For many people, travelling alone can be daunting, and this can be even truer if you are a solo female traveler. There can be understandable safety concerns if you choose to go it alone, as well as worries about loneliness, inability to communicate, and culture shock.
Fortunately, Japan is one of the best countries in the world for solo female travel, and many female travelers rave about how easy, convenient, and comfortable it is to visit Japan alone. So with that in mind, if you want to travel alone, consider making Japan the next stop on your itinerary.
Here are some of the top reasons why Japan is great for solo female travel...
1. It’s very safe:
Japan is known for being one of the safest countries in the world and violent crime is rare. Attacks against foreigners are infrequent and even petty crime such as bad snatching or theft is uncommon, even in tourist areas. This does not mean that you should not still be vigilant when you are visit, but it does mean that you can travel with far greater peace of mind than in many other countries.
2. It is common for women to be alone:
In some countries in the world, women often travel in groups or with a companion in order to feel safer or for cultural or religious reasons. This is not at all the case in Japan however, and there is a strong culture of women traveling alone as well as going about their daily lives by themselves. This means, for example, that women often walk alone at night without facing harassment, or eat in restaurants by themselves without being bothered. This makes it a great place for solo female travelers, and many women who visit Japan report feeling extremely comfortable being alone in public.
3. Japan has a very polite culture:
Japan is a country that places a huge importance on etiquette and polite behavior in public. This means that you are unlikely to experience people being openly impolite to you, such as catcalling or whistling that can occur in other countries. If you do experience any of this kind of behavior, loudly asking the person to stop is likely to be all you need to do to end the problem.
4. There are special sections on overnight buses for women:
Female solo travelers can often find that the most stressful situations when travelling occur on public transport. Thankfully in Japan this is less of an issue as public transport has a number of systems in place to protect women. Just one of these is separate areas for men and women on sleeper buses, so if you are travelling overnight on a bus, then you can book a ticket for a segregated area. This will be all-female and will have a curtain to separate it from the rest of the bus, so you can sleep soundly knowing that you won’t be disturbed.
5. Accommodation is often segregated:
Depending on where you stay, you will often find that many places in Japan have female only accommodation. Capsule hotels and hostels will often have a female only floor, which means that you can only access this floor if you have a key card, and only women are allowed to sleep there. This means that you can rest and relax safe in the knowledge that you won’t have to deal with any unwanted male visitors.
6. The trains are usually quiet:
Talking loudly and even speaking on the phone is discouraged or prohibited on many trains in Japan, which makes them a great place for solo female travelers. If you are worried that you will feel uncomfortable alone, then a long train journey will put you at ease as there is no pressure to talk to anyone and you will also likely not be bothered and peppered with unwanted questions or issues.
7. It’s easy to make friends:
If you are worried about being lonely in Japan then you needn’t worry. Japan has a huge number of group activities, such as hobby groups and meet-ups for like-minded people, many of which you can find online. With that in mind, you will usually be able to find places where you can make friends with people who have similar interests to you. There is also a growing couchsurfing community in Japan if you want to stay with locals and learn more about daily life in Japan.
8. Japanese people are very friendly:
Many solo travelers, both male and female, report that one of the best parts of their trip was meeting Japanese people. Many people also report that locals will go out of their way to help foreigners, from teaching them some simple Japanese, to assisting them in working out how to buy a train ticket. There exists a very strong culture of helping others in Japan, and you can expect people to be courteous and friendly during a trip here.
9. There are women-only carriages on trains:
Some travelers may have heard horror stories of groping and sexual harassment on Japanese trains, although now you can find a huge number of women only carriages available. These carriages have signs to mark them out and men are not allowed to enter, even at peak times or during rush hour. This means that you can travel in peace knowing that you will not be harassed.
10. Japan has a strong late night culture:
This is especially true of big cities like Tokyo, as people in Japan tend to work very long hours and then go out after they leave the office. The fact that many cafes, bars, restaurants, and clubs stay open late means that you are unlikely to find yourself alone in the middle of the city with no one around. Instead, you don’t have to return to your hotel or hostel as soon as darkness falls, as you can still go out and be confident that there will be lots of people around to make you feel safe or to help you if you need it.
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