Travel Advices

When exchanging travellers cheques in smaller, regional post offices, you will need the address of someone who lives in Japan. We were turned away when unable to provide a resident’s address – they would not accept our hostel’s address without the name of a resident. Luckily for us we had a friend who lived in the area and were able to call to get their details. I suggest you obtain the name and address of the people who own/run your hostel for verification and to save a lot of confusion at the post office!

Most restaurants in Japan only take a reservation for a large group – 6 people or more. Also, once you make a reservation, many restaurants have a time limit of two hours. In addition to having to be on time, eat and get out, they will often only serve your group a set menu. Sometimes you are offered a few choices and it usually works out to your favour – a lot of dishes with enough food.

However, if you are in a big group, it takes a while to get organised, so everyone should know about the time restriction, menu restriction and group size. If you are a group of four and it’s a Friday or Saturday, be prepared to wait – sometimes up to two hours for a table. Eat early. Japanese love to sit, talk, and drink while ordering more dishes as the night goes on. Some people have been known to sit for hours, drinking, eating and talking while groups wait at the door.