number one: pack light!

acking light is the key (I will repeat this more than a few times!)  we will be on subways, trains, buses, shuttle vans---maybe even a river boat!  you need to bring only what you can carry, the smaller the better.  it really is difficult to schlepp bags around the subways en route to the bullet trains in tokyo station through a crowd of 6 million people! 

think about the logistics of the millions of people in tokyo station alone, then picture yourself with a suitcase the size of an average japanese car.  although it is a modern country, you will not always find escalators and elevators to help you get down the 3 flights of stairs to the train.  we will be staying in a few hotels that will have coin laundry facilities if you need to clean your clothes mid-way. 

a great tip from jan, who joined us in 2008 from delaware: pack your bag, then carry it around the block. if it is too heavy, re-pack and repeat until weight is manageable. i also heard an interview with the founder of “one bag” packing on npr, who had some great tips: http://www.onebag.com/

we will be moving around, living out of the bag. japanese inns typically do not have any closet space to speak of, so plan on using your bag as your armoire and do not plan on “unpacking”. the less you have to lug around, the easier it will be to check out and move on to the next bath. trust us, you will not need 1/2 of what you bring! when you check in to the country inns, you will receive a robe to wear during your stay. so, essentially, you will not need your street clothes while wandering the town bathing, or even coming to dinners. saves on laundry time for sure.

our itinerary has us staying your FIRST two nights in country and the LAST night in the same hotel. this way you can leave behind things you do not need out in the country, and be reacquainted with them upon your return to tokyo. or, if joining us on multiple tours, you can change clothes in your day pack, do laundry, and leave that 1/2 of clothing you haven’t worn yet behind! 

many people leave a large suitcase behind in this hotel, and return home with it full of souvenirs (and sake!) if you do purchase anything you don’t want to carry for the duration of your trip, you can always use their in-country courier service (approx. $20 per box). super reliable and fast, you can send a bag to the airport or to our narita “home-base” hotel for your last night. 

packing tips in a nutshell:

•small, portable bag and one carry on for plane
•timepiece/phone. necessary to meet group ON TIME when we are apart for independent activities and then need to meet to catch a train all together. 
•rain coat (only 9 days of rain on average in november, but.....) 
•fleece and/or light winter jacket (we will be in the mountains, and may see some early snow!)
•bring hats,gloves, etc... (especially if you are a human who is always cold)
•easily slip on/off shoes as you will be taking off your shoes each time you enter a room/inn/bath. hopefully these are also comfy shoes for lots of walking and optional mountain hiking. 

duke’s FOOTWEAR recommendation:
“bring only two pair of shoes to japan: slip-ons for everyday wear and lightweight running shoes. the running shoes are fine for hiking and make it easy to exercise wherever. for everything else, you'll regret anything that laces, since you'll be putting on and taking off your shoes 20 times a day!”  (deborah adds: nothing like clogs for going in and out of temples, inns, even restaurants...you WILL be taking on and off your shoes a LOT.) if you have particularly large feet (which we all do compared to the diminuative japanese) you might also consider bringing your own pair of indoor slippers and outdoor flip flops. 

toilettries & drugs

it will be hard to find what you are used to at home. added to that we will be in very rural japan---sometimes in towns with no stores---so that shopping will not be easy. please bring what you need. every hotel and inn will provide shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in their rooms (private label) and in their baths. the baths quite often also have body or face lotion, qtips, even razors. “tenugui” (small bathing) towels will be provided by your first inn, and they are meant to be re-used and collected to take home. there are hair dryers in all the inns and larger baths.

again, japan has different drugs (no tylenol, for example). please bring a small kit of aspirin, cold remedies, allergy or nausea pills, etc..---anything you might need during your stay. don’t forget to bring with you any prescriptions you might need: you will NOT be able to fill them while in Japan (and through hard experience we have also learned that you will not be able to fedex them in if you forget them). in some of the towns there will be pharmacies, but finding what you need is a very long affair with google translate not being so easily able to translate drug names/ingredients. 

we also now recommend that you bring a few rapid covid home tests with you, as these are not as available in japan (and again, not in the small villages).

also, please be aware that japan has not legalized some of the recreational goodies you may be enjoying at home. we cannot guarantee that we will have the time to bail you out of jail!

miscellaneous list of stuff you may need

1.most hotels/inns in japan do not have bedside reading lights (think about it: no beds, no bedside tables = no lamps!). i always travel with an “itty bitty book light” or hiking style head lamp--- handy for reading in bed and also maneuvering in the middle of the night without waking room-mates with overhead lights. batteries are cheap and easy to find in most convenience stores.
2.some form of instant coffee and/or black tea. in most hotels and inns they will always have a hot water pot handy (also good for instant oatmeal if like me you are not up for fish heads in the morning). the rooms will all have green tea and green tea only. if you are someone that has to have a morning coffee, a specific tea, or even just plain black tea (instead of the provided green), please bring it with you. one year someone lugged a whole cappucino outfit with him-----which was a little crazy in it’s devotion but certainly made him the most popular human on the tour! 
3.same holds true for artificial sweeteners and even sugar. there is rarely artificial sweetener in japan: bring your own if you can’t live without it. hotel rooms will not provide sugar for your tea. available to buy in all convenience stores, though.
4.electrical currents are the same in japan so you do not need converters. don’t forget to bring chargers for cameras, ipods, etc...it is very difficult to find replacement parts, as their brand names are different and you will not have access to stores like that for most of the tour.
5.most hotels will have have some level of internet access (this is noted on the detailed itinerary list you will receive). bring any cables you might need. 
6.if you shoot with film: bring enough for the first few days until we hit a camera or convenience store. then, film in japan is on average 1/2 of US prices. 
7.i can’t stress how wonderful the simple ziploc bag is! use for souvenirs, toiletries, dirty clothes (they have super-size ones now!)  a super and light thing to have.

tips to survive the long flight:

traveling from the united states to japan makes for a very, very long day. thought I would share some of the tips I've learned over the years to survive the long flight. also, some hopefully helpful pre-trip info so you all can know what to expect when you land and as you travel around the country.

on the plane

although duke laughs at me, I always bring food for the plane (not being partial to the cardboard food they serve on most airlines). fresh veggies and fruits, crunchy and watery and fresh. but the most important thing is getting some sleep on the plane. from the west coast it is a 10-12 hour flight. and, once you arrive in tokyo it is generally 4-5 pm----so you still have a whole evening ahead of you in a strange place. if you plan on taking some medication to help you sleep, please make sure to test it out once or twice before you use it on the plane. horror stories abound.

arriving in japan

in your pre-trip informational emails i will provide you with detailed arrival instructions and photographs. to recap: the planes from the US arrive in japan between 2-5 pm. by the time you pick up your bags, clear customs, get cash from the ATM, it is usually about 4-6 pm. from the airport we take a shuttle bus directly to the hotel, and it takes approximately 20 minutes to reach narita city. by the time we get to hotel (and this is why its good to sleep on the plane) we usually go for a walk, swim or do something physical to shake out to air legs. we no longer schedule a welcome meal on the first night in country since so many planes are delayed and most people simply do not want to socialize after their long flights. you may choose to order room service, go right to sleep, or even schedule a massage in your room. i highly recommend getting out and about for some fresh air and fresh food if you have the energy----but whatever you do, don’t fall asleep too early or you’ll wake up bright and bushy at 2 am!

jet lag

this brings us to questions about jet lag: it isn’t usually too much of a problem going over to Japan, just coming home. if you go to bed to early the first night, however, you will be waking up at 4 am. trust me. in general, the first morning in Japan you’ll wake up earlier than usual, but well-rested and ready to go! if not sleeping is generally an issue, bring whatever remedy you use at home with you (as you will not be able to find such drugs or homeopathic items in japan). also, the first morning in narita town is the perfect excuse to join the monks at the 300 year old naritasan temple for some dawn chanting.

what should i do about money, ATMS?

please read our thoughts about money in japan under the FAQ section. this is a question that every one asks, and we have a lengthy explanation of exchange rates and ATM machines, etc...on that page. this will also be covered in your pre-tour informational emails that we send out every 2 weeks prior to travel.

food

all the hotels we are staying at have a breakfast which is included in the tour cost---sometimes it will be a buffet with vaguely western style foods mixed in with the fish, sometimes just a traditional japanese breakfast of miso soup, sides and fish.  the fact that breakfast is served in the hotel is a good thing, since most towns have no breakfast places to dine.  in the big cities you may find a coffee shop, certainly a starbucks or two, but the japanese usually eat breakfast at home.  once we are in the country, some of the villages have no stores yet alone coffee shops, so bring it with you if that is important!  for those people who don’t like being served fish heads for breakfast (sorry, duke, I know how you love them!) you may find yourself needing to subsidize the breakfast with cheese, yogurt, granola, etc...  being a picky eater, i always have an emergency stash of instant oatmeal, power bars, etc...  

most of the lunches will be en route, and you will pay for your own.  the japanese love to eat on trains, so the train stations always have enormous food floors with everything imaginable: i call them “food museums.”  on days we will be taking trains we will grab boxed “bento” lunches from these food museums to eat on the train.  at each train station are huge department stores, and these departments stores run the food floors.  one floor, desserts and treats, one floor meats and savory things.  it is a lot of fun, since they let you sample most everything. 

for dinners we try to vary the kinds of food you are exposed to, so that everyone gets to try a little of all the different kinds of cuisine japan has to offer. we love eating in japan, and have chosen some of our inns just for the level of their food (as well as hospitality and awesome baths!)  leave your stigma about eating in the hotel at home, as it simply does not equate in japan. japanese inns are very proud of their cooking, using local and seasonal ingredients. from the north of japan to the south, you will be trying some very different regional specialties. 

electricity

standard voltage is 100v AC. you can use almost all US appliances (110v) without any problem, though high-wattage items such as hair dryers may not run at full power. (you don’t need to bring one, anyway: all baths will have hairdryers for you to use). european devices require an adaptor. plugs are the flat, two-bladed type.

etiquette

nowhere will you find a more polite culture than Japan’s. bow and say thank you, “arigato”.  because we are foreigners, we will be given much slack concerning customs and taboos... but we do hope you will all turn out to be well-reared citizens of the world. we consider ourselves cultural embassadors of sorts, and hope that all those who join us on our adventure will be respectful and mindful of the areas we pass through and people we meet.  

a few simple things that are never done: 
•never stick your chopsticks upright into your bowl of rice like antenna. this is only done in a funeral ceremony, when the family is done with the ashes. 
•never pour soy sauce directly on to your rice. it is meant to be savored as is. 
•never pour your own drink (if you can help it!)--- it is customary to pour for other people first and then have them reciprocate. 
•never eat while walking down the street (it is considered an infringement on other people’s space).
•try not to blow your nose in public (you can hack and slurp and sniffle all you want, but check out the looks you will get if you pull out a harmless hanky!) i routinely break this rule, but try to be as discreet as my honker will allow.
•never wear shoes on tatami mats (if you see a pile of shoes or a rack of sandals, that should be a hint. when in doubt, ask: this is a big pet peeve they have with foreigners). in general, there is outdoor footwear and indoor footwear, and any time you change from inside to outside, you will change your footwear. the inns will have indoor slippers for everyone, as well as outdoor sandals. for those of you with feet larger than a US men’s 7, you might want to bring your own around-town sandals.
•changing of footwear applies to “toilet slippers” as well----when you enter the toilet you will see a separate pair of slippers from the indoor slippers. these are to wear only in the toilet room. (but at least one person will make the hotel staff giggle when coming down to breakfast in their toilet slippers!!)
•tipping is not done in japan. i recommend bringing small gifts to give to those we meet en route that help us on our journey.  (for example, some kind folk from denver last year brought colorado rockies baseball caps that made a few bus drivers and hotel owners very proud rockies fans!)

etiquette concerning bathing

•never wear a bathing suit into the bath. everyone bathes naked in japan.
•never get in to the communal bath without first washing your body. take the small towel the inn provides (and that you have brought with you) to sit down, lather up, and wash thoroughly. be sure to rinse towel free of all soap and suds. this is the same towel you will also dry yourself off with. keep it clean.
•never soak or dip the towel into the communal bath. after cleaning, some people will walk with the towels hanging in front of their privates as a semblance of modesty. when entering the bath, you can place them neatly near you on the edge of a rock or even wear them on your head----just don’t let them hang out in the communal water.
•never jump or dive or swim in the communal bath. enter the bath slowly to get used to the temperature of the water, without splashing or making big commotion. be aware that others already in the bath are relaxing and peaceful.
•never wash you body or hair in the communal bath. this bath is for everyone: be clean before you enter.
•at end of bathing, use the small towel to pat yourself dry. it seems counter-intuitive to use a wet towel to dry yourself, but it does work. your body temperature will help you to dry, too. (and, if this does not cut it for you, you can bring the large bath towel from your room into the locker area just for drying. you’ll see some women cover the clothes baskets with this larger towel, to be neat). never bring this large towel into the wet area.