How to Plan a Trip to Japan in 2026: Ultimate Guide for First-Time Travelers

Entry requirements and arrival logistics are the part of planning a Japan trip that first-time travellers tend to leave until last, when they're actually worth sorting out early. Here's what matters and when to handle it.

Visa-Free Entry: Check Your Specific Allowance

Travellers from a large number of countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most of the EU, can enter Japan without a visa for short tourist visits, but the exact permitted length varies by nationality — some get 90 days, others less. This isn't something to assume based on general reputation; confirm your country's specific arrangement on your government's travel advisory page or the Japanese embassy site well before booking flights, particularly if your planned trip is long or you're combining Japan with travel to other countries on the same visa-free allowance.

Visit Japan Web: Do This Before You Fly

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Visit Japan Web is the official system for pre-registering your immigration and customs information, and completing it in advance genuinely speeds up arrival. It takes roughly fifteen minutes on a phone or computer, generates a QR code for both immigration and customs, and can be done as early as you like once your flight is booked. Arriving without it isn't a serious problem, but it does mean filling out paper forms and standing in a slower-moving line after a long flight.

Which Airport You'll Land At

Tokyo is served by two airports — Narita, further from the city centre, and Haneda, considerably closer — and which one you land at affects your first hour or two in the country more than most travellers expect. Haneda connects to central Tokyo by monorail or train in well under an hour; Narita's equivalent journey takes noticeably longer, so factor that into arrival-day plans rather than assuming a quick trip into the city. Osaka's Kansai International Airport is the main gateway for the Kansai region and connects to Osaka and Kyoto by train and airport limousine bus.

Customs and What You Can Bring In

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Japan has specific restrictions on some over-the-counter and prescription medications that are legal elsewhere, including certain common cold and allergy medications — check the current list on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's site if you take regular medication, and carry a doctor's note for anything unusual. Duty-free allowances for alcohol, tobacco, and other goods are fairly standard, but it's worth a quick check if you're bringing anything beyond typical personal items.

The First Few Hours After Landing

Once through immigration and customs, the most useful early moves are getting yen in hand — a 7-Eleven or post office ATM near the airport reliably works with foreign cards — and picking up or activating your SIM, eSIM, or pocket wifi if you haven't already sorted connectivity before departure. If you pre-booked an IC card or arranged to add one to your phone, this is also the point to set it up, since it will cover nearly all local transport for the rest of the trip.

Getting the First Day Right

None of this needs to be complicated, but each piece is easier to handle calmly before you fly than to figure out jet-lagged at an airport counter. Before You Go To Japan's general advice for first-time travellers is to treat entry requirements, Visit Japan Web, and your airport-to-city plan as the very first things to lock in — well ahead of choosing restaurants or attractions — since they set the tone for everything that follows.