Planning Your Trip to Japan: The Complete 2026 Checklist

A smooth trip to Japan is mostly won before you board the plane. This is our complete 2026 checklist, in the order the jobs actually come up: settle your dates against the season, book the first nights, check your passport and visa, fill in Visit Japan Web, do the maths on a rail pass, then sort mobile internet, insurance and cash — so your first day in Tokyo starts with sightseeing instead of queues and paperwork.

When is the best time to go?

Everything else on this list is easier once the dates are fixed, and in Japan the dates decide more than the weather. Our month-by-month guide sets out what each month costs you in heat, rain, crowds and room rates. Two windows are worth building a trip around, and booking earliest — cherry blossom in late March and April, and autumn leaves from October — while the events calendar shows what is on season by season, from summer matsuri to winter illuminations. One date to check against your own: the country slows to a stop over New Year, from 29 December to 3 January, when small restaurants, shops and museums genuinely close.

How far ahead should you book your first nights?

Your first hotel's address goes into Visit Japan Web, so this booking comes early — and it is the one where Japan differs most from what you are used to. Review scores read lower than they deserve, the room size in square metres matters more than the star rating, and a station five minutes closer can cost you a night's sleep; our guide to where to stay in Japan covers all three. If you are landing on the Golden Route, the neighbourhood picks are set out for Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Leave the later legs flexible if you like, but not in a peak season, when the well-placed rooms go months ahead. It is worth building in one night that is more than a bed, too: a hot-spring stay is the night most travellers remember, and the business chains are safe to book on the name alone for everything in between.

Do you need a visa for Japan?

Make sure your passport stays valid for your entire stay, then check whether your nationality can enter Japan visa-free — citizens of many countries can for short tourist visits. If you do need a visa, apply well in advance, and the moment it is issued verify the spelling of your name and the validity dates. Rare consular typos are much easier to fix at home than at the airline check-in desk.

What is Visit Japan Web, and do you need it?

Japan's official Visit Japan Web service lets you complete immigration and customs formalities online before you fly. Enter your flight number and the address of your first hotel, and every traveller in your group gets a personal QR code to show at the border. Paper forms are still handed out on planes, but the QR line moves noticeably faster. While you are at it, you can also generate a separate QR code for tax-free shopping.

Timing matters in both directions. The form wants your flight number and that first hotel address, so there is nothing to fill in until both are booked — a week or two out is the natural moment, with room to correct a misspelled name or a mistyped passport number unhurried. The stated cut-off is six hours before you land, which is late enough to rescue a changed plan from the departure gate, but not something to be attempting on airport Wi-Fi after a delayed connection. Registering early costs nothing: your details stay editable until you fly, and one account covers everyone travelling with you, so a family fills it in once. When your QR code appears, screenshot it — the arrivals hall is where phones discover they have no data.

Is the Japan Rail Pass worth it?

Since the big 2023 price increase, the nationwide JR Pass pays off only on a handful of intensive itineraries. Before buying one, add up the individual fares for your actual route with an online fare calculator — regional passes such as the JR Kansai or JR Kyushu passes, or the Hakone Free Pass, are often far better value, and you can book any of them online before you fly. For everyday city transport all you need is an IC card (Suica, ICOCA, or Pasmo): pick one up at the airport or add a digital version to your phone's wallet — no advance booking required. If your dates fall inside Golden Week, book the long legs the morning reserved seats go on sale, a month before departure — that week the unreserved carriages run standing-room in both directions.

eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi — which do you need?

You will want maps and a translator from the minute you land, so arrange connectivity in advance. The three usual options are an eSIM you activate before departure, a pocket Wi-Fi router (handy for groups and multiple devices), or a tourist SIM from an airport counter or a big electronics store. Be sceptical of “unlimited” plans — most quietly throttle the speed after a daily allowance, so an honest fixed 20–30 GB plan is usually the better buy. Note that most tourist plans are data-only; if you need a Japanese phone number for calls, look specifically for a plan that includes one. Free Wi-Fi at stations and convenience stores makes a decent backup.

What about travel insurance and medication?

Travel insurance is rarely required for entry, but it is strongly recommended — Japanese healthcare is excellent and expensive. Pack the medication you take regularly in its original packaging, ideally with a copy of the prescription, and check Japan's strict rules on restricted substances before you fly: some cold and allergy medicines that are common elsewhere are not allowed in. It is also worth bringing your usual remedies for headaches and colds — navigating a Japanese pharmacy without the language is hard, and anything stronger needs a local prescription.

What plugs and voltage does Japan use?

Japan uses flat two-pin Type A sockets at 100 volts. Check the fine print on your chargers: if it says “Input: 100–240 V” — and nearly all phone and laptop chargers do — a simple plug adapter is all you need, so buy a couple before you go. High-wattage devices designed for 220–240 V, such as hair dryers and stylers, will not run properly; leave them at home — every hotel has a dryer.

What food basics should you know?

Practise using chopsticks — outside international restaurants a fork is never guaranteed. Japanese restaurants specialise narrowly: a sushi bar serves sushi, a ramen shop serves ramen. Learn to recognise a few dish names — ramen, udon, soba, yakitori, takoyaki, tempura — and remember that sushi is, above all, raw fish. Before the trip, look around your hotel's neighbourhood on the map to see what kind of places await you.

Which apps should you install before you go?

Four apps cover almost everything: Google Maps for walking around; Japan Travel by NAVITIME for trains, which handles platforms and express surcharges far better than general-purpose maps; a translation app with a camera mode for menus and signs; and a Wi-Fi auto-connect app for free hotspots.

How do you check the weather for every stop?

Japan's weather changes dramatically over short distances: it can be +10 °C in Tokyo while the mountains around Nikko are below freezing. Check the forecast for every place on your route, not just the big cities — our weather pages cover all 47 prefectures, hour by hour for tomorrow and a week ahead. In August be ready for extreme heat and humidity — and if you plan to climb Mount Fuji, the summit calls for winter clothing even in midsummer. In January and February the gap runs the other way: a dry, clear Tokyo and knee-deep snow on the Sea of Japan coast are two hours apart by train.

How much cash do you need in Japan?

Cards are widely accepted in cities, but small ramen bars, temple entrances, and rural attractions often take cash only — as do the food stalls at any matsuri you happen upon. Around ¥30,000–50,000 for two is a comfortable buffer. Exchange money at home for the best rate, or withdraw yen on arrival — ATMs at 7-Eleven stores and post offices reliably accept foreign cards. Your IC card also covers most small everyday purchases.

Can you send your luggage ahead?

Japan has a luggage forwarding network — takkyūbin — that is cheap, fast and used by everyone, and it is one of the most useful things a first-time visitor doesn't know about. Rather than dragging a suitcase onto a crowded train or hunting for space on a shinkansen, you send it to your next hotel and travel with a daypack. It earns its keep most where check-in is early and fixed: a ryokan expects you by 18:00, with dinner already being prepared.

Yamato Transport, whose black-cat logo you will see everywhere, is the main operator. How it works in practice:

• Where you can send from and to — airport counters, hotel front desks, and many Family Mart, 7-Eleven and Lawson branches. Hotel to hotel is the most useful route; airport to hotel is the second.
• What it costs — around ¥2,000 for a large suitcase from Tokyo to Kyoto, varying with size and distance. Cash or card.
• How long it takes — usually next day, not same day. Pack an overnight bag with what you need for one night, and let the case catch up.
• Flying home — send the bag to the airport at least one day before the flight, not on the morning of it.
• Language — hotel and airport staff handle these forms constantly and generally speak enough English. Convenience store staff often don't, so the front desk is the easier option.

You will need the destination's name, address, postcode and phone number — your next hotel's booking confirmation has all of it — plus your own name and number. For an airport delivery, add the terminal and flight number.

The checklist at a glance

• Dates chosen — season, crowds and prices weighed up
• Passport valid; visa (if needed) checked for typos
• First nights' hotel booked
• Visit Japan Web filled in, QR codes saved
• Rail routes priced; regional pass or single tickets chosen
• IC card planned (airport or phone wallet)
• eSIM, pocket Wi-Fi, or tourist SIM arranged
• Travel insurance bought
• Personal meds in original packaging, import rules checked
• Plug adapters packed
• Chopsticks practised, key dish names learned
• Apps installed, weather checked, cash plan ready
• Luggage forwarding considered for any long hop between cities