Travel (Time)

TIME ZONES

All of Japan is in one time zone. Japan does not participate in Daylight Savings Time. Japan is nine hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

JAPAN IS 16 HOURS* AHEAD OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA:

*during the summer months of Daylight Savings Time

JET LAG

Generally, when travelling the same direction as the sun, the jet lag is easier on the body. Thus when going to Japan and in conjunction with arrival times, you will find jet lag a little easier. During the outbound flight, you are not usually able to sleep. But just prior to arrival and during transit to your hotel you will probably want to fall sleep. Prior to going to bed at a reasonable hour, it is probably best to eat a light meal. You will usually wake in the very early hours of the morning. It is advisable to take a snack item with you from home as the restaurants will not be open at this hour. The next difficult time will be in the mid afternoon. Try not to sleep as you will have a tendency to sleep right through the evening hours.

THE 24 HOUR CLOCK

In many cases, the Japanese use the 24 hour clock or military hours instead of using am and pm. When travelling, the 24 hour clock is also used in airports and with airlines.

THE JAPANESE CALENDAR

The Japanese use the Western or Christian calendar, but have traditionally marked the passing of time with a period or era of time. Each era is the reign of an emperor and is referred to by the name of the era and the year of the emperor reign. For example, the Showa era began in 1926 with Crown Prince Hirohito reign and ended with his death in 1989. This same year was the first year for Emperor Akihito's reign and was referred to as Heisei 1. The year 1996 is known as Heisei 8. You can find these dates stamped on food items that verify the freshness of the product being sold.