Onsen and tattoos

Public baths are nude and separated by sex, and most big spa complexes refuse visible tattoos. In Osaka, Suehiroyu by Kuromon market welcomes tattoos. In Tokyo, the small neighbourhood baths that welcome tattoos are the answer: Daikoku-yu in Oshiage has a rooftop tub with a Skytree view, and Mannenyu in Shin-Okubo is open to midnight, both ¥550.

Nights out 20+

Golden Gai bars seat six to ten people and charge a ¥500 to ¥1,000 cover. Kabukicho is safe on the main streets. Never follow a street tout. Drink spiking and inflated bills are the scams the police warn about, in Kabukicho, Roppongi and Shibuya. In Osaka, Ura-Namba and Hozenji Yokocho are ten minutes from the apartment and much more relaxed.

Manners that matter

• Quiet on trains, phones on silent, no calls.
• Stand left on Tokyo escalators, right in Osaka. This one is real.
• Shoes off where you see a step up and slippers waiting.
• Cash goes in the tray, not the hand. Carry your trash; bins are rare.
• Temples: bow at the gate, wash hands at the basin, no photos of geiko in Gion.
• Tattoos are fine on the street. Cover them at pools, gyms and any bath that asks.

Money and data

• ¥157 to the dollar when this was written. Quick math: drop two zeros and take two-thirds. ¥1,500 is about $10.
• 7-Eleven and post office ATMs take US cards. Cards work almost everywhere; carry ¥10,000 in cash anyway.
• Tax-free from Nov 1: pay full price, claim the 10 percent back at Haneda with the items and receipts.
• Public wifi is patchy. Do not count on it.

If something goes wrong

• Police 110. Ambulance and fire 119. Both have English on request.
• Japan Visitor Hotline, 24 hours, English: 050-3816-2787.
• US Embassy Tokyo: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, +81-3-3224-5000.
• Pharmacies (Matsumoto Kiyoshi) sell most basics. Adderall, Vyvanse and anything with pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, the "-D" allergy pills) are banned. Leave them home.
• Lost something on a train? It will be at the station lost and found. Japan returns things.

The weather you will get

Early to mid November is the best weather month: dry, clear, highs 12 to 17°C (54 to 63°F), lows around 8°C (46°F). Foliage is running late in 2026, so expect early colour at Arashiyama and Tofukuji and the lit-up gardens at Kodai-ji rather than peak reds, which reach Kyoto around Dec 11.