The Turista Series: Getting Lost in Japan

It is fairly easy to get lost in Japan. The train system, although very efficient, is also very complicated with a lot of transfers and exits. Shinjuku Station in Tokyo alone has about 200 exits (yes, TWO HUNDRED. It is the world's busiest train station after all); some trains even switch lines or skip stations, so if you're unaware, you could miss your stop easily (mind you, it's happened to me plenty of times). Then, of course, there's the language barrier. Planning where you're going and how to get there can easily save you a lot of time and money.


Carrying off from my previous post (which talks about how you can save money on transportation), here are tips on how you can be smart with your time, money and effort while navigating through the busy train systems, especially in Tokyo:

1. Get pocket wifi. I highly recommend this as I believe that it is such a basic need when navigating around Japan. It's easy to rent at the airport or reserve one in advance. Some AirBnBs provide pocket wifi devices as well. 
2. If you don't have pocket wifi, there is free wifi at the train stations.
3. 7/11 convenience stores offer free wifi, too!
4. Download Google Maps. I always use this. It already tells you how long the travel will take, which platform you should be on, how many stops and transfers, and how much it will cost you. As I have mentioned earlier, some trains switch lines or skip stations so always check what time your train is going to leave (it's usually accurate) and where your train is headed. 
5. Be mindful of the exits. There are yellow signs that indicate where specific exits lead to. You can use Google Maps to figure out which exit you would want to get out of, or you could also research in advance if you want to go to a specific place. 
6. Have some basic Japanese with you. Not a lot of people are able to speak in English but locals usually try their best to communicate with you through gestures. Some even walk you through if they can't explain properly. If you would like to ask where a particular place is, you can ask, "(noun) wa doko desu ka?"

All these are pretty basic. To sum it up, do some research first so that you won't panic nor waste time just trying to figure out how to get to a certain place.