Kyoto, Osaka & Kansai

Kyoto sits in a basin: muggy in summer, and a cold that seeps up from the ground in winter. In summer, keep temples and shrines to the early morning and the evening and spend the middle of the day in museums or over tea. You walk a long way here, so shoes matter more than anything else you pack.

Cherry blossoms (early April) and autumn colour (mid to late November) are spectacular, but the second half of November in Kyoto is the busiest fortnight anywhere in Japan. The answer is to build in an escape within an hour of the city, such as Ohara or Miyama.

About 80 minutes from Kansai Airport to Kyoto on the JR Haruka; for Namba, the Nankai Rapi:t is fastest. From Itami (domestic flights), buses are the convenient way into each city.

The official language is Japanese. In the cities and at the major sights, English signage is good, and station names and line guidance are shown in romaji as standard. Outside the cities plenty of places have no English menu, so Google Lens (photo translation) is the single most useful thing you can carry. On our English-guided tours, language is not something you need to think about at all.

The currency is the Japanese yen (JPY, ¥). Notes come in 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen, and there are six coins, from ¥1 to ¥500. Rather than changing money at the airport, withdrawing cash from a 7-Eleven ATM (they accept foreign cards and have an English screen) is more reliable and the rate is steadier.

In the cities, credit cards and tap-to-pay work almost everywhere. Small inns, local diners, shrines and rural buses are still cash-first, though. If you are travelling outside the cities, plan on carrying ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 in cash. For transport and convenience stores, an IC card such as Suica (it can live on your phone) is the easy option.

Canadian and US passport holders need no visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days. Register with Visit Japan Web before you leave and you clear immigration and customs with a QR code. Exchanging a JR Pass requires the Temporary Visitor stamp you receive on entry, so keep your passport with you at all times.

Toronto is 13 hours behind Japan (during daylight saving time) and Vancouver is 16 hours behind. Westbound jet lag shows up as falling asleep early and waking very early, so for the first two or three days, put 6 a.m. temple and shrine visits on the plan and turn it to your advantage.

There is no tipping culture in Japan. Money left on the table will be handed back to you. Service is included in the price, and for good service a simple gochisosama (thank you for the meal) is all that is expected.

Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. Walking alone at night, or leaving a bag on a cafe table to hold your seat, are everyday sights. The realistic risks here are natural rather than criminal: earthquakes, typhoons and summer heatstroke. If you enable emergency alerts on your phone, a warning reaches you seconds in advance.

Eating out is cheaper than in North America. A good lunch runs ¥1,000 to ¥1,500, and convenience-store food is cheap and surprisingly good. Hotels are expensive in the big cities and 30 to 50 per cent cheaper in the regions. Prices are quoted tax-included as a rule and nothing is added for tipping, so the bill holds no surprises.

The rail network is the best in the world, and the shinkansen covers Tokyo to Kyoto in 2 hours 10 minutes. The JR Pass rose in price by around 70 per cent in 2023, so it is now essential to compare all three options: the nationwide pass, a regional pass, and buying tickets individually. Within cities it is an IC card plus the subway; off the beaten path, local bus timetables are what decide your day.

Free Wi-Fi is less dependable than its reputation suggests. Bring an eSIM (activated by QR code before you leave) or one of our unlimited-data SIMs. Whether Google Maps and Google Lens work all the time makes an enormous difference to how hard the trip feels.

Japanese sockets are the same type A as North America, so you do not need an adapter. The voltage is 100V (North America runs 110 to 120V), but phones, laptops and cameras all work as they are. Only heating appliances such as hair dryers need any thought.

Tap water is safe to drink anywhere in the country. Restaurants bring free water (ohiya) to the table without being asked. Refill points are becoming more common, so a reusable bottle earns its place in your bag.

Toilets in stations, convenience stores and department stores are free to use, and the standard of cleanliness is world class. Heated washlet seats are the norm, and a lot of visitors name them a highlight of the trip.

Japanese medical care is excellent, but visitors are billed in full and are normally expected to settle before discharge. Provincial health plans cover only a small fraction of overseas medical costs. Check that you have medical cover and repatriation, plus cover for typhoon-related itinerary changes if you are travelling between July and October.