Travel and Safety Secrets for Japan

Compared to the U.S., Japan is a pretty safe country. However, that doesn’t mean that you can throw caution to the wind and do as you please. No matter where you are, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times and know what to do if something happens. My advice would be to just be aware of where you are and who’s around you and don’t do anything to draw unwanted attention to yourself. For example, if you’re riding the train and none of the passengers are talking, don’t loudly talk on the phone. Use your common sense, obviously. And trust your gut feeling; if somebody looks sketchy to you, don’t approach them and ask for directions. Finally, make sure you know who to contact in case of an emergency and where the nearest police stations and hospitals are. You might think you won’t ever need to know those things, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

My advice to travelers would be to try to visit touristy spots on weekdays, if possible. During a normal weekday, when there is no holiday or special event going on, most people are at work or in school, so the tourist spots aren’t as crowded as they would normally be on holidays or during the weekends.

My other piece of advice would be to find landmarks, especially when using public transportation. Most foreigners who come to Japan are extremely intimidated by Japan’s complex train system. They would look at a map of all the railways in Tokyo and be overwhelmed by all the colored lines intersecting one another. I was no exception. But, after doing enough exploring on my own, I finally figured out how to use the trains in Japan without any issues.
First of all, download a copy of the map onto your phone so you can refer to it whenever the need arises. Second, know not only what stop is your destination stop, but also the stop before it and a major stop after it. (The stop before it helps you become a bit more familiar with where you are and prepare to exit the train. The major stop after your destination stop alerts you if you’ve passed your stop.) Finally, identify at least two major train stations near your home location so that, if you get lost or are unsure of how to get back home, you can figure out how to get back to areas that you are more familiar with. For example, Fuchinobe Station (the train station closest to my host university) is a very small train station, so I remember that it is relatively close to Hashimoto Station and Machida Station, both of which are major stations. That way, if I ever get lost or aren’t sure how to get home, I look for trains that are heading in the direction of either Hashimoto or Machida to help me find my way back.