Personal Safety Tips While Traveling Overseas

Above, a crowd of people in Shibuya Crossing.  Although Japan is relatively safe, someone in
a crowd may just want to pick your pocket or do something worse.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although Japan is one of the safest countries to visit, common sense should not be left at home while traveling. Reasonable precautions should be taken to minimize any chance that you or someone else in your traveling party will fall victim to crime.

Japan Today posted an article on tips for personal safety while traveling.

They begin it with:

NEW YORK —Recent high-profile attacks on tourists in Guam, India, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico — including rapes — have raised questions about personal safety for overseas travel, especially for women. But frequent travelers and those who work in the industry say a few common-sense precautions can go a long way to ensuring personal safety. 

For example, Fly.com vice president Warren Chang didn’t hang a “Do not disturb” sign on his hotel room door on a trip to Jordan, because he didn’t want to advertise his presence. Cindy Vanhoutte, who works for the vacation rental site HomeAway.com, always checks Google Street View to see what neighborhoods look like before renting there. And Pauline Frommer, co-publisher of Frommer Guidebooks, leaves her jewelry home and tries to dress according to “local norms” — recently wearing long, loose trousers in Morocco.

For more personal safety tips, read the full article by going here.