About the site
Practical Japan advice, explained by a local
Aya’s Tokyo Compass helps international visitors handle the small decisions that can make a trip feel difficult: buying train tickets, ordering food, shopping with confidence, and understanding everyday manners.
Editor: Aya
Writer and local guide
Hi, I’m Aya
I’m a Tokyo local with experience assisting international travelers in English at an airport cosmetics store.
As a parent, I pay particular attention to realistic schedules, luggage, family-friendly stops, and the details that are easy to miss when visiting Japan for the first time. I know Ginza and Marunouchi especially well and write about transport, food, shopping, and everyday customs across Japan.
How our guides are made
- • We start with a real question a visitor may face during a trip.
- • We explain the process in plain English with concrete steps, comparisons, and useful Japanese phrases.
- • Time-sensitive facts are checked against official railway, government, tourism, or business sources.
- • Articles show their original publication date and, after substantive changes, a last-updated date with a short summary of what changed.
- • We link to principal sources where practical and do not refresh dates for cosmetic edits.
Editorial principles
- • We choose images that help explain places, processes, and real travel situations clearly.
- • Brand names are used only to identify the places or services discussed.
- • We avoid guaranteed availability, prices, or outcomes when conditions can change.
- • We correct material errors when they are brought to our attention.
Independence and corrections
Unless an article clearly says otherwise, our editorial guides are independently written and are not sponsored or endorsed by the companies mentioned. If advertising or a paid relationship is added, it will be identified clearly. Found an outdated detail or mistake? Please use the contact page and include the article URL and the source that supports the correction.
Site operator and editor: Aya. Email: [email protected].