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Travel and Tourism in Japan
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Japan.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- 132.44
- Climate
- Temperature extremes are fewer than in the U.S. since no part of the interior is more than 100 miles from the coast. At the same time, because the islands run almost directly north-south, the climate varies. Sapporo, on the northern island, has warm summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe, on the southern part of the largest island of Honshu, experience relatively mild winters with little or no snowfall and hot, humid summers. Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu, has a climate with mild winters and short summers. Okinawa is subtropical. Spring, with its profusion of cherry blossoms and other flowering trees and shrubs, and autumn, with its gold and flaming red trees and lovely fall flowers, are the most pleasant seasons. The hot, humid summers are difficult in the cities, but the sandy beaches along the coast and the many fine mountain resorts provide pleasant relief. With rather mild and dry winters it rarely snows or rains in the Tokyo area at this time of year.
- Language(s) Spoken
- Japanese
- Ethnic Groups
- Japanese 97.5%, Chinese 0.6%, Vietnam 0.4%, South Korean 0.3%, other 1.2% (includes Filipino, Brazilian, Nepalese, Indonesian, American, and Taiwanese)
- National Holiday
- Birthday of Emperor NARUHITO, 23 February (1960); note - celebrates the birthday of the current emperor
- Geographic Coordinates
- 36 00 N, 138 00 E
- Location
- Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
- Airports
- 175
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Tokyo and the Kanto Region
Tokyo is a city of superlatives. With a metropolitan population exceeding 37 million, it is the world's largest urban agglomeration, a fact made remarkable by its extraordinary functionality: its trains run on time to the second, its streets are immaculately clean, its crime rate is vanishingly low, and its restaurants hold more Michelin stars than any other city on Earth. Yet Tokyo is far more than the sum of its efficiency metrics. It is a city of endlessly distinct neighborhoods, each with its own character and atmosphere, layered over one another in a sprawling mosaic that rewards weeks of exploration.
Shibuya is perhaps Tokyo's most iconic district, centered on the scramble crossing at Shibuya Station where, during peak hours, up to 3,000 pedestrians cross simultaneously from all directions in what has become one of the world's most photographed urban spectacles. The surrounding shopping streets, department stores, and music venues define contemporary youth culture in Japan.
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Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
While medical care in Japan is good, English-speaking physicians and medical facilities that cater to U.S. citizens’ expectations are expensive and not widespread. Japan has a national health insurance system that is available only to those foreigners with long-term visas for Japan. National health insurance does not pay for medical evacuation.
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