Before coming to Japan your biggest concern is language and how will you communicate. What needs to be booked ahead and what can be done on the fly? I just wanted to share a few of my experiences.

Our trip to Japan was to incoporate the F1 Grand Prix at Suzuka, which dictated a hotel booking and flight booking back in December. With Turkish Airlines flying in to two destinations in Japan, Tokyo and Osaka I decided we travel in to one and out of the other. This has worked well for us. I suppose the next decision is where to go in the time available and this takes some research. A well trodden path takes people down to Hiroshima, but I was keen to take the path less travelled and head in to the Kansai region for a more rural experience. If you too do this, you need to hire a car, in advance, and ensure you have an International driving licence.

Beyond a hotel reservation in Tokyo (important for that jet lag) and travels needed to get to the race I had not planned anything until two months out. That is until I realised that hotels were booking quickly. I presumed because of the Cherry Blossom season, but also the popularity of Japan as a destination at the moment. This led me to book all hotels and then the route was settled. I didn’t book anything else preferring to go on a voyage of discovery once in situ. This too seemed to work out well.

Public Transport is cheap and easy to use with all ticket machines and signage in English. There are special travel tickets for foreigners that you can get on-line, in advance of the trip, but I viewed as not economical for us. We took daily ‘go where you please’, tickets at stations for 700 ¥ (£3.70) in Tokyo. Similar tickets are available in all cities.

Klock was a good app for booking bullet trains, and JR trains (the local ones) can be booked through the JR app, but in both cases it is easy to buy tickets through machines, with credit cards or cash, at the station when you arrive.

People warn you to take cash on your trip , but we found cash was only needed once you get outside the cities. Not every ATM machine takes foreign cards, so look out for the Mastercard and Visa signs.

You definitely need access to Google maps on your smart phone. This turned out to be our most valuable tool for travel. It gives great information on best routes to take, times and which gate to leave the station.

You will also need to download one of the restaurant apps. We used tabelog.com. They have excellent maps and choices by types of food and prices, and then there is a simple booking form.

Lastly, costs. The Internet reminds you that Japan is the 3rd most expensive country in the world and yet friends in Turkey had found it cheap on their last trip. Maybe this is a reflection on Turkish prices these days but, bar public transport, street food and cups of coffee, we found it to be expensive. Cost really comes in to play with hotels and restaurants so ultimately down to personal choice. Entering temples is a discretionary fee and best of all public toilets are everywhere, immaculately clean and FREE.