    1 year ago

                    Without data, take media reports as sensational by necessity. France's problems may not be as bad as they seem (I would assume they're not) and France's problems don't automatically translate to other countries like Japan.

                    To wrap this back around to your main post, travelling to Japan shouldn't induce fear at any step. It's a safe country with low crime rates and few health problems for tourists.