Asia and Oceania

Insurance

We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake. You should take out comprehensive insurance before visiting Japan, including insurance against medical costs, loss of belongings, theft, cancellation of your journey etc. Keep belongings, especially your passport, safe. Enter next of kin details into the back of your passport. See travel insurance.

 

If things do go wrong when you are overseas then this is how we can help.

Emergency contact numbers in Japan are as follows: Police 110; Fire and Ambulance 119. The Tokyo English Lifeline (Tel:  +813 5774 0992) provides advice and counselling in English.

The Consular Section of the British Embassy provides a passport renewal service. Replacement passports are normally issued within 10 working days. 

The language

Most Japanese people have studied English at school, but not all can speak it well or understand what is said to them. However, many can understand clear and simple English in written form and may be able to write a reply more easily than they can speak, but you should be prepared for situations in which English is not understood at all, e.g. by taxi drivers, restaurant staff, police, doctors. A pen and notebook and a simple phrase book may prove useful.

Weather conditions

You should check what sort of weather you can expect in Japan before you travel. June – September can be very hot and humid and you should take sensible precautions (e.g. drink plenty of water, limit time spent in the sun).

Mobile phone network

Most UK mobile phones will not work in Japan, even in roaming mode. You should check with your service provider if you wish to use your mobile phone in Japan.

Consular Registration

If resident in Japan or just visiting, you should register with our LOCATE service to tell us when and where you are travelling abroad or where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency.

Money

Japan is mainly a cash society. The Japanese currency is the Yen. Some credit cards and Cirrus, Maestro, Link and Delta cash cards are NOT widely accepted, and few banks or cash machines will provide cash drawn on such cards. Japanese post offices do have cash machines, which will accept Visa, Delta and Cirrus cards during hours of business. Citibank and Seven-Eleven ATMs will also take foreign credit and debit cards. Cash machines do not operate 24 hours a day. They generally close at 21:00 hours or earlier and may not operate at the weekends. You should check with your bank before travelling and take sufficient alternative sources of money for the duration of your stay.