CIGARETTES One of Japan's bargain buys, cigarettes are available in a vast range of brands - usually from vending machines - at around A?250 a pack.

CONTRACEPTIVES The Pill has recently been legalized in Japan, but is available only on prescription and costs around A?3000 a packet; it's better to bring them with you. The "morning-after" pill is also available on prescription, but it's more difficult to find a clinic offering it. Local-brand condoms are widely sold in pharmacies and vending machines.

ELECTRICITY The electrical current is 100v, 50Hz AC in eastern Japan including Tokyo, and 100v, 60Hz AC in western Japan including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. Japanese plugs have two flat pins and, although they are identical to North American plugs, you'll need a transformer to use any foreign appliances safely.

EMERGENCIES In order to get a quick response from the national police emergency number (tel 110) or the ambulance and fire services (tel 119), you'll need to speak some Japanese. JHelp.com (tel 0120-461997) is a 24hr English-language toll-free service, while the Tokyo English Lifeline (TELL; tel 03/3968-4099) is open for calls daily 9am-4pm and 7-11pm. In the last resort, contact the Prefecture's Foreign Advisory Service .

JAPANESE CALENDAR Although Japan uses the Western system of dates for months and days, for years it more commonly uses its own Imperial system. This calculates the number of the year from the accession of the last emperor. Each emperor is assigned a special name. For example, Hirohito's reign (1926-89) is called Showa. The current Emperor Akihito began counting his reign, called Heisei, in 1989, so 2001 was Heisei 13.

LAUNDRIES A laundry service is available in all types of accommodation, with most cheaper hotels and hostels having coin-operated washing machines and dryers. All Japanese neighbourhoods also have coin laundries ( koin randorii ), often open long hours, which charge between A?200 and A?300 per wash and A?100 for around ten minutes of drying time. Virtually all Japanese washing machines use cold water.

LEFT LUGGAGE Usually only at the largest train stations in big cities will you find left-luggage rooms, though all train stations, many subway stations and some department stores and shopping centres have coin lockers where you can stash your luggage. These come in a range of sizes, charging from A?300 to A?600 for a day's storage.

PHOTOGRAPHY All major brands of film are available across Japan at relatively cheap prices, especially if bought in bulk from the discount camera shops in the big cities. If you want special types of film, it's best to stock up here, too, before setting off to Japan's more remote areas, where the choice is more limited. Worth considering are disposable cameras, which come in a vast range of sizes and types (with or without flash; panoramic; sepia-tinted or black-and-white images; advance photo system), cost from as little as A?700 and make great presents.

PUBLIC TOILETS All trains and subway stations, parks, department stores and large hotels have public lavatories; ask for the otearai or toire , pronounced "toy-ray". Note that, hotels and department stores excepted, there is rarely toilet paper, so carry around some tissues; the small packs carrying advertising that are dished out free at busy stations and shopping districts are ideal.

STUDENT CARDS It's a good idea to bring along an International Student Identity Card (ISIC), since many museums and other tourist facilities charge lower prices for students.

TAMPONS While you won't find foreign brands such as Tampax in Japan, larger chemists sell locally produced tampons and pads.

TAXES A departure tax (known locally as a "passenger service facility charge") of A?2650 is levied on all adults leaving from Kansai International airport (children aged 2-11 years pay A?1330).

TIME ZONES The whole of Japan is nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, so at noon in London, it's 9pm in Tokyo. Japan is fourteen hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the US. There is no daylight saving, so during British Summer Time, for example, the difference drops to eight hours.

TIPS Tipping is not a Japanese custom and nobody expects it. The only exception is at high-class Japanese inns, where it's good form to leave A?2000 for the room attendant, but only if the money is put in an envelope and handed over discreetly.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES The only exception to Japan's use of the metric system is its measurement of rooms, usually quoted in jo , the size of one tatami . It's worth noting that tatami size varies around the country, Tokyo having the smallest size at 1.76m by 0.88m.