Independent · Practical
Japanese Toolkit
Practical knowledge for getting around Japan and getting things done — the transport, tickets and everyday systems explained one subject at a time, for visitors now and for people living and studying here as the site grows.
Explore by area
Everything on the site belongs to an area. Pick one to browse its categories and what is inside.
Visitors
Clear, practical guides for visiting Japan: how transport payment works, what to buy before you arrive, and the details that are easy to get wrong on a first trip.
- Transportation
Language
Free browser-based tools for Japanese text: convert romaji to hiragana and work with kana without installing anything or sending your text to a server.
- Converters
- Text
- Calendar
Start exploring
Every subject has a page of its own, written to answer it properly rather than to fill an itinerary.
Trains
How Japan's railways work: JR and private operators, local versus express services, reserved seats, and reading a network that spans dozens of companies.
ExploreFlights
When flying beats the bullet train in Japan, the main domestic airlines and airports, baggage rules, and how to get from the airport into the city.
ExploreBuses
How Japanese buses work: paying on city routes, overnight highway buses between cities, and reaching the rural places trains do not go.
ExploreDriving
What visitors need to drive in Japan: the international permit requirement, renting a car, expressway tolls, parking, and where driving genuinely beats the train.
ExploreTaxis
Using taxis in Japan: what they cost, how to hail or book one, paying by card or IC card, and the conventions that surprise first-time visitors.
ExploreFerries
Travelling Japan by sea: island ferries, long-distance overnight routes, cabin classes, and how boats reach places the rail network cannot.
ExploreBicycles
Getting around Japan by bicycle: renting and share schemes, the parking rules that catch visitors out, and the long-distance routes worth planning a trip around.
ExploreTickets & Passes
What to buy before you travel in Japan: transit IC cards, regional and nationwide rail passes, and working out which of them is worth the money.
ExploreConverters
Convert between romaji, hiragana and katakana in your browser. Free, instant, and nothing you type leaves your device.
ExploreText
Analyse Japanese text in your browser: count characters by script, and see how much of a passage is kanji, kana or Latin.
ExploreCalendar
Convert between Japanese imperial era years (和暦) and Western years, including the years that span two eras.
ExploreIC Cards
How Suica, PASMO, ICOCA and the rest work — where they are accepted, and where they are not.
Read guideRomaji to Hiragana
Type Japanese in the Latin alphabet and get hiragana back instantly, in your browser.
Read guideHiragana to Katakana
Turn hiragana into katakana instantly, in your browser.
Read guideKatakana to Hiragana
Turn katakana into hiragana instantly, in your browser.
Read guideFull-width & Half-width
Fix text a Japanese form rejects: convert between full-width and half-width characters.
Read guideCharacter Counter
Count Japanese text by script — hiragana, katakana, kanji, Latin and digits.
Read guideEra Converter
Convert between Japanese imperial era years (和暦) and Western years, both directions.
Read guide