Japan Trips & Travel Tips

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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/DrJWilson on 2025-06-28 15:07:20+00:00.

I recently traveled to Japan for a little over 2 weeks, and had an absolute blast! We did the golden triangle (Tokyo > Kyoto > Osaka), with the addition of Hiroshima/Miyajima, and a quick return to Tokyo before leaving. I don't quite remember where I got the idea (probably this subreddit), but I know Japan often has a gift giving culture rather than tipping, and so I brought little pins shaped like Texas (my home state!) to give to people who helped us throughout our journey. Here's who they went to.

1. I believe the first pin was given to one of our first Taxi drivers, Masayoshi-san. I cautiously started off with a "Ogenki desu ka?" which received a "Are you talking to me?!", but the conversation evolved and we had a great time talking. He apparently had owned his own sushi restaurant for over 20 years until he unfortunately had to shut it down due to Covid. But he reassured us that he loved being a taxi driver, and it shone through with his joy and friendliness. Upon hearing I was a nurse, he asked me if I was rich, and then said Japanese people don't have enough money to go to Hakone. I cautiously set a pin on the little tray on his center console, and he accepted it graciously. I had been studying Japanese in preparation for this trip, and wasn't sure how much it would actually help. Masayoshi was a test of my skills, and it proved very useful!
2. Thanks to a friend, we had tickets to see a pair of JPop/JRock bands in Shimokitazawa, and both of them were stupendous. I wanted us to get there early so we could get "good spots," but the venue is so small that anywhere you stand you have a good view of the stage and performers. For the second group, the bassist was a woman with great style who absolutely rocked. We went to line up for merch and I didn't realize for these so-called "smaller" bands, the members themselves peddled their own wares. I told her it was my first show, that I loved it, and gave her a pin. She put it on then and there.
3. We had made our way to a random udon shop, I think the tendon place I had wanted to go to had too long of a line. No matter, I remember seeing the sign displaying silky bukkake udon to be incredibly appetizing, and was excited for what was to come. While we were talking, I heard the little boy to our left ask his mom and grandma "A-, eigo?" I mustered up some courage, turned to them, and said "if it's okay, would he like one of these?" After some "yokatta"s, and "ii ne!", I saw him staring at the pin, holding it with both hands, and then utter "kakkoii..."
4. In Hakone, we originally booked a sort of hotel set up with an attached hot spring facility, but I decided to pivot to a more traditional ryokan that was closer to the station. Yaeikan ended up being a nice, quaint experience—perfect to return to after a harrowing bus ride. It was small enough that they knew us by the name of the room we were staying in, and we were attended to by a sweet woman who served us breakfast/dinner and an (what seemed to me) incredibly elderly man who set out our futons at night. I tried not to give pins to people just doing their jobs, but in our brief conversations you could tell she loved what she did. She put my pin on right away.
5. I believe we were in Nara, and looking over my pictures I realize that we followed a similar path as two Chinese tourists. We eventually ended up at a temple at the top of a hill, which aren't exactly uncommon. What was uncommon was how they revealed their fortunes, you bought it as a blank page, and they had blocks of ice you placed it upon, which revealed your fortune. One of these tourists was kind enough to show us how it worked, and was rewarded with a pin (which she may have thrown away at the next opportunity, who knows).
6. Once in Nara, we had the opportunity to meet up with a pal's old college friend. We set off for Nara park, and had a blast watching tourists (and each other) get chased by deer. Her boyfriend seemed kind of interested, so I bought a pack of crackers, hid them under my shirt until I shoved them into his hands as a surprise, and ran away. The resulting swarming was worth the 200 yen. We spent a lot of time dragging them around, from squeezing through a tiny hole at Toudaiji (I made it!), to waiting some time to see a (middling) mochi pounding show. I gave them both pins.
7. I was rushing through the train station and upon rounding a corner we heard wailing. A little boy apparently didn't want to leave, or maybe they had never wanted to come. I quickly retrieved a pin and brought it over, hoping new shiny thing would calm them down. We heard a brief lull, accompianed by "isn't that great!", before the wailing started up again as we left earshot.
8. On our last day, I was walking back from breakfast and passed by an unassuming liquor store right around the corner from our apartment. I poked my head in—it was half liquor store half person's office. Bottles filled the shelves, but it wasn't particularly well lit, and at the far end was a desk covered in paperwork and receipts. The place was lived in. I tried to explain in broken Japanese that I was looking for umeshu, plum wine, to bring back to a friend in the states. He brought me to their selection and recommended one of them. I paid, it was 1750 yen (barely 12 USD), but regretted not carrying my bag with me to give him a pin. Our place was around the corner though, so I ran over, grabbed my bag, and came back to an empty store. I yelled out "sumimasen!", and a younger fellow replied "hai!" and came on down the stairs. I tried to explain that I wanted to show my appreciation, first by calling them "ano hito" (that person), which received a quizzical look ("dare?"), before settling on "oji-san" (being careful not to say "ojii-san") which received an "ah! My father." I presented the pin with both hands and insisted he take it. I was too busy shyly escaping to see his reaction.

I really appreciated bringing the pins, I think it encouraged me to go out of my way to interact with locals and try for connection. There were plenty of times where I lamented the fact like I didn't have my bag, like at the Agata festival where we all shook this curious toddler's hand while walking through the crowds. Try it out next time you go to Japan!