Going to Japan – 14 day tour

As you are generally a well travelled and cultured lot, I am asking for some input.

I have been to Japan 10 times plus with work but want to go with the wife in May next year.  Most of my Japanese experiences have been in Tokyo and Yokohama with my Japanese boss and his cohorts, so there are probably some places I would avoid.

We are both fit seniors – the current thoughts are Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima , Osaka and then some other stuff. The aim will be travel around on train, mainly , as it is fast , efficient, clean and relatively easy to use.

Tokyo – just because it has to be done, huge, temples, shrines, deep fried pork chops, ramen, Shibuya etc

Kyoto – because I have never been there

Osaka – foodie capital  of Japan

Hiroshima – kind of obvious

I am not looking for a hike up Mt Fuji – TBH I think we will see it as we travel around and from one of my old works sites, it looked like it was just next door!

I’m looking at avoiding the Golden week at the start of May.  Flying into either Hanada or Narita.

Has anyone been recently, as anyone done this via an organised tour – such as Trailfinders?  What other suggestions does anyone have?

Any suggestions?

It sounds like you already have a pretty good idea of what to do and where to go. I’d chuck into the mix for further consideration: Hokkaido, and the islands around Okinawa. Okinawa island itself is fine, but places like the Yaeyama islands are verging on tropical, quiet and gorgeous.

I’d miss Osaka (there’s plenty of food everywhere and Tokyo is probably the food capital of the world) and consider also going up to Hokkaido. Mountains will be snowed up, you’re definitely not hiking up Fuji at that time of year unless you really know what you’re doing! But the world’s your oyster really, you can see and do whatever you want.

Osaka is the food capital of Japan, and a lot more lively in the streets than Tokyo.

@mrmoofo – PM me your email and I’ll send you some ideas and advice that I’ve written up for other friends planning trips there.

I did 5 weeks there last year with my wife and really enjoyed it.

I would recommend Sado island. It’s beautifully quiet and like going back in time. We did loads of cycling round it, on pretty crap Panasonic e-bikes, but who cares when it looks this good. There’s also a really good bike ride around lots of islands nr Hiroshima. We started in Onomichi. Again, hire bikes but these were half decent. V quiet roads and loads of dedicated cycle paths. You can do nearly 200 km on that one I think and stay in small hotels en route.
Trains were super expensive. God I love sake!

Went in August this year for 2 weeks. Trip partly organised with Trailfinders using their 5g guide / app / box. It was spot on and we did a day on and day off with pre booked / organised itinerary then find our own stuff to do. Trains to link it all up.

You are def on the right lines and two stand out days were the onsen’s at Hakone (nice to relax in a very tranquil spot) and the bike tour at Kyoto – it really let you explore the crazyness of the city in a very different way…  https://www.kctp.net/

We will be going back at some point.

Oh, if you like watches see about going to a Grand Seiko boutique. And if you like denim, Samurai jeans is in Osaka (and there are a few different ones in Tokyo too)

I’m sure you already know but don’t forget you railpass. Must be bought in this country.

We would spend less time in Tokyo and more in Kyoto…..we basically rode hire bikes for 4 days around the city and area, and still did not want to see everything.

We took the train to Hiroshima from Kyoto, probably would spend time around Hiroshima.

Nara, liked it and would spend more time.

Kanazwa we visited and it was excellent.

Osaka ok meh

Used the train pass to nth degree to get the most. Rode hire bikes in all of the above.

Japan is ace

W e went earlier this year. Instead of flying into Tokyo we arrived in Kansai (Osaka) which enabled an easy train journey to Kyoto. Then onto Nara, before train again down to Hiroshima. Back by train up to Tokyo.

The trains were brilliant, but gave us no opportunity to explore, and we got fed up of hauling our luggage up and down stairs. (many stations don’t have escalators). We didn’t buy a rail pass. They are expensive; we easily bought tickets online for individual journeys whilst in Japan it worked out a lot cheaper.

We dumped the train in Tokyo and got a car, to drive through the Alps (brilliant) to Takayama and then Kanazawa. Driving was easy. Roads are in good condition, you drive on the left, and like the rest of Japanese society everyone abides by the road rules.

The car gave us the opportunity to explore areas en route, stop when we wanted and go here and there.

The whole trip was amazing, I can’t believe how much we enjoyed it and are seriously considering returning next year.

Highlight for my son on his 8 weeks there was the Japanese Alps. He took on the Diakaretto Ridge – https://www.hikemasterjapan.com/daikiretto-yarigatake-hotaka – and stayed at Matsumoto and Kamikochi, with Matsumoto being a favourite (although spontaneous beers with the local football team may be clouding his judgement…). If you are into hillwalking, they are steep and fabulous…

Nara is like a mini Kyoto and worth seeing.

If your train takes you past Himeji then definitely make time for a trip round the castle.

Agree the Japanese alps are fantastic, we spent most of our holidays there when living in Japan. It’s not really an option in May though unless you are serious about ice climbing.

early June, we just went straight up and down the easy/safe way:

https://julesandjames.blogspot.com/2010/06/jules-pics-pre-rainy-season-raid-on.html?m=1

It’s not really an option in May though unless you are serious about ice climbing.

Although if you don’t want to do mountain hiking/climbing two good alpine options in May are:

– Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route – a day’s journey across the mountains between Matsumoto and Toyama (featuring the spectacular road through the snow walls)  https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7550.html,

– Kamigochi  Valley – lots of good low level walking in the valley and accessible as a day trip from Matsumoto and Takayama: https://www.kamikochi.org/

Thanks all, off to add to the planning

Thanks to J-R for a really comprehensive list of their experiences and details of what to do.

Next question:  As it is significant birthdays , it’s business class time, the choices being:

Swiss / Lufthansa (Star Alliance) – I have miles with them.  But the last time we used these was to go to Oz, and the only flight they would offer was Thai.  Which was the worst business class I have every experienced!

Emirates – loads of air miles, know what the planes are like, know Dubai airport inside out

Cathay Pacific – never flown with them , stop off in HK, what are they like?

ANA – spendy but I loved travelling with them (and they go into Haneda)

Anyone have experiences of Asiana?

I have ruled out China Southern/ China Eastern/ Air China just because …

Thoughts?

Does anyone fly Dreamliner? Do that. Somehow we managed to get on one of the first routes while living in Japan (Tokyo Denver I think) and it was plush in economy plus.

Cathay Pacific – never flown with them , stop off in HK, what are they like?

IME, excellent. HK is great for a day or two of shopping and eating. You could also spend a day or two in Macau, which is very different to HK (but apparently overrun with Chinese tourists going to the casinos these days, I went there in 2006.)

I don’t think you need any more ideas* but a couple of general things from our trips, which are the best two holidays we’ve ever had –

1 – As hinted at above, the JR pass is not what it was – it used to be an essential but prices rocketed recently, do some sums before deciding whether to get it or not.

2 – On our first trip, we fitted in as much as we could – it was utterly brilliant but absolutely flat-out, which meant we ate a lot of train station bento (not in itself a bad thing!). The second time, we made a choice not to cram our days quite so full which meant we had time to grab a coffee, pick a noodle bar, find a good place for sushi, etc etc. Leaving times for the random made a big difference.

3 – Send your bags between locations. Costs a few quid but you’ll see SO much – we only saw our big bags at every other location and used a smaller bag with just enough clothes and kit in between. You’ll know this already but services in Japan are so good, there’s zero fear of them not turning up.

4 – Don’t stick to hotels. We’ve done Air BnB three times, and each time they have been divine – sliding doors, tatzmi mats, lots of wood and kitchens of fifties Bakelite. Shout-outs to staying with the monks in Koyosan and the ryokan on Shirakawa-go – Shirakawa was probably the most tourist-intense place we’ve been and the family-run ryokan cost a fortune, but as an experience the inn was sublime.

5 – We hired wifi dongles both times, firstly because it worked so well the first time, secondly because you can connect a bunch of devices simultaneously. Book in advance (think we used Japan Wireless…?), the dongle will be awaiting your arrival and comes with a pre-paid envelope, so all you have to do at the airport is pop it in the post.

I love the place, as I said they were our two best holidays and I love hearing what everyone else gets up to. 🙂

*Although, if you do… 🙂

Things to do in Japan

Things to do in Japan Pt II

Edit – oh, and this, too –

God I love sake!

My fiftieth coincided with the Hachiman Festival in Toyama, and Toyama’s known for its sake breweries – lots of cheap tasters, I thought we’d get round the lot but there’s SO much sake to taste, we only managed two. Best birthday ever. 🙂

I love these sorts of threads.  Hoping to wind down with work soon and I’ve told Mrs Rock that we need to be more adventurous while we have the chance.  Some of these things mentioned here, and on a previous New Zealand thread, sound amazing, and I’ve love to experience.

Organisation sounds half the battle!

TL:DR. BOOKMARKED

Swiss / Lufthansa (Star Alliance) – I have miles with them.  But the last time we used these was to go to Oz, and the only flight they would offer was Thai.  Which was the worst business class I have every experienced!

Emirates – loads of air miles, know what the planes are like, know Dubai airport inside out

Cathay Pacific – never flown with them , stop off in HK, what are they like?

ANA – spendy but I loved travelling with them (and they go into Haneda)

Anyone have experiences of Asiana?

I have ruled out China Southern/ China Eastern/ Air China just because …

Thoughts?

I’d agree with you on the Chinese airlines, my sense was generally that their business class wasn’t as luxurious. And the routings aren’t necessarily fun – Beijing airport is not a great place to spend time, for example.

Cathay business is lovely, very efficient, nice duvet/ pillow combo on the beds. Emirates, you know what you’re getting; Thai I’ve not had problems with their business class, but I’ve only flown with them in the daytime. ANA is decent.

Asiana personally I don’t know, which would be enough for me to probably go with a different airline

KLM does the dreamliner, and Schiphol’s an easy transit airport. There’s lots of good advice here, using the wee postie vans for luggage transfer is one of the best bits.

The WiFi dongles, though? Get an eSIM instead. We looked at all the WiFi options for us as a family of four, and it was all working out at around the same price whichever option we chose,  so I went for WIFIBOX as they had an office in the lobby of the first hotel we stayed at. It was useless – constantly saying it had amazing 5G yet we couldn’t get any.

Pick up a Suica card before you leave the airport. It makes train (and bus, tram, and ferry) travel so much easier, and you can also use it on some vending machines.

Try all the vending machines! Qoo is essential, Tomenade is weirdly tasty, Pocari Sweat sounds disgusting but is amazing and keeps you properly hydrated. There’s another drink that looks pure ’50s but tastes like carbonated vanilla. It’s brilliant. Soooo many vending machines. Go in with an open mind.

Osaka. Hmmmm. It may well be the food capital of Japan, and I’ve never had better ramen anywhere else in my life, but I don’t like the place at all. Cool subway trains, though. And possibly the best aquarium in the world.

Hiroshima is another place with a weird, dark, vibe. Nagasaki has a similar history but seems to have shrugged it off rather than wallowing in it. Also has cool trams, and the Ishihara Garden is a delight. Glover garden is also good. Lots of lovely beachy islands round and about as well. And the one from that Bond film.

Kyoto is worth more than a few days. The foodie market is exceptional. Gold and silver temples are fine enough if you like that sort of thing. I was templed out quite quickly. We also did a bike tour, and it was one of the best things we did. Can’t remember the company’s name, but the boy was South American. Try to hit a concert at the railway station. The acoustics are amazing!

There’s loads to see and experience. I want to go back now.

Just curious really, but how easy is it to get around and do things if you don’t speak the language?

If I was visiting somewhere like Germany for example I could probably get by without knowing German as things are recognisable or similar to English, but somewhere like Japan where it’s just an utterly foreign language (not to mention not being able to read anything!) it seems like it would be a lot more difficult.

Ridiculously so. The first time I went was sixteen years ago, and there was somewhere in Tokyo I wanted to visit. My travelling partners didn’t, and went for a nap. I went down to the hotel lobby, used their computer to print out directions from Google Maps, and walked to the nearest subway. I ended up on an out-of-the-way (for Tokyo) line, without any English on the interactive map in the train, but the stations did have English names as well as the Kanji. I only got lost once, and was helped on my way by one of those cuddly mascots.

I was in Japan with the whole family a few months ago. It’s even easier now. Most people in the cities have an excellent command of English. Rural it’s maybe 50:50, but also there’s a mild reluctance from the Japanese to speak English if they’re not literally perfect at it!

Yeah in Tokyo it’s easy enough but I would say if you’re off the beaten track it can be quite challenging as a tourist. Rural areas you really don’t find much English. However things tend to work out ok, the transport is very efficient and you can usually pretty much go with the flow. Don’t run out of cash, though things might have improved in the past decade since we left.

Just been reading this on line article about  gravel riding around Kyoto. Sounds absolutely fabulous.

https://www.gravelunion.cc/article/searching-for-japanese-rindo-with-the-gravel-hunter.

Just curious really, but how easy is it to get around and do things if you don’t speak the language?

Place names at train, metro and bus stations will have English text and Roman numbers for platforms/stops, etc. We found the Jepanese very keen to help whether they spoke English or not, which actually wasn’t always that helpful – our first night, we were trying to find our Tokyo ryokan (Andon ryokon, fabulous service at this little place – very little!) and were intercepted by a very drunk man on a bicycle with no English (him, not the bike) and we had no Japanese. He tried really, really hard to help, but it didn’t really happen… 🙂 Wasn’t the only time on that trip, either, happened in Kyoto too.

Flip side – day one of our second trip, we were struggling to work out the metro to get to the Skytree. Random passer-by stops to help – little English (we had little Japanese), sussed out what we wanted, made sure we knew the stops, bought the tickets, wouldn’t take money for them. Top man, him. 🙂

I spent a lot of time on Duolingo before our second trip, but beyond being able to say please, thank you, two beers and where’s the bathroom, etc, it didn’t really help – I managed to tell a taxi driver to turn left and asked the proprietor of the ryokan at Shirakawa-go if he liked the snow (no, it makes a lot of work!), and that was it. A random passer-by at a bus stop in Nagano started talking about my Koji Miyoshi (then of Blues) jersey, and we conversed just fine through the medium of Google Translate. 🙂 Works on at least some Japanese script, too – check everything you’re thinking of eating from supermarkets. EVERYTHING.