As we are gearing up for the trip, I wanted to share a few things I learned from prior trips which I feel can help make your trip better. By no means is this an exhaustive list and others may also contribute.

1) get an IC card! These come in various types and brands nationwide, and in the Tokyo area are usually under the Suica brand. IC cards are accepted by almost every local public transit agency, private or government and are essential to speeding your public transit. They operate essentially as a debit card (suggest preloading with at least a 10k yen) and are also accepted by many convenience stores as a payment option. If you fly into Haneda or Narita, there should be an office where you can purchase a 28 day IC card (expires at the end of validity with no refunds of any leftover). Permanent cards are hard to get, the reason being that there is apparently a shortage of the chips. Another option to getting a physical card is to use the app which is technically available to all smartphones but for Americans is really only available to iPhone users, as the Android app apparently requires a Japanese phone (if anyone can inform me more on this, I would appreciate)

2) have a data plan of some sort. Japan is very hard to navigate for even locals and having access to Google maps is key to finding out where and how to go. Lots of ways of going about this, from buying a SIM card when you arrive to bringing a wifi hotspot. I personally buy a roaming international plan from my phone carrier.

3) be sensitive to the local cultures. Japanese tend to be quiet in many settings where Americans feel free to talk, like riding transit. There are also local customs like how to stand while riding the escalator which are confusingly often city specific. I recommend being observant, looking to see what locals are doing, and follow their lead. You will have less problems this way!