Tips, Perceptions, and Advices for Backpacking Japan

Tips

Most backpackers to Japan are probably more interested in visiting the bigger cities or cities with historical landmarks, travelling by public transportation, and staying in cheap accomodations. Backpacking by walking is the most strenuous, but yet liberating way to travel. Here are some things that I've learned during the 3 months that may help future backpackers.

One thing of note is I walked the country as an Vietnamese-American, and therefore, the Japanese may have just considered me another insane Japanese person with a backpack rather than a foreigner. Drivers will constantly look at me as though people just don't walk around with big backpacks in Japan. When people saw me up close, they could tell I wasn't Japanese based on my facial structure.

First and foremost, Japan is a very safe country, especially for an educated and industrialized one. During the 3 months, I never once feared for my life.
I got money out of the ATM at the airport before heading down to the subway. The attendants at the money exchange booth can break large bills. (The money exchangers will only convert bills from some countries: they wouldn't accept Canadian dollars, but US dollars will be easily accepted.)
Post offices have a "T" with an extra horizontal bar: (Image taken from another web site.) All post offices have ATMs which will speak and instruct in English. I only used ATMs to get money on the trip. They actually make a profit by giving a lower exchange rate rather than charging a fee. For example, if the exchange rate is 100 yens to 1 US dollar, they may only dispense 98 yens for each dollar. Withdrawing $300, the post office makes about $3. Travellers should be aware of any charges from their personal bank. My credit union charges $1.00 from all non-member ATMs including international ones.
Traveller's checks are unecessary, but carrying one $100-check may provide peace of mind.
Japan is expensive, but tolerable when travelling with a backpack and camping. My average daily cost in food and sodas was $8.00-$10.00 US. Most everynight, I either cooked ramen with meat (fish, pork, or beef) or bought bentos.
I was never fond of ramen, but what's funny about eating ramen is I never got tired of it as long as varied the meat I mixed in it. I'm salivating just thinking about it now.
Sporting good stores do exist. I bought a pack cover for the backpack, but a trashbag will work even better although not as aesthetic. These stores do sell propane canisters.
Motels have 2 rates: hourly and daily. Out in the rural areas, motels range from 3500 to 6000 yens. 5000 yen = $45 US. Hourly rates (in blocks, for example 4 hours) are a little cheaper and probably provided for couples who need some privacy. I didn't stay in any motels.
Many public parks have free public restrooms. Often, these restrooms are clean and maintained daily, but there are always disgusting restrooms that even the flies wouldn't consider entering.
Supermarket are fairly abundant. Any decently sized town will have one. The exception are the small villages, where people might sell snacks from inside their home.
Convenience stores are very abundant. These are good places to buy bentos, food wrapped in boxes or trays.
Japan has drug stores like Walgreens or Eckerds or Rite Aid without the pharmacy. I call these "general stores" here. The general stores do sell some food.
Waiting late in the day or near the grocery store closing times, they will usually place perishable food on sale- sometimes for as much as 50% off. They'll place stickers on the packaging indicating the discounts. Unfortunately, convenient stores do not offer discounts late in the day, just grocery stores.
I considered buying a bicycle and travelling by bike across Japan when I tired of walking at times. New bicycles can be purchased from $150-$250 US. These are the bicycles most locals would ride and they have built in locks and a basket.
With all the bicycle parts and frames scattered around, it would be possible to put together a bicycle on the cheap. An adjustable wrench and other tools can be purchased from 100-yen stores (equivalent of dollar stores). The one problem is bicycles are registered, so even if you put together a bike from junk, the frame may still be registered to someone and the police might consider it theft if they question you. Also, bicycle tire repair kits can be purchased from the 100-yen store.
Some beaches can be extremely dirty with trash. You can probably find enough bicycle parts to open up a bicycle store.
Police seemed extremely tolerant. I suppose this is due to the safe aurora of the country.
Gas stations are very abundant and are all full-service. I only needed gasoline for the camping stove.
If necessary, I strongly suggest buying alkaline batteries, sewing kit, bulk tissue packets (used for toilet paper) and duck tape from the 100-yen stores. The 4-pack alkaline batteries are just as powerful as the more expensive Energizer batteries. The dollar store duck tape isn't all that great adhesively, but it works. These items are more expensive at the grocery stores or general stores.
Coin laundry costs between 300-500 yens to complete both wash and dry. The cheapest are the 200-yen washing machines and 100-yen 12-minutes dry cycles. All laundry machines in Japan are the commercial washer type, that is, they don't have a agitator in the center to cycle the clothes.
If you are an early bird or don't mind rising early, you can sleep in public parks and sheltered bus stops. Most Japanese are tolerant although they may be internally surprised or annoyed. Waking up at 5:00-6:00 am should be early enough to avoid most people, especially the early walkers.
On average it costs 500 yens to use public baths. Public bath houses are indicated by a bowl with 3 wavy vertical lines- kind of like a bowl with rising steam. (Image taken from another web site.) Some bath houses include shampoo and body soap while others sell hygiene products seperately. There is definitely a proper etiquette in the public bath houses. There will be lockers for shoes when entering the property. Some bath houses will provide a towel at the front desk. One use of the towel is to cover the privates when walking around. Sit at one of the spigots (or shower hoses), and rinse off. Then use the hot water baths (different temperatures). When finished soothing, return to the spigots and clean with soap and shampoo. They provide lockers, but my backpack didn't fit into most and I just placed it on top of the lockers where I could see it. (Or ask to leave it at the front desk.)
Be prepared to use squat toilets, which are actually more sanitary than western-style sit toilets. Throughout Japan there will be both available at some places.
Unless you're in some place like Tokyo, at the edge of town there will be wooded areas. Many fields along the roads have been used for farming.
Finding a stealth camping site in some wooded areas at the edge of towns is not always simple since they use the land productively.
If you are persistent you can find a place to stealth camp when in rural areas. Just don't give up.
In metropolitan areas it's much more difficult to find a camping spot. The best place to set up a tent or to sleep tentless would be under a highway or along the river. This makes it easier because of the public restrooms (sometimes not always near though). I always clean up after myself. In Sendai, I set up the tent along a river for 2 days. In Narita, I set up my tent for 3 days in a wooded area not far from the highway.
Tenting under bridges is a good way to stealth camp, especially during snow or rain.
It's NOT always possible to camp under a highway or water way.
Beaches, especially along the eastern shore, provide easy opportunities for camping. On the western coast, winds felt stronger and there aren't as many beaches.
Free internet access is available at some public libraries. Keyboard keys may be slightly different.
I found asking direction at convenience stores the best bet. The clerks are very willing to help, while asking pedestrians was difficult at times. (I've also heard pedestrians are more likely to advise foreigners who are Caucasian.) This is somewhat stereotyping, but it is mostly true: Men have a better sense of directions. At most convient stores, if there are both men and women, usually the men will provide the best instructions on finding a particular place.
Water is drinkable in all of developed Japan. Houses are not fenced, so it wasn't a problem quietly entering a small property and getting water from a spigot quickly. Water is also available from rest rooms in supermarkets, general store, businesses, etc. I carried a filter but never used it.
I washed my hair in public restrooms at times when no one was around. I made it a point not to make a mess and clean up after myself if I did.

Perceptions

Opinions about the country.

Everyone seems to stare at backpackers.
Police in general do not carry guns.
Homeless folks do not generally ask for handouts.
Bowing is very common. I always bowed when greeting someone, mentioning thank you, or saying good-bye.
Carrying a dirty tissue and wiping your nose in public is not proper, which is why they wear face masks when sick. I believe they are worried about spreading germs from dirty hands and sneezing. If I needed to wipe or blow my nose I did it when no one was around.
High school kids love to smoke, especially with cigarettes being easily purchased from vending machines. On one brand of the cigarette vending machines, there's a guy wearing a black shirt with both hands in his pockets looking cool, personally, I think he looks like someone bumming off his parents.
High school girls love to show off their legs by wearing skirts a bit high. (Maybe some feel pressured by their peers to wear shorter skirts.)
Heck, wearing miniskirts is just popular in Japan (even in the winter).
Couples don't seem to hold hands in public very often.
Some Japanese can be very tall.
They like to idolize public figures like Americans. "Get a life" comes to mind.
Almost without exception, everytime I walked into a convenience store, people were browsing through the magazine racks.
To promote a political candidate, vans come around with speakers repeated blasting some short message and volunteers with white gloves waving.
Rain, rain, rain. Hot and humid in the fall further south and rains a lot.
Many items packaged in bulk in the United States are sold individually and costlier in Japan. For example, a can of coke or a snicker will run about 115 yens.
Smut magazines are scattered all over the country. I ran across at least one magazine each day. My favorite ones were...uh...on second thought...
Women may clean both the women's and men's restrooms; therefore, don't be surprised if a woman comes in while you're taking a whiz.
They love walking their dogs.
Of course vending machines are all over the place. Soda machines average about 120 yens for a 12 oz drink. There was one machine that had luck-of-the-draw button for about the median price of all the drinks, and when I pressed it, it gave me the cheapest drink from the machine (about 20 yens less than what I deposited). I'll never fall for that again!
The Japanese are accustomed to not causing someone to lose face. Be well mannered and take a few breaths when angry. For me, I don't recall being angry at anyone while there.
Sometimes, there would be a person sleeping in a vehicle at a park or under a bridge.
Some of the toilets in the general stores are pretty advanced with a bunch of buttons- feels like sitting in a space shuttle or something.

Advices

The following are things I've heard and read about the country and are probably true based on my perception of Japan.

Even though I cannot endorse it, hitchhiking is very safe and easy in Japan.
The problem with hitchhiking is the Japanese will likely drop you off with another person and ensure you will be okay: They just won't drop you off in the middle of the road even if that's your destination (like a good wooded area for stealth camping).
Japan is not a flea-market type of society when it comes to buying like in less developed countries. Maybe it's appropriate to bargain in some instances, perhaps when dealing with a small family-owned business.
Perversions exist in the subways, such as, business men lifting up women's skirts. Luckily, the 2 times I used the subway nothing like this occurred.

E-mail me with anything regarding this homepage.

Links

A 24-year old guy walks across Japan and has a free edited video to share with everyone.

Woman Walks Japan during 2001-2002.

A European man spends 109 days walking across Japan.

Entry 7

To this day I still don't know the name of the city, only that it was nicknamed "A New Hightech City." This was fairly a large city. Somewhere before the metropolitan area, I came across a university with a huge adjacent park.

The park would've been a great place to spend the night, but the day had enough hours to continue. There were some homeless people scattered throughout the park, but one person stood out like the full moon in the clear night sky. She was at the center of a small picnic shelter and all around her along the concrete benches were old magazines she had gathered. She never looked up, keeping her eyes hidden underneath her hat while she ate something from a can.

Magazines are very popular in Japan, and people are always browsing through magazines at convenience stores. What is it about the attraction of magazines? The escape from reality of a life isolated on a large island with nearly everyone living in such close proximity to one another?

I made it down to the beach and set up the tent next to a storage shack. This beach wasn't really open to the public, but I had to camp somewhere. I decided to return to the lady engulfed in a sea of magazines and donate some more of the money I had found a few days earlier at the edge of Tokyo after staying with a "homeless" friend.

As I walked through the park alone in the darkness with the dim lights shedding the way at times, tears began to form in my eyes. Had there really been any true hardships on this journey? Yes, but to think of the magazine lady and how living an empty life must be the toughest lesson to endure in this world. Everyday appeared to be identical with little expectation of change. But that wasn't just her, people who have comfortable lives or who are financially stable also faced that pain. I was so grateful to know I had the opportunity to be far from home. Home is not necessarily a physical place, but could be a state of mind: The feeling of being comfortable in the current surroundings. For the past 3 months, my home has been this journey.

Then the tears started falling like summer rain. I knew there were people who cared for me back home. My parents waiting for me to return safely. Everyday they worried about me sometimes to a point in which they couldn't sleep. And if I didn't have anyone thinking about me, who would I be? To reflect back and recognize the struggles to cross Japan by foot seemed so easy now when I realize someone is always sincerely cheering for me- hoping that I make it another day, and another, and another. Not giving up faith in me makes all the difference in the world.

Entry 8

Snowing in Aomori and buying ice cream. This morning was pretty miserable because of the high winds crashing down on my stakeless tent. I didn't bring stakes because I didn't check in my backpack at the Houston airport for fear it wouldn't arrive on the same flight, and most likely security wouldn't let me on the plane with pointy metal stakes. Arriving in Japan without my backpack would leave me naked as a newborn baby. I guess I could have purchased some stakes during visits to stores selling outdoor gear, but I had gotten by fine up to this point.

It was so windy that I got up and removed the poles and went back inside the tent and attempted to sleep inside of it as a bivy. The flapping of the tent material kept me awake, and at some point I decided to get up and move on.

To be written...