scrubbedexpat141

All added to the spreadsheet, thank you.

I'll definitely try some eel....unlikely to totally enjoy it but why not

NorthernLad

Joanna Lumley did a TV show recently travelling through Japan - whilst I find her irritating it's worth a watch for some ideas.

scrubbedexpat141

Halfway through the first episode the mrs was totally convinced.
I've always wanted to go to Japan and really enjoyed the shows. I'll give her 5% annoying, but 95% totally pleasant.

Bob

Bullet train is fun, but worth pre-booking tickets. If you go past Mt Fuji, try and go mid day if you want to see it as it's often foggy rest of the day, unless you actually want to climb the thing, which is mental. The cemetery over there is very neat...and creepy.

Fukuoka and surrounds on the southern island, is good if you're into natural hot spa type places. Also they're really into grilled meats, teriyaki bbq type things so a bit different for food and they often have fun street parade type things.

Kyoto is a must. So many temples. One city Japan had an agreement with the US not to bomb during the war because of the historical buildings.

Hiroshima, cool bridge getting there and the main museum sites are nice for a day trip but it's a new city and not that interesting for more than a day I found.

If you've never been to a baseball game, the Tokyo Dome is kind of fun and Tokyo Tower is another place to catch a good view of the city.

Hokkaido, up north is pretty countryside if you're into that sort of thing and also where Sapparo beer is based.

Nara, the original capital is nice if you're into history and old temples and scenery.

Avoid Nagoya, it seems to be the city that hates foreigners even more than usual.

Catch a golden temple and the living gate, they really are impressive sites.

Food, especially in Tokyo, I found asking a cab driver or someone at a hotel for street food recommendations and chow down on noodles and random things.

Eeyore

Get the Japan Rail Pass, the more expensive one that offers travel in Green Cars (basically the first-class cars). You do have to make a reservation for any trips, but you can do that more-or-less immediately prior to travel.

I'd recommend overnighting somewhere at Lake Kawaguchiko so you get to see it across the lake in the early morning light. It's fantastic.

There was no agreement, that's historical myth. In fact, the US military planned to drop the first atomic bomb on Kyoto but was only persuaded to change the target quite late in the day because people within the US government felt that it would be much more difficult to get the Japanese on-side with America after the war if they'd destroyed such a centre of ancient Japanese culture. They didn't want to push post-war Japan towards Russia as an ally.

Beppu (on Kyushu) is a classic Japanese onsen resort. Lots of geothermal attractions - the "Hells" - to see too.

If you've got the time, learn some Japanese. It only takes about three weeks to learn hiragana and katakana, so you'll be able to read signs and things, and the Japanese are always impressed when gaijin can do that.

Basic spoken tourist Japanese is not difficult either, because Japanese isn't a tonal language.

mission

couldn't think of a worse place to visit....the food alone puts me off

scrubbedexpat141

Thank you.

UKCityGent

Im surprised no one else has recommend Sumo (depending on when you go)

scrubbedexpat141

Someone did I think. I also looked it up but the timing doesn't work in Tokyo I don't believe.

I've got to wait another week for her dates at school in August so then we can start planning and booking properly.

Bahtatboy

I did. It's a hoot, but as Scamp said it depends on timing. I also did with reference to chanko nabe.

UKCityGent

Apologises - serves me right for trying to skim read posts !!

scrubbedexpat141

A few questions to you helpful, helpful people;

1. Hotels aren't ****ing cheap are they? I know I was warned but I want a room for a few nights, not the whole building.
2. In Tokyo - Ginza / Shinjuku keep being touted as the better areas to stay?
4. Hiroshima - only a couple of days max?
5. Kyoto - 3 days seems to be recommended, will this cover it do you believe?

So far plan looks like one of two options:

4-5 days Tokyo
3 days Kyoto
3 days Hiroshima
+ 2-3 days A.N.Other place (one of those Bahtat mentions probably)
Couple of travel days.

OR

3 Days Tokyo
2 days Kyoto
2 days Hiroshima
4-5 days Okinawa to chill
Couple of travel days.

OR (curve ball semi-option I've just thought up)

3-4 days Tokyo
3 days Kyoto
2-3 days Hiroshima
+ 3-4 days Seoul / Hong Kong
Couple of travel days.

Final Question is - Okinawa - is it worth it? It's expensive to get to and stay (i'm assuming because it's August and sunny)...

Bahtatboy

I haven't travelled much in Okinawa, but you could certainly chill there -- although I'd be inclined to do Honshu exclusively if you're travelling that far. I'd cut the time down in Hiroshima (that's my kids' advice, anyway).

And before you go, be sure to watch Black Rain, Kill Bill 2, Kurosawa's Shichinin no Sumarai, Hiroshima Mon Amour (hide the scissors first), and whatever Takakura Ken movie you can find.

Bob

Ginza area is expensive, but it is conveniently central, so depending on what you want to do/see, it might be worth it.

Hiroshima, I wouldn't do more than a couple days. Travel there, do the museum, spend the night and bounce.

Kyoto, is lovely, but there's so much to see/do that you don't want to be wasting time travelling back and forth so pick what you want to see and plan it out in advance. There are pretty good travel tours for the area though that might be worth joining.

Okinawa, not really worth it with the time you're spending in Japan. If you're heading south, Fukuoka is worth the couple of days. The aquarium is supposed to be very impressive but if you don't have kids, I don't know how much you'd care. Fukuoka Castle, if you're in the area and the couple of other shrines and parks are worth a visit. The gardens are lovely but how pleasant would depend on time of year you're going as it gets mega humid on the southern islands in the summer time. Asahi brewery tour if they still do it is worth a punt if you're into that sort of thing too.

Boomhauer

Having never been to Japan but would like to sometime in the future, I have a question:

Wouldn't it be cheaper and less hassle to just get a package deal with a Travel/Tour operator ?