Japan Arrival Checklist: 7 Things to Do When You First Arrive

You’ve landed. Behind you is a 12-hour flight and a meal you still can’t quite identify. Ahead of you is a country you’ve been planning to visit for months — and a fairly narrow window in which to make a few decisions that could save you some time and stress down the track.

Japanese airports are well organized, and almost everything you need is in the arrivals hall. The trick is knowing what to do while you’re still standing in it.

Here’s our Japan arrival checklist — seven things to do when you arrive in Japan, in roughly the order you’ll do them. If you haven’t flown yet, our companion piece on what to prepare before you leave home will save you some of this.

1. Clear immigration and customs

Have your passport and your Visit Japan Web QR code ready before you join the queue, not when you reach the front of it. Screenshot the QR code — airport Wi-Fi has a habit of dying at the exact moment you need it.

Customs is the last gate before the arrivals hall. Electronic customs declaration gates run at seven international airports — New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu Centrair, Kansai, Fukuoka, and Naha. You complete the declaration at a terminal while you’re waiting for your bags, go to customs, then walk straight through the gate afterward when they give you the go-ahead.

Pro tip: Keep your passport somewhere sensible once you’re through — you’ll need it shortly if you’re doing things like rail pass exchanges and picking up prepaid tickets.

2. Check your Japan eSIM connection

Do this before you leave the arrivals hall. Everything else on this list is easier with working internet, and the arrivals hall will have free Wi-Fi and somewhere to sit while you sort it out.

If you set up an eSIM before flying — and you really should — this bit is usually anticlimactic. Saily eSIMs activate automatically: the plan starts when your phone first connects to a local network in Japan, not when you bought it.

Turn off airplane mode somewhere around the baggage carousel and it sorts itself out while you’re waiting for your suitcase.

If nothing happens

It’s almost always one of four things, in this order:

• Data roaming is switched off for the travel eSIM — this is usually the issue
• Airplane mode is still on, or Wi-Fi is clinging to an airport network
• The eSIM isn’t set as your data line, so the phone is still trying your home carrier
• Nothing is wrong, and your phone just needs a restart

If you’re still stuck, Saily has 24/7 chat support in the app, which you can reach on the airport Wi-Fi. Failing all that, there are SIM vending machines and rental counters in the arrivals halls at both Tokyo airports — more expensive, but you won’t be stranded.

What you’ll use it for in the first hour

More than you’d think. For example: checking which train you actually want and whether you’ve already missed it; messaging your accommodation to say you’ve landed; pointing a translation app at a station sign or a ticket machine. And, of course, loading the map that tells you which of Shinjuku Station’s many exits is the right one — luck alone won’t get you to surface level.

On coverage, Saily runs on partnerships with major local operators including KDDI and SoftBank, so you get 4G and 5G in the places you’d expect and reliable service beyond the big cities.

3. Get some cash out

Japan takes cards far more often than its reputation suggests, but you still want a few thousand yen in your pocket on day one. Small restaurants, some coin lockers, older bus routes, and the occasional ticket machine all want paper.

The arrivals halls at both Narita and Haneda have ATMs and exchange counters. If you’re choosing, an ATM withdrawal on a card with no foreign transaction fee usually beats an airport exchange desk.

Out in the city, the reliable machines for foreign cards are the Seven Bank ATMs inside 7-Eleven stores and the ones at Japan Post branches — both are everywhere and both have English options.

4. Sort an IC card

An IC card will save you a bunch of time in front of the ticket machine. It also pays for convenience stores, vending machines, and a surprising number of lunches.

On iPhone, you can add a Suica in Apple Wallet or use the Welcome Suica Mobile app, JR East’s tourist version. Most international Android phones lack the chip these cards need, so you’ll want a physical one instead: a Welcome Suica or a Tourist Pasmo, both sold at the airport stations.

Load it with ¥3,000–¥5,000 to start. You can top up at any station machine, and topping up is one of the few things every machine does in English. Our Suica card guide has the details.

5. Buy your ticket into the city

From Narita, the Narita Express runs direct to Tokyo Station and continues to Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Yokohama.

The Keisei Skyliner is the faster option if you’re headed for Ueno or Nippori. Buses are slower but drop you closer to some hotels, and they take your suitcase off your hands.

From Haneda, the Tokyo Monorail and the Keikyū line both get you into the city quickly and cheaply, and there are buses to the major hubs.

If you bought a Japan Rail Pass exchange order before flying, the airport JR office is where you swap it for the actual pass, and it’s far less hectic than doing it at Tokyo Station.

Our guides to getting to and from Narita and Haneda run through the rest.

6. Send your bags ahead

If you’re moving on from your arrival city — or you’ve landed at 10 a.m. and can’t check in until 3 p.m. — send the suitcase rather than dragging it around Tokyo.

There are luggage-forwarding counters in the arrivals halls of the major airports, and they’ll send bags to hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and most places in between, usually arriving the next day. It’s cheap, it’s reliable, and it might just save you future chiropractor bills.

Another option is taking your luggage into the city and leaving it at a storage locker until you’re ready to check in. Most major train stations have lockers, though the big ones fill up fast at popular locations. Our guides to luggage delivery and luggage storage in Tokyo cover both.

Important: If you’re taking the Shinkansen with a big suitcase, bags over 160 cm in combined dimensions need a reserved seat with oversized baggage space on the Tōkaidō, Sanyō, Kyūshū, and Nishi-Kyūshū lines. Forwarding the bag sidesteps that entirely.

If you’ve got luggage smaller than 160 cm, certain Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Sanyō Shinkansen trains offer an oversized baggage compartment without a reservation. This has been offered on a trial basis since July 2025, but it’s not certain how long it’ll be around.

7. Grab a snack for the trip

Now that the hard stuff is out of the way, it’s time to grab a snack and a drink for your trip into the city. It’ll likely be an hour or two from Narita or up to an hour from Haneda, and it’s a good excuse to test out your IC card.

There’s a handful of convenience stores at both Narita and Haneda selling things like onigiri rice balls, sandwiches, tea, coffee, and chocolates, and it shoouldn’t take you much time to grab something before it’s time to head off.

At Narita, the shops sit on the same level as the trains. Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 both have their station ticket gates on basement level one, and that’s where the convenience stores are. Terminal 3 has no station of its own — you walk or take the shuttle over to Terminal 2 for the trains — so grab something before you set off.

At Haneda, nearly all international flights land at Terminal 3, where you barely have to leave the arrivals floor. Toko Plus SKY MARKET is on the second floor, and it stocks drinks, food, souvenirs, and most of the travel bits you forgot to pack. If you land in one of its short overnight breaks, Air Lawson on the first floor is open 24 hours.

Pro tip: Eating on board is normal on the reserved airport express trains — the Narita Express and the Skyliner — and airport buses. On ordinary commuter trains, you might receive a scary sideways glance for eating, but drinking from a capped bottle is fine.

FAQs

Fabulously answered queries.

Do I need Visit Japan Web to enter Japan?

It isn’t compulsory, but it makes both gates faster. Registering before you fly gives you a QR code covering the disembarkation card and the customs declaration, and it’s what lets you use the electronic customs gates. Fingerprints and a photo are taken at immigration for everyone aged 16 and over either way.

Screenshot the code before you land — the front of the immigration queue is not where you want to find out the airport Wi-Fi has dropped.

Can I buy a Suica or Pasmo at the airport?

Yes. A physical Welcome Suica is sold at the JR East Travel Service Centers and at dedicated Welcome Suica vending machines in Narita Airport’s Terminal 1 and Terminal 2/3 stations, and at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 Station. There’s no deposit to pay.

iPhone users can skip the counter altogether with a Suica in Apple Wallet or the Welcome Suica Mobile app, which needs an Apple Pay device and a user aged 13 or over.

Important: The tourist cards expire, and the two Welcome Suica versions don’t expire together. The physical card and the Tourist Pasmo are both valid for 28 days from the day you buy them, while the app version runs for 180 days. None of the three refunds a leftover balance, so keep your top-ups small once you’re near the end of the trip.

Should I sort a SIM before I fly, or buy one at the airport?

It definitely takes a lot of the hassle out of the arrival experience. A Saily eSIM will activate as soon as it connects to a local network, and you can use it straight away for things like checking train times, finding your accom and messaging back home.

If you didn’t get to it, you can buy and install one on the free airport Wi-Fi in a few minutes, and there are SIM vending machines and rental counters in the arrivals halls at both Tokyo airports.

How much cash should I have when I land?

A few thousand yen is plenty for day one. Japan takes cards more often these days, but small restaurants, coin lockers, and older bus routes still want paper.

Use an airport ATM on a card with no foreign transaction fee rather than an exchange counter. Out in the city, the machines that reliably take foreign cards are the Seven Bank ATMs inside 7-Eleven stores and the ones at Japan Post branches, and both switch to English.

While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change. This post is sponsored by Saily. As always, opinions and recommendations are our own.