I don’t live in Japan, but have been visiting off and on since the early '90s.
That will help a lot. Most people in Japan have some degree of understanding of English, but they tend to use Japanese pronunciation and grammar. Being able to “hear” words in Katakana-English is very helpful. That said, English signage is common in the bigger cities and train stations. When you can’t find signs in English, Google Translate will usually do the job. Don’t forget to download the Japanese translation data if you don’t have international roaming.
It is also extremely normal for restaurants to have models of the food they serve in display windows and photos of dishes in menus. English menus are usually available if there aren’t already subtitles in the normal menu. It is easy to eat well with minimal Japanese language skill.
For a three week trip, I’d do something like:
- One week in Tokyo - plenty of shopping districts, temples & shrines and other historic sites to check out
- One week in Kyoto - the previous capital of Japan with a high concentration of temples and shrines. Architecture is much more traditional than in Tokyo
- Another city - could be Osaka or Kobe or someplace in the north
After you check in to your first hotel, your next mission is to find the nearest Lawson / 7-11 / Familymart. Check out the hot bar (often at or behind the counter) as well as the cold section. When you check out, the clerk will usually offer to microwave any items that are normally consumed hot. I usually have 2-3 fancy / expensive meals per week and the rest of my food comes from convenience stores and to-go meals from larger grocery stores. A salmon onigiri and hotel green tea makes a nice quick breakfast.
When eating, don’t stick your chop sticks in the rice and leave them standing. Doing so is a symbolic offering at funerals, so is weird and offputting at lunch.
Check out the vending machines, and try the various beverages. Pocari Sweat is a nice way to cool off in the summer.
Get a Japan Railpass before you leave for Japan - that will allow you unlimited use of all but the nozomi / express Shinkansens as well as the regional/commuter JR trains. JR Pass doesn’t cover subways, so you will need to buy tickets for those. Also, there are private subway lines in Tokyo that require their own tickets, so be mindful of that as you plan your local travel.
Politeness is important, and that generally means staying within your own sonic and physical space. Norms tend to be enforced by social pressure rather than law, so try to do things that you see other people doing, and try not to do things that you don’t see people doing. If you screw up and find yourself in a tense situation, apologize profusely and the situation will usually resolve itself in your favor.
Take lots of photos of beautiful things. Internal tourism has a long history in Japan, so act like the local tourists and you will fit right in.
At temples and shrines, pay particularly close attention to how Japanese people behave and do the same thing. Making an effort be respectful is the important thing here, no one will expect perfection.
Bring and use masks. COVID is far from over and mask usage in public is the expected norm in Japan and Asia generally. If everyone around you is wearing a mask, put one on yourself. If you run out, hotels will likely have a box of freebies and convenience stores and drugstores will sell small packages prominently.
Also bring your own tissues and re-use shopping bags as garbage bags. Public waste bins can be few and far between because people manage their own waste to keep Japan clean and beautiful.
There are extensive youtube videos about Japan. Prefer the “no talking” style, but don’t forget to turn on subtitles. They tend to have better information than the videos loudly narrated by American tourists. Two good starting points are Solo Travel Japan and Kuga’s Travel.
I have had very little time for shopping in Japan until recently. I visited a few different second hand camera shops back in early 2020. Each shop felt like a shrine or museum dedicated to the major Japanese and German brands. I’m glad that I’m done with film photography - the GAS would be difficult to resist otherwise.
I’ll be in Kyushu in late May / early June if anyone wants to meet up.
I’ve gotten most exhausted in Kyoto seeing the sites because it gets so hot there and places like Fushimi Inari and Kinkakuji can be packed with people.
