Solo Female Travel in Japan: A Complete Guide for 2024

Solo female travel in Japan is a wonderful travel experience, even though it may not be the most common one. Japan is a beautiful country that is rich in history, culture, and gastronomy and home to some of the most polite and friendly people on the planet. (Even if that is a cliche thing to say about travel). 

Solo female travel in Japan

Japan is a country of contrasts. From the futuristic, neon streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya in Tokyo, to the rural cobbled passageways of traditional Kyoto. 

Japan has something for every type of traveler. This island nation in the Far East sits east of North and South Korea and south of China respectively.

It consists of four different islands and is home to a population of 125.7 million. Japan’s Narita, Haneda, Kansai, and Chubu international airports provide a gateway to Japan from the rest of the world.

Japan is a very safe country 

Statistically speaking, Japan is a very safe country. Violent crime is extremely rare here and even petty crimes like pickpocketing and theft are practically unheard of. 

In fact, Japan is so safe that the annual Global Peace Index 2022 recognized it as being one of the top ten safest countries in the world. Sure, there are common sense precautions that you need to take when traveling alone here, just as there are anywhere else in the world.

But Japan is not a country where you need to stress about your safety or be constantly looking over your shoulder. Part of this seems to be a result of the local culture. 

Respect for others is extremely important in Japan. If you go to a coffee shop with your computer, for example, you can feel safe leaving it on the table while you wander off to the bathroom or to make another order. 

You could theoretically drop your wallet somewhere and it would most likely be handed in. Japan is very similar to South Korea in this respect. 

Japanese people are incredibly polite and helpful

English is not very widely spoken in Japan (even in Tokyo). But in Japan, people’s politeness and consideration translate even with the language barriers. 

You only so much as have to look confused or glance at Google maps in public here for someone to materialize and do their best to try and help you. Don’t be surprised if someone offers to escort you to where you need to go and waits with you until your public transport arrives either. 

If you are queuing for a bus or a train, people won’t try and shove past you. Instead, they will form an orderly line behind you. 

This kind of consideration and politeness is tricky to find elsewhere in the world. 

Women can feel very comfortable traveling solo here 

Japan is a relatively conservative, patriarchal country. So, while foreign women that live in the country long term may feel that they are treated differently because of their gender, or that Japanese society places certain expectations on women, this is not something that you really notice when you are just passing through. 

Solo female travel in Japan is pleasant and you generally won’t find that people are rude or inappropriate towards you here. Catcalling is not really a thing in Japan so you are unlikely to face any street harassment, silly comments, or whistling. 

(Although you do occasionally find strange people in all parts of the world). When you travel on the subway in Tokyo, Osaka, etc, you will be pleased to know that the trains have women-only subway cars. 

This is particularly welcome at rush hour when you have the assurance that you are not going to be sandwiched between a ton of businessmen. 

Learn a few basic phrases in Japanese 

solo female travel in Japan

Japanese is far from the easiest language in the world to learn. After all, it has an entirely different alphabet whose characters and rules differ significantly from the Latin alphabet.

It would be unreasonable to expect yourself to achieve any level of fluency in a new language right before a trip. But it is extremely beneficial if you can master just a couple of words and phrases in Japanese. 

For a couple of weeks traveling in Japan learning how to make basic introductions and say please and thank you is sufficient. Even if you have to point at things and mime a lot, your effort to speak a little bit of the local language will be appreciated. 

A few handy phrases to learn in Japanese in advance of your trip are detailed below.

  • Sumimasen – Excuse me

  • Arigatō – Thanks

  • Arigatō gozaimasu – Thank you (formal)

  • O-negai shimasu – Please

  • Konnichiwa – Hello

  • Ohayou gozaimasu – Good morning

  • Konbanwa – Good evening

  • Moshi moshi – Hi (you will hear shop attendants say this when you enter a store or call customer service but it isn’t a standard greeting)

  • Watashi wa… desu – My name is

  • Genki desu ka? – How are you?

  • Gomen nasai – Im sorry

  • Ichi/ni/san/shi/go/roku – one/two/three/four/five/six

  • Wakarimasen – I don’t understand

  • Shirimasen – I don’t know

Even if you cannot speak in fluent, perfect sentences, people will understand you and appreciate your efforts. For instance, you can order food/drinks by pointing at an item and saying ¨ichi o-negai shimasu.¨ (One please). 

Tokyo may be the most convenient starting point

There are four different cities with international airports in Japan. (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, and Chubu). 

However, most of the time, Tokyo airports are the most convenient starting point. Tokyo has two international airports, Haneda and Narita, 

Haneda airport is closer to Tokyo. However, both airports boast convenient, frequent connections to the city centre so you can comfortably fly into either, depending on where it is easiest to get to from your departure country. 

Tokyo is a bustling megalopolis that is well deserved for a week’s itinerary in itself. It is made up of several different districts, each of which is like a little village in itself. 

Each Tokyo neighborhood has its own distinct personality. For upscale, high-end shopping and fine dining, head to Ginza. To people-watch and search for eclectic fashion, head to Harajuku. 

Akihabara is the electronics district, and the streets here are lined with stores selling video games and electronics. Meanwhile, Shibuya is home to the famous pedestrian crossing that sees thousands of people cross the street from every possible angle. 

Purchase comprehensive travel insurance

Solo female travel in Japan

It is prudent to purchase comprehensive travel insurance before you go anywhere in the world and Japan is no different. Sure it’s a safe country, but you never know what may be around the corner. 

Should you fall sick or get into an accident while in Japan (hopefully not!), healthcare in the country is excellent but it is also very expensive. Be sure to purchase a plan that includes around $1 million USD in medical coverage. 

A good policy will also cover you for other things too. For instance, loss/theft of luggage and electronics, adventure sports, repatriation, etc. 

Always read the small print to check exactly what is included. (Some policies class things like hiking as adventure sports so if you should fall or get injured while trekking around Mount Fuji, you may not be covered). 

Once you have purchased your coverage, make a note of your policy number or print the first page of your agreement out. If you need assistance overseas, this will be the first thing that you are asked for before you are given any help. 

English is not widely spoken at all

English is not widely spoken at all in Japan. Arriving here can feel a little overwhelming at first when you touch down in Tokyo and are greeted with a buzz of neon signs in undecipherable hieroglyphics, and crowds of people that cannot speak a word of your own language. 

Even in Tokyo and some of the larger Japanese cities like Sapporo, Hiroshima, and Yokohama, very few people speak English. People in hotels and some tourist businesses may speak a small amount of English, but it is rare to find someone fluent. 

It is a good idea to download Google translate on your phone to help you communicate. That way, if you are talking to someone and you are struggling, you can simply speak/type what you are trying to say into your phone and it will be translated into Japanese.  

Use Couchsurfing, Meetup, and Facebook groups

Traveling solo in Japan can be isolating, particularly when you leave the major cities. In Tokyo, you will find a lot of people from all over the world living, studying, and traveling in Japan. 

In particular, you will encounter a lot of Americans teaching English through the Jet program. There are also a lot of Japanese people that are keen to meet people from different backgrounds. 

So, there always seems to be some kind of event or another going on in Tokyo. You can check what is going on via Couchsurfing and Meetup. 

If there is nothing that seems to coincide with your travel dates, don’t hesitate to create your own meetups and events on Couchsurfing! (It is free to do!) 

Even if you don’t know a city well, you can just do a little Google research to find a cool bar, restaurant, or cafe. Set a time and a meeting place and wait for like-minded people to respond. 

It’s a good idea to create the event posting a couple of weeks ahead of your intended travel date so that you get the maximum number of respondents. You can also download Bumble BFF which is a plutonic version of the dating app that allows you to swipe to meet other female travelers and friends. 

Japan travel Facebook groups 

Facebook groups for expats and travelers in Japan are another underrated way to meet people. You can simply join the group and create a posting saying that you are traveling through X, Y, and Z and want to meet people to grab a coffee and explore with. 

A selection of handy Japan travel Facebook groups is listed below.

Use the same common sense as you would at home

Solo female travel in Japan is safe, but that doesn’t mean that you should be complacent or do things that you wouldn’t do at home. Use the same common sense as you would anywhere else in the world. 

That means being wary of over-friendly strangers, not walking alone at night, and watching your alcohol consumption. Never leave your drink unattended at bars, even when you are at events designed for other expats and travelers. 

It can be isolating

Solo female travel in Japan can be isolating at times. And while time alone isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is important to know what you are getting yourself into before your trip. 

When you leave Tokyo and head into rural areas, you may find that there are no other travelers around. As a westerner, you likely won’t see anyone that looks like you, and even if you search via Couchsurfing and Facebook, you may find that there is nobody else in your area. 

Add to this the fact that nobody speaks English, it can make you feel really alone. It is important to be comfortable with your own company if you are planning to visit offbeat parts of Japan. 

If you think that this is something that is going to make you feel lonely, try to plan your itinerary so that you spend most of your time in places like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka where you are going to effortlessly meet other travelers. 

For your first trip to Japan, you can simply base yourself in Tokyo and take day trips out from there. Alternatively, if you are flying into Tokyo or Osaka to start your itinerary, you can try and find other travelers to share your trip with you. 

What to wear as a woman in Japan 

Japan is a liberal, modern country and for the most part, you can wear whatever you want and feel comfortable in. Japanese women often dress very femininely in skirts, dresses, and heels. 

You will see a lot of young women wearing ultra-short skirts and nobody bats an eyelid! However, at the same time, it is somewhat frowned upon to wear sleeveless tank tops or tops that reveal too much cleavage so keep that in mind if you don’t want to attract too much attention. 

In business settings, a lot of women wear formal pantsuits and fitted trousers, or skirts/dresses that go down past their knees. 

The time of year that you choose to travel to Japan will have an impact on what you ought to wear too. In the summer months (between June and late September), it is very hot and humid.

Temperatures at this time often soar to 80 to 90 °F. Shorts, dresses and your standard summer wardrobe is perfect for this time of year. 

Since the humidity often brings a lot of rain, it is a good idea to pack an umbrella, a rain mac, and some waterproofs. By contrast, winters in Japan can be bitterly cold, so you need to layer up between November and February.

Menus use pictures or plastic models of food 

Since the vast majority of people in Japan do not speak English, dining out here can be challenging too. This is particularly true if you have any dietary restrictions. 

A lot of Japanese dishes are seafood based so if you are not a fan of fish and seafood, it can be challenging to know which dishes contain fish and which don’t. It isn’t exactly easy either, as the lack of English extends into menus too. 

Most places that you enter will hand you menus that contain photos of the food (that are still sometimes difficult to decipher what is what), or they have plastic models on display out front. It’s still a bit of a gamble on what you are going to get. 

There are plenty of foods that you can enjoy in Japan if you don’t eat fish. Yakniku barbeque is great if you eat red meat, while tonkatsu, okonomiyaki, and Japanese curry are all excellent flavorful choices.  

If there is a restaurant that you are considering dining at, it is a good idea to check past reviews, ratings, and photos of the food so that you know what you are getting yourself in for. If you have specific restrictions, e.g. you are vegan or you need to eat gluten-free, you can find flashcards online that you can take to show at restaurants. 

Check past reviews before deciding on where to stay 

Japan has accommodation options for every travel style. Although the country is renowned for being quite an expensive travel destination, you can find hostels, capsule hotels, homestays, and Airbnb rooms that are suitable for traveling here on a budget. 

If you are concerned about safety or you are fairly new to traveling solo, you may prefer to opt for female-only accommodation. Some hotels have designated women-only floors, while there are entire women’s only capsule hotels and hostels around the country. 

In Tokyo, you can check out the Akihabara Bay women’s only capsule hotel (44-4 Kanda Neribeicho) and the Nadeshiko capsule hotel in Shibuya (10-5 Shinsencho, Shibuya City, Tokyo). 

Wherever you choose to stay, it is a good idea to check past reviews, and in particular, browse for those that have been written by other female travelers. So, for instance, if you are trying to figure out where to stay in Okinawa, you can follow the guidance of other women adventurers that have gone before you. 

Dining alone in Japan is perfectly normal 

A lot of people feel nervous about dining alone and worry that it makes them look lonely, etc. This is not something that you need to worry about in Japan as so many restaurants are designed specifically for single diners. 

There are plenty of sushi bars, curry restaurants, ramen, and tonkatsu places that are popular places for people to head to after work to grab a quick meal before heading home. People usually sit elbow to elbow on communal tables and benches. 

Since virtually everyone is alone, nobody is going to stare at you, judge you, or feel sorry for you for also being alone. Solo diners are an incredibly common sight here. 

Book guided tours to get your bearings 

A guided tour can be a great way to build your confidence and get your bearings in a new place. If you are traveling alone, you may also find that these are a good means of meeting other travelers. 

Better still? Exploring with a Japanese local means that you have an expert on hand to ask for recommendations on the best things to see and do, where to eat, where to hang out, etc. 

A number of reputable tour companies offer day tours and excursions in Japan. A number of highly rated trips that you may want to consider are detailed below. 

Book online in advance to secure your place!

Great tours for solo female travel in Tokyo

Great tours for solo female travel in Kyoto

Tours for solo female travel in Osaka 

Flying can be cheaper than the shinkansen

Riding the shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) is an experience in itself. There are nine shinkansen lines in Japan and these high-speed modern trains connect Tokyo with numerous cities on the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu.

The trains run at a speed of 200mph – making them the highest-speed trains in the world! There are various classes that you can choose to travel on. 

The standard class is known as ¨the ordinary car¨ and is still perfectly comfortable. For a little extra legroom and luxury, you can pay extra to travel in the green car, or the first class ¨gran class¨.

The latter provides you with additional extras and welcome treats such as a warm blanket, comfy sleeping mask, fluffy sleepers, and a warmed towel. Complimentary food and drinks are also included in the ticket price. 

Still, it is worth noting that traveling on one of the world’s most famous railways definitely doesn’t come cheap. Shinkansen tickets are pricy in themselves, and if you are traveling from Tokyo to further away destinations like Sapporo or Fukuoka, you may find that flight deals come cheaper.

Check Skyscanner in advance of your trip. (You will secure the best deals if you book at least a couple of weeks before your intended travel dates). 

Compare the flight prices with the prices you see detailed for the shinkansen. Flying is, of course, the much faster option. 

Purchasing a JR rail pass may not be worth it 

The JR rail pass can save you a lot of money in Japan. But whether it is a worthwhile investment for you or not depends on your itinerary within the country and how many trains you are going to be taking.

You can purchase 7, 14, or 21-day JR rail passes. These passes give you unlimited rail travel on regional Japanese trains as well as on a select number of bullet trains. 

If you plan on cramming a lot into your itinerary and traveling all over the country in a couple of weeks then yes, the pass is likely going to be a worthwhile investment for you. If you are only going to be taking one or two trains from say, Tokyo to Osaka and Osaka to Hiroshima, it may not be worth the money. 

This may also not be worthwhile if you are planning to travel slowly around Japan, since the passes are valid for a short, designated period only.

Can first-time solo female travelers visit Japan?

Japan is a destination that is perhaps best reserved for seasoned solo female travelers. It can be isolating and the language barrier, paired with the fact that nothing is displayed in English anywhere you go, can be overwhelming.

Japan is also expensive, the public transport networks can be confusing to navigate, and there isn’t an established backpacker trail as there is when traveling solo in Croatia or Southeast Asia. You are less likely to just randomly bump into a bunch of fellow travelers here. 

Still, if you are someone that hasn’t traveled a whole bunch before but you are really in love with the idea of visiting Japan, you love the culture (anime/Jpop/video games/whatever), and/or you are learning Japanese, you may be just fine. It’s just important to be realistic about what the situation is like when you arrive.

Keep your real-time location off social media

When you are traveling somewhere new and exciting, it is understandable to want to share your photos and what you are up to with your friends and family back home. However, if you have any public social media profiles, you can never really know who is watching. 

There are plenty of odd people who find people through their hashtags and geotags. Never post in real-time, share your itinerary or share your accommodation.

Save all of those wonderful pictures and reels until you get to your next destination and share them then. If you want to keep your family and friends updated with what you are up to, consider creating a shareable Google doc with your itinerary. 

You can set it to ¨read only¨ so your family won’t accidentally delete bits of it. If you make any changes to your plan, edit the doc accordingly so that they can see where you are and when. 

Purchase a theft-proof backpack 

Crimes such as pickpocketing and petty theft are rare in Japan, although nowhere is completely free from crime. Always watch your belongings on public transport and in crowded marketplaces. 

One worthwhile investment, particularly if you travel a lot, is a theft-proof backpack such as those offered by Pacsafe. These are slightly pricier than standard backpacks but come in a number of stylish designs and offer additional safety features. 

For instance, they come with TSA-approved locking systems, are waterproof, and are slash-proof. Most theft-proof backpacks also come with multiyear warranties, meaning that they are covered for several years should they tear or break in any way. 

Final thoughts on solo female travel in Japan

Solo female travel in Japan
Solo female travel in Japan

Are you planning a trip to Japan as a solo female traveler? Are there still any aspects of solo female travel in Japan that still concern you?

If you are considering visiting Japan as part of a wider trip to East Asia, you might also enjoy this guide on solo female travel in Korea. Safe travels!

Melissa xo

 


highheelsandabackpack

Alice Cooper is a British Travel Writer and Blogger based in Athens, Greece. She writes for numerous high profile travel publications across the globe - including Forbes Travel Guide, Matador Network, The Times of Israel and The Huffington Post.

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