Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bemused visitors - Japanese and foreigners - find
addresses. This benevolent image is misleading,
however, as the Japanese police are notorious for
forcing confessions and holding suspects for weeks
without access to a lawyer. Amnesty International
have consistently criticized Japan for its treatment
of illegal immigrants and other foreigners held
in jail.
In theory, you should carry your
passport
or ID at
all times; the police have the right to arrest anyone
who fails to do so. In practice, however, they rarely
stop foreigners. If you're found without your ID,
the usual procedure is to escort you back to your
hotel or apartment to collect it. Anyone found with
drugs
will be treated less leniently; if you're lucky,
you'll simply be fined and deported, rather than
sent to prison.
The generally low status of women in Japan is
reflected in the amount of
groping
that goes on
in crowded commuter trains - there are even
pornographic films and comics aimed at gropers.
If you do have the misfortune to be groped, the
best solution is to grab the offending hand, yank
it high in the air and embarrass the guy as much as
possible. Fortunately, more violent
sexual attacks
are rare, though harassment, stalking and rape are
seriously under-reported. Women should exercise
the same caution about being alone with a man
as they would anywhere. Violent crimes against
women are rare, but they do occur. Tokyo Metro-
politan Police run an
English-language hotline
on
T
03 3501 0110 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.15pm). Another
useful option is
Tokyo English Language Lifeline
(TELL;
T
03 5774 0992,
W
www.telljp.com; daily
9am-11pm).
GRUTT PASS
One of the best deals on offer in Tokyo
is the
Grutt Pass
. For ¥2000 you get a
ticket booklet which allows free or
discounted entry to seventy attractions,
including all major museums. Valid for
two months after first being used, the
ticket can be bought at participating
venues and the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government tourist information centre
in Shinjuku (see p.120), among other
outlets; for more details see
W
www
.museum.or.jp/grutto.
business hotel, you'll be reaching an expenditure of
at least ¥15,000 per day.
Holders of the
International Student Identity
Card
(ISIC;
W
isic.org) are eligible for discounts on
some transport and admission fees, as are children.
If you're planning to stay in a hostel run by Japan
Youth Hostels (
W
jyh.or.jp), it's worth buying a
Hostelling International card
(
W
hihostels.com)
in your home country, which gives you a ¥600
reduction on rates; note, however, that the best
hostels in Tokyo are all privately run.
Crime and personal safety
Tokyo boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the
world. On the whole, the Japanese are honest and
law-abiding, there's little theft, and drug-related
crimes are relatively rare. Nonetheless, it always
pays to be careful in crowds and to keep money
and important documents stowed in an inside
pocket or money belt, or in your hotel safe.
The presence of
police boxes
(
kōban
) in every
neighbourhood helps discourage petty crime, and
the local police seem to spend the majority of
their time dealing with stolen bikes and helping
Earthquakes
Japan
is home to one-tenth of the world's active
volcanoes; it's also the site of one-tenth of its
major earthquakes (over magnitude 7 on the Richter
scale). At least one quake is recorded every day
somewhere in the country, though fortunately the
vast majority consist of
minor tremors
that you
probably won't even notice. One that the whole
world noticed occurred off the country's east coast
in March 2011 (see p.251). The fifth most-powerful
CONSUMPTION TAX
A
consumption tax
(
shōhizei
) is levied on
virtually all goods and services in Japan,
including restaurant meals and
accommodation. This is supposed to be
included in the advertised price, though
you'll occasionally come across hotels
that haven't quite got round to it yet;
double-check to be on the safe side.
Note that at the time of writing, the rate
was 8 percent.
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Police
T
110
Fire or ambulance
T
119
