Every guide is free to read. The packs are not on sale until the register check is done.
howdoiorder.com

Every situation, in the order you'll hit them

Fourteen guides, each one a complete answer to a single moment: what happens, what they'll ask you, what to say back, and the one thing not to do. All free, no email required.

All fourteen

The situations

Ordering ramen from a ticket machineFoodPaying at a convenience storeShopsUsing any ticket vending machineFoodGetting a table at an izakayaFoodOrdering at a sushi counterFoodOrdering coffee, here or awayFoodPaying at a restaurantFoodDo you tip in Japan?HelpTaking a taxi in JapanTransportBuying a train ticketTransportEntering an onsenStaySaying you're vegetarianHelpTax-free shoppingShopsBuying medicine in JapanShops

By category

Grouped by where you are standing

Food

Counters, machines and the moment the bill arrives.

Shops

Convenience stores, drugstores and the tax-free desk.

Transport

Taxis, IC cards, gates and ticket machines.

Stay

Check-in, the onsen, and the rules nobody states.

Help

When it has gone wrong and you need a way out.

Every ritual on this page is dated, and the cards carry the month they were checked. Japan changes these details more often than guidebooks admit — machines get replaced, charges get added, rules get relaxed.

Packs

Take them with you

Free sampler
$0

Four cards, downloaded direct, no email.

  • Four cards — the ramen ticket machine, the convenience store, the taxi, and “I don't understand”
  • Full resolution, identical to the paid pack
  • No email address, no account, no card details
  • Straight download. There is no list to join and no sequence to unsubscribe from.
Download the four cards
Japan CoreMost bought
$9.99$19.00

All 22 situation cards, phone and print.

  • 22 situation cards at 1080 × 1620, for the camera roll
  • Print sheets, 4-up with cut marks, US Letter and A4
  • Works offline — they are images, not an app
  • Corrections and updates free for 12 months — and the first hundred buyers keep every future Japan card, with no time limit

Not on sale yet — the register check is the gate

Japan Complete
$14.99$29.00

Everything in Core, plus shopping, stay, the recovery set and the plan guide.

  • Everything in the Core pack
  • Shopping and services — 10 cards, including takkyubin luggage forwarding
  • Stay — 4 cards: hotel check-in, ryokan, capsule, luggage storage
  • The recovery set — 6 cards for when it has already gone wrong
  • The plan guide: your first three days in the order you'll hit them

Not on sale yet — the register check is the gate

Dated and versionedRefund within 30 days, no questionsNo app, no account