Pack smart, travel light – 5 essential packing tips for your trip to Japan

Packing for any trip, let alone a long-haul flight, can seem like a colossal task.

To make packing for your trip to Japan as easy as possible, we’ve collated our top 5 Japan packing tips.

Whether you’re a seasoned traveller who hasn’t been on a long trip in a while, or a relative newcomer to the long-haul travel game, hopefully these tips will help you master packing for your next trip.

5 – Pack an eco-bag.

Most shops in Japan now charge for plastic bags.

Carrying a foldable eco bag with you will not only save you money and help save the planet, but they’re also a lot more durable than their plastic counter parts.

If you forget to pack an eco-bag, think about picking one up as a lasting souvenir.

You can find eco-bags in many souvenir shops in train stations, or at convenience stores like Lawsons and 7-ELEVEN.

4 – Take a printed copy of any hotel or activity reservations.

Having printouts of any reservations for accommodation and activities will help to speed up the process of checking in or collecting tickets.

Many hotel booking websites now allow you to print both an English and Japanese copy of your booking, so print a copy of each if available and store them in a folder in date order for ease of access.

This can help with any possible language barrier by making your information as easily accessible to staff as possible.

Having your information at the ready and in physical form can also help with keeping your trip organized, as having all your paperwork in date order in a folder means you always know what the next destination and activity in your itinerary is.

You may also be asked at immigration what your intentions are in visiting Japan – this can be daunting, as you may be faced with an immediate language barrier.

This process is nothing to worry about and doesn’t mean you’ve been singled out – immigrations/customs officials simply have to ask these questions if their system asks them to carry out a routine check, which is in most cases done at random.

Having a printout of your hotels and activities will help with this process, especially if you can print a Japanese copy.

3 – Pack a power bank. You’ll need it for emergency phone charging.

From getting into the city from the airport to using public transport on a day-to-day basis, you’ll likely be using navigation apps on a mobile device incredibly frequently, so it’s a great idea to have a power bank that’s small enough to carry around in your day bag.

With so many photo opportunities on top of regular use of maps for directions, your phone battery may not last as long as it does at home.

The last thing you want to do is miss out on the perfect photo or get stranded without access to directions.

If you’ve rented pocket Wi-Fi and are using this consistently, it may also need charging whilst you’re travelling around, making a travel sized power bank a must have.

2 – Pack as light as possible.

Hotel rooms in Japan can be on the small side.

Taking smaller luggage with you will mean this will take up a lot less of your precious room space and the added bonus is that you’ll also have less to pack back up at the end of your trip.

Japan’s public transport is also a lot easier to navigate with a smaller suitcase.

The subway and railways are incredibly busy at rush hour, so having smaller luggage with you is a lot more convenient as you’ll need to take up less space.

Some train stations can also have an excessive amount of stairs, so you won’t want to be carrying extra weight up and down if you don’t have to.

If you have larger luggage with you and plan on using the Shinkansen, you will need to book extra luggage space which will cost you more money and may have limited availability.

By taking smaller luggage, it’s a lot easier to store it above you in the racks provided.

It’s also a lot easier (and cheaper) to find smaller sized coin lockers for your luggage should you decide to use these at any point during your trip.

1 – Leave room in your luggage or pack an extra bag. You’ll want to save space for souvenirs.

This is the one that everyone overlooks – Japan has some of the world’s best shopping opportunities, so you’ll need to be prepared.

With everything from electronics and anime goods, to fashion and beauty must haves, you’ll be spoilt for choice with not only what to take back home as souvenirs, but also what to treat yourself with.

This will mean that you’ll want to leave some space in your suitcase for all of the items you pick up on your travels.

If that’s not possible, packing a foldable holdall or backpack to put your purchases in on the journey home is a great idea, as this saves you money in comparison to purchasing another suitcase.

You may also be able to bring this bag with you as a carry-on depending on the size, so you can avoid additional luggage fees.

If you forget to pack a foldable bag or backpack, you can pick one up from discounts stores like Don Quijote for anything from 3,000 yen to 10,000 yen depending on the size required.