Recommendations for a trip to Japan

[Ser Clegane]

So - back from the trip around the neighbourhood* (Belgium and Netherlands) for two weeks now.
Fun at work is somewhat limited, so the best thing to get distracted is to plan the next trip.

We booked the flight to Japan for next April and would like to already shape our itinerary in the next 1-2 months to book the accomodation in advance.

Given the valuable ideas for the last couple of vacations I would again like to pick the collective brains of the community and ask for some recommendations.

We have three weeks at our hands and will use a Japan Rail Pass to get around.
The rough idea is to use Kyoto and Tokyo as the main bases for exploring these cities and doing day trips (probably for a combined two weeks) which leaves us with an additional week for another location (or two).

Current short list of ideas:
From Kyoto
- Kanazawa
- Hikone
- Nara
- Matsumoto (probably to far for a day-trip)
- Koya-san
- Takamatsu
- Kiso valley
- Hiroshima (perhaps with a night to cover Miyajima)
- Inuyama
From Tokyo
- Hakone
- Nikko
- Kamakura
- Fuji

The list is a bit long and needs some pruning - but there might be some great stuff that we did not think about yet.

As an additional trip Northern Honshu/Tohoku would currently be our favourite with Matsushima being the main destination - we are not quite clear yet, what should be the other places that we should add in that area.

We have been in Japan in 2003 which is why we are not considering Kyushu (which was part of that trip) and do not include Himeji and Takayama on our list for Kyoto's surroundings (we kept Hikone on the short list for Kyoto because Mrs Clegane liked it and we also consider re-visiting Nikko although we already "covered" it).

Thanks a lot in advance for your ideas and thoughts



* a trip which we tremendously enjoyed BTW. So many nice places to see - so much good food to eat and beer to drink

[Fragony]

What no writedown, glad you had a good time, can't beat the Netherlands and Belgium if you are looking for quality restaurants. Japan, I'm jealous, so modern yet so traditional (tvsays). Since everything that's whacked out is either German or Japanese you should have a great time.

[naut]

Just some general advice. Tipping is not kosher in Japan, often it is considered offensive.

More specific, get out of the cities and plan a trip to some shrines and pebble gardens. Really relaxing and beautiful. Have fun.

[Ser Clegane]

What no writedown

Have been pretty busy in RL during the last weeks - I hope that I can sort through the pictures during the weekend and post something together with some impressions in the Gallery thread.

We really liked Amersfoort BTW (especially Mrs Clegane was pleasanly surprised - she spent 2 months in Utrecht before and never made it to Amersfoort). Had a beautiful sunny day there - very relaxing and nice.

[Fragony]

That's how to do it, relax and enjoy, glass of wine to complement. Go to Amsterdam if teh party is your thing.

[Beefy187]

Shimane might also be interesting. Birth place of Shintoism and plce with famous Izumo shrine.
Theres plenty of other interesting places, but my suggestion is heading to where ever the cherry blossum is around that time.

I hope it will be a fun trip for you

[gaelic cowboy]

Japan is class I would go back tomorrow morning if I had the money for the flight tis an amazing place.



This is me and the brother in front of the Great Buddha of Kamakura back in 2002 during the Japan/South Korea world cup

Also you have to go to Ginza for the nice shops an Akihabara aka Electric Town just to say you were there and see the lights and cool electronics etc.

Oh almost forgot check out Asakusa and Ueno nice cultural places shrines and the like and there in the middle of the city which is cool

The nice thing is these are all in Tokyo except the Buddha which is in Kamakura obviously but Tokyo is prob where your going to fly into anyway.





Hey by the way make sure and drink one of those Litre cans of Asahi Super Dry for me when your down to your last few shillings in Roppongi late at night tis handy to have a big can to drink

[aimlesswanderer]

Hmm, more than a few suggestions, though I am not sure if you can see much if you are travelling to and from Kyoto or Tokyo so much. Many hours lost in travel, since many of the places you want to visit are a fair way away:

- Kyoto - a day trip to Nara (start early morning, can rush to get see the main sights in a day - beware deer poo). Kyoto's bullet train station is an architectural marvel in itself. Also some of the famous gardens.

- Kanazawa is a great little town, with an impressive station. I'd say 3 nights here. The Kenrokuen gardens are impressive, and the old quarter is very well preserved. It's also the home of the gold leaf industry, where you can get very shiny things for a good price. Getting gold leaf soap or sake as present is very novel. Personally I love the lacquered pieces with some gold leaf decoration. There are at lest 2 gold leaf manufactures (with short tours and freebies - check out the amazingly shiny bathrooms), and they have a very large selection of stuff. I wish I had bought more. We also went on a tour of the "ninja temple" with its weird assortment of false doors and traps, and a sake brewery. It does take a while to get to by train (2hrs+???) relative to the distance, since it's slow trains for a looong stretch.

- Miyajima is well worth the visit, in fact a whole day, and even a stay overnight. Beware the feral deer and monkeys. We spent our Hiroshima day here, and only got to see the A-bomb memorial at night. A rather haunting place.

- Hakone is a lovely area. Cruising Lake Ashi in a gaudy "pirate ship" (yes, think Pirates of the Caribbean) was a rather surreal experience. From various parts around there you can see Fujisan, weather depending. You can also boil yourself and simultaneously fascinate the locals when nekkid. I'd say stay 2-3 nights here.

BTW, the bus ride from Lake Ashi back to Hakone-Yumoto was the scariest trip I have ever taken in a motor vehicle. Worse even than the hoon in a minibus through heavy Beijing traffic to the airport for a flight we were late for. I was glad that I go climbing, as I needed the muscle to hang on and avoid being squashed against the other passengers, who were plastered against the windows.

- learn at least the Japanese words for left, right, straight, and station. And you may have noticed that their spoken English, despite years of study, is poor, but their written English is much better - you may communicate better by writing.

- JR passes are fantastic, if a bit primitive (just cardboard and a hologram sticker) but saved us heaps. JR even run some buses.

- have you stayed in a traditional ryokan? If only for a few nights, it's a real experience. They can be ridiculously expensive however.

- I find it funny that some ATMs have opening hours and are sometimes not open on weekends. Cash is good, even some hotels/motels/ryokans don't take cards.

- I nearly had a heart attack when, half asleep during a winter night toilet run, the toilet talked to me and opened the dunny lid itself. At least the seat was nice and warm.

- Oh, and you can get a little book at temples (Buddhist), or was it shrines (Shinto) where you can get someone at each temple/shrine to put the stamp of the place and some calligraphy in your book for a few dollars. I can't read any of it, but it looks impressive.

Essential Sites:
Want to know how to get to places, the cost, and how long it'll take?

and this one too

Goodwill Guides
I would highly recommend arranging for a goodwill guide for at least a day in each place you're going to. Generally you only need to feed them, pay for their entry to things (sometimes they can get in free), and sometimes their transport costs. A real bargain. You can contact the local group, specifying what language(s) you speak, when you are there, and what you want to see, and they will try and find someone who speaks at least some of your language. We found them very friendly and helpful. It's a great opportunity to learn more about Japan from a local, and they are very helpful with all sorts of things (where can I buy ___?). We brought along small gifts for ours (eg tourist special mini koalas, which they loved).

Anyway, you should have a great time. My links are nearly 4 years old, but I did collect lots of them if you're interested.

Maybe we need a Travel subforum?