10 Days in Japan

In Japan, the LGBTQ+ community has gained visibility, yet still faces challenges. While Tokyo hosts vibrant Pride events, societal attitudes can be conservative, hindering progress in areas like same-sex marriage recognition. The concept of "coming out" remains complex due to familial expectations. Despite these hurdles, advocacy groups and legal reforms are slowly fostering greater acceptance and understanding across Japanese society.

While progress has been slow in Japan, you shouldn't expect any outright hostility, violence, or any feelings of being unwelcome.

Tokyo and Osaka both have vibrant unique gay nightlife scenes, but you shouldn't expect to find any in the smaller areas that we'll visit.

Japanese cuisine is renowned for its delicate flavors, meticulous preparation, and aesthetic presentation. With a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients, traditional Japanese dishes like sushi, sashimi, tempura, and ramen have gained global popularity. The cuisine also encompasses a variety of regional specialties, such as Kyoto's kaiseki, Osaka's okonomiyaki, and Hokkaido's seafood delights. Japanese cooking techniques like grilling (yakitori), simmering (nimono), and pickling (tsukemono) contribute to its diverse culinary landscape.

The cuisine is unique for many visitors but, don't worry, if your tastebuds are not up for trying new things, there are plenty of international options available.

Our advice is simple. Pack your bag, then take half of those things out and leave them back home. It’s common to hear people wishing they’d packed less stuff, but we’ve never heard anyone complain that they didn’t bring enough. Even if you realize you forget to pack some crucial item you can always pick up a replacement once you arrive in Tokyo.  Just make sure to review the climate section above and remember that our trips are run in a casual style so you can leave your tuxedos at home. We'll include some trip-specific packing advice based on expected weather as part of our update email to you, sent 10 days prior to your trip.

Most major credit cards are accepted for purchases in larger stores and restaurants. However, be aware that shrines and other locations in rural areas might only take cash.  It can sometimes be challenging to use large-denomination bills at shops and restaurants, so we encourage you to request small denomination bills when getting cash prior to your trip.

If possible, it's always a good idea to travel internationally with a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.  The savings will add up over the course of your trip and may end up being worth the work of getting a new card prior to your trip.  Once you're overseas, if presented with the option to pay in the local currency or your home currency, we suggest always choosing the local currency to further avoid fees.

Contrary to many other places in the world, those who work in the service industry in Japan do not rely on tips for their livlihood and tipping is not expected or common in most circumstances, including restaurants.  The service culture in Japan is such that they always have high expectations of service and are not incentivized by the expectation of tips.  While still not expected, a couple of exceptions to this can be with local guides and at Ryokan accommodation where you may tip your nakai-san around 1,000 JPY.  If you choose to reward good service with a tip in Japan, it's customary to place the tip in an envelope (or a folded piece of paper, and present this with both hands to the recipient.

We have pretty high standards when it comes to choosing our accommodations, and trust us, we’ve done plenty of room-sniffing, pillow-patting, and bathroom inspections to make sure we stay at quality spots. To be approved as a Detours accommodations provider, a guesthouse must be in an amazing location, AND be gay-owned or gay-friendly. We won't be staying in 5-star Ritz-Carltons but we also won't subject you to anything we wouldn't want to stay in ourselves.  Around 4-ish star quality is what we stick to. Clean, comfortable, well-located spots that'll put a smile on your face, you can count on that!

All Detours trips are led by one of our own Detours trip leaders.  They're there with you every day and their job is to help ensure that this is your trip of a lifetime by taking the hassle out of your trip and enabling you to experience everything you came to Japan for.  Consider them like a friendly concierge that's traveling along with you.  All of our trip leaders are gay and all are well-traveled and experienced in the destination they're leading in, so they'll be a great part of your experience!  In addition to your Detours trip leader, you'll also be joined by local guides along the way, who will be there to give you an even more in-depth understanding of the place you're visiting.

Our Detours groups are run with a maximum of 16 travelers. Ages of group members vary but around 80% of our travelers are in their 40's and 50's. Whatever the age of the guys on our trips everyone's already got something in common, an exciting new experience in a new country! Each group is led by a Detours trip leader who is there to ensure everything goes off without a hitch, allowing you to focus on having the time of your life!

No problem! Don’t worry, around 60% of our travelers come solo and our trip will provide plenty of chances to meet great people both inside and outside of our group, including other solos. As far as your accommodations go, you’ve got two choices. We can either pair you up with another solo group member in a two-bed room for no extra charge, or you can have your own room for a reasonable surcharge.

Japan uses a "type A" and "type B" plug, the same as North America and several other places in the world. The voltage is 100V with 60 Hz frequency. These days, the majority of items that are plugged into an outlet are built to handle varying voltage and frequency levels, but just to be sure, we suggest checking your item for its accetable range.

To ensure you don't lose connection along the way, your cell phone provider likely has several roaming options available.  We suggest reaching out to them prior to the trip to find out which package is right for you as it will depend on how much you intend to use your phone while traveling.  Keep in mind that all accommodation and most restaurants have free WiFi available as well.