Category — Japan

Packing only the absolute necessities for a trip is quickly becoming more and more popular.  With the packed subways and small accommodations Japan makes a great place to give this a shot.

For those of you who have heard of the “pushers” that work in Japanese subway systems – they do actually exist.  At rush hour there will be uniformed workers with white gloves in the subway stations whose job it is to gently force you and the rest of the passengers as far into the subway car as possible to allow the most people onto the train.  A five piece set of luggage doesn’t stand much chance of survival in this situation.

In addition, in large cities like Tokyo there are hotels called pod hotels.  A picture is worth a thousand words in a description of these rooms, but they are basically just a small pod that only fits a bed and a television.  Just to clarify, they can only physically fit a small twin bed and a television (which is usually mounted at the top of the room).  If you sit up you will probably hit your head on the ceiling and if you roll over in either direction you will be against the wall – they are that small.  Clearly these are not the optimal situation to have unnecessary belongings.

Obviously all of Japan is not this crowded, but it is a perfect opportunity to try minimalist packing because there is little doubt that reducing the number of things you bring will have a positive impact on your experience.  So grab a mini backpack and only the absolute bare essentials before you hop on a plane to Japan.  The worst case scenario is that you’ll have to pick some things up when you get there and the best case is that you’ll realize how few things you need to experience Japan.