By plane

The easiest way to travel to Japan is by plane. There are as many as 173 airports here, flights from Russia fly mainly to Tokyo. Sometimes it is more profitable to fly first to some Far Eastern city, and then fly from there to Japan.

On water

From Sakhalin Island, you can sail to Wakkanai on a regular ferry. There is also a flight from Vladivostok to Donghae in South Korea and Sakaiminato in Japan.

Transport

According to Loverists, the transport system in the country is very developed. By rail, you can get almost anywhere, high-speed highways are almost everywhere. Ferries run between the islands, but mostly tourists prefer planes and trains. In total, there are four types of trains – local electric trains that travel within the city and suburbs, express trains, long-distance trains and Shinkansen – bullet trains. It’s worth a ride on this, if only for the sake of special impressions. For travel it is better to take travel cards.

Transport within cities is also highly developed. Buses go everywhere, but it’s not easy to figure out their schedules and routes, and inside the buses are uncomfortable. They also travel between cities – it is cheaper than trains, but it also takes more time.

It’s easy to get around Tokyo by subway – 224 stations allow you to get close to almost anywhere. True, it is not easy to understand the traffic pattern, and often the cars are very crowded. There are subways in other major cities as well.

Taxis are available here, but very expensive, they charge large amounts even in a traffic jam. But the service from the taxi drivers is excellent.

IMPORTANT: Renting a car here is not worth it – the procedure is complicated and expensive, and due to constant traffic jams and ignorance of the language, you will only lose time.

Money

The main currency is the yen, you can only pay with them. The cashless payment system is developed, but many stores accept only cash. ATMs do not accept non-local cards either, with the exception of City Bank. The commission for cashing out is often very high.

It is best to exchange rubles for yen in Russia – it will be much more profitable.

Cuisine and restaurants

If you choose Japan for your vacation, be sure to try the local cuisine. It is much better and more varied at home than in our Japanese restaurants.

Japanese cuisine is considered to be very healthy, and as much attention is paid to the beautiful appearance as to the taste. Serving is also very important.

The main ingredient of many dishes is rice, which is considered the main meal here. Ogo is usually complemented with seafood, mainly fish. It is not pleasant to cook it strongly – usually the fish is lightly marinated, salted, or even served raw.

Our most popular dish is sushi and rolls – the first is just a ball of rice with fish, and the second is rice and fish wrapped in nori. However, sushi in Japan is not so popular – there are more traditional dishes:

• Sashimi – raw fish, octopus and squid with vegetables and wasabi
• Tyahan – something like pilaf
• Tempura – meat or fish in batter
• Kushiyaki – small grilled skewers
• Sukiyaki – meat with mushrooms, vegetables and noodles cooked in a pot
• Tonkatsu – pork chop in breadcrumbs
• Unagi – eel on coals

Also in Japan they are very fond of various noodles – buckwheat, wheat, rice.

There are also very tasty soups in Japan:

• Miso-shiro is a light soup based on miso bean paste.
• Butajiru – miso-shiro with pork
• Oden – soup with Japanese radish, eggs and konnyaku
• Dangojiru – soup with rice balls

Of the drinks, the Japanese especially love tea, mostly green. Recently, coffee has been gaining popularity. All sorts of juices and sodas are also common.

From alcohol, you should try the local “sake” – something like rice wine prepared in a special way. Many Japanese also drink beer.

Which places in Japan are overrated by tourists

In terms of recreation, Japan is very interesting – data from the National Tourism Organization shows that the number of tourists from other countries is increasing significantly. At the same time, guests of the country often visit not at all those places that would be worth it, but they are in too publicized and popular places that are actually not so interesting. Let’s take a look at them:

• Roppongi is not such an interesting area, everything is very expensive, there are many immigrants from African countries. There are practically no locals – even in a very expensive “Japanese club” mostly foreigners will hang out;
• Disneyland – the attractions here are good, but the queues are really huge – you can stand 45 minutes to buy popcorn or four hours for one attraction. But in DisneyAquapark the situation is much better, but only on weekdays;
• The Imperial Palace, according to reviews, is not so good inside. But the gardens around it are really beautiful;
• Sapporo Chapel is an advertised but very boring and unimpressive place;
• Some seriously believe that even Tokyo is not worth visiting – Kyoto is much more interesting, and the Japanese spirit is generally better to look for in small villages, away from noisy crowds.

Reviews

Reviews about holidays in Japan are mostly positive – tourists really like the sights, nature and special culture of this country. Most often, people come here at the beginning of spring to admire the sakura, although in autumn, when the maples turn red, it is also very beautiful here. There are practically no shortcomings in the rest, except for high prices. Some people also don’t like too hot climates – people with pale skin burn easily. It interferes with enjoying the sights and crowds, but nothing can be done about it.

Also, those who go here on their own note that it is quite difficult to understand local transport, menus, etc. Many do not know English, Japanese is very difficult, so you won’t ask the locals for anything special. But this problem is easily solved by careful planning of routes in advance.

Many people also like the rest of Okinawa, but it is a bit not Japanese, but more traditionally beachy.