It is also worth considering peak holiday seasons when you plan your trip. Moving around and finding accommodation during New Year, Golden Week (late April to early May) and the midsummer O-Bon festival can difficult. Prices for airfares will vary depending on your departure date. Flights at the beginning or end of the peak season can be considerably cheaper than in the height of the peak season and make a big difference on availability.

Check the validity of your passport before your trip. Your passport is your identification during your trip. Write down your passport number and date of issuance somewhere in case of emergencies.

Oct - Dec
Autumn

The standard of English in Japan is very limited. Ninety times out of ten you will have no joy from attempting to speak English with a person on the street. You will sometimes get lucky and have an English speaking Japanese person on your hands, but this is more likely in major cities. You may have to resort to wild gesticulations and pieces of paper and take comfort in the fact that you will invariably experience a huge willingness to assist you. It is advisable to pick up a few useful phrases before you travel such as hello and goodbye and thank you. You can learn a few useful phrases on the JNTO website's 'useful phrases section' by clicking here.

But take heed! Any well delivered Japanese phrase will invariably result in the assumption that you can handle a response, in Japanese, at ten times the speed of sound and requests to slow down usually result in doubling of delivery speed. All part of the magic of cross cultural communication.

Generally, you should not fear being able to get about as there is widespread use of English. Station names, signs, maps and most other places are written in Japanese and English. Most restaurant menus are in Japanese, but you can circumvent any problems easily as many restaurants have waxwork models of all their dishes in the front entrance.

Cash is King in Japan, although it is possible to use one's credit card in Major cities. Japan's currency, the yen, is available in 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 & 500 coins, as well as 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10,000 notes. On the whole, expect to carry most transactions out in cash, especially for restaurants and shopping at individual retailers.

It is largely safe to carry round with you large amounts of cash courtesy of Japan's very low crime rate, although take the usual precautions.

Facilities for foreign currency exchange are widespread in major cities but less common in rural areas. Exchanging cash in major global currencies such as US Dollars and British Pounds is possible at the airport, authorised foreign exchange banks, main post offices and large hotels and stores. If you are planning to stay in rural areas of Japan make sure you have enough cash for your journey.

Withdrawing cash from your account back home using a credit card may not be possible. The majority of ATMs do not accept foreign-issued credit cards even if you see a VISA logo on the ATM. Branches of CITIBANK (see their website for branch locations www.citibank.co.jp) and select ATMs will take your credit and VISA cards no problem though.

Tipping is not customary in Japan. Restaurants' bills are usually paid at a cash register on the way out and the service charge is included in the price. Taxi fares are usually displayed on a meter in the front of the cab and drivers do not expect to receive any more than the displayed amount. However, when shopping or eating out, expect to pay a 5% consumer tax on all displayed prices.

Should you be visiting a rural area you may well have to spend the night in Tokyo or Osaka on the return journey. Finding a hotel for this purpose is not difficult, the agencies on this site should be able to help you, and airport buses run from most of the major hotels.

The public transport system in Japan is the most efficient in the world... and the most expensive. Trains, subways and buses run like clockwork, but you pay for the privilege. Train is definitely the way to travel in Japan. Services range from small local lines to the famous shinkansen super-expresses, or 'bullet trains'. These trains reach speeds of up to 270km/h (167mi/h) and are your bargain travel ticket to travelling Japan courtesy of the Japan Rail Pass. The Japan Rail Pass must be pre-purchased overseas and are valid for almost all Japan Rail services. View our pages on the pass, where you can get them and how much they cost. They are an absolute must to travelling Japan.

Intercity buses are generally slower than trains, but they are markedly cheaper. Also, unless you've got a sleeper, travelling overnight in a reclining bus seat can be preferable to sitting upright on the train.

Driving in Japan is not as daunting a task as it may seem. Traffic in Japan moves on the left. Outside of large cities roads are well signposted in English and you can pick up an English language road map to Japan in international book stores. Petrol is relatively cheap, but parking in major cities can be expensive. You will need an international driving permit (IDP) in addition to your driving permit from home to drive in Japan. These are avaliable from national motoring organisations and are valid for a period of one year.

When eating out, you will usually be presented with chopsticks. Try not to spear your food with them, pass food to somebody else, point with them, move dishes around with them, stand them vertically in your rice (a symbol of death in Japan). Basically, play it safe and just eat food with them. If you cannot handle chopsticks simply ask for a fork and you may get lucky. You can slurp your noodles and pick up the bowl to drink from (it is a good idea to remember to forget this one when you return home to avoid embarrassment at social functions). If you are drinking with a group of Japanese you do not fill your own glass, everyone fills each others. Traditionally not a drop is drunk until everyone's glass is full and you toast with a 'kampai!'.

Try not to blow your nose in public places, eat whilst walking the streets or on public transportation (bullet train and long distance buses are OK). You may also want to carry round a travel pack of tissues as most public toilets do not provide paper. When sitting tuck your legs underneath you or sit cross legged, as pointing the soles of your feet at people is deemed impolite.

Shoes are considered dirty and should be removed before entering private homes, shrines & temples, and Japanese style restaurants and accommodation. Just keep an eye out at what the locals do or don't have on their feet and you should be fine. When visiting the toilet remember to wear the toilet slippers on offer, and to take them off when you are done as they are usually rather garish and have 'toilet' written on them.

Despite all the above, just try your best and you should cause absolutely no offence (we hope).

Get your film developed when you get home. Whilst you will find camera film and equipment to be great value in Japan, Japanese processing is expensive and the prints are really small. So save that film and hold up until you get back.

Tokyo's Akihabara (Electric town) and Osaka's Nipponbashi (Den Den Town) offer a wide selection of camera shops for traditional cameras and digital cameras. If you bring your passport with you you will be able to take advantage if duty free shopping. Discount electronics districts allow for a little bargaining and a polite request will often bring the price down by around 10%.