What to visit in Japan?

[Deleted]

So, me and my spouse are planning a 4 week trip to Japan next year and will mainly stay in Tokyo. We are also planning to buy a railpass for the bullettrain to visit far distance places like Osaka, Hiroshima, Mount Fuji etc.
Are you a native or have visited Japan before, what would you suggest a must to visit?
And can we see it all in 4 weeks?

[Darsithis]

Moved to General Off-Topic

[Rustedsaint]

Afew of the bigger shrines ,that akibra district(?) with all the cosplayers

[Deleted]

Thanks.
/10 charts

[Independent voter]

[Deleted]

Afew of the bigger shrines ,that akibra district(?) with all the cosplayers

That sounds nice, I'll check it out online.
Thank you for the suggestion.

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Fish market was definitely on the agenda!

[Skulltaker]

There is a village full of foxes that is just awesome if you like foxes, an island full of cats, and another full of bunnies.

[ranzino]

travel by Shinkansen.
and if you like history: the graveyard of the famous 47 Ronin in Sengaku-ji temple in Tokio.

[the game]

vending machine.

[namecraft]

I'm mainly interested in their shops

[SteveRocks]

Lived in Japan for a bit. Definitely spend some time in Osaka and the village of Nara is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been.

[Gaidax]

Hakone relatively near Tokyo, about two hours by train. There is a nice lake with boat trips, cable road to the volcano (sometimes closed due to ash and such) and a bunch of ryokans (traditional inns) with hot springs.

There is also arts museum there and some gardens and trails. In general I advise two nights stay there just to relax. Arrive there in the evening-ish (careful though last train to Hakone is 6 PM from Tokyo and you don't want to take last train really).

Naturally stay in Ryokan, that's part of the fun, it's somewhat expensive but great experience. Overall it's much cheaper than Kyoto (if you were thinking about it) and experience is fine really, you stay in proximity to Tokyo and it does not take long time or $$ to get there (relatively). Shinkansen to Kyoto for example is crazy expensive.

You can order stay in Ryokan with TripAdvisor and if you get there make sure to get Hakone pass from train station in Tokyo for free rides there.

Two nights is enough, it's a small place overall, so more than two nights is pointless.

[Deleted]

There is a village full of foxes that is just awesome if you like foxes, an island full of cats, and another full of bunnies.

Sounds nice I'll definitely check that out, thanks.

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travel by Shinkansen.
and if you like history: the graveyard of the famous 47 Ronin in Sengaku-ji temple in Tokio.

Yes we are all about the history and culture, sure don't want a beach vacation! Thank you for the suggestion.

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Lived in Japan for a bit. Definitely spend some time in Osaka and the village of Nara is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been.

I'll check out Nara online, thank you.

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Hakone relatively near Tokyo, about two hours by train. There is a nice lake with boat trips, cable road to the volcano (sometimes closed due to ash and such) and a bunch of ryokans (traditional inns) with hot springs.

There is also arts museum there and some gardens and trails. In general I advise two nights stay there just to relax. Arrive there in the evening-ish (careful though last train to Hakone is 6 PM from Tokyo and you don't want to take last train really).

Naturally stay in Ryokan, that's part of the fun, it's somewhat expensive but great experience. Overall it's much cheaper than Kyoto (if you were thinking about it) and experience is fine really, you stay in proximity to Tokyo and it does not take long time or $$ to get there (relatively). Shinkansen to Kyoto for example is crazy expensive.

You can order stay in Ryokan with TripAdvisor and if you get there make sure to get Hakone pass from train station in Tokyo for free rides there.

Two nights is enough, it's a small place overall, so more than two nights is pointless.

I actually did find some nice 3 star hotels in Tokyo for about 2.5K € for the 4 weeks. Do you mean the cost of the accommodations, restaurants and such?

[Gaidax]

No, I meant specifically for Hakone. Hakone stay in traditional inn is pricey. I think I paid 700 bucks for two nights, but that was awesome experience.

Also hotels in Tokyo are shit, but that's what you have there.

[Estherna]

I would say it depends what you want to see and how much you wish to travel. Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara are must seen of course.

In Tokyo, Asakusa, Imperial Gardens, Shibuya and Shinjuku are the typical places to see. Akihabara, the Otaku Paradise is also a nice place is you are in that kind of stuff. I would anyways advice everyone going to Japan to go and see the big Sega Arcade places there, just the noise is something worth going there If you want to visit the Ghibli museum, you need to book your tickets in advance, directly on their website (they open the booking one month before).

Next to Tokyo you have Kamakura which have a lot of temples. Another thing you can do is Nikko Tosho-gu, a shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. It is a one-day trip from Tokyo, leaving early and coming back in the evening.

Kyoto and Nara are the more historical places of Japan. Nara is quite small, and is a must see: a town in a forest with countless shrines and temples and a lot (A LOT) of deers in total freedom roaming there. Kyoto, there is the several temples and the Imperial Palace, as well as the Golden Pavillon and the Silver Pavillon.

Not too far from Kyoto you have Himeji, with its castle which is one of the few originals ones remaining in Japan. Because don't be fool, most castles aren't originals and had been rebuild after WW2. And if the outside is like the old times, the inside are... different (modern building type).

On the way there, you can stop at Nagoya. There is a Castle that had been rebuild using the old technics, and it's kinda beautiful to see how these places looked like at the time.

Going further South you can stop in Okayama, where there is a very beautiful Japanese Garden and the Black Castle (not original).

Hiroshima is okay I guess, but be aware that the presentation of what happenned is partial.

If you have time, you can go off-track and visit the island of Shikoku. It's easy to get there by train, starting from Okayama. Takamatsu is a must go, with the remains of its castle but also its garden. You can also go to Kochi to visit another castle there (but there isn't much more there).

Mount Fuji is nice, but be aware ! You will need good weather to see it from afar like in the pictures. I myself spent a night in Fuji and couldn't see it because of that.

In the overall there is ton of things to do in Japan. Miscelleaneous advices I could give you would be to try to eat at least in a Yoshinoya (a "fast-food" chain which serve delicious beef on rice bowl for 500 Yens), find some food in a mart (there is so many strange things there), definitively go to an Onsen and not be too shy with that...

Also be aware that if you go in summer, Japan is really really hot and you can get thirsty really easily. However Japan being a perfect place, there is automat everywhere selling you drinks. If you are a smoker, you can't smoke on the streets, you can get a hefty fine for that. Think to always have an umbrella with you, rain comes and goes quickly there.

And in the overall, don't worry to get lost. Japanese people are super helpful is you ask them nicely, but be aware that English isn't that widely spread in the population. However, they will try to help you.

Hope you will enjoy your trip in Japan

[Dr Assbandit]

If you plan to climb Mt. Fuji, definitely prepare in advance as it's not that easy for someone not use to hiking. Also be sure to buy the wooden markers at the base that they will engrave the further up you climb as they are great souvenirs.

[Deleted]

No, I meant specifically for Hakone. Hakone stay in traditional inn is pricey. I think I paid 700 bucks for two nights, but that was awesome experience.

Also hotels in Tokyo are shit, but that's what you have there.

I'll check out the places you mentioned for Hotels.
Our first thought was to book it in Tokyo considering we probably will spend the most time over there.

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I would say it depends what you want to see and how much you wish to travel. Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara are must seen of course.

In Tokyo, Asakusa, Imperial Gardens, Shibuya and Shinjuku are the typical places to see. Akihabara, the Otaku Paradise is also a nice place is you are in that kind of stuff. I would anyways advice everyone going to Japan to go and see the big Sega Arcade places there, just the noise is something worth going there If you want to visit the Ghibli museum, you need to book your tickets in advance, directly on their website (they open the booking one month before).

Next to Tokyo you have Kamakura which have a lot of temples. Another thing you can do is Nikko Tosho-gu, a shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. It is a one-day trip from Tokyo, leaving early and coming back in the evening.

Kyoto and Nara are the more historical places of Japan. Nara is quite small, and is a must see: a town in a forest with countless shrines and temples and a lot (A LOT) of deers in total freedom roaming there. Kyoto, there is the several temples and the Imperial Palace, as well as the Golden Pavillon and the Silver Pavillon.

Not too far from Kyoto you have Himeji, with its castle which is one of the few originals ones remaining in Japan. Because don't be fool, most castles aren't originals and had been rebuild after WW2. And if the outside is like the old times, the inside are... different (modern building type).

On the way there, you can stop at Nagoya. There is a Castle that had been rebuild using the old technics, and it's kinda beautiful to see how these places looked like at the time.

Going further South you can stop in Okayama, where there is a very beautiful Japanese Garden and the Black Castle (not original).

Hiroshima is okay I guess, but be aware that the presentation of what happenned is partial.

If you have time, you can go off-track and visit the island of Shikoku. It's easy to get there by train, starting from Okayama. Takamatsu is a must go, with the remains of its castle but also its garden. You can also go to Kochi to visit another castle there (but there isn't much more there).

Mount Fuji is nice, but be aware ! You will need good weather to see it from afar like in the pictures. I myself spent a night in Fuji and couldn't see it because of that.

In the overall there is ton of things to do in Japan. Miscelleaneous advices I could give you would be to try to eat at least in a Yoshinoya (a "fast-food" chain which serve delicious beef on rice bowl for 500 Yens), find some food in a mart (there is so many strange things there), definitively go to an Onsen and not be too shy with that...

Also be aware that if you go in summer, Japan is really really hot and you can get thirsty really easily. However Japan being a perfect place, there is automat everywhere selling you drinks. If you are a smoker, you can't smoke on the streets, you can get a hefty fine for that. Think to always have an umbrella with you, rain comes and goes quickly there.

And in the overall, don't worry to get lost. Japanese people are super helpful is you ask them nicely, but be aware that English isn't that widely spread in the population. However, they will try to help you.

Hope you will enjoy your trip in Japan

Wow, thanks for the bookload of advice!
I'll have to check your posted suggestions piece by piece it seems
Are you a native if I may be so curious to ask?

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If you plan to climb Mt. Fuji, definitely prepare in advance as it's not that easy for someone not use to hiking. Also be sure to buy the wooden markers at the base that they will engrave the further up you climb as they are great souvenirs.

That sounds amazing! Will definitely check that out!

[Syri79]

I've been to Japan twice, staying around Tokyo and Kyoto both times. There's a lot to see, and even with 4 weeks, there's a lot you will have to miss out on.
The first thing I would suggest is don't spend all of your time around Tokyo. Book hotels in other areas as well, as even with the shinkansen, it's several hours to get from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka, and then more again if you go to Hiroshima, or head up north to Sendai or Aomori. Decide on a rough path and book hotels to match. The second time I went, I travelled out to Kyoto as soon as I landed, and worked my way back. I would have gone out to Hiroshima first if I had more time. If you keep having to go back and forth to Tokyo, you lose a lot of time you could spend seeing more sights, as places like Kyoto especially will require a few days.
Oh, and when booking hotels in Tokyo, avoid shinjuku. Seriously, avoid it. It's a nice place to visit but at peak times, it's incredibly busy, especially around the station, so getting away to visit somewhere else can be a dreadful experience.

As for what to see, I'd recommend visiting the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, as well as the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) and, if the repairs are finished by then, Kiyomizu-Dera. I'd also recommend a trip to Nara, which is a short ride from Kyoto, and has a great temple and shrine in the main park, as well as wild deer roaming around the place. I've not been to Osaka apart from visiting the massive sea life centre there, which was pretty impressive if you're into that sort of thing.
In Tokyo, I'd definitely recommend going up to one of the many observation floors in the buildings there. I went up Sunshine 60 the first time, and up the government building towers in Shinjuku the second time (added bonus, that one's free). There are a lot of temples and shrines around Tokyo, the Meiji shrine is worth a visit. I also like Ueno Park, it's a great area to relax, and has a lot of little shrines dotted around the park.

[Rasulis]

Sounds nice I'll definitely check that out, thanks.

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Yes we are all about the history and culture, sure don't want a beach vacation! Thank you for the suggestion.

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I'll check out Nara online, thank you.

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I actually did find some nice 3 star hotels in Tokyo for about 2.5K € for the 4 weeks. Do you mean the cost of the accommodations, restaurants and such?

My recommendation is to stay at an Onsen Ryokan for at least a night or two. Their service makes your standard 3 star hotel pale in comparison. Here is a website from our favorite Onsen Ryokan.

http://www.keiunkan.co.jp/en/

If you can afford it, get a room with private open air bath. Rates include dinner and breakfast, and we are not talking Holiday Inn breakfast. You can check out what they serve on the website.

[Rudkobing]

Go to Monster Island and say "Hi" to Godzilla. Great tourist trap. I give it 4 stars.