For your first or second trip to Japan
The Easy Japan BookManners, getting around, where to stay and what to pay
Being rude without knowing it, paying for the wrong pass or hotel, a trip that’s harder on your body than you planned — this book settles each one, in order, in plain words.
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- What to do at a door, a shrine, a temple, a train and a shop counter — and what only looks rude
- The rail pass worksheet: add up your real fares and see if a pass is worth it for your route
- Trains, the big-suitcase rule on the bullet train, and how to send your luggage ahead
- Where to stay, what a fair price is, and how cash, cards and tax-free shopping work now
- Six ready-made trip plans at a sensible pace, plus phrase cards and a planner to print
Hello, I’m Michiko
Japan is easier than it looks — once someone tells you the rules nobody writes down.
Most of what makes a first trip hard isn’t the language. It’s the small things: the step at the door, the tray at the counter, the suitcase that doesn’t fit on the train, the pass you didn’t need.
I put all of it in one calm book, in the order you’ll meet it — with the official source printed next to every price and rule, so you can check it again before you pay.
Michiko IshidaThe Easy Japan Book
What this book settles
Three worries, settled before you fly
Every chapter answers a question you’d otherwise ask on the spot — at the door, at the ticket gate, at the hotel desk.
Being rude without knowing it
“Do I take my shoes off here? Do I bow? Do I tip?”
The doorway test, shrine and temple manners, quiet on trains, the money tray — place by place, with the one Japanese word to know for each.
Paying for the wrong pass or hotel
“Is the rail pass still worth it? Which area should we stay in?”
Price your real rides first, then compare with the pass. Pick the hotel by the station, not the size — and know a fair price per night, city by city.
A trip that wears you out
“Will we be dragging suitcases up station stairs every other day?”
The pace test: fewer hotel changes, one big thing a day, a rest afternoon every three days — and your big case sent ahead while you ride light.
The rail pass math, from Chapter 6
The most common first trip — and the pass that costs you more
Tokyo, then Kyoto, then Hiroshima, then back to Tokyo to fly home, all within seven days. It looks like a job for the 7-day Japan Rail Pass. Add up the tickets first.
The usual way: buy the pass
| 7-day Japan Rail Pass, ordinary car (official website) | $318 |
| Fastest trains (Nozomi) — need an extra ticket on the pass | extra |
| You pay | $318+ |
With the book: price the rides first
| Tokyo to Kyoto | $90 |
| Kyoto to Hiroshima | $71 – 75 |
| Hiroshima to Tokyo | $127 |
| Single tickets, fastest trains included | $288 – 292 |
On this route the single tickets win — and they let you ride the fastest trains with no extra charge.
Fares as printed in Chapter 6 (in yen, from the JR Pass official website and operator fare pages, checked November 2026), shown here in US dollars at about ¥157 to the dollar. Fares change; the book shows you where to check each one again. Your route may differ — that’s what the pass worksheet is for.
Look inside
Four pages, as they read in the book
Large, plain type, in the order you’ll actually need it. Tap any page to read it full size.
What’s inside
Ten chapters, each one a question you’d ask on the spot
The shape of an easy trip
When to go, how long to stay, how big a day should be — and the pace test.
Manners that matter, place by place
Doors, shrines, temples, trains and shops — and what only looks rude.
Onsen and ryokan without worry
The bath step by step, and the questions to ask before you book a room.
Eating out and ordering
Ticket machines, set meals, the bill, no tipping — and an allergy card to fill in.
Trains, buses, taxis and luggage
IC cards, the bullet train, the big-suitcase rule, and sending your case ahead.
Train or car, and the rail pass math
Whether the pass pays for your route — and when renting a car makes more sense.
Where to stay and what to pay
Hotel types, areas near the station, local hotel taxes and a fair-price method.
Money, cards and what a day costs
Cash, ATMs that take your card, the new tax-free refund rules and a budget sheet.
Six ready-made trip plans
From seven days in two cities to two weeks with Hiroshima — day by day.
Before you fly and your first day
Medicines, the entry form, phone data, emergencies and a short, easy day one.
Plus: every chapter’s “Stop if” lines on one page, printable phrase cards with the Japanese and how to say it, a day planner, and every source listed by chapter.
Every travel day is a rest dayChapter 9
Six trip plans you can copy as they are
Each one keeps hotel changes few and days short. Pick the one closest to your trip, then run the pace test on it.
- First trip7 days · two bases
- Classic10 days · two bases
- Two weeks with Hiroshima14 days · three bases
- Slow Kyoto7 days · one base
- Tokyo with a ryokan night8 days
- Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto12 days · three bases
Everything you get
One calm book for the whole trip
- The Easy Japan Book — 71 pages, 10 chapters, PDF
- Six ready-made trip plans, day by day, from 7 to 14 days
- The pace test and the rail pass worksheet — fill in your own route
- Printable phrase cards — Japanese, how to say it, what it means
- An allergy card, a daily budget sheet and a day planner to print
- Official sources beside every price and rule, checked November 2026
$27
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Read it for a week.
If the book isn’t right for your trip, reply to your receipt within 7 days and you get every cent back. No forms, no questions.
Is this for you?
Written for a calm, comfortable trip
It’s for you if…
- You’re planning a first or second trip to Japan and want it calm and polite.
- You’re planning for a parent, a partner or a small group and want the decisions made in the right order.
- You’d rather walk less, carry less and change hotels less — and still see the places that matter.
- You like to check things yourself: every price and rule comes with its source.
It’s not for you if…
- You’re a backpacker after nightlife, hostels or the cheapest possible route.
- You need visa, immigration or medical advice — the book points you to the official sources for those.
- You want a glossy photo book. This is a practical, plain-language guide you’ll actually use.
Why this book
Fewer surprises. Slower days. No wrong turns at the door.
Japan rewards people who know a handful of small rules — and quietly tires out the ones who don’t. The rules aren’t hard. They’re just scattered across a hundred websites, half of them out of date.
So this book puts them in one place, in the order you’ll meet them: the season, the pace, the door, the bath, the counter, the train, the hotel, the money, the route — and the morning you land.
“One big thing a day, one hotel every three nights, and your suitcase sent ahead. That’s most of an easy trip.”
Questions
Before you buy
What format is it, and how do I get it?
Is it for a first trip or a second one?
Are the prices up to date?
I’m not good with technology. Is it hard to use?
What if it isn’t right for me?
Do I need to speak Japanese?
Where do the prices and rules come from?
Ready when you are
Go calm. Go prepared.
Enjoy every day of it.
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