General Information

The Japanese love travelling and have every condition for this - a branched transport network for diversified budgets, lockers at most railroad and bus stations, lots of hotels for various tourist categories and of course plenty of inexpensive restaurants and stores.

The official language is Japanese. The only possible problem in getting reference info is English's scarcity even among tourist center staff. So basic kanji knowledge and having place names printed in Japanese will serve you well. Still most hotel staff know English always to give you necessary info.

Japan is an archipelago of over 4,000 variously-sized islands, including 4 big ones: Hokkaido, Honshu, Sikoku, and Kushu.

Capital. Tokyo is a biggest city in the world with 11M inhabitants.

Climate

Moderate to subtropical. The average monthly temperature in Tokyo:

Money

Japan's currency is the yen with bank notes worth 1K, 5K, 10K and coins worth 1 yen (aluminum), 5 yens (bronze with a central hole), 10 yens (bronze), 50 yens (nickel with a central hole), 100 yens (nickel) and 500 yens (nickel).

Tips are unconventional in Japan.

Medical Insurance

Japan's medical standards (and expenses) are one of the world's highest. Make sure your insured sum corresponds with such costs.