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Vacationing in Japan!

H

Howard

Lifer
You have 2 weeks to spend between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. What do you do?

I don't have a lot of time to set this up (less than 2 months) and I haven't done that much research yet. Any help is appreciated.
 
Watch "Lost in Translation"... Do what ScarJo or Bill Murray does.

She makes a trip to Kyoto on train if you want out of Tokyo.
 
Get a rail pass (2 week).
You have to get it before you go to Japan. Gives you the bullet train/etc as well for travel between cities, and it pays pretty much for itself with just one bullet train trip.
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en005.html

You can get a prepaid SIM card with 1GB data (I got mine from http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/note_1gb_m.html, delivered to my hotel) which I found useful for things like maps on the go and train schedules (Ridiculously helpful train timetable app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bside.extremeambient.net&hl=en)

Visit this website lots:
http://www.japan-guide.com/

For my hotels, I booked through Rakuten (http://travel.rakuten.com/) and had no issues with any of my three hotel bookings, and it's a big brand that does lots of stuff so should be trustworthy.
 
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Lonyo said:
Get a rail pass (2 week).
You have to get it before you go to Japan. Gives you the bullet train/etc as well for travel between cities, and it pays pretty much for itself with just one bullet train trip.
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en005.html

You can get a prepaid SIM card with 1GB data (I got mine from http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/note_1gb_m.html, delivered to my hotel) which I found useful for things like maps on the go and train schedules (Ridiculously helpful train timetable app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bside.extremeambient.net&hl=en)

Visit this website lots:
http://www.japan-guide.com/

For my hotels, I booked through Rakuten (http://travel.rakuten.com/) and had no issues with any of my three hotel bookings, and it's a big brand that does lots of stuff so should be trustworthy.
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Are the Green cars worth the price premium?
 
smackababy said:
Akihabara is a must in Tokyo.
Click to expand...

This, and at least visit one maid cafe.

Kyoto is well known for it's historical architecture. IIRC, it was one of the few major cities that didn't get firebombed during WWII so there's a lot of original wooden buildings there. A big castle too. I believe it was the capital during the Tokugawa period. Too lazy to look it up. Nintendo is there too but I doubt they give tours.

Not sure what's in Osaka that's special.
 
Isn't Akihabara itself full of maid cafes now, and a shadow of its former self as the mecca of electronics (you're probably better off in China these days for that)?
 
Kamakura and Asakusa are good ones in the Tokyo area as well. Akihabara is just ok imo but I highly suggest finding a Yodobashi Camera store somewhere and walking through.
 
mmntech said:
This, and at least visit one maid cafe.

Kyoto is well known for it's historical architecture. IIRC, it was one of the few major cities that didn't get firebombed during WWII so there's a lot of original wooden buildings there. A big castle too. I believe it was the capital during the Tokugawa period. Too lazy to look it up. Nintendo is there too but I doubt they give tours.

Not sure what's in Osaka that's special.
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Check out the BJ bars... Yeah, the castle is there, too. But not the same place as the BJ bars.

There's not much to do in Kyoto, either. Well, there's a few castles, and perhaps BJ bars? You can try to dress up as a geisha, I heard it's the rage there.

Tokyo has a really big castle, and even more BJ bars. If you don't like the Japanese castle, then visit the Disney made one.

So basically, castles and BJ bars.
 
Take a bullet train from Osaka to Himeji for a day trip. Himeji castle is pretty cool. The main thing to see in Osaka is obviously Osaka castle, but it's a museum. I'd also recommend getting a guided tour around Kyoto. They aren't that expensive and very worth it since you can see all the major sites, with ease, in a single day. Akihabra was pretty lame when I went in 2010. I'm not sure what the fuss is about. Be sure to check out the mini Ninja Warrior course at Muscle Park in Odaiba (man made island in Tokyo). The eastern gardens of the Imperial Palace are really cool in Tokyo too.
 
I'm on my last day of 2 weeks in Japan, where I've visited Osaka Kyoto and Tokyo. I'll post some ideas when I get home 🙂
 
I mean akiba is fun if you're into electronics and anime and crap.

Maid cafe's are heavily overrated. It's like a strip club without any of the good stuff.
 
How many of these threads are we going to have? Enjoy the food. It's cheaper than America, and better. Enjoy the cleanliness and beauty of the country.
 
Howard said:
Are the Green cars worth the price premium?
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I don't know how the green cars are, but regular is flight seats with extra leg space. I don't think I've traveled in a train or plain with that much leg space before.



Once you have your travel card you just go to a ticket office say where you want to go, and they will give numbered seats all the way to the destination when you travel with shinkansen.
 
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mmntech said:
This, and at least visit one maid cafe.

Kyoto is well known for it's historical architecture. IIRC, it was one of the few major cities that didn't get firebombed during WWII so there's a lot of original wooden buildings there. A big castle too. I believe it was the capital during the Tokugawa period. Too lazy to look it up. Nintendo is there too but I doubt they give tours.

Not sure what's in Osaka that's special.
Click to expand...

Kyoto literally means capital, words were borrowed from Chinese.
 
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Nara is another place that's a good tourist destination. It's an extremely old city and has a large Buddhist temple. At the temple are deers. Lots and lots of deers. They want you to feed them and can be very aggressive. It's in the Kansai region (where Osaka is) and near Kyoto.
 
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I went to Kobe for a day from Osaka, although it wasn't particularly interesting other than walking up to the herb gardens and looking down to the city.

No idea if you are interested, but because it's the right time of year:
http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/japan_931/circuit_diagram.html
The Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix is the weekend of the 4th October as well. When I went a couple of years ago it was at that time for 2.5 weeks between Osaka and Tokyo.

The weather was around 20+c/68+f pretty much all the time in both places, although most Japanese people don't wear shorts, so you look super out of place if you're wearing shorts.
 
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