yes, japan and tokyo is one of the best, safest places for women to travel. i’ve lived there 9 years total and it’s great. you can easily meet other gaijin and also japanese. it’s so safe that one time, i overshot my train ride and basically had to walk back at like past midnight. there was a freaky guy who tried to get me to ride his car since he “just got his driver’s license.” i laughed and said no way! so it’s easy. hubby and i love tokyo and japan and miss living there. good luck!!

Hi firesenshi

I found it quite disconcerting being a western female there. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel safe – it does seem to be a very safe place generally, with the usual common-sense proviso’s. However, I was very aware of being different – the middle-aged men seemed to have the greatest ‘problem’ with me.

I would recommend that you read about how Japanese society works (in a general way) to try help you understand why you might experience certain things.

“Hokkaido Highway Blues” is a lot of fun and I found it very insightful (I wish I’d read it before I went).

Well I don’t live in Tokyo. I live up north in a city called Sendai with my Japanese wife. My love affair and experience with Japanese people actually really began in Australia when i was teaching there. During this time i got to meet many great Japanese people and they soon became friends. When i moved to Sendai just over a year and a half ago i knew no one in Sendai but that has all changed now…you must remember that japanese are very fun people and very friendly too. But they are also a little shy too and a lot of people are afraid to use their English..just smile and be friendly with them and then you will be able to make some great friends:) Good luck:)

Yes, you can travel without any troubles. Don’t expect to make some new friendships.

good trip… japan is magic!

I don’t live in Tokyo, but I have gone there many times. Each time, I try to go there with at least one other person. I’ve never had any problems and I feel overall, that it is a very safe place. I think that if you are traveling alone, you should bring some sort of protection with you, just in case. I have been approached because I am different looking, but all my experiences were from harmless men that were probably just shocked because I am foreign.

Hope that helps.

I’ve lived in Tokyo for six years and have traveled around other parts of the country alone. It is relatively safe and you can meet some very friendly, welcoming people.

However, I notice that you’re from the Philippines. I’m American and of Filipino descent, and I’ve found that it was harder for me to make friends than it was for my non-Asian, non-Pacific Islander counterparts. To be honest, a lot of Japanese people are less interested in Asian foreigners. And a lot of Western foreigners sometimes just assumed that I didn’t speak English.

If you have no problem just going up to strangers and talking to them, you should be fine. But it got really frustrating for me sometimes.

Also, I hope you can read some Japanese or can at least remember some kanji symbols. While Tokyo has lots of signs in romaji to help you distinguish one place name from another (as well as quite a few signs/instructions in English), you sometimes don’t get the same luxury in less populated parts of Japan.

I was there for a brief stay—and for work. I would have no concerns about safety. People are very hospitable, but I think much more reserved than other places I have travelled alone.