Planning a trip to Japan

K

Kaede

Adventurer
Hi there, AUKNers.

I know a few of you have travelled to Japan before (Rui, I'm looking at you) and I'd like to ask for some advice for a trip I'm thinking of taking next year.

My initial plan is to book flights in the new year sales, get a JR rail pass and travel around Japan in a loop staying at cheap* hotels. Starting from Tokyo, I'd like to go to Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto and back to Tokyo.

My main questions are:

1. What's considered the best time to go for Sakura season. (Late March to Early April?)

2. Is there anywhere of interest to stop off between Kyoto and Tokyo on the way back?

3. How many days would you recommend spending in each location? (Is there much to do in Osaka?)

4. Is the baseball season on? I've always wanted to go to a baseball game!

5. Is there somewhere great south of Tokyo that I've missed.

I've been to Japan before, spending 10 nights in Tokyo. I travelled to Kyoto for a day by shinkansen but didn't have enough time to see the main temples or the bamboo forest. I'd like to put this right this time.

Any help, reccomendations, stories, photos etc. would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Mike

*and by cheap I mean by Japanese standards. :(
 
I suspect you might get a more helpful answer from some of the other Japan-goers as I have rather heathen holiday habits and everything I do is either based on shopping or based on gaudy worship of specific things which aren't of general interest. It sounds as though you're hoping for a much more well-rounded trip than I'd plan.

However, I'll do my best!

1. Yes, it's also the most expensive time to go so I tend to avoid it.
2. Quite a few places! How into shopping are you (and what types)? You can easily get a day out of Nagoya, which is on the direct shinkansen route, and there are a couple of smaller places which might be interesting too depending on your tastes.
3. This is hard to answer, but I can say there's definitely enough to do in Osaka to keep you busy for a few days. I usually plan my trips that way to coincide with events (e.g. last trip I went to both a concert and a doujin event while I was in the region). I've actually never been to Hiroshima, though my friends who have say it can be done on an overnight trip fairly comfortably.
4. No idea about baseball, sorry :oops:
5. It's not south, but one place I'd recommend highly for tourism is Nikko, for either a daytrip or an overnight from Tokyo. IIRC it's not fully covered by a JR Pass so you'll have to buy an extra train ticket for the private railway component of the trip, but you can check out some information on it online and see what you think.

R
 
Hi, Rui!

Thanks for the reply. Yes I'd very much like to see different parts of Japan this time and will be mostly sight seeing and trying to do tourist type stuff, as well as trying out my limited Japanese! When you say shopping, specialist stuff, do you mean anime/manga related stuff?

I love clothes and souvenir shopping, but my interest in anime is a by-product of my Japanese obsession, not the other way round so I won't be looking to load up on comics and DVDs etc. (Although I will get some OSTs while I'm there)

Yes, it's also the most expensive time to go so I tend to avoid it.
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Damn! OK well I'll bear that in mind. Hotels so far don't seem to be too bad for that period, I'll keep my eye on it. What time of year do you usually go?
Quite a few places! How into shopping are you (and what types)? You can easily get a day out of Nagoya, which is on the direct shinkansen route, and there are a couple of smaller places which might be interesting too depending on your tastes.
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That's excellent! I'm familiar with Nagoya's football team but not much else. I know it's a famous place in Japan, what's there? My girlfriend is very keen on seeing aspects of rural/old fashioned Japan. Is this something we could see there? what other places would you reccomend? (Smaller places are good).
This is hard to answer, but I can say there's definitely enough to do in Osaka to keep you busy for a few days. I usually plan my trips that way to coincide with events (e.g. last trip I went to both a concert and a doujin event while I was in the region). I've actually never been to Hiroshima, though my friends who have say it can be done on an overnight trip fairly comfortably.
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OK thanks for that, maybe I'll make my time in Hiroshima a bit shorter then.
It's not south, but one place I'd recommend highly for tourism is Nikko, for either a daytrip or an overnight from Tokyo. IIRC it's not fully covered by a JR Pass so you'll have to buy an extra train ticket for the private railway component of the trip, but you can check out some information on it online and see what you think.
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Ah! Isn't Nikko a mountainous ski resort type place? I've just come across it in my text book! If it's extra on the train and in the North, it may have to wait until my next trip!
 
Ok, cool :D

I usually go in summer because it's easier for me to take the time off work, and it doesn't hurt that it coincides with a lot of festivals and Comiket. I wouldn't particularly recommend summer for tourism though as you'll roast walking around outside for too long.

Actually, festivals are something you should specifically try to go to if you can. There's bound to be one or two in reach no matter when you go and they're an experience. There are plenty of Japanese-language websites which collect data of local festivals for easy searching.

Given your girlfriend's tastes, I especially recommend Nikko! There are mountains and shrines to look at (I know some people stay over and there are some well regarded traditional inns), but there's also a fabulous open air museum called Edo Wonderland:

http://www.edowonderland.net/html/en/index.html

It's definitely a bit tacky in some respects, but as a tragic history nerd I've really enjoyed it each time I've been there as it presents a genuine Edo feel while being accessible and funny. You can even get old fashioned foods and see traditional events played out if you time the visit right. The similar Toei studio park in Kyoto seems to be more famous outside of Japan, but Nikko's is set in a stunning area and great in its own right. It's also heavily ninja-influenced which may either appeal or turn you off entirely. Maybe I have some pictures I can dig up later if I remember; I've always done it as a day trip based in Tokyo (with an early start!).

My Nagoya recommendation came with a slight shopping bias, though I'll go ahead anyway and say that it's worthy of a look in. There are a fair number of shrines, a castle, and an aquarium which I've never been to (however, my friends seemed to find it fun). Even if you're not focused on shopping for anime goods, popping in to a Mandarake during the trip is usually an experience (there's a decently chaotic one there, near a cute shopping area with more general stores that might be interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Csu ).

R
 
Given your girlfriend's tastes, I especially recommend Nikko! There are mountains and shrines to look at (I know some people stay over and there are some well regarded traditional inns), but there's also a fabulous open air museum called Edo Wonderland:

http://www.edowonderland.net/html/en/index.html
Click to expand...

Rui, thanks very much for this! Nikko and Edoworld do indeed sound interesting, and as you said they can be reached easily within a day from Tokyo, I will add this to my list for sure. I'll also look out for any festivals when I know exactly when I'm going. Luckily I can ask my Japanese teacher about this as well. If you could link some pics I would love to see them, but only if you have time. :)

Thanks for these tips though, will make a great first step of suggestions to my other half!

Mike
 
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