Things to do in Japan

Mrs Pondo and I have booked a break in Japan next Easter – just wondered if the collective had any good tips for things to see and do? We’re flying into Tokyo, should be cherry blossom-tastic, I don’t doubt we won’t be short of sights to see but it’d be great if we could get a list of essentials if anyone’s been before. 🙂

take an empty suitcase and a fresh credit card and go shopping. I hate shopping but not in Tokyo. Tokyu Hands in Ginza is good for posh trinkets and artfully designed bits and bobs. Shinjuku has loads of great shops. Skytree is good during the day. Akihabara is a visual trip, probably the most ‘Tokyo’ looking area. And you must go to the Robot Restaurant. Must.

Take the Bullet train to Kyoto. Get into the mountains and see a Buddhist temple.

What Murray said.we went for two weeks and loved it. We purchased a train pass in the uk for 400 quid which gives you unlimited travel across Japan. Go out and explore the country is amazing.

Also eat non-stop at every restaurant you pass. There are a ton of really good places around the railway arches near Yurakucho (I think).

All the ideas above are great.

I think Kamakura / Enoshima is a nice day trip to the coast and is an easy hour or so from Tokyo.

Oh and enjoy the food!

A month too late for the Kokofu Ten bonsai show unfortunately.

Stay in a temple with monks and eat their food.
Wander the streets of the old part of Kyoto at dusk.
Eat everything. Especially okonomoyaki.
Learn enough Japanese to tell people they can speak English. It really encourages them and gets you off the hook.
Find a fast food place that does gyoza and eat loads of them.
Think about beds. The mats are great but a pain when you’re jetlagged and your bed is in a cupboard so maybe something for week 2.
If you go to Miyajima(near Hiroshima) to see the floating tori allow time for the rest of the island which is far more interesting.
Use hotel time to get on wifi and take photos of maps. Data costs on phones are crippling.
Look up to how buy and use suica card to get around Tokyo and other cities.
Buy the train pass before you go. First class has beer on tap (on a trolley) served at your seat. It might be worth it to you.
If you want to go to the fishmarket seriously think about where your hotel is in relation to it and get there by 3am.

day trip from Tokyo to Nikko for the temples, I was going to suggest a trip to Nikko Brewery too but it seems as though it shut down after the last major earthquake.

Stay in a Ryokan (traditional inn), preferably in Kyoto.

I used the itineraries from this site as a guide when I went just to get an idea of what was in the area.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_12.html

Tokyo metro is vast and confusing. Use a website Hyperdia to get train info. It tells you which platform to go to, which makes a huge difference.

Kamakura is nice, with loads of temples and a big Buddha.

If you fly into/out of Narita airport, the temple there is amazing, with huge grounds.

Buy some proper carbon steel Japanese kitchen knives.
Buy a 14″ carbon steel Japanese wok (one with iron handle and made with one piece iron).
Buy a Traditional Japanese fish scaler.

Too many to consider so to make it easier for you … just buy all the Japanese kitchenware cooking tools utensils … I would.

😛

You’ve already got a bunch of great ideas. If you are interested in a walk, there are fabulous mountains – it will be snowy but there are some nice day trips from Tokyo, you can walk in to the Hakone area, visit a hot spring and get the train home in a day (or spend a night if you want). Kamakura used to have great sakura but last time I was there (feb this year) they had ripped up the main street – assume they were planning on replanting but don’t know the schedule, so try to check before you go.

Hyperdia is actually really important. Don’t get it until just before you go as the first 30 days on the app are free.

Might not be right for you, but I would 100% go snowboarding. One day.

God nam it …. I wanna go back, now!

Traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto was pretty cool.

Todaiji Temple, Nara (Giant Buddha)
Nikko

Kyoto – Temple of 1000 buddhas; Golden Pavillion

Hiroshima – the “bomb” dome and museum.

Fantastic places.

Be Big.

Very different country and culture but loads of sights for every taste. If the cherry blossoms are out then it will be busy, but great for photos.

Even though the main cities have signs in Roman alphabet and the tourist and train workers tend to speak English, worth learning a little Japanese to be polite (hello, please, thanks, do you speak English etc) and learn what some basic signs looks like.

In 5 days we did 2 full days in Kyoto, 1 full day in Tokyo and 1 night in the mountains (snow monkeys + onsen/hot natural spring baths + traditional Japanese stay and food, stayed here). Travel was easy using the tourist pass (buy before you leave) and public transport. I would do Kyoto again and the traditional stay was worth it for the experience. If you visit Kyoto, as well as the many temples (don’t try to see them all but concentrate on 3-5 and get up nice and early to visit a zen garden or smaller temple in the quiet) it is worth wandering around the Gion area Miyakawa-cho Dori at night to see the traditional ryokan and perhaps a Geisha or two (there are some tourist traps on this street but there are also some good restaurants).

Haven’t been for a couple of years but have been to Tokyo loads of times.

A few things for Tokyo.

Download the Lonely Planet guide on your phone, the maps are offline and you can use the gps to sort out where you are.

Ginza – Worth visiting on the weekend when they close the road so easier to walk around. Go into the big department stores and have a look at the traditional goods, especially the Kimono’s (and how expensive they are). If you want to get a proper one for your wife get a vintage one from Hayashi Kimono which is in the International Arcade under the train line near Yurakucho station close to Ginza, they speak great english and the Kimono will cost a few hundred as opposed to a few thousand, and will be in stunning condition.

Shinjuku – The Metropolitan building has a free observation area which has great views over Tokyo, most places you need to pay to visit the observation floors. You need to experience the station which is quite confusing if you don’t know it, it is one of the busiest in the world. Get on the Yamanote line which is an above ground circular route round Tokyo. Also, Shinjuku is what is used in a lot of films for the neon Tokyo look

Shibuya – The crossing and the fashion shops.

Harajuku & Omotesando – Mix of the weird and high class fashions. The nearby Meiji Jingu temple is worth a visit as well. At the weekend the bridge next to Harajuku station has the weird Cosplay kids hanging around, although there seemed to be less in recent years.

Akihabara – Known as Electric town it’s not as good as it was but the Yodobashi Camera shop (sells everything electronic plus more) is very good. The rest of Akihabara is still electronic based but is becomming more and more sleazy with the dodgy Anime and Manga, but it is worth a visit to see the other side of Japanese culture.

Ueno – Big station and at Sakura time the place to see the best displays in Ueno Park. It will be mobbed if the sakura is out. The National museum in the park is also worth a visit.

Odaiba – man made island with some weird and wonderful buildings and the Toyota megaweb, basically a huge showroom. I liked to get the boat from Odaiba accross the bay towards the Tokyo Tower and then up the river to Asakusa.

Asakusa – One of the nicest temples in Tokyo and very busy. Very touristy but a must visit.

Skytree – Very new and the most spectacular views over Tokyo. I went just after it opened, so may be better now but it was packed. You have to go there early and collect a ticket, that ticket gives you the time you can queue up to buy the proper ticket (2 hours later in my case) and get in.

Loads of other places in Tokyo worth visiting but those are some of the key ones for me.

OUtside Tokyo.

Yokohama- I prefer this to tokyo. Take the Minato Mirai line to the end and then walk back through the park to the red brick warehouses and then back to the Landmark tower area. Chinatown is worth a visit for some great food as well.

Odawara – The Odakyu Line out of Tokyo to the end, some great views of Mount Fuji on the way on a clear day and once at the end you can do the Hakone loop which takes in cable cars, boat trips etc and again gives great views of Fuji on a clear day. BUy the Hakone pass before starting the trip as it includes the travel from Shinjuku station.

Kamakura – Again great temples, big bhudda and lovely views. Enoshima is a lovely place as well and the ‘island’ is worth a visit. All in one trip.

Kyoto – If you can it’s a must, the temples are amazing and my favourite place in Japan, despite the fact I’ve only been once!

There are loads of pictures on my flickr account.

Flickr Account

Few extra things when visiting Japan.

Although credit cards are more widely used cash is still king and it’s not unusual for people to walk around with large sums of money in they pockets. Also when buying electronics etc, haggle, even in big department stores.

The trains run on time, turn up 30secs late, you’ve missed it. The trains are cheap, except Shinkansen which are expensive. If you want a posh seat on some trains (green car) you pay extra for a separate ticket.

Any questions, happy to help.

Kamakura – make sure you see the Temple with the Bamboo garden, its pretty spectacular, as is the giant Buddha.

Tokyo – way too much to list, was there for 6 days and didn’t come close to seeing all the stuff I wanted to but some highlights were:

Sunset from the top of the Mori tower in Roppongi
Wandering around Akihabara
Sunset from the balcony of a restaurant in Odaiba, overlooking the Rainbow bridge
Golden Gai – tiny one room bars stuffed into 2 story buildings, architecturally very different from the rest of Tokyo, we were told its one of the only pre war areas standing
Visit a Sumo training session
Tokyo National Museum

Don’t plan on getting Taxi’s anywhere unless you’re rolling in money – we learnt this the hard way getting to the Fish market at 3am (about £75 for a 15m journey). On a similar note – if you go out an miss the last train, it’s a fairly long wait until 6am. Still loads of places open at 24 hrs though.

Damn, I really need to go back.

Crikey, thank you all so much! Was looking forward to the trip anyway but really can’t wait now. 🙂 Loads of tips there, will digest at length tonight, hadn’t looked at Kyoto but sounds like we have to go there – kind of thought we’d just stay in Tokyo but reading that lot we’re gonna do some travelling. 🙂

Lots of good advice above but think only one other person has mentioned the Sumo, it’s good, especially if the weather isn’t the best as it’s indoor. You don’t have to get any expensive seats, the cheaper ones are still ok..

Mount Fuji is also good, but don’t bother unless it’s a clear day, which are unfortunately not that common.

Learn to look up, it’s not like this country where most things are on the ground floor. You’ll see entrances to buildings with boards showing whats on each floor & just some lifts. Go & have a look, you be amazed at whats up there!

Definitely try to get a couple of days in Kyoto. If you want to see cherry blossom there’s the Philosopher’s walk-
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3906.html

Keep heading south at the end & you’ll pass more temples & eventually end up in the old town. We did this one new years day, stopping for food along the way & finishing in the evening in the old town. It’s one of the best days i’ve ever had anywhere.

If you fancy trying a traditional ryokan then you won’t go wrong with either of these in Kyoto-
http://www.gotokandk.com/casa.html
http://www.gotokandk.com/bandbkeiko.html
But beware, they are fairly basic but the hosts are brilliant!

We much preferred Kyoto to Tokyo..

We found the food in general to be really good, although there’s lots of fish based broths..

Can’t believe that no one has mentioned the loo’s 😀

I did Kyoto as a day trip due to lack of free time on that business trip. It was a very long day but do-able. If your on holiday then an overnight there would be better. But it’s definitely worth doing.

Places like Kamakura, Nikko, Hakone etc are all easily day trips from Tokyo, but staying in an Onsen in Hakone is a great experience as well.

Ah, yes, Japanese Taxi’s. Just don’t unless someone else is paying. Back in 2011 a couple of days after the earthquake and Tsunami I needed to get from my hotel to the airport. No buses, no trains so only option was Taxi. £350 for a 1 hour journey, thankfully the company paid as they were the ones telling me to get back to the UK ASAP.

One of the few things I miss about my old job are the business trips to Japan.

Don’t bother buying bottled water at supermarkets – there’s drink machines everywhere you turn. You’ll develop a taste for chilled coffee.

Buy a Japan Rail (JR) pass before you fly over there and pick it up from the JR office in Narita airport train station. They don’t sell them over there.

Nara – near Osaka I think. Great for a bit of peace and tonnes of temples and shrines plus small deer in the old city.

Osaka – great at night. Futuristic, modern, lights, Tron etc. I stayed there and did day trips to Kyoto, Nara and Himeji.

Kyoto – quite a big city and not clear unless you know where you’re going where the shines etc are. Good once you find them. Good gardens if memory serves – think the gold temple on a lake is there too.

Onsen – try and get to an original one of these thermal baths.

South of Tokyo about 30 minutes is a strip of beach villages which are very chilled out and good if you’ve got a spare day or two to unwind. Enoshima light railway is a highlight going through these villages. Places also like Kamakura along there too.

Pinball is huge.

Was seconded to Tokyo (and to lesser extent Osaka) 25 years ago. Very few English signs made things interesting on the trains..

Still something that registers strongly, it was such a shock – mostly – to someone from Scotland / Western point of view. But made perfect sense once you were there.

Set meals in any restaurant – and the plastic examples in the window. Eat in department stores as well was fine. Trains were v v punctual. If a train rolls in 1 minute early, its not your train.

MNade trips to the hills, to Kyoto, Nara, Nikko as well. Al worth while. Kamakura for day trips. Once you get over the gawping at how everything is, it’s a fantastic place / country.

Used to see a Japanese girl for a couple of years and also worked out there a lot between 2005 and 2008, great place, even went back a couple of years ago to do some mountain biking at Fujimi Panarama.

All suggestions above are good, to add my 2 cents:

Hakone – just outside Kyoto, a traditional Japanese onsen with both modern and traditional hotel accommodation. Stayed there once in winter, great time chillin in the natural hot springs surrounded by mountains and trees covered in snow.
Dont go if a little prudish.

Yoyogi Park, Tokyo – Sunday mornings is the best time to see the the locals dress up and walk around the park, everything from anime to 50’s beat boys.

You will have a great time, Japan is an amazing place.

Rabbit island!

If you’re planning to move around you can get your hotel to arrange to send your bags to the next one. It was around £10 per bag from memory depending on size. It means you can still do sightseeing on travel days.

The Takayama train line running into the mountains in Gifu is a great view – all glass through the cab so you may as well be driving the train.

I would need recommendations for accommodation at reasonable price. Is it better to look for accomodation somewhere in the center or somewhere outside the city?

So jealous so want to go to Japan.

Amusing tail about someone I know who went to Japan and hated it, he is 6ft 4 and bright ginger, people used to point at him in the street and kids would follow him round 😆 he Australian girlfriend lived there and is bi lingual. She found it funny as well.

He is a bit of a twit no no sympathy for him at all.

Wanted to say a mahoosive THANK YOU to everyone who’s contributed to this thread, we took a lot of info and suggestions from it and had the best holiday I’ve ever had. 🙂

Things what we done thanks to you lot;
Tokyo – Ueno (great blossom, very busy), Shibuya, Shinjuku
Hakone (Ryokan had own spa, which was ace)
Kyoto (Nishiki, Golden Temple, Silver Temple, Fushimi, Gion)
Hiroshima
Miyajima
Koyasan (stayed with the monks, which was ace)
Got JR passes
Got Suica
Sent bags between hotels

We owe you a lot (there’s probably more). 🙂