Fast Facts: A-M

American Express -- There are no American Express customer-service offices in Japan.

Business Hours -- Government offices and private companies are generally open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. Banks are open Monday through Friday 9am to 3pm (but usually will not exchange money until 10:30 or 11am, after that day's currency exchange rates come in). Neighborhood post offices are open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. Major post offices, however (usually located near major train stations), have longer hours and may be open weekends as well (Some central post offices, such as those in Tokyo and Osaka, are open 24 hr. for mail.)

Department stores are open from about 10 or 11am to 8pm; they sometimes close irregularly (but always the same day of the week). Smaller stores are generally open from 10am to 8pm, closed 1 day a week. Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven are open 24 hours.

Keep in mind that museums, gardens, and attractions stop selling admission tickets at least 30 minutes before the actual closing time. Similarly, restaurants take their last orders at least 30 minutes before the posted closing time (even earlier for kaiseki restaurants).

Drugstores -- Drugstores, called kusuri-ya, are found readily in Japan. Note, however, that you cannot have a foreign prescription filled in Japan without first consulting a doctor in Japan, so it's best to bring an adequate supply of important medicines with you. No drugstores in Japan stay open 24 hours. However, convenience stores, open day and night throughout Japan, carry such nonprescription items as aspirin.

Earthquakes -- Kobe's tragic 1995 earthquake brought attention to the fact that Japan is earthquake-prone, but in reality, most earthquakes are too small to detect. However, in case of an earthquake you can feel, there are a few precautions you should take. If you're indoors, take cover under a doorway or against a wall and do not go outdoors. If you're outdoors, stay away from trees, power lines, and the sides of buildings; if you're surrounded by tall buildings, seek cover in a doorway. Never use elevators during a quake. Other precautions include noting emergency exits wherever you stay; all hotels supply flashlights, usually found attached to your bedside table.

Electricity -- The electricity throughout Japan is 100 volts AC, but there are two different cycles in use: In Tokyo and in regions northeast of the capital, it's 50 cycles, while in Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and all points to the southwest, it's 60 cycles. Leading hotels in Tokyo often have two outlets, one for 110 volts and one for 220 volts; almost all have hair dryers in the rooms. You can use many American appliances in Japan because the American standard is 110 volts and 60 cycles, but they may run a little slowly. Note, too, that the flat, two-legged prongs used in Japan are the same size and fit as in North America, but three-pronged appliances are not accepted.

Embassies & Consulates -- Most embassies are located in Tokyo. There are, however, U.S., British, and Australian consulates in Osaka. For the location of other consulates, inquire at the respective embassies.

Emergencies -- The national emergency numbers are tel. 110 for police and tel. 119 for ambulance and fire. You do not need to insert money into public telephones to call these numbers. However, if using a green public telephone, you must push a red button before dialing. If calling from a gray public telephone or one that accepts only prepaid cards, simply lift the receiver and dial. Be sure to speak slowly and precisely.

Internet Access -- Most upper-range hotels in major cities offer in-room high-speed dataports for laptop modems and adapters (few offer wireless connections); some even have TVs that double as computers. Although some hotels provide Internet access free of charge, the majority charge anywhere from ¥500 to ¥1,500 ($4.75-$14) a day. Many hotels offer business centers as well (though hefty fees are charged for Internet use), but more and more business hotels have lobby computers you can use for free or a small fee. Otherwise, most major cities in Japan have Internet cafes where you can check e-mail either by paying a fee or by purchasing a drink or a meal. Check individual city and regional chapters for information on Internet cafes and hotels with Internet access. Finally, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) operates public telephones equipped with a modular jack for portable computer hookups, making it possible to scan websites and receive e-mail. Look for gray ISDN telephones -- readily available in lobbies of major hotels, airports, and train stations -- which have English-language explanations on how to use them and which accept prepaid telephone cards.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning -- All upper- and most medium-range hotels offer laundry and dry-cleaning services (but it's expensive, with a laundered shirt costing about ¥400/$3.80). For same-day service, it's usually necessary to turn in your laundry by 10am; many hotels do not offer laundry service on Sundays and holidays. Budget accommodations sometimes have coin-operated washers and dryers. Otherwise, launderettes are abundant, and many hotel guest rooms have a pull-out laundry line over the tub for hand washables.

Liquor Laws -- The legal drinking age is 20. Note: If you intend to drive in Japan, you are not allowed even one drink.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen, and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. Visa's U.S. emergency number is tel. 800/847-2911 or 410/581-9994; in Japan it's 00531-11-155. For lost American Express cards or traveler's checks, call tel. 800/221-7282 in the U.S. or 0120/020-120 in Japan. MasterCard holders should call tel. 800/307-7309 or 636/722-7111 in the U.S., or 00531/11-3886 in Japan.

Luggage & Lockers -- Because storage space on Shinkansen bullet trains is limited, travel with the smallest bag you can get away with. Coin-operated lockers are located at all major train stations as well as at most subway stations, but most lockers are generally not large enough to store huge pieces of luggage (and those that are large enough are often taken). Lockers generally cost ¥300 to ¥800 ($2.85-$7.60) depending on the size. Some major stations also have check-in rooms for luggage, though these tend to be rare. If your bag becomes too much to handle, you can have it sent ahead via takkyubin, a wonderful and efficient luggage/parcel forwarding service available at upper-range hotels and all convenience stores in Japan. At Narita and Kansai international airports, delivery service counters will send luggage to your hotel the next day (or vice versa) for about ¥1,700 ($16) for bags up to 20 kilograms (44 lb.).

Mail -- If your hotel cannot mail letters for you, ask the concierge where the nearest post office is. Post offices are easily recognizable by the red logo of a capital T with a horizontal line over it. Mailboxes are bright orange-red. It costs ¥110 ($1.05) to airmail letters weighing up to 25 grams and ¥70 (65¢) to mail postcards to North America and Europe. Domestic mail costs ¥80 (75¢) for letters weighing up to 25 grams and ¥50 (50¢) for postcards. Post offices throughout Japan are also convenient for their ATMs, which accept international bank cards operating on the PLUS and Cirrus systems, as well as MasterCard and Visa.

Although all post offices are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm, international post offices (often located close to the central train station) have longer hours, often until 7pm or later on weekdays and with open hours also on weekends (in Tokyo and Osaka, counters are open 24 hr.). If your hotel does not have a shipping service, it is only at these larger post offices that you can mail packages abroad. Conveniently, they sell cardboard boxes in several sizes with the necessary tape. Packages sent via surface mail cannot weigh more than 20 kilograms (about 44 lb.) and take about a month to reach North America, with a package weighing 10 kilograms (about 22 lb.) costing ¥6,750 ($65) to North America. Express packages, which take 3 days to North America and can weigh up to 30 kilograms (66 lb.), cost ¥12,900 ($123) for 10 kilograms (22 lb.). For more information, check the website www.post.japanpost.jp.

Maps -- The Japan National Tourist Organization publishes a free Tourist Map of Japan showing the four main islands and the major highway and railway lines, with maps of major cities on the reverse side. Free city maps are available at local tourist offices throughout Japan.

Measurement -- Before the metric system came into use in Japan, the country had its own standards for measuring length and weight. One of these old standards is still common -- rooms are still measured by the number of tatami straw mats that will fit in them. A six-tatami room, for example, is the size of six tatami mats, with a tatami roughly 3 feet wide and 6 feet long.