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Before the pandemic, I went to Japan for 3 weeks and my cellphone was absolutely a lifesaver.

I went to a lot of city where I would have been lost without Google Lens, Google Maps, HyperDia for trains, "Japan Official Travel App", etc.

But with it, I've traveled accross less touristic cities and I was feeling confortable visiting local places without ant knowledge of the Japanese language beside a few words.

I would never dare to do that without my phone.

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It was somewhat joyful for me to be lost in Tokyo the moment my wife and young daughters stepped off the train. While I had a sort of crude printed map showing the location of our hotel from the station, I still had to approach several very shy Japanese locals and try with my English to get oriented with regard to the map (since there are of course maybe a dozen or so ways to have exited said station).

What came to mind, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

I thought it made for a good example for my children who might be otherwise afraid to simply ask someone for directions (even though they might speak a different language).

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