We are planning our first trip to Japan. I'm doing tons of reading up on the country, and have received some recommendations from friends, but I'd really like to hear what the highlights of Japan were for other travellers here. Sights? Restaurants? Inns? Temples?
We are up for almost anything. We are planning on basing ourselves around Tokyo and Kyoto, with possible overnights in other places as well.
My wife and I went to Japan in May last year and you can read the trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm . We decided to check out Tokyo for a few days, go on a trip to Mount Fuji and then we moved to Kyoto where we spent a few days and used it as a base while we went to Himeji, Hiroshima, Osaka etc. Check out the trip report and get in touch if you have any questions :-)
We were the only guests that day and the food (the second tab from the left) was the best I ever had, especially the breakfast. Sadly, that inn is really tucked away and almost impossible to find but I'm sure there are similar places with better access.
I've posted about this before but the Katsura Rikyu Imperial Villa in Kyoto is a gem. I’ ve visited countless gardens in Japan but nothing so impeccable and perfect as Katasura. It really is the Japanese epitome of “good taste.” Not to be missed.
I think for my non-Japanese SO, the hike we did on Miyajima was his favorite activity. The cable car we had to take to get to the starting point scared the xxxx out of me though. The island was considered sacred for many centuries and no human was allowed to inhabit the island so the biodiversity on the island is said to be like no other place in Japan.
If you have any questions, let me know. I’d be happy to help.
Julia - the answer is basically "as much as possible". We're having a hard time figuring out what to include and exclude to achieve the ideal balance between experiences in the limited time we have.
We've excluded mountains for this trip (just because we needed to rule something out), and as I mentioned have chosen Tokyo and Kyoto as our 2 primary stops, although we are open to day trips and a 3rd or 4th overnight destination.
I was quite fascinated by my trip to Hiroshima. I had expected something somber, but it is an exceptionally pretty modern city filled with life and young people. I had several nice meals there, and the Peace Museum is immensely educational.
In Tokyo, I very much enjoyed the boat trip I took down the river, under Tokyo's many bridges and I quite liked the gardens near the fish market (which is quite a startling place at dawn). In Kyoto, I was especially fond of some of the smaller gardens. I think the best thing to do is to find a garden you like and sit in it for a long time, rather than trying to see them all.
We also went to Kanazawa, but had to cut short our stay there because of unexpected illness, and we wish we could have done more in that area.
We didn't care for visiting the Miho museum, since getting there and back ate up so much of our time. In general, I would say I found being in Japan's cities more rewarding than being in its countryside.
We experienced absolutely no difficulty using the subway and bus systems, and we enjoyed inexpensive meals wherever we went, venturing into noodle shops, Yakitori places, cafeterias, sushi bars in train stations -- you name it. We weren't trying to save money but we preferred the simple neighborhood places.
Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I have printed out this whole thread and added several things to our priority list (Nara, Miyajima, Hiroshima, the Katsura villa...).
Julia - we will be there at the end of this month for about 2 weeks. With all we want to fit in, there probably won't be much slow traveling this time...
Jul, I just saw this thread and can't resist suggesting the Himeji castle. It is about an hour from Kyoto on the main Shinkansen line.
This was a magical visit for us, almost exactly the same time of year as you will be there, but back in the 80's! We walked to the castle from the train station, struck by its beauty from a distance. An English tour fit our schedule. It is a striking and historic castle, well covered in the guidebooks.
And as we were leaving, a gracious Japanese gentlemen escorted us to the chrysanthemum exhibition just near the exit. What a show! These flower shows in October epitomize a certain bit of Japanese-ness for me.
cubbies
Posts: 296 | Location: California | Registered: 29 December 2005
Cubbies - thanks for the Himeji castle recommendation. It's on the list!
Gard - I loved your trip report! It is nice to have an idea what to expect when we first arrive in Tokyo (getting around, etc.). Also I had fun imagining what "body language" you must have used to communicate that you were looking for sumo tickets.
Originally posted by Jul:Julia - we will be there at the end of this month for about 2 weeks. With all we want to fit in, there probably won't be much slow traveling this time...
Ah, that's a really good time to be in Japan. With two weeks, you have more than enough time to hit all the major sights and more. I'd personally wouldn't spend more than 4-5 nights in Tokyo (do wake up early one morning and go to the Tsukiji fish market; it's worth it) and spend the rest in the western region. One possible side trip from Tokyo is Kamakura.
I'm assuming that you'd have the JR pass. You can do Hiroshima & Miyajima and Himeji as day trips from Kyoto or you could stay over night in Miyajima.
I don't know if you already have hotels booked but if you're looking for cheap places, do look into K's hostel in Tokyo. It opened this June and I'm NOT a hotel person but I really liked staying there. It was so much more pleasant than the original branch in Kyoto.
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