September 8th, 2023. Tokyo, JP. At Hakusan House. Settling in.
The first few days of traveling to a foreign country that you have never been to before can be intimidating. Navigating accommodations, food, and public transit is typical when traveling. However, doing these mundane things with a language barrier, jet lag, or dietary restrictions can make the first week in a foreign country quite stressful.
So, how does one survive their first week in Japan?
1. Make sure to determine the route to accommodations before leaving for your
flight. This trip could be accomplished by train, bus, or taxi. Traveling by train,
especially during rush hour, can be busy, and having more bags than you can
manage can cause more problems for yourself and your neighbors than one
would want to deal with. Due to this, my recommendation would be a bus if you
have excess luggage and want a smooth ride. Taxis accomplish the same needs
as the bus but can become expensive quickly.
2. Food in Japan is cheap, easy, and typically quite good. Upon arrival at my
accommodation, I was exhausted after the 13-hour flight. Due to this, I walked to
my nearest convenience store 7-11, and grabbed some Onigiri, mandarin
oranges, and a custard bun. While I am not going to try and convince you that
this was a world-class meal, this eclectic combination of food got me through my
first night in Japan and was surprisingly good. The big three convenience stores
are 7-11, Family Mart, and Lawsons all of which are normally clean, easy, and
surprisingly high quality. You are likely to begin to lean on these stores during
your time in Japan due to their “convenience”.
3. Transit is easy until it is not in Japan. Before coming to Tokyo, the most populus
city in the world with one of the most extensive public transit systems to boot, I
had only traveled on the metro once before. I was a bit intimidated. However, due
to the massive amount of people that need to move around the city every day,
the metro system is extremely easy to follow. When using Google Maps, you can
decipher the line, the platform, and the train car that you need to be on. Noting all
these things will help navigating the busy underground much easier. While the
colors make the navigation clear, you cannot put all your faith in them. On two
occurrences I have had to pause and figure out the change in coloring between
Google Maps and the signs in the station. You need to remember that Tokyo is
constantly growing and adapting so new train lines and modifications are
common.
While there are countless other tips that I could include such as learning convenience store slang such as, “Fukuro wa irimasen”, translates to, “I do not need a bag”, or that you need to carry an excess amount of water with you because the water fountains are few and far in between. However, that list would go on forever. The best advice that I can give is that be smart, be safe, and follow with the Japanese customs. When you are in a position where you do not know what to do, follow in the locals’ footsteps.
P.S. Always stand on the left side of the escalator, the right side is for people in a rush.