For people who travel to Japan

  • Get a transit card. if you speak Japanese get a SUICA card, if you don’t there are ones where you can buy a day pass for around $4. Waiting in line to buy tickets for individual train trips is for suckers
  • Go to a Japanese supermarket. Just going grocery shopping in any new country is a fun experience
  • Or just get all your meals from the convenience stores– they’ll ruin every single 7/11 in the US, because they’re so good though
  • Ironically one of the best things to do in Tokyo is leave, there’s a few places I reccommend people go if they have time:
    • Yokohama - port city with a really big chinatown. you might be able to catch a baseball game there too since it’s in season
    • Hakone - hot spring resort town which can be a really long day trip but I think is worth doing
  • Take advantage of the fact that some stores in Japan let you shop tax free if you spend more than 5500 yen (around 35 dollars) if you present your passport
  • Try a Strong Zero
  • Try Famichicki
  • Wear your backpack in the front when you’re on a crowded train
  • Saying sumimasen (soo-me-mah-sehn) and slowly bowing outcan get you out of almost any awkward situation
Date
April 12, 2024
Previously
THE NON NEGOTIABLE WEEK The following is a verbatim transcription of a journal entry I made dated December 2021 at 10:27 PM. The nonnegotiable week was a set of guidelines