Gear Check!

Luggage Advice for When Traveling in Japan

Lately, I have oddly been bombarded with questions on social media regarding what types of equipment one should bring along when visiting Japan. Honestly, this is one of those topics that you would think has been covered to death by now. As evidenced by the puzzling number of queries from my followers though, this doesn’t seem to be the case. That stated, this is also a topic that I am somewhat hesitant to cover. You see, while I am certainly a well traveled guy, I also live and work here in Japan. When I embark on my adventures, it’s typically for two or three day stints. This means that I am not in the best position to be giving advice to overseas tourists. While I’ll try to address the issue as best I can using my own experiences as examples, please be sure to take my advice with a grain of salt.

To begin with, know that you should do whatever you can to avoid dragging around a massive suitcase. Hauling oversized luggage is liable to cause some serious headaches among the locals with whom you are going to be sharing public transportation. Moreover, having a hefty bag with you at all times will slow you down considerably due to the additional logistical challenges that will undoubtedly present. Rather than cart your suitcase around the country, I suggest designating a central “home base” such as Tokyo or Osaka and from here…