Japan - Japonia

	Japan; 日本
	Flag
	location
	Information
Capital city	Tokyo
System	constitutional monarchy with a cabinet-parliamentary form of government
Currency	yen (JPY, ¥, 円); 1 ¥ = 100 dreams; 1 sleep = 10 rins
Time zone	UTC 9
Surface	377,835 km²
Population	127 460 000
Official language	Japanese
Dominant religion	Buddhism, Shintō
Telephone code	81
Electric voltage	100 V / 50 Hz; 100 V / 60 Hz
Type of outlet	A, B
Car code	J.
Car traffic	left hand
Internet domain	.jp

Japan

Japan (Japanese 日本, Nihon or Nippon; eng. Japan) - a country in East Asia located on islands.

Characteristic

Geography

Japan is an island country - the archipelago consists of several thousand islands. The largest of them are (by size): Honshū (本州), Hokkaidō (北海道), Kyūshū (九州), Shikoku (四国) i Okinawa (沖縄).

The honshū is customarily divided into five regions: Tōhoku (東北), Chūbu (中部), Kantō (関東), Kansai (関西; also called Kinki: 近畿) and Chūgoku (中国).

fauna and Flora

Climatic diversity affects the diversity of flora and fauna. Japan's rapid economic development entailed deforestation, but many mountain ranges are so inaccessible that nature has been saved. Today, many forests are damaged by acid rain.

Forests cover more than 66% of the country's area, in northern Hokkaido, taiga-type coniferous forests, in northern Honshu, forests shedding their leaves for the winter (mainly beeches, white oak, chestnut, maples), in the south of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, evergreen subtropical forests ( oaks, red and black Japanese pine, momi fir, bamboos) and tropical forests in the Ryukyu archipelago. In the mountains there is a multi-storey arrangement of vegetation, above deciduous forests are mountain coniferous forests (mainly spruce and fir), above subalpine scrub and alpine vegetation. The rich flora of Japan (about 5,000 species of vascular plants) is largely relict (tertiary) in nature. Numerous national parks and reserves.

The largest mammal is the brown bear. Rare species include giant salamanders, tailless macaques, and irimate wildcats called living fossils. Other animals living in Japan include Japanese macaques, deer, giant salamanders Megalobatrachus japonicus, or venomous snakes Trimeresurus. Herons, wild ducks and pheasants are common among birds. On the other hand, the endangered Japanese ibises, found only on the island of Sado, as well as Japanese cranes and black storks, are a real rarity.

History

We invite you to read the article on the Polish-language Wikipedia, history of Japan.

Culture and art

We invite you to read the article on the Polish-language Wikipedia, japanese art.

Policy

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a cabinet-parliamentary form of government.

Economy

We invite you to read the article on the Polish-language Wikipedia, economy of japan.

Society and customs

The functioning of Japanese society is still influenced by tradition, including that developed during centuries of isolation. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was a feudal society, with strictly assigned roles for individual social groups. Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and the bushidō code had a huge impact on the shaping of the norms and rules of life of the Japanese. This is especially visible in the specific subculture of large corporations.

In recent years, there have been significant changes in the functioning of society, resulting from many reasons, including economic ones. These phenomena result in the breakdown of the birth rate. It has been negative since 2007, and in 2009 it amounted to almost -0.191%. At the same time, the life expectancy of the Japanese is increasing. People over 65 in 2006 accounted for 20%, but already in 2009, 22.2%, which does not bode well for the functioning of Japan in the future.

The tourist is unlikely to encounter all these problems. What he will meet are some traditional Japanese behavior: a smile on his face, bows. During our short stay in Japan, we don't have a chance to be invited to a Japanese home.

The Japanese do not expect foreigners to behave in the same way as they do from themselves. You shouldn't expose deeply, it could be treated as a mockery. It is enough to bow your head slightly and say arigatō, that is Thank you. When handing over a business card or other document, we should do it with both hands. Let us not reach out to greet, this is not practiced. Remember to take your shoes off in temples, traditional restaurants, hotel rooms, if they have a traditional decor.

Finally, a few remarks about public baths. We will meet them not only in spa hotels, but in all the better hotels and ryokans - traditional Japanese inns. Baths are not co-educational, as was the case until the beginning of the 20th century. When entering, we leave our shoes. In the designated part, leave all your clothes in the locker (it is best to change into a yukata (yukata) in the room - a kind of bathrobe, they are in every hotel room). Completely undressed, we go to the shower room. Here we wash ourselves very thoroughly - the Japanese can take up to 45 minutes to do it, and they do it sitting on small stools. Then, covering the private parts of the body with a washcloth (dry !!! Do not wet it), we go to the part with hot water pools. The water is really hot, so we descend gradually. We can put a dry washcloth on the head. After a few minutes (we can't stand it anymore) we go to the shower room and wash ourselves again.

Preparations

Travel time selection

When planning a trip to Japan, consider the following:

summer travel can be (due to high temperature and humidity) burdensome for young children, the elderly and / or those suffering from cardiovascular problems. For this reason, the best times for tourists are spring and fall,
one should take into account huge traffic jams on roads and highways, in places attractive for tourists (e.g. temples during holidays), lack of places in public transport and hotels, in specific regions, seasons, months and days.

Japanese national holidays

1st of January - New Year (ganjitsu, 元日),
the second Monday of January - The Feast of Entry into Adulthood (seijin-no hi 成人の日),
February 11 - Anniversary of the Establishment of the State (kenkoku-kinenbi 建国記念日),
March 21 - Spring Equinox (shunbun-no hi 春分の日) ¹,
April 29 - Birthday of Emperor Shōwa (shōwa-no hi 昭和の日) ²,
3rd of May - Anniversary of the Introduction of the Constitution (kenpō-kinnenbi 憲法記念日),
May 4 - Green Day (midori-no hi 緑の日) ³,
5 May - Children's Day (kodomo-no hi 子供の日),
3 Monday July - Sea Festival (koch-no hi 海の日),
3 Monday September - Celebration of Respect for the Old People (keirō-no hi 敬老の日),
September 23rd - Autumn Equinox (shūbun-no hi 秋分の日) ¹,
2 Monday October - Sports Day (taiiku-no hi 体育の日),
November 3 - Culture Day (bunka-no hi 文化の日),
November 23 - Thanksgiving for Labor (kinrō-kansha-no hi 勤労感謝の日),
December 23 - Emperor's birthday (tennō-tanjōbi 天皇誕生日).

¹ approximate date - the exact date of each year depends on the actual day of the equinox (i.e. it can oscillate between the 20th and 23rd day of the month), ² until 2006, a holiday celebrated as the Green Day, ³ until 2006, the holiday was celebrated on April 29.

Holiday periods

o-Shōgatsu (お正月) - New Year. The holiday season usually lasts from December 29 to January 3, when most institutions, shops and companies are closed. Many people go to their families for Christmas, which is associated with increased traffic on the roads and crowded public transport.
Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク) - Golden Week, i.e. the period of accumulation of non-working days (April 29 - May 5). One must take into account heavy traffic on the roads, crowds in public transport, lack of places in hotels and crowds in tourist destinations. Heavy traffic usually starts 2 days before Golden Week and continues up to two days after it ends.
o-Bon (お盆) - Japanese All Souls' Day, held in mid-July (Kantō) or mid-August (Kansai). During this period, many people return to their families in the provinces for Christmas, so before o-Bon you should take into account communication difficulties on exit roads from large cities and leading to the provinces, and after All Souls' Day - towards the metropolis.

Visas

A visa is not required for tourist trips lasting up to 90 days and business trips (conferences, business meetings, etc.).

A visa is required when the person leaving Japan receives remuneration (work trips, scholarships, training, etc.).

Documents required to apply for a visa

Caution: the following information applies only to Polish citizens

visa application (available for download on the Embassy's website: pl.emb-japan.go.jp/konsulat/wizy06.htm); the application must be signed by the applicant and submitted in person (in justified cases, the documents may be submitted by a third party authorized in writing),
valid passport,
a current photo, 4.5 × 4.5 cm, taken in front of a bright background, without a hat
any documents sent by the Japanese side,
sometimes additional documents are needed - information is provided by employees of the Embassy and Consulate.

The waiting time for a visa is usually up to 7 days (if the documents provided are complete, valid and correctly completed).

Visa validity

The visa is valid for three months from the date of issue - entry to Japan must be within three months. The period of stay (marked on the visa: 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, etc.) is counted from the date of entry to Japan, not from the date of issuing the visa.

Polish citizens are issued single-entry visas, which expire at the moment of crossing the border. If during your stay in Japan you plan to leave and re-enter (e.g. return to Poland for holidays, a trip to a neighboring country), go to the immigration office in order to obtain a re-entry permit (Re-entry permit, sai-nyukoku-kyoka).

Customs regulations

Goods exempt from customs duties

Clothes,
toiletries and articles,
personal belongings,
items needed to practice your profession during your stay in Japan,
gifts, in an amount that does not indicate that they are intended for trade and the value of which does not exceed 200,000 yen (at prices from the country of purchase),
any amount of money - amounts over 1,000,000 yen must be declared,
gold ingots - must be declared,
medications - you can bring a supply for your own use, for a period of 2 months and 24 pieces of parka for external use; in the event of exceeding the above-mentioned quantities, please contact the regional health and medical care offices at airports (Mon-Fri 9:30 am - 5:45 pm).

Adults (over 20 years of age) may transport alcohol and tobacco products duty-free, as long as they do not exceed the prescribed amounts:

3 bottles of alcohol (bottle = approx. 760 ml),
cigars: 100 items,
cigarettes: 400 items,
other type of tobacco: 500 g,
perfume: 2 ounces (ounce = approx. 28 ml).

It is forbidden to bring in

food of animal origin, even purchased at European airports, in duty-free shops,
flowers (also cut),
fruit,
plants,
seeds,
drugs,
stimulants - amphetamine, meth-amphetamine,
psychotropic substances and drugs containing pseudoephedrine (e.g. Sudafed),
objects imitating coins, paper banknotes,
books, drawings and other items with pornographic content,
items protected by patent law, for which copyright is reserved (e.g. designs),
weapons and ammunition.

Money

The currency unit of Japan is the Japanese Yen (JPY). There are mainly banknotes in denominations of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 and coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen. The vending machines accept 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000-yen coins.

Payment

In Japan, paper money is commonly used to pay. The banks can easily exchange US, Australian and New Zealand dollars. When exchanging the euro, we can sometimes encounter difficulties, especially in smaller bank branches.

Tourists commonly exchange small amounts at hotel receptions, although the exchange rate is less favorable than at a bank. Some banks exchange Polish zloty for yen and vice versa.

Currency exchange involves filling out a form on which we provide basic data.

It is recommended to buy yen in a Polish currency exchange office, thanks to which we avoid paying a double commission when converting euros to yen.

Not all credit and debit cards issued in Poland are accepted in Japan. You can use Visa and MasterCard. It is not uncommon to encounter difficulties with card payments in a shop, hotel or service point, so it is good to have a supply of cash with you. Large stores and department stores are well placed to accept foreign payment cards.

ATMs in principle they do not support European payment cards. The exceptions are ATMs in post offices (post offices are marked with a red sign resembling the letter T with a double bar) and in a chain of 24-hour shops 7 eleven accepting European payment cards (if you have Citibank payment cards, look for Citibank ATMs in large cities).

Practical information

The voltage of the electric current is 100 V and its frequency is 50/60 Hz. Original telephone chargers, designed to charge camera and video camera batteries, as well as notebook and netbook power supplies work in the range of 100-240 V and do not require additional devices in Japan apart from the adapter, because Japanese electrical sockets are of a different standard from Polish ones.
In Poland, you can buy curling irons operating on a voltage of 120-230 V, they will also work in Japan, although with less efficiency.

Insurance

Foreigners cannot count on free health care.

Drive

By plane

Direct flights from Poland to Tokyo are offered FLIGHT. The journey takes approximately 10 hours and 30 minutes.

By ship

From Russia

During the summer period (from the end of May to the end of September), the Japanese Heartland Ferry from the Russian city of Korsakov (the island of Sakhalin) to Japanese Wakkanai on the island Hokkaido. The journey takes about 5.5 hours and costs one person in economy 25,000 yen (return 40,000 yen). Details (timetable, prices etc.) can be found here.

Moving around the country

By train

Traveling by rail in Japan is the recommended way of getting around.

The cheapest solution is to buy the so-called Japan Rail Pass. The promise can only be purchased outside of Japan. Upon arrival, by showing the promise and passport, we exchange it for Rail Pass. Japan Rail Pass it can be issued for 7, 14 and 21 days. We make exchanges at the offices listed on the carrier's website. It is best to do this as soon as you arrive at the airport.

Japan Rail Pass entitles you to travel by JR Japanese Railways. It does not authorize you to travel on routes operated by other carriers. Sometimes the same train runs on the tracks of JR and another carrier. Then, despite having a Rail Pass, we have to pay an additional fee (we do it at the conductor on the train). For express trains Shinkansen we need to make a reservation in advance. Reservations are made at no extra charge - this applies to Shinkansen - Hikari and Kodama machines. For Nozomi and Mizuho coffee machines, we must pay the basic fee.

Moreover Japan Rail Pass entitles you to travel by buses and ferries owned by JR.

The bad news is the inability to purchase a promise Japan Rali Pass in Poland. The nearest offices selling such a promise are located in the Czech Republic and Germany. You can buy online, e.g. jaltour.de/453.0.html.

More details on the website: Japan Rail Pass

By car

Driving in Japan by car is not recommended. The developed railway network and the high comfort of trains and their speed as well as traffic jams are sufficient arguments for giving up this mode of transport. The same applies to public transport, which is a good alternative to the car outside of the morning rush hours.

In Japan, traffic is on the left-hand side. In the morning and afternoon rush hours, and on the return from the weekend, there are gigantic traffic jams. The motorway marking system is legible, but usually the nearest city is shown on the signposts. In cities, it is forbidden to park cars on the street, but only in paid parking lots. It is common to ride the so-called late yellow or early red. The Japanese drive culturally, accidents are rare.

Only the island of Hokkaido, due to its smaller population, is a place recommended for traveling by car.

Renting a car

All major international companies operate rent a car and numerous local ones.

An international driving license is required for rent. An international driving license issued in Poland may not be recognized in Japan because Japan has not acceded to the same convention as Poland, i.e. to Vienna Convention of 1968 (Japan is a signatory to the Geneva Convention from 1949 Vienna Convention signed but not ratified).

In practice, however, rental companies accept the international driving license issued in Poland in accordance with the EU model in force in Poland after May 1, 2004.

By bus

By ship

Border crossings

Regions

Cities

Interesting places

Objects from the UNESCO World Heritage List

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its cultural landscape
Peace Monument in Hiroshima (Genbaku Cathedral)
Shiretoko Peninsula
The wilderness on the island Yakushima
Gusuku region and related monuments of the Ryukyu Kingdom
Shinto shrine in Itsukushima
Shirakami-Sanchi (Honshu)
Temples and shrines of St. Nikkō
Sacred sites (Yoshino, Omine, Kumano) and Kōya-san) and pilgrimage routes in the Mount Kii region
Buddhist monuments of the Horyu-ji temple complex
Historic villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
Himeji Castle
Historical complex of the former Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu cities)
Historic city complex Nara

The famous "three"

The three most beautiful views (sankei, 三景): Amanohashidate, Matsushima, Miyajima.
The three most famous gardens (sanmei-en, 三名園): Kairaku-en (Mito, Ibaraki pref.), Kenroku-en (Kanazawa, Ishikawa pref.), Kōrakuen (Okayama, Okayama pref.).
The three most famous mountains (sanmeizan, 三名山; three holy mountains - sanreizan, 三霊山): Fuji-san (富士山, pref. Shizuoka), Haku-san (白山, on the border of pref. Gifu and pref. Ishikawa), Tate-yama (立山, pref. Toyama).

Another

Mountains

Koya

Locks

Himeji (pref. Hyogo)
Hikone (Hikone, Shiga Pref)
Matsumoto (Matsumoto, Nagano pref.)
Inuyama (Inuyama, Aichi Pref.)
Hirosaki (Hirosaki, Aomori pref.)
Osaka (Osaka, pref. Osaka)
Shuri (Naha, Okinawa Island)
Kumamoto (Kumamoto, Kumamoto Pref.)

Tongue

Important information for tourists is the fact that they have a poor command of the English language. It is true that the Japanese learn English at school, but grammar is predominant to pass the tests. So, apart from hotel receptions, railway ticket offices serving Railway Pass we may have trouble communicating in this language. In places visited by tourists, we will meet inscriptions in English, or a transcription of Japanese words in the Latin alphabet.

Shopping

Basic necessities

There are many chains of 24/7 stores in Japan. They are self-service stores, so there are no communication problems with the staff. These stores usually sell a couple of hot dishes and ready-made sandwiches. On the Web 7 eleven there are ATMs that accept European payment cards.

Drinks can be purchased from numerous vending machines. The prices in them are close to the store prices. It is best to drink the drink at the vending machine and get rid of the packaging there (no garbage bins elsewhere).

Souvenirs

In the vicinity of monuments or places visited by tourists, you can buy local souvenirs at the stalls. In the case of large-scale handicrafts (e.g. wood carvings), you can have the store shipped to Poland. While in Kyoto, we can buy Japanese kimonos (including silk ones) and other products of the local textile industry.

In front of the temples, in shops run by nuns, you can buy appropriate talismans.

Consumer electronics

Equipment with larger dimensions is troublesome to transport. Upon arrival in Poland, customs officers may demand payment of customs duties and VAT. In addition, Japan has a different TV standard (NTSC) and a different voltage.

Small equipment, depending on the exchange rate of the yen against the Polish zloty, can be up to 50% cheaper, but you should check whether it will work in Poland and whether it has an English menu. It is good to ask the staff for an adjustment, because later you may have problems understanding the Japanese messages. A large proportion of the products are not available in Europe, and goods purchased from Japan may not be covered by the Worldwide Warranty.

Gastronomy

Japanese cuisine, mainly associated with sushi in Poland, is much richer. The basis is fish and seafood, including those served raw, rice, sea algae and vegetables. Meat did not appear in Japanese cuisine until the 19th century.

In Japanese cities you will find numerous eateries and restaurants offering a limited number of dishes. As the menu is usually in Japanese, we choose those that we can show in the pictures or those displayed on the windows at the entrance. They are faithful mock-ups of dishes. We can then ask the service in front of the restaurant and indicate the dish we are interested in.

You should not be afraid of cheap eateries and restaurants. Eating there is as safe as in expensive restaurants, just as tasty, and much cheaper. We choose restaurants with chairs, not traditional Japanese ones, where we eat in a squatting position. However, when we get to a traditional restaurant, remember to take off your shoes and wear socks. And because taking your shoes off doesn't just happen in restaurants, keep your socks clean and with no holes in them. If we move barefoot in a restaurant, when going to the toilet, we put on slippers in front of it. Remember to take them off after you leave it.

In restaurants, disposable wooden sticks are usually served, which are easy to use after a short training session. Sometimes the restaurant staff, seeing a foreigner, give you a knife and fork. When using chopsticks, remember not to hammer them into the bowl of rice. This is reserved for making an offering to the dead.

After placing the order, the service will put a cardboard on the corner of the table or, in a better version, the prints in the cover written with Japanese characters. This is our order. After the meal is finished, we take this form and go to the cash register, which is usually located at the exit. In Japan there are not the habit of giving tips !!!

Examples, the so-called safe with taste:

Ramen - a kind of broth with noodles, served with egg or slices of beef, pieces of fish or seafood. Eat the side dishes and pasta with chopsticks, and drink the broth from a bowl. Ramen is a cheap and nutritious dish.
tonkatsu - pork chop, deep-fried, resembling our pork chop.
tempura - seafood dipped in pancake batter and deep-fried.

Accommodation

Japan's extensive hotel base offers accommodation:

in youth hostels website of the association Japan Youth Hostels, Inc,
in ryokans - traditional Japanese highways Japan Ryokan Association website associating 1,500 highways,
in countless hotels of all categories.

Ryokan, or a traditional Japanese inn, is a place that a tourist visiting this country should visit at least once. Old ryokans are small, wooden, with traditional architecture, buildings with up to 20 rooms. From the door, the guest will be greeted by the staff wearing kimono, who lead us to the room. Here we can dress up in yucata. The meal will be served to us in a room fitted with mats tatami (a traditional mat is 180 × 90 cm and is made of rice straw, modern mats are made of plastic), and the menu will be decided by the chef, based on fresh, local products. After dinner, the service will develop us futons (thick mattresses for the day, rolled up and hidden in wall cabinets), on which we will sleep. The bathroom is traditional so you can use it like a Japanese bath. We wash ourselves thoroughly before entering the bathtub, which we fill with hot water, which is used only for relaxation and soaking. If we're lucky, the tub will be made of cedar wood.

Unfortunately traditional ryokans they are losing competition with newly built hotels and have a chance to survive in smaller towns. The only consolation is the type hotels spa the furnishings of the rooms refer to the traditional Japanese interior design. Often, these hotels, probably for marketing purposes, use the term in their names ryokan. And although the bathroom will retain its traditional layout, its interior will be made of plastic moldings.

Accommodation prices in ryokans are varied.

The remaining hotel base is in terms of standards similar to European hotels. The rooms are small, you can have a problem with the suitcase. There are no European sockets in the rooms, the voltage in the network is 100 V and, interestingly, the frequency, depending on the region, is 50 or 60 Hz. The rooms are equipped with hairdryers, basic toiletries, a razor and toothbrushes. We have bathrobes at our disposal - yucats and slippers, although the rooms are so clean that you can walk barefoot. The rooms are equipped with TV sets with pay TV option. In addition, we have an electric water heater (sometimes a thermos with hot water) and a set of Japanese teas. Other drinks are additionally payable, and the so-called black tea is rare.

Hotel prices are higher than their European counterparts of a comparable standard. The basic price is always quoted per night in a single room. The prices for a double room are of course correspondingly higher. Prices below 15 thousand. yen should be considered attractive, while prices between 20 and 30 thousand. yen for a double room in the hotel *** as normal. Breakfast is often not included in the room rate. If so, we will receive breakfast vouchers upon registration at the hotel (it can also be a plastic card). Hotels serve a few dishes of international cuisine for breakfast, apart from Japanese cuisine.

Science

work

People who speak English fluently should have no problem finding a job as a so-called native speaker. Private language schools decide to hire even for short periods.

Security

The crime threat in Japan is very low and in Japan, homicides, rape, theft and robbery are very rare, but in city centers and at train and bus stations and airports there are sometimes pickpockets, but in general in Japan it's safe to leave an unattended bag and carry large sums of money with you.

Keep in mind that earthquakes are frequent in Japan. When staying in a hotel, locate a flashlight (it is included in the room's equipment, but it is good to have your own) and find escape routes. Buildings in Japan are built in such a way that even if they are badly damaged in an earthquake, they will not collapse. During the evacuation of the hotel, it is absolutely necessary to follow the instructions of the employees.

Lonely women

It is safe to travel in Japan for single women with normal precautions. Single women in Japan are not exposed to the taunts of the Japanese, with one exception - subway cars and commuter trains during the morning and evening rush hours. In an overcrowded car, single women can be exposed to palpation by the Japanese, but this can be avoided by choosing marked wagons for ladys only.

Health and hygiene

The Japanese are a very clean nation, hence the low chance of contracting "dirty hands diseases". You can also safely drink tap water. There are no vaccinations that are absolutely required before going to Japan.

One should also take into account (especially in larger cities, due to the high population density) a greater chance of contracting diseases transmitted by airborne droplets. Although, of course, this is not an absolute rule. It is common practice to cover the mouth and nose with a mask by the sick person.

Toilet panel with electronic control

Japan is a world leader in the implementation of electronic toilets. Do not experiment with individual buttons, but when you do something wrong, you can use the red button that says 止, that is Stop - keep everything. Also note that public restrooms may not have toilet paper, towels or soap. Therefore, always carry a pack of tissues, a small soap and / or refreshing tissues.

More on this subject in the Polish Wikipedia article Toilets in Japan.

contact

Telephone

The GSM network is not available in Japan. 2G telephony is implemented in other technologies. WCDMA (3G, UMTS) networks are popular in Japan. Third generation network coverage is sufficient. Only when traveling between cities, there may be temporary problems with coverage.

To use roaming, make sure that your phone supports third generation (WCDMA) frequencies used in Japan.

Wykupienie subskrypcji na telefon komórkowy (post-paid, jak i pre-paid) nie jest możliwe dla obcokrajowców nieposiadających odpowiedniej karty pobytu czasowego, czyli np. turystów.

Internet

W większości hoteli dostęp do internetu dla posiadaczy własnego notebooka jest bezpłatny. O szczegóły należy pytać w recepcji. Jeżeli w hotelu występuje WiFi należy się liczyć z opłatą rzędu 1 200 jenów za 24 godziny.

post

Placówki pocztowe oznaczone są czerwonym znakiem przypominający literę T z podwójną poprzeczką. Tak samo oznakowane są skrzynki pocztowe. Wysłanie kartek pocztowych czy listów możemy bez obaw powierzyć recepcji hotelowej. Poczta japońska działa bardzo sprawnie, kartki czy listy znajdą się u polskiego adresata po 4–5 dniach.