Japan on your own, and why it is easier than it looks

Plenty of people who would happily travel alone in Europe hesitate at Japan. It is a long way away, the writing is impenetrable at first sight, and there is a widespread impression that the country runs on rules that a foreigner will inevitably break. Those who go usually find the opposite of what they feared. Japan is safe, orderly, clean and efficient, and a great deal of daily life there is already arranged for people on their own. As a first long-haul trip alone, it is hard to beat.

Safe, and built for one

Japan has one of the lowest rates of crime in the world. People leave bags on café tables to reserve a seat, lost wallets are routinely handed in, and walking alone at night in the cities is generally unremarkable. For solo travellers, and particularly for women travelling alone, that makes a large difference to how relaxed a trip feels.

Eating alone is entirely normal. Many restaurants have counter seating, and some ramen chains are designed with individual booths separated by partitions, so that you can concentrate on your noodles in solitude. Conveyor-belt sushi bars, noodle stalls, set-meal restaurants and izakaya counters are all comfortable for one. The convenience stores, open around the clock on almost every corner, sell good rice balls, sandwiches, salads and hot food. They are a genuine part of Japanese food culture, not a last resort. Hotels, too, are built with solo guests in mind: the business hotels found near every station have small, efficient single rooms.

Getting around

Japan's public transport is famously punctual and well signposted in English, and in the cities, station announcements and signs are routinely bilingual. A rechargeable card works on trains, underground lines and buses across the main cities, and in convenience stores too. The bullet trains link the main cities quickly and comfortably, and finding your way on them is easier than on many European railways. The big stations, such as Tokyo or Shinjuku, are mazes, but they are well signed, and staff are used to helping lost visitors.

Outside the tourist trade, English is less widely spoken than many expect, but people are generally patient and helpful, and a translation app on your phone covers most situations. Learning a few words, such as sumimasen, "excuse me", and arigatō gozaimasu, "thank you very much", goes a long way.

Money is the one area where Japan can still catch visitors out. Cards are now widely accepted in cities, hotels and larger shops, but small restaurants, temples, shrines and rural businesses often take cash only. It is worth carrying some yen. Cash machines in convenience stores and post offices generally accept foreign cards.

A few points of etiquette

The rules are fewer than legend suggests, and visitors are forgiven most mistakes. A few are worth knowing. Talking loudly on trains, and taking phone calls on them, is frowned upon. Shoes come off at the entrance to homes, inns, some temples and some restaurants, wherever there is a raised floor or tatami. There is no tipping, and offering a tip can cause confusion. Public rubbish bins are scarce, so people carry their rubbish home with them. In hot spring baths, you wash thoroughly before getting in, and many baths do not admit people with tattoos.

Alone, but in company

For those who would like the freedom of travelling alone with the company of a group for some of it, G Adventures' Solo-ish Japan, ten nights, is aimed at solo travellers. Its route takes in Tokyo, with Asakusa and Shibuya, then Nagano and Matsumoto. It also visits Fukui and the old knife-making town of Takefu, then Kyoto with the old geisha district of Gion, and Hiroshima and Miyajima. It runs at several times of year, including the cherry blossom season in April.

Just You's Japan Revealed, eleven nights for solo travellers, follows a more classic route: Tokyo and the hot spring town of Atami, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, then Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima and Miyajima Island.

Japan is one of those places where travelling alone is not a compromise. With a bowl of ramen at a counter, a seat by the window on the bullet train and a quiet temple garden in the early morning, being on your own can feel like the natural way to see it.