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Your first24 HOURSin Japan, sorted

Five quick questions about your arrival, and you get an ordered plan for the airport, the train to your stay and the first evening, with a source for every rule.

When do you land in Japan?
Which passport are you travelling on?
Cash situation?
Where are you staying first?
First thing you want to do?

Your first-24-hours plan

At the airport

  1. Go to immigration with your passport: EU, UK and US passports, among many others, enter visa-free for up to 90 days as a temporary visitor. Every foreign visitor is photographed and fingerprinted at the desk.
  2. Have your Visit Japan Web 2D codes on screen, or screenshotted in case the signal drops: the Digital Agency's service does immigration and customs online before you land.
  3. At customs, declare anything that may be prohibited or taxed. Bringing meat products such as sausages, bacon and ham into Japan without permission is illegal.
  4. Switch on your Goodbars eSIM as soon as you land, so your Visit Japan Web codes, your train route and your hotel address all load before you leave the hall.
  5. Get yen from a machine that takes foreign cards: the FCDO names the cash machines at 7-Eleven stores, post offices and JP Post Bank, which accept some foreign cards during business hours. Cirrus, Maestro, Link and Delta cards are not widely accepted.
  6. Sort your IC card: Welcome Suica and Tourist Pasmo need no deposit but last 28 days, or add Suica to your phone. One tap then pays for trains, subways and buses.
  7. Walk past the SIM counters and vending machines in arrivals where your airport has them (Narita does): with your eSIM on, there is nothing to queue for.

Getting to your stay

  1. Take the train into town: the Narita Express or the Keisei Skyliner from Narita, the Keikyu Line or the Tokyo Monorail from Haneda, the Haruka from Kansai. Taxis are licensed and metered but expensive; the GO app calls one.
  2. Shinjuku: from Haneda, about 50 minutes by train; from Narita, the Narita Express runs on to Shinjuku after Tokyo Station.

Your first hours

  1. From now on, carry your passport every day: the FCDO says the police can arrest you if you cannot show proof of your status.
  2. Check in, shower and rest; pick up something from a konbini and leave the exploring for tomorrow.

Before you sleep

  1. Confirm data roaming is on for the eSIM and that it is your data line, so maps and the transit app keep working.
  2. Download an offline map of your area and save your hotel's address in Japanese to show a taxi driver.
  3. Rough out tomorrow: one area, not five, and check the last train back before you go out.
  4. Get daylight and eat at local mealtimes to settle into the time zone faster.

A plan, not a rulebook: adjust it to your airport, your flight and your energy. Japan sets its own entry rules, so check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list against your passport.

Your Goodbars Japan eSIM has you online the moment you land. Plans from €12.99. See eSIM plans

Common questions

Do I need a visa for Japan?

Not with an EU, UK or US passport, among many others: Japan's exemption list gives up to 90 days as a temporary visitor. Turkish passports qualify only if machine-readable to ICAO standards. Japan plans an electronic travel authorisation, JESTA, for fiscal year 2028; there is nothing to apply for yet.

What is Visit Japan Web?

The Digital Agency's service for doing your immigration and customs steps online before you land. You show a 2D code on your phone or tablet at the desk, and visitors can use it for tax-free shopping during the stay. Do it the evening before you fly.

How do I get from Narita to Tokyo?

By train from the station under the terminals. The Narita Express reaches Tokyo Station in 53 minutes at its fastest, and the N'EX TOKYO Round Trip Ticket costs ¥5,200; the Keisei Skyliner reaches Keisei Ueno in as little as 41 minutes, with a visitor ticket at ¥2,310 one way. Fixed-fare taxis cost ¥23,500 to ¥38,500 plus tolls.

Can I get cash at the airport?

We could not confirm which cash machines sit inside each airport, so do not count on one. The FCDO names the machines at 7-Eleven stores, post offices and JP Post Bank as taking some foreign cards during business hours; land with a little yen or a card you know works.

What if I land late at night?

Haneda's international areas and Kansai run 24 hours; Narita closes to flights from midnight to 6 a.m. Trains do not run through the night, so for a very late arrival book a pickup or a room near the airport. Taxis from Narita have fixed fares to Tokyo, plus tolls and a surcharge from 22:00 to 5:00.

How do I get from Kansai airport to Kyoto?

The Haruka limited express takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. Visitors on a foreign passport entering as temporary visitors can use a discounted one-way ticket, ¥2,200 to Kyoto, which cannot be bought inside Japan, so buy it before you fly.