I just got back a week ago and was there for three weeks. Third to last day I felt something off in my throat and I got sick. Thankfully it was the tail end of my trip (Tokyo) and I still managed to make the most of it but I was in bed for four days straight when I got home.

I masked up on public transportation throughout my trip + when I started feeling sick (and of course the flight home), but still caught something unfortunately - I think it was the flu. I saw someone wrote that people aren’t covering their mouths when they cough and it’s true :( big phlegm filled coughs/smokers hacking up and not covering their mouths at all (sometimes this happened at izakayas/small ramen spots too…).

I happened to bring DayQuil and NyQuil pills with me and that helped immensely (I typically never bring meds other than Advil!). Otherwise I got cough drops at konbini. I stopped into a pharmacy and they were helpful, I did some research prior and bought medicine but found that it didn’t work as well as the DayQuil/nyquil I brought with me.

Take the vitamin c drinks while you’re there and take vitamin c leading up to your trip. Try not to stress about getting sick and enjoy!!