I and my family booked already a trip to Japan in May this year. Are there any tips or piece of advice to share? It is first time and is one of our dream. Very much appreciated! Thanks!

Buy a Japan Rail Pass! Sometimes they don’t even check it and you get free days of travel.
Kyoto is a beautiful city.

I second Kyoto, it's amazing! We rented a mifi (portable wifi unit) which really helped for checking maps etc. while we were out. It was really reasonably priced, they shipped it directly to the hotel, and they give you an envelope to drop it off at the airport when you leave. We also used a Japan Rail Pass. You have to buy it in advance.

Go to an onsen and/or ryokan at least once. Eat all the food. If you like Ghibli, you need to book tickets to the museum 2-3 months ahead (depending on which website you use). Rail Pass may not save you money if you don't visit a lot of towns - you can calculate costs using the schedule and fares at www.hyperdia.com. Kyoto was my favourite. If you want to go to Shirakawa-go and don't want to stay there, it is an easy half day trip by bus from Takayama. Portable wifi is also available for rent at the airports if you arrive during opening hours and don't want to book it ahead of time.
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Go to Nikko if your really interested in history and temples! It was an amazing place! Team lab borderless was a really cool experience in Tokyo. Also hakone is a great place for a day or two to experience onsens, the mountains and the nearby lake has pirate ships.

Make a plan - i lived there for 3 years and have been back 4 times since and I still have more to see!! Each region has a lot to offer. If you are staying near Tokyo, excellent quick trips are Kamakura and Nikko.

Klook app - I used that for most of attractions and JR pass

I’m not sure about cities outside of Tokyo but English is not well spoken. My daughter and I struggled greatly at communicating. Maybe a translation app.

We may learn some japanese

Joint the Japan Travel Planning group here on FB.
They help a lot with planning and very informative group

Don't forget Yokohama, a very interesting walking city and near the Haneda airport.

Thank you all for the tips. Can’t wait to visit this country.

Just in case, if you have visible tattoos you cannot go in to any public pool - including onsens and hotel pools.

Seconding wifi box and only get the jr pass if you're planning on city hopping a lot (Tokyo-Kyoto-osaka-etc).
Also, when planning your activities, don't forget to give yourself travel time. If you wanna be in shibuya at noon, you can't leave odaiba at 1150 and expect to be there on time etc etc.

If you have children make sure to go to Edo Wonderland. My 11 year old son loved it! Also Disney Sea and Universal Studios. We enjoyed the rural communities the most.

Following

I really enjoyed the Zenkoji Temple in Nagano.
. The samurai castle in Matsumoto is beautiful too.
It will be very useful to learn some basic phrases in Japanese, most people in smaller centres dont know english. Learn words for getting directions, and including “please” and “Thankyous”... they really are polite about everything!
I think this is obvious, but maybe it isnt to everyone - learn to use chopsticks! ( my aunt thought they would have forks as an option at most restaurants - they dont)

The most fun can be things like professional baseball games, karaoke, video arcades, eating out of convenience stores.... not just old temples. Are you going with kids? If not, lots of great fun with alcohol since they have more liberal laws. Like renting a boat in Ueno park and having a few Beers in the middle of the city (with squid jerky of course)

If you’re having trouble communicating, write it down. Many people can understand when the see the words rather than hear them.

Amanda didn’t work. But we do a mean stick man doing things now. Lol

Arrange to book your portable wifi before you arrive. It will be twice the cost if you don’t. There are several different companies that you can rent from. I always have it delivered to the post office at the airport. I get off the plane and go through customs and then go straight to the post office. You can also have it delivered to your hotel.

Is Japan even open to tourists yet?!?!?!

Margaret I don’t think so. My wife is going there next month and there’s no point for me to go because I don’t think I can do anything let alone get into the country.