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
The money, estimated
What a first week in Japan costs when nobody tells you the rules
An example: a couple, seven days, the classic Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima trip. Four small mistakes almost every first-timer makes, and what they add up to.
The usual way: what you overpay
| Rail passes you didn’t need, for two | $56 |
| Tipping like at home — 18% on about $600 of meals and taxis | $108 |
| Card fees abroad — 3% on about $2,000 spent | $60 |
| Tax refund never claimed — 10% on $300 of shopping | $27 |
| Gone, for nothing | about $250 |
With the book: you know before you go
| Price the rides first, buy single tickets (Ch. 6) | $0 |
| No tipping — it isn’t expected in Japan (Ch. 2 & 4) | $0 |
| A no-fee card, and always pay in yen (Ch. 8) | $0 |
| Passport at the till, refund when you fly home (Ch. 8) | $0 |
| The Easy Japan Book 50% OFF | $27 |
| Your cost | $27 |
About $220 stays in your pocket on one week for two — the book pays for itself eight times over.
An estimate, not a promise: your spending and route will differ. Rail fares are the ones printed in Chapter 6 (official JR Pass and operator prices, November 2026) at about ¥157 to the dollar. Tipping assumes a typical US 18%; card fees assume a card with the common 3% foreign transaction fee; the tax refund is Japan’s 10% consumption tax on eligible tax-free shopping of ¥5,000 or more per store per day.
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 short chapters, in the order you’ll need them
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
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Everything you get
Your whole Japan trip, settled in one evening
- 📖The 71-page book10 chapters in the order you’ll need them
- 🗺️Six ready-made trip plans7 to 14 days, day by day
- 🚄Rail pass worksheetsee if a pass pays for your route
- 🙇Manners, place by placedoors, temples, onsen, trains, shops
- 🗣️Printable phrase cardsJapanese, how to say it, what it means
- 📝Allergy card, budget sheet, plannerready to print
- ⚡ Instant PDF download
- ↩️ 7-day money-back guarantee
- 🔒 Secure checkout by Gumroad
- ✓ Pay once, nothing renews
Questions
Before you buy
What format is it, and how do I get it?
Do I need to speak Japanese?
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?
Ready when you are
Go calm. Go prepared.
Enjoy every day of it.
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