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From Mariko's desk to your kitchen table
37 years at a Tokyo concierge desk. Every question your first trip will ask.
Tap the video to play it, with sound. Mariko explains the book in 2 minutes.
For 37 years, I answered Americans' questions about their trips at a hotel desk in Tokyo. Before You Land in Japan is everything I'd have told you there, told to you months before you fly, while there's still time to change it.
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New Mariko's Short-Walk Hotel Guide: 35 hotels a few steps from an elevator exit, $17.
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Where you probably are
You've waited years for this trip. It gets decided in one evening, from screenshots.
You've watched hours of Japan videos. Half of them contradict the other half, and none of them tells you when their numbers were checked. Meanwhile the big decisions are waiting: which month, how many cities, whether the rail pass pays, what to book first.
At my desk, I met the people who got those decisions wrong. Usually on their second morning, tired, asking me what they'd done wrong. By then there was very little I could change. This book is what I'd have told them at their kitchen table, months before they flew.
- Spending the trip you saved for on trains and packingThe wrong season, too many cities, a pass you didn't need. Mistakes like these can't be fixed once you're there.
- Not keeping upThe walking, the stairs, the heat. Most guidebooks seem to assume you're twenty-five with a backpack.
- Being rude without knowing itShoes, baths, trains, temples. You want to know the few rules that matter, and why they exist.
The honest math
What one wrong decision costs.
Nobody adds up what the kitchen-table mistakes cost, because you only find out once you're there. So here are four of the common ones, with the numbers from the book.
Decided from screenshots
- A seven-day rail pass for Tokyo, Kyoto and back
- 50,000 yen for 26,640 yen of tickets. About $150 lost, and about $165 once the pass rises to 53,000 yen on 1 October 2026.
- Osaka, Kyoto and Nara as three separate stops
- Three hotel changes paid for nothing, at half a day each. A day and a half of your trip gone to packing.
- Missing the sale date for Shinkansen seats, sumo or the Ghibli Museum
- Fixed dates. No hotel and no amount of money can undo it.
- A hotel in a district that empties at seven
- Convenience-store dinners by the third night.
Decided with the book
- Tool 7, the break-even worksheet
- Ten minutes with a pencil. Buy tickets instead, keep the $150.
- One base, day trips out
- Osaka, Kyoto and Nara are all within forty-five minutes of each other. Unpack once.
- Tool 8, the booking countdown
- Every sale date, from ten months out to three days before.
- The eight o'clock test
- One question before you book. Dinner within five minutes' walk.
The rail pass mistake alone costs about five times the price of this book.
Pass price and fares from chapter 9 (pages 84 and 85), checked 22 September 2026, sources: the official Japan Rail Pass site and Japan Guide. The seven-day pass rises to 53,000 yen on 1 October 2026 (announced by JR), which makes this example worse. Routes from chapter 6, page 64. Dollar figure at about 160 yen to the dollar.
What the book is
Organized by the order the decisions arrive, not by city.
Almost every book about Japan is organized by place: Tokyo, then Kyoto, then Osaka, with the sights listed. That's the right shape for a book you carry around, and the wrong shape for the problem you have now, which is not "what's in Kyoto?" but "when should I go, for how long, what will it cost, and what do I book first?"
So this handbook follows your trip from the first question to the flight home. Read Parts One and Two before you book anything. After that, go straight to the chapter you need.
- Part 1DecidingWhether, when, how long, with whom
- Part 2PlanningRoute, bases, budget, rail pass
- Part 3BookingWhat to lock first, and what sells out
- Part 4PreparingEntry, money, phone, packing, medicines
- Part 5ArrivingFirst 24 hours, trains, luggage
- Part 6Being thereShoes, baths, eating, temples, shopping
- Part 7Problems and homeWhen something goes wrong, the last day
- Part 8Three days, assembledTokyo and Kyoto, hour by hour
- Part 9ContextParticular needs, history, the year
What you'll find inside
Answers, not topics.
Every chapter answers one question you'll actually have. A few of them, with the page they're on:
- Why Tokyo, Kyoto and back on a rail pass throws away about $150p. 85
- The trick nobody tells you: you don't have to activate the pass on day onep. 86
- The five routes that look fine on a map and don't workp. 64
- The only number that matters when you decide how long to go forp. 40
- The eight o'clock test, the hotel filter everyone forgetsp. 68
- What to book, how far ahead, in one listp. 96
- The things that sell out on a fixed date, and the calmer way to get Ghibli ticketsp. 113
- Forwarding your suitcase: the service most first-timers don't know existsp. 169
- Why you shouldn't rely on Kyoto buses in Novemberp. 175
- Tattoos and the bath: the rule that decides whether you're allowed in at allp. 207
- Tax-free shopping changes on 1 November 2026, and why you'll be out of pocket until the refundp. 238
- The packing mistake people make "every time"p. 140
And that's a fraction of it.
- 382pages
- 40chapters in nine parts
- 26worksheets, checklists and itineraries
- 9pocket cards to carry on the day
- 75+dated "Checked" notes on prices and figures
One idea from the book
Stop measuring Japan in miles.
Almost everything on a first trip sits on one railway line, running southwest from Tokyo through Kyoto and Osaka to Hiroshima. The book calls it the corridor. Once you see it, the classic first route stops looking unimaginative and starts looking obvious: on the line, a travel day costs you two hours instead of six.
Chapter 5 gives you the full time and fare matrix. Chapter 6 turns it into route shapes for 7, 10, 14 and 21 nights, and the five routes that don't work.
Mariko's verdictAnything under an hour is a day trip without a second thought. One to two hours is a day trip you should plan properly. Beyond two hours, move your suitcase and stay the night.
Look inside
Real pages from the book.
Tap any page to see it larger.
Full contents
Forty chapters and a toolkit.
Nine parts, in the order your decisions arrive, and 26 tools at the back.
Show the full contents
Part OneDeciding
- What Japan asks of you. The honest physical picture: walking, stairs, heat, density.
- When to go. Blossoms and foliage with the real dates, the periods to avoid, every month in turn.
- How long to go for. The only number that matters, and the arithmetic.
- Who you're going with. The pace mismatch, and five questions before you book.
Part TwoPlanning
- The map in your head. Japan measured in hours, and the full time and fare matrix.
- Choosing your cities. Three nights minimum, the route shapes, the five routes that don't work.
- Where to base yourself. Choose by station, and the eight o'clock test.
- What this trip costs. The four buckets, real lodging data, three worked trips.
- Rail pass or not. The worked scenarios, the Nozomi problem, the regional passes.
Part ThreeBooking
- The booking order. Lock what can't be changed, then the countdown.
- Flights and airports. Haneda or Narita, arrival hours, open jaw, jet lag.
- Where to sleep. What a Japanese room is really like, choosing a ryokan, accessibility.
- The things that sell out. Ghibli, sumo, Shinkansen seats, restaurants.
Part FourPreparing
- Documents and entry. Visit Japan Web, immigration, customs.
- Money before you go. Cards versus cash, which ATMs work.
- Your phone. eSIM, SIM or pocket wifi, and the apps that matter.
- Packing for Japan. Shoes first, and what to leave behind.
- Your body and your medicines. Import rules, the heat, pharmacies, doctors.
Part FiveArriving and moving
- Your first 24 hours. From the plane to the first convenience store.
- The trains. The IC card, reading a station, the Shinkansen.
- Your luggage. Why not to carry it, and how to send it ahead.
- Inside a city. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and the Kyoto bus problem.
Part SixBeing there
- The rules, and why. One question that answers everything.
- Shoes, floors and thresholds. The genkan and the toilet slippers.
- Trains and public space. Silence, queues, escalators, priority seats.
- Bathrooms and baths. The toilet panel, the bath step by step, tattoos.
- Eating. What every kind of restaurant is and costs, paying, dietary needs.
- Temples and shrines. Telling them apart, the two prayer sequences.
- Shopping and tax-free. The system that changes on 1 November 2026.
- Talking to people. Twenty phrases, and reading eight characters.
Part SevenProblems and home
- When something goes wrong. Lost passports, missed trains, illness, earthquakes.
- The last day. The airport sequence and the last-night checklist.
Part EightThree days, assembled
- A day in Tokyo. Three days written out hour by hour.
- A day in Kyoto. The morning that makes the trip.
- The other days. Osaka, Hiroshima and Miyajima, a ryokan night, Nara, Kanazawa.
- The day trips, properly. Eight of them, with an honest verdict on each.
Part NineContext and particular needs
- Traveling with particular needs. Mobility, diet, solo travel, grandchildren.
- A little history, so the places mean something.
- The Japanese year. What happens in every month.
- When you come back. Where to go on a second trip.
Back of the bookThe Reader Toolkit
Twenty-six tools, including:
- The Pace Audit and the Season Chooser
- The Budget Worksheet and the Rail Pass Break-Even Worksheet
- The Booking Countdown and the Master Pre-Departure Checklist
- Worked 10, 14 and 21-night itineraries
- Nine CARRY cards: first 24 hours, trains, etiquette, phrases, emergency, departure, city cheat sheets, phrases by situation, the menu decoder
- The Refresh Log: everything that expires, and where to check it
Plus a glossary and a full list of references.
Is it for you
Written for one kind of reader.
It's for you if
- This is your first trip to Japan and you'd rather be told the truth than be flattered.
- You're over fifty and every guidebook seems to assume you have unlimited knees.
- You have a folder of screenshots and no idea which of them is still true.
- You're planning it yourself and want to make the big decisions once, correctly.
It isn't for you if
- You want to be told which temple is the most beautiful, or given a top ten of things to eat. It isn't a sightseeing guide.
- You've been to Japan before. You'll know most of Parts Five and Six already.
- You're heading mainly to Hokkaido, Okinawa or Kyushu. The book stays inside the corridor where a first trip happens.
- You're moving to Japan to live, work or study.
New companion guide
Where you sleep decides how far you walk.
At the front desk, the question I heard most from travelers over 50 was never about temples. It was: how far do I walk with my suitcase? In Japan, the answer depends almost entirely on the hotel you pick. The wrong exit of the right station can mean ten minutes of stairs, twice a day, every day.
So I wrote a second book that does one thing. Mariko's Short-Walk Hotel Guide lists the hotels where you step off the train, ride an elevator, and you're at the front desk.
- 35 hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hakone and Hiroshima, from under $200 to once-in-a-lifetime
- Every one five minutes or less from a station exit with an elevator, checked against the railway companies' own maps
- Two real Western beds, an elevator to your floor and no steps at the door
- One page per hotel: big photos of the room, the exact exit, your route from the platform, the price and my honest note
- A comparison table for each city, and my five questions to ask before you book
- Instant PDF, 67 pages, with a code on every page to see today's price
$17PDF guide, 67 pages · Tax included
Same 14-day money-back guarantee
From my inbox
What readers write to me.
Real emails from readers. Last names hidden.
Get your copy
Before You Land in Japan
A Tokyo concierge's handbook for your first trip
- 382 pages, 40 chapters, every price dated and sourced
- 26 worksheets, checklists and itineraries, made to print
- 9 pocket cards for the day itself
- Instant PDF for your phone, tablet or computer
- 14-day money-back guarantee
Launch price · Save 25%
$29$39Tax included · One payment, no subscription
The price goes to $39 when the launch ends.
What's in the hotel guide? 35 hotels a few steps from an elevator exit, one page each.
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Rather have it printed? See the paperback editions on Amazon
Read it. If it isn't what you needed, write to us within 14 days of buying and you get every cent back. No questions, no forms.
Also in paperback
Rather hold a real book?
Many of you told me you like to read with a pencil in hand and turn down the corners. So the same book now comes in paperback too, printed and shipped to your door by Amazon. Same 382 pages, same 40 chapters, same worksheets.
Black and white paperback
The whole book in print, 7 by 10 inches. The lighter way to own it.
See it on Amazon
Color paperback
Every map and diagram printed in full color. The one to keep on the shelf.
See it on AmazonThe paperback doesn't include the PDF. If you'd like it on your phone or tablet as well, with the toolkit you can print at home, the ebook is here, sold only on this site, with the 14-day guarantee.
Who wrote it
Mariko Aono
For 37 years I worked at a large international hotel in central Tokyo. The front desk first, then the concierge desk, and for the last eighteen years, chief concierge. Most of that time I spent answering American travelers' questions, and I kept a notebook of every question and every mistake that reached my desk. By the day I retired, there were fourteen of them.
My daughter lives in Seattle now. She told me those notebooks were no use to anyone in a drawer. So I sat down and wrote all of it out properly, for the kitchen table where your trip is really decided.
By the time a guest stood at my desk in the lobby, the flights were booked, the route was fixed, the hotel was paid for. The large problems had been decided months earlier by someone sitting at a kitchen table in Ohio with eleven browser tabs open. This book is for that kitchen table.
Mariko
You'll also find me on YouTube, at Mariko Aono.
Questions
Before you buy.
What exactly do I get?
One PDF file, 382 pages, 7 by 10 inches. It includes the full book, the 26-tool Reader Toolkit, a glossary and the references. You download it right after payment, and the download link is also emailed to you.
Can I read it on my phone or tablet?
Yes. A PDF opens on any phone, tablet or computer. On an iPhone or iPad, open it in Books to keep it on your shelf. It reads most comfortably on a tablet or computer, and the text is set at a generous size.
Can I print it?
Yes. The toolkit's worksheets and cards are designed to print in black and white on ordinary paper. Print only the pages you need.
Is there a printed version?
Yes. The same book comes in paperback on Amazon, shipped to your door, in black and white or in full color. The paperback is sold by Amazon, so it doesn't include the PDF, and Amazon's own return policy applies to it.
What is the Short-Walk Hotel Guide?
A separate 67-page PDF, $17, sold only on this site. It lists 35 hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hakone and Hiroshima where the walk from a station exit with an elevator is five minutes or less, one page per hotel with photos, the route and the price. You can buy it with the book, add it on the checkout page, or buy it on its own. Same 14-day guarantee. See pages from it.
How current is the information?
Every price and figure carries the date it was checked and its source. The refresh log at the back lists everything that expires and where to check it, so you can confirm the few things that matter close to your departure date.
Is it a sightseeing guide?
No. It won't rank temples or list the top ten dishes. It handles the decisions and situations that decide whether the trip goes well: season, route, bases, budget, rail pass, booking order, arrival, trains, baths, eating, shopping and what to do when something goes wrong. Parts Eight and Nine include worked days in Tokyo and Kyoto and eight day trips.
How do I pay?
Checkout is handled by Stripe, a payment processor used by millions of businesses. You can pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, plus other methods Stripe offers in your country. We never see or store your card details.
Will the price go up?
Yes. $29 is the launch price. When the launch ends, the book goes to $39. If you buy now, you pay $29 once, and that's it.
Is tax included?
Yes. The price is in US dollars and includes any sales tax or VAT due where you live. Your receipt shows the breakdown.
What if it isn't for me?
Write to us within 14 days of buying, from the help page or by replying to your download email, and we refund you in full. No questions, no forms. Your download link stops working once the refund is made.
Is this a subscription? Will I be charged again?
No. One payment, once. No membership, no monthly fee, no trial that turns into a bill.
I'm not good with computers.
You don't need to be. After you pay, you press one button and the book opens. There's no account and no password. If anything doesn't work, write to us and we'll walk you through it.
I lost my download link.
Look for the email with the subject "Your copy of Before You Land in Japan". If you can't find it, use the help page with the email address you used at checkout.
Questions before you buy?
Ask us.
Not sure the book fits your trip? Write, and we'll answer by email, usually within a day.
Not ready yet?
Start with two tools, free.
The Rail Pass Break-Even Worksheet and the Booking Countdown, exactly as they appear in the book. Five pages, made to print.
Before you book anything
Make the big decisions once, in the right order.
Read Parts One and Two before you spend any money. They're short, and they hold the four or five decisions everything else depends on.
Launch price · Save 25%
$29$39PDF ebook, 382 pages
The price goes to $39 when the launch ends.
14-day money-back guarantee · One payment, no subscription
- Instant download
- Link also sent by email
- Tax included