Two Uses for your Passport in Japan

This is not going to be a blog about how to get a passport. That is for another day. This blog post is about the two uses for your passport when you are in Japan as a visitor or tourist. Your passport has more functions than you know about. The main use of a passport is to get you into Japan when traveling, but did you know it still has purpose once in Japan? Let's talk about it some more.

Your Passport is your Identification

Your passport resembles your ID Card or Driver's License. It tells people who you are and where you're from, with a not so flattering picture of yourself. Not sure about your parents, but mine used to tell me to keep my passport locked up in a safe once at my destination. You would think this is true since a passport is such an important document, but in reality that is not a great idea (maybe for going on a cruise but not for traveling abroad). Keep your passport on you at all times! It is your identification.

The police in Japan have many tasks to accomplish while on duty. From checking bike ownership to helping people who lost their wallet, the Japanese police are not your ordinary police. One of the duties the Japanese police perform is checking foreigners' identification to see if they are there legally. There are still not that many foreigners who live in Japan, but it's more than in the past. As this is so, it seems that police have been found stopping foreigners in the street to check their identification, visas and residency cards (whichever applies to that person). Let me express that it is not common for police to stop foreigners, as it has never happened to me or anyone I personally know. But the internet says otherwise. So, it is a good idea to keep your passport on you at all times because if by some chance you do get stopped they can see you are visiting as a tourist. There, no harm done.

Showing your Passport can give you Discounts

Now before you start flashing your passport at every tourist attraction in Japan thinking you can get a discount, let me start by telling you it's only for some things. Many of the places that give discounts to tourists are places that not many tourist visit. So if your Japan travel plans only revolve around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, then this does not apply to you as these parts of Japan do not need help in attracting tourists. You would have to travel outside the tourist comfort-zone into the practically untouched parts of Japan.

An example is the city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture. Matsue is not a popular tourist destination due to its position all the way to the west coast of Japan. The fact that it is the capital city of Shimane prefecture or that it has one of the few original castles in Japan still standing today, doesn't help bring in tourists. Another thing that makes Matsue difficult for tourists to go visit is that it doesn't connect with any shinkansen. The closest you can get to Matsue with a shinkansen is to the city of Okayama, to then transfer to a Japan Railways Limited Express train that will last for about 2 hours and 35 minutes before reaching Matsue Station. Oh, and that limited express train only comes around for every two hours. Even my Japanese friends who live in other prefectures have not visited Matsue before. 

Waiting for a train on the platform.

The reward for going out to these places is a discount for the attractions. In Matsue, you can get 50% off admission to the Adachi Museum of Art, Yushien Garden and Matsue Castle. I don't think these discounts are to attract tourists as much as it is to thank them for coming to visit their city. It's a nice gesture.

So remember to always have your passport on you. I usually keep it in my backpack, in one of the tiny compartments, along with my Japan Rail Pass and coin purse. Happy travels!


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