Reply With QuotePop a PM to Paul (Tokyo Tokei) aka Our Man in Japan - awfully nice fella
Well, our wedding is fast approaching (24th August, in fact) but because work is so busy at the moment we've pushed our honeymoon proper back to next July and will instead be taking a long weekend in Venice for now.
The intention is that we'll spend a couple of weeks in Japan (we've both always wanted to go there) but to be completely honest the conversations that we've had about it have demonstrated that some guidance would be useful. I guess we'd like to spend some time lazing around by the sea but that aside does anyone have any good ideas with regard to places of interest/hotels therein? Tokyo is definitely on the agenda so any help in that respect would be great, as would good beach locations/hotels.
Thanks in advance
Pop a PM to Paul (Tokyo Tokei) aka Our Man in Japan - awfully nice fella
There are many guides to Japan. Almost all of them will include advice to buy a railpass - I would echo this.
Things to do - take your pick. There are castles, temples, countryside, modern sights, spas etc. I would recommend the shinkansen to Kyoto, this will be covered by the rail pass. Also goes past Mt Fuji.
If you have tattoos you may be asked to cover them in public - still quite a taboo in Japan. Many signs are in English, public transport is very efficient (but busy!!) so I wouldn't bother with taxi's. Tokyo Tokei lives out there so will probably be able to help you a bit more :)
First of all, fantastic choice. After we got married, it was on our hitlist of places we simply had to do...and it's probably been the best place either of us have been to, either before or after we met (and we're both quite well-travelled :-) )
I'd say the two weeks you're planning is good..need that at a minimum really. 2-3 weeks would be ideal.
I'll come back with detailed info...but be prepared to a) travel around and b)spend quite a lot of money (accommodation isn't cheap for a start).
But if done right, Japan is one awesome country to visit.
More later...
Ooh will keep an interested eye on this. Its our 10th anniversary next September and have been thinking about Japan ourselves for some time
Me too. It's high on the list for next year...Originally Posted by senwar
If it's your honeymoon you probably won't leave the hotel so what does it matter?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Some nice quiet beaches near Fukushima.
I'd love to go.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
Out of interest, how much beach-time are you planning roughly? So I can perhaps recommend some stuff around this.
Never thought of Japan as a beach place to be honest...would avoid doing more than a couple of days of it as there is so much else to see and do..but to each his own. :-)
Not sure to be honest. We'll both have had an exhausting year leading up to next July, and we also happen to enjoy beach holidays. I guess finding the right balance is what we need to do, bearing in mind that this is a one-off opportunity to experience a very different culture.
I suppose that means a bit of beach, but not too much
In that case go on your own to ThailandWe'll have been together for 7 years by then
Congratulations and good choice. Always wanted to go to Japan myself too.
Great, also where myself and other half are going after getting married next year. Were lucky enough to have friends out there, especially one who works for the British embassy.
I would be interested to see how it pans out for you though.
Cheers.
Ah, my thread :-)
We can chat offline Tony ( once you've forgiven me for recommending a Time Capsule ... ) so don't hesitate to send me a mail/PM.
In general :
Beaches, no problem. The nicest ones are probably in the south, very south such as the small islands near Okinawa being the best examples. There is a Club Med down there that is excellent. I've been and can recommend it. However... it's probably the most expensive way to experience a beach in the world. Seriously, I'd just go to Saipan, a nicer area of Phuket, the Maldives or somewhere much closer to Europe if relaxing on a beach was a priority. It's possible to stay in Tokyo and catch a train out to the beaches ( and temples ) at Kamakura or Zushi in about an hour. There is even a beach at Tokyo Bay.... close, but I'd skip it.
July eh ? Rainy season. By the end of July/August the rainy season is over but it can be staggeringly hot and uncomfortably humid. It's 7am as I write this, 37 degrees outside, and if I open a window it's like the moment you step out of an aeroplane having flown from somewhere cold to somewhere tropical - a huge blast of hot damp air. Walking from the house 10 steps to the car, and I already feel like I need a shower. If you are flexible on the date, end of August and all through September is drier and cooler - but still very warm. If it has to be July, no problem but be prepared for alternating cool/hot/cloudy/typhoon/sunny.
Where to stay ? The hotels are expensive, certainly, but then are hotels in London. Unlike top London hotels, you'll be treated like royalty though. Off the top of my head, some nice ones around central Tokyo :
Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons ( there are two, one near Tokyo Station, one much further out in Mejiro ), the Peninsular, The Imperial, The Okura, Cerulean Tower, Shangri-la ... etc. My favourite of those is probably The Okura but for nostalgia's sake really. For a visitor, any of these would be superb, have a browse of their websites and see which of their views/bars/rooms/spas appeals. The Cerulean, for what it's worth, is in Shibuya - 5 mins walk from a ton of watch shops in one direction, and 5 mins walk from Tokyo Tokei's humble abode in the other :-) If you have a hotel in mind, let me know - while it is very hard indeed to find a bad one, at any price, some areas are just more convenient for visitors than others. It can make a big difference.
There is quite enough in and around Tokyo to keep anyone busy for 2 weeks, but if you get the tourist rail ticket ( which you can only buy outside Japan, I seem to recall ) you can see some less frenetic places. Kyoto takes about 2 and half hours from Tokyo, and I can recommend a small but perfectly reasonable hotel down there complete with free onsen, to act a comfortable base. There is a lot to see in Kyoto, a very nice 2 day visit at least.
If you are interested in getting away from the cities, there are great walking and hiking trails within easy reach of Tokyo. The Hakkone national park is one such area worth a visit. If you're not up for the hiking, you can take cable cars or the funicular railway ( the carriages are imported from Switzerland ) over much of it, including to the Hakkone Open Air museum, which is superb. A huge manicured expanse of garden on the side of a mountain, with mazes, bridges, ponds and ... a bunch of art. Henry Moore and Giacometti sculptures just standing around. An enormous dedicated Picasso musuem. It's quite extraodinary. Mount Fuji is close by, which if you are feeling fit...
Enough I think. If you decide what you are interested in doing I can make more specific recommendations. You could just arrive and roll with it, of course, there is some value in unplanned pleasures too.
Paul
Last edited by Tokyo Tokei; 4th August 2012 at 00:15.
Paul, I knew you were the man to help, and I appreciate the thought that went into your post above. Thank you, and if it's okay with you I'll take this offline and perhaps try to plan the trip using your knowledge and experience.
I've already passed on your comments regarding timing, and Bea's quite happy to go a little later in the year - say, mid to late September. Apparently we also have to stay in a Ryokan whilst we're there, notwithstanding that the facilities are likely to be communal
I also think we'll have to leave the beach holiday for another time, and just focus on taking in/experiencing as much of the culture as we can. I can't wait, actually
I would recommend Hokkaido. It is much more laid back than Tokyo and dotted with boutique hot spring hotels with great scenery and food. Best seafood in the world. Hire a car and drive around.
My last job took me to Japan a few times, never made it to the beach, but there's so much to see and do. I would spend my time at Yodobashi Camera, in Tokyo they even have a golf range on the roof.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnSqQUKvLIk
I did two month-long trips in Japan in -06 and -08, one in spring and one in fall.
I traveled solo and spent less then planned as finding inexpensive, basic hotels was easier than I would have thought. That said the Yen, at least against the Swedish Krona, is almost 50% more expensive now!* I booked many of my stays a couple of days in advance on Rakuten btw.
My trips was aroung the inland sea and Osaka to Sapporo, not spending that much time in the big cities. I do not speak Japanese but that was not really a problem.
If you are visiting just a 2-3 places during your 2 week stay I don't know if the JR rail pass is worth it, a 7 day pass is about £240 i think. (You buy the pass at home and get an exchange order that can be change at some JR Service Centers.)
Don't know what you are looking for but Hiroshima has interesting sites and Miyajima (just outside) really is nice when the last boat has left and crowds are gone.
I could also recomend a stay at temple lodging at Mt. Koya if you visit Osaka region.
There is not much better than soaking in an outdoor onsen in the mountins with snow still on the slopes around.
If you think I can be of any help don't hesitate to send me a PM.
*Yes I'm kicking myself for not getting a back GS then..
I have no advice to give other than to say that you HAVE to buy a Grand Seiko!
We spent 3 weeks in Japan for our honeymoon in Oct 2010 and the weather was still perfect.
We got a rail pass and were on a reasonable but not backpackers budget and stayed in some lovely places.
Itinerary was roughly..
6 nights in Tokyo with day trips to Nikko, kamakura and Hakone and a night in a capsule hotel in Asaskusa. Surreal but fun.
1 night in Takayama, 1 night in Shirawaka-Go
2 nights in Kanazawa (few tourists but v interesting)
4 nights in Kyoto but could easily do more.
1 night in Kyosan
1 night Osaka
1 night in Miyajima island via Hiroshima
Then last night back in Tokyo.
It was a hectic trip but we might never get a chance to go back so we made the most of it. I could bore you to tears about how much I loved the place.
Joe
Here is my take on Japan as a couple of you mentioned you planned to go at some point. Trying to get round to write up some info on this and not really getting a chance, so doing it in instalments. I've tried to keep it as brief as possible but it's difficult to and the whole log I wrote during the trip with numerous other details would take me about two days to type up...plus you would lose interest. So, as a guide.....
The itinerary we planned, and which worked very well for us, will give you some ideas. As a guide, if you are going for around 2 weeks, 3 nights in the major cities should be enough with 1/2 night stays at some places, interspersed. Definitely get a Lonely Planet!
Our itinerary:
Tokyo – 3 nights including Kamakura day trip
Hiroshima – 2 nights - Miyajima day trip
Kyoto – 4 nights – Nara day trip
Mount Koya – 1 night
Takayama – 2 nights
Hakone – 2 nights
Tokyo – 2 nights
Tokyo
When you get to Tokyo, do not take a taxi from the airport to the City. You will pay about two thousand pounds – ok an exaggeration, but very expensive. Get the train which takes you dead centre of all the districts.
I’d highly recommend seeing as much of Japan as possible and therefore travelling by train is the only way. Get a JR (Japan Rail Pass) before you go as they aren’t available to buy there. We paid about £350 online for a two-week pass..there is a one-week option too. It will seem like pocket change when you see the individual train fares between Cities when you get there. The JR pass is valid on the rolling stock and of course the Hikari /Kodama trains which are the Shinkansen bullet trains and very nice they are; but it won't include the Nozomi which are very similar-looking but a bit faster (something like 180mph vs 200mph..you won’t feel the difference). The trains are incredible – wide, comfortable seats and the super-smooth hum as you whizz past the country is just something to savour. Get your pass validated at the airport on arrival..it was downstairs somewhere from the arrivals at Narita.
We stayed in Shinjuku but Shibuya is also popular. Both districts are buzzing – well, so is Tokyo generally . The train stations our massive – like underground cities and you WILL get lost. Shinjuku is no exception and thanks to a lovely Japanese woman who took it upon herself to ask if we were ok and then take us to where we needed to go, we might still be walking around there now (Japanese people are so friendly and polite, they go out of their way to help if you ask...although they may appear very shy when you approach them).
Our room was at the Prince Hotel for info – very small – you can’t lay a suitcase out there flat but then that seems to be a trend at most Japanese hotels. Budget for a decent hotel (3/4*+) is easily 100 quid a night. You will spend a lot on accommodation if you like it fairly comfortable. I don’t think hostels are the way to go on a trip like this!
On the first night there, I recommend going to the famous huge Tsukiji Fish Market. Your body clock will be all over the place so getting up at 3am to get a cab there will be no problem. This is where you see the market come to life and the huge tunas come in for the famous tuna auction. You have to be early to see this as there a limited no. of first-come, first-served tickets – approx 70 a group – 2 groups total. Afterwards, you can have some sushi at one of the places just off the market (‘Daiwa Zushi’ came recommended) but it can turn your stomach eating sea urchin at 6am!
We saw the Sumo competition which was at the semi-final stages during our visit. You can book that online from here and pick the tickets up from the box office when you’re there.
Good Katsu Curry place in Tokyo (Shinjuku) was Nimra. Cheap too. It’s not a given you will get good Katsu Curry in Japan. I had a couple of bad ones.
Kamakura for a day trip is a good idea from Tokyo. Chance to get out of the big City and it’s by the sea which makes it a bit of a rest from the big smoke. Nice little streets, shops, restaurants , shrines etc. to see.
Hiroshima
Next stop after Tokyo , 5 hours by train. Picked it next as was the furthest point from our start and end – Tokyo so could work our way back up the country. I believe Hiroshima is something really worth doing. It’s not the most exciting of cities but the museum is a very moving experience (I’m not usually into endless museums on holiday) and the memorial park is worth walking around. You only need a couple of nights there but I would recommend it for the museum alone.
Miyajima is a day-trip from Hiroshima - an island with the ‘floating shrine’ (Tori gate) perhaps worth a visit although the day we went it was pelting it down with rain.
Kyoto
On the train journey from Hiroshima to Kyoto is an ideal stop off at Himeji – a legendary castle on a hill , visible from the train – unfortunately with scaffolding around it when we visited it but looks beautiful otherwise. An hour or two here is all you need.
Kyoto is a City that mixes the modern with numerous shrines and holy sites to visit. You could do these visits for weeks although we picked 2 or 3 of the main ones e.g. Kiyomizu-Dera, Kinkakuji
Highly recommend Hotel Monterey – a modern and pristine hotel with baroque and kitsch touches, beautiful lobby - all in a good location.
Try and find a traditional Shabu Shabu eating place – and you may even spot a proper geisha flitting through the night – quite a rare sight in Japan these days. If you can find the pub cum jazz bar called Hello Dolly, you will enjoy some slightly surreal renditions of English songs over a quiet drink. Recommended!
Do the day-trip to the former capital – Nara – which has tame deer wandering around its main holy site- Todai-ji.
-----------------
Final instalment next week.
Apologies for my tardiness. Who knew 3 weeks could fly by so fast?!
Here is the second and final instalment, carrying on the itinerary from last stop, Kyoto.
Mount Koya – 1 night
Takayama – 2 nights
Hakone – 2 nights
Tokyo – 2 nights
Mount Koya/Koyasan
This involves a bit of travelling and chopping and changing but it is well worth the effort. In fact, I think we had our best experiences in our short (1 night) stay there. From Kyoto, we had our luggage sent onto Takayama.
Then we took the short journey on the Nozomi to Osaka, changed onto the Midosuji line to get the subway to Namba, which took around 20 minutes. For the next leg, we had to buy tickets as the JR pass didn’t cover this route. This ticket is a combination ticket that includes the 1.5hr ‘Limited Express’ train to Gokurakubashi , then the funicular up the mountain of Koya and finally short bus journey to the temple in which we stayed. I’m relaying the detail of the journey as it is quite specific and does take a few hours but , like I say, it’s worth it. The train journey to Gokurabashi is scenic, winding up through the mountains. We stayed at Ekoin temple but there are numerous others at the top and recommended in the guides.
This experience allows you to stay in a real monastery and live the way of the monks. This includes joining them for ceremonies, early morning prayers, sleeping on tatami (mats), eating vegetarian, Japanese delicacies (often unrecognisable to any sort of food we are familiar with!) and generally enjoying the relaxed, peaceful surroundings. It is something I would say you simply must do.
There are a couple of sites on the mountain that you can cover in less than an hour – a large seated Buddha is one – and then you can get back to relaxing at your chosen monastery.
On our one night stay, we did a night-time cemetery tour. This is a massive cemetery that holds a special place across the country as it has some of the most famous and spiritual, religious and commercial leaders interred there. It is a slightly spooky experience walking through a dark cemetery by torchlight but you are with a guide and other people so absolutely nothing to be worried, scared about. Seeing for example the tombstone of the former top guy at Panasonic- Mr. Matsushita, complete with Panasonic-branded headstone is a bit bizarre but adds to the fun.
At the end, it opens up to a clearing where there is a stream (where monks bathe before entering the temple) and on the night we were there, we were very lucky to see a ceremony taking place, with the chanting , swaying, beautiful robes colour and ornate decoration really adding to the magic of it all. Next door was a temple full of lanterns which was also beautiful. It’s something we will never forget and we never expected to be like.
We finished the night back at the temple by taking a dip in the onsen* there – quite a cosy place but I didn’t mind that really. You certainly feel cleansed, both inside and out, after this stay!
The next morning we got up early for the ‘fire’ ceremony next door and checked out shortly afterwards.
Takayama
3 hr journey from Mount Koya but again, beautiful scenery with mountains, rivers, gorges.
Takayama is a relatively small city but is worth a couple of nights for walking through the typically old narrow streets, viewing the old houses built to protect against severe Winters, the old folk villages (Hida folk village), browsing the quaint shops and seeing the flea markets.
I can recommend the modern Spa Alpina hotel where we stayed. Clean, contemporary and reasonably priced with rooftop onsen which was again fantastic as I got the place to myself a couple of times.
Hakone
This is essentially a big resort built around a large lake up in the mountains and in view of Mount Fuji. We stayed at the Prince Hakone (Prince being a large chain in Japan) which was sometimes eerily quiet and reminded me of The Shining. Bear in mind, there are no towns or restaurants nearby so eating and general activity is limited to the resort.
The lake has various boat trips including a bit pirate ship thing that is a tourist’s delight. We didn’t go on it but used the pedalos etc.
There is a day trip to be made of mountains nearby where you can take the cable car up (station: Togendai) to the top to see Mount Fuji from a distance (if no cloud which there often is) and walk around, experiencing the smell of hydrogen sulphide and the volcanic activity that takes place – very smoky. You can also eat the blackened eggs that they cook in the volcanic heat – a bit of a gimmick to be honest.
Back at the resort, there is not too much to do except relax and view or boat on the lake. Hakone is maybe worth seeing if you like lakes and a bit of scenery but for us, it was the most disappointing part of the whole trip. It just felt like it was catering to your average Japanese tourist family and was low on quality food (canteen-style restaurants) - overpriced at that - and general things to do. It didn’t feel like the Japan we had experienced on the rest of our trip – rather like a downmarket American resort – and I would not go back there. Seeing Fuji, even through the cloud was perhaps the ‘highlight’ – and people go to Fuji as a trip in itself anyway so this can be skipped. The rest was forgettable.
Our other night in this area was at a ryokan**. We stayed at a pretty nice one as it’s something you probably wouldn’t do again for a long time (when my wife told me the price for a night’s stay, my eyes watered) but it was pretty nice. Luxury upstairs/downstairs living space with own onsen in the bathroom, spectacular views, good meals brought to your room and experiencing Japanese hospitality. This part of the Hakone stay was worth it.
Tokyo
Back to Tokyo for the final two nights. My old schoolfriend lives there now so took us out to some good places that only locals would know (soup dipping noodles, good Kobe beef etc).
In our last two days , in brief: covered Roppongi (nightlife, upmarket shopping and working district), ‘Electronic City’ (Akihabara) – great place for seeing endless Seiko watches! Ginza district if you like boutiques, ladies’ shopping and nice watch stores, massive Sony store in which to have a play with the latest gadgets/Tokyo Tower/Harajuku shopping district in the daytime with its whacky and crazy fashions and dressed-up young girls selling various goods – no , not that type (sounds weird but you have to see it) leading onto the upmarket Ometosando shopping district, the nearby park with temples located in the centre, Shibuya district/Government Metropolitan building for the views, drinks at the Park Hyatt New York bar (as featured in Lost in Translation)
In Roppongi is a cool place we found called SuperDeluxe where people come to jam and listen to jazz. We covered a lot and I think we did everything we wanted to do but we’d love to go back again, even if it’s for work. It’s a truly fantastic country with lovely people and a good mix of culture, tradition and modern life.
Buy the coach ticket to get back to the airport. Can purchase these from the large hotels near Roppongi and the journey is about an hour. Much cheaper than taxi or even train.
Enjoy and would love to hear other people’s experiences of Japan when they go.
Miscellaneous:
*The onsen mentioned are the traditional Japanese hot springs that are the baths you find in many hotels and ryokan** (a type of Japanese inn that can be anything from basic to luxurious). These must be experienced, (ideally in combination).
Take advantage of the send-suitcase-on service. Works like clockwork and you can use this facility from any hotel to send your suitcases on to any hotel in another city to arrive the next day. Cost – around £12 per case; money very well spent. Otherwise you WILL be lugging your suitcases up and down many stairs at stations. There seem to be endless stairs everywhere in Japan, especially at the stations.
Japan is phenomenally clean. You could eat your food off the urinals and I saw cleaners really taking pride in their work. You can eat anywhere without having to worry about hygiene.
Fruit is ridiculously expensive from markets – I remember asking how much a pack of grapes was..50 quid! But they like their fruit perfect there so it’ll probably be the best fruit you ever tasted.
Have to mention the ubiquitious vending machines and the cola jelly drinks especially!
The toilets that wash you. They really are everywhere and I had to try it...it worked very well.
If you want any info then feel free to PM me but there's loads of good info on japan-guide.com too.Fantastic - I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for the detail youve gone into, and it's given me real cause to think again about the way we organise our trip. So many good ideas
Joe
I'd echo much of what's been said above. Having worked in Tokyo previously, we finally holidayed there in 2010 for a fortnight (also during the rains), and spent some time in Tokyo decompressing, before heading down to Hiroshima / Miyajima, then to Kyoto via Himeji, and back to Tokyo. Missed Nara (but won't miss it the next time we go back). Enjoyed the ultra-touristy Kamakura. And even snuck in a trip to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. Also managed to get a trip round Tsukiji, etc, etc. Amazing place. Loved it. Hope you do too.
So much to see and do. I spent a month there back in 97 so these comments may be out of date now.
Such a fantastic place with old and new mixing together in a most unusual way.
For me, I spent a couple of days in Tokyo. Shopping - I'm not really a shopper but it's quite an experience! - and then traveled about - including being lucky enough to stay with a Buddhist Monk.
If you like history, you will be astonished by the amount of temples there are. For me, the golden temple is quite astonishing.
I'd also see the Great Buddha if you get the chance.
Mount Fuji - worth a visit too.
If you're into cars, forgive me but I'm struggling to remember what it was called, but there was a fantastic showroom for Toyota's old and new, including, at the time of my visit, TRD Supra's. As a lad, I was in heaven sat inside a 600bhp Supra.
Enjoy!
You're very welcome.Fantastic - I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for the detail youve gone into, and it's given me real cause to think again about the way we organise our trip. So many good ideasI'm sure you'll have the time of your life. I only ask that you share some of your experiences when you come back because I love hearing about Japan!
Hokkaido was certainly beautiful when I went for my HM although that was in December.
You'll have an amazing time - would be interested to hear about it as I am planning a similar expedition for next year...Well, our wedding is fast approaching (24th August, in fact) but because work is so busy at the moment we've pushed our honeymoon proper back to next July and will instead be taking a long weekend in Venice for now.
The intention is that we'll spend a couple of weeks in Japan (we've both always wanted to go there) but to be completely honest the conversations that we've had about it have demonstrated that some guidance would be useful. I guess we'd like to spend some time lazing around by the sea but that aside does anyone have any good ideas with regard to places of interest/hotels therein? Tokyo is definitely on the agenda so any help in that respect would be great, as would good beach locations/hotels.
Thanks in advance
Firstly, a superb choice and I love the unorthodoxness of it. Japan is my favourite country in the world.
Tokyo Tokei has obviously covered pretty much everything. I would second the Okura as a Tokyo Hotel, it is like being in a Roger Moore Bond film. It was my choice for when my parents visited Japan.
Kyoto is a must.
Outside of central Tokyo people will have very limited or no English. They are so friendly and eager to help though so you just work through these things. Just worth bearing in mind (maybe a few Japanese lessons before going).
Also Osaka if you like to party until 7a.m.
God I miss Japan...
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