About Japan Echo

Japan Echo is an English-language travel guide for people visiting Japan for the first or second time. We write about the practical things that trip people up: paying for trains, booking the shinkansen, claiming tax back, finding trading cards, and what things really cost this year.

Each guide covers one job and tells you what to do, in order. We would rather tell you the ¥4,960 supplement exists than describe the Nozomi as "the fastest way to travel".

How the site is organised

Topics are arranged like a rail network. Each line has a colour and a two-letter code, and each guide is a numbered stop on its line.

How guides are checked

• Rules, prices and dates are checked against official announcements or reliable reporting, and the sources are listed at the end of each guide.
• Every guide shows the date it was last checked.
• Price estimates are labelled as estimates. Exact prices are given only where an official figure exists.

Affiliate policy

Some guides may link to booking or shopping sites that pay us a commission. When they do, the link is marked. Our "most read" list is based on reader numbers, never on payment.

Corrections

Spotted something out of date? Tell us which guide and what changed. We check and update guides, and change the date shown at the top.