3/4 weeks touring Japan
Discussion
We are mid 60's quite fit and very well travelled. Japan is the only country in the east we havent been to....so thought maybe sept/oct, 3/4 weeks seeing all the main spots n places. Not too sure whether to do i9t all ourselves....as we have in SEA and China. (But that was in our late 50's)... OR a package jobby which will probably be 50% more!
Who has done what there. NOT a weekend stoppover or a weeks whisk but 3 or 4 weeks...
Who has done what there. NOT a weekend stoppover or a weeks whisk but 3 or 4 weeks...
I went for 3 weeks about 7-8 years ago.
Japan is pretty easy to navigate around and public transport as you can imagine is brilliant. Big towns and cities public transport/signs are in Japanese and English and a lot of people also speak English a little, once you get out of the larger places it becomes a little more challenging, but again not daunting. We hired a car and drove all over using Google Maps etc and Japan drives on the left also.
Public transport is seamless, bullet train/train all run on time. You should get a JR travel pass, I think you can get 21 days max, not sure you can go beyond that, but you need to order that ahead of your trip and a voucher will be sent to your UK address, which you hand in once in Japan, you can do this at various places like the airport, but expect long (90 min) queues at the airport. You can also use your JR pass on ferries etc also so not just limited to trains.
There's the obvious places - Few below, which you could spend anywhere from 2-5 days in each.
Tokyo
Kyoto
Hiroshima
Osaka
I think we went in Sept/October and had a great time, it was still good weather, but we didn't realise there was a sumo season so missed that unfortunately, and if you went March time you may be there for the cherry blossom. I have a friend who went June/July and said it was stifling hot and wouldn't recommend it.
I can probably dig out a whole load of places to go and see, but my list will be out of date for some stuff and there'll be new attractions now also that people can recommend here.
Japan is pretty easy to navigate around and public transport as you can imagine is brilliant. Big towns and cities public transport/signs are in Japanese and English and a lot of people also speak English a little, once you get out of the larger places it becomes a little more challenging, but again not daunting. We hired a car and drove all over using Google Maps etc and Japan drives on the left also.
Public transport is seamless, bullet train/train all run on time. You should get a JR travel pass, I think you can get 21 days max, not sure you can go beyond that, but you need to order that ahead of your trip and a voucher will be sent to your UK address, which you hand in once in Japan, you can do this at various places like the airport, but expect long (90 min) queues at the airport. You can also use your JR pass on ferries etc also so not just limited to trains.
There's the obvious places - Few below, which you could spend anywhere from 2-5 days in each.
Tokyo
Kyoto
Hiroshima
Osaka
I think we went in Sept/October and had a great time, it was still good weather, but we didn't realise there was a sumo season so missed that unfortunately, and if you went March time you may be there for the cherry blossom. I have a friend who went June/July and said it was stifling hot and wouldn't recommend it.
I can probably dig out a whole load of places to go and see, but my list will be out of date for some stuff and there'll be new attractions now also that people can recommend here.
My first trip was only 2 weeks, the first an organised tour/the rest independent, picked mainly as I was travelling solo and wasn't sure how bad the culture shock was going to be (would it be 2 weeks not speaking to anybody?) and have to say the tour was a waste of money and my highlights of the tour side were actually the non-tour parts of it.
As an example we had an overnight on the outskirts of Nagano where I guide told us there wasn't anything nearby so dinner was the convenience store (and you could actually live happily just stopping in Japanese convenience stores), supermarket, or 1 restaurant. This sounded like BS to me so out came Google Maps and a search for yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) found me a proper old, 12 seat, ground floor of the family home izakaya. I've got a little Japanese/the owner had no English - but we could both use Google Translate (get yourself a data eSIM) so I left happy, with a full belly, and knowing the lady running the place had been running it for 40 years on her own, had raised 2 children there, was a big baseball fan, etc, etc.
Or to put it another way - skip the tour and just solo, maybe booking guides for specific things through companies like GetYourGuide.com. No need to be part of yet another train of tourists following an umbrella, whisked from place to place and only getting/having to spend the time alloted in the schedule everywhere you go.
If the worst happened and you missed the last train and got stranded somewhere the next Japanese person along's more likely to invite you to stay the night with them than walk on past! I was out in the country and decided to visit a non-tourist trail temple. It was hot (40C) and I was a little clammy by the time I'd walked there from the station - so one of the temple staff asked my if I was going back to the station and offered me a life when I said yes. Can't imagine someone at a small church doing that in the UK.
As an example we had an overnight on the outskirts of Nagano where I guide told us there wasn't anything nearby so dinner was the convenience store (and you could actually live happily just stopping in Japanese convenience stores), supermarket, or 1 restaurant. This sounded like BS to me so out came Google Maps and a search for yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) found me a proper old, 12 seat, ground floor of the family home izakaya. I've got a little Japanese/the owner had no English - but we could both use Google Translate (get yourself a data eSIM) so I left happy, with a full belly, and knowing the lady running the place had been running it for 40 years on her own, had raised 2 children there, was a big baseball fan, etc, etc.
Or to put it another way - skip the tour and just solo, maybe booking guides for specific things through companies like GetYourGuide.com. No need to be part of yet another train of tourists following an umbrella, whisked from place to place and only getting/having to spend the time alloted in the schedule everywhere you go.
If the worst happened and you missed the last train and got stranded somewhere the next Japanese person along's more likely to invite you to stay the night with them than walk on past! I was out in the country and decided to visit a non-tourist trail temple. It was hot (40C) and I was a little clammy by the time I'd walked there from the station - so one of the temple staff asked my if I was going back to the station and offered me a life when I said yes. Can't imagine someone at a small church doing that in the UK.
Edited by //j17 on Tuesday 23 June 09:50
I have done about 14 weeks in Japan over the last 3 years - I just got back a few weeks ago as it happens. I am just about to go out but will post a longer post when I get back.
But in short.
Its Asia on easy mode. So DIY.
Stay as long as you can and move around slowly.
Best time is April or October for the tourist triangle.
Its excellent value right now.
If you can learn a little Japanese (you have plenty of time) then its even easier.
Itinerary wise I will have to post about it when I get home but do you have any ideas what / where you want to go? (are you prepared to drive?)
But in short.
Its Asia on easy mode. So DIY.
Stay as long as you can and move around slowly.
Best time is April or October for the tourist triangle.
Its excellent value right now.
If you can learn a little Japanese (you have plenty of time) then its even easier.
Itinerary wise I will have to post about it when I get home but do you have any ideas what / where you want to go? (are you prepared to drive?)
gotoPzero said:
I have done about 14 weeks in Japan over the last 3 years - I just got back a few weeks ago as it happens. I am just about to go out but will post a longer post when I get back.
But in short.
Its Asia on easy mode. So DIY.
Stay as long as you can and move around slowly.
Best time is April or October for the tourist triangle.
Its excellent value right now.
If you can learn a little Japanese (you have plenty of time) then its even easier.
Itinerary wise I will have to post about it when I get home but do you have any ideas what / where you want to go? (are you prepared to drive?)
Arigato.But in short.
Its Asia on easy mode. So DIY.
Stay as long as you can and move around slowly.
Best time is April or October for the tourist triangle.
Its excellent value right now.
If you can learn a little Japanese (you have plenty of time) then its even easier.
Itinerary wise I will have to post about it when I get home but do you have any ideas what / where you want to go? (are you prepared to drive?)
I contacted a well known travel company last week and asked how much ish.....£8-£10k.....I nearly fainted. I spent all this Jan ans feb travelling aroiund India. Kerale/Goa/Up to Amritasar via 4 places in Rajastan....Delhi and across to darjeeling with 3 stops then Kolkata back to Goa and home. Total spend probably £3k. Spent 3 1/2 months in SEA. £4k. £8-£10 feckin K.....
DSMSMR said:
We are mid 60's quite fit and very well travelled. Japan is the only country in the east we havent been to....so thought maybe sept/oct, 3/4 weeks seeing all the main spots n places. Not too sure whether to do i9t all ourselves....as we have in SEA and China. (But that was in our late 50's)... OR a package jobby which will probably be 50% more!
Who has done what there. NOT a weekend stoppover or a weeks whisk but 3 or 4 weeks...
We are doing 3 weeks in November/DecemberWho has done what there. NOT a weekend stoppover or a weeks whisk but 3 or 4 weeks...
UK to Osaka via Dubai
Osaka - 5 nights
Hiroshima - 1 night
Kyoto - 5 nights
Hakone - 2 nights
Tokyo - 5 nights
All booked ourselves with Emirates direct and booking.com. Happy to share links/locations/spots etc if you would like them
pavarotti1980 said:
DSMSMR said:
We are mid 60's quite fit and very well travelled. Japan is the only country in the east we havent been to....so thought maybe sept/oct, 3/4 weeks seeing all the main spots n places. Not too sure whether to do i9t all ourselves....as we have in SEA and China. (But that was in our late 50's)... OR a package jobby which will probably be 50% more!
Who has done what there. NOT a weekend stoppover or a weeks whisk but 3 or 4 weeks...
We are doing 3 weeks in November/DecemberWho has done what there. NOT a weekend stoppover or a weeks whisk but 3 or 4 weeks...
UK to Osaka via Dubai
Osaka - 5 nights
Hiroshima - 1 night
Kyoto - 5 nights
Hakone - 2 nights
Tokyo - 5 nights
All booked ourselves with Emirates direct and booking.com. Happy to share links/locations/spots etc if you would like them
Our "plan" is into Tokyo, then mince about there for???? 5 days including trips to places....then down to Kyoto via some places as well, then Fukuoka via some other places, then pop over the ferry to Busan and a few stops to Seoul and back.
how are you travelling,,,train?? Most probably. Car rental for 1 month woof£££ probably.
Ok so for 4 weeks I would...
Tokyo - 4/5 nights. Ease into it. Don't go flat out, hit a few of the big places, Seno Ji, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Jingu / Harajuku. Enjoy the food and soak it in but dont over do it. Get used to how everything works.
Train to Osaka. 5 nights. Hit Nara at the same time day trip. (make it 7 if you want to do Koyasan - its a mission though)
Train to Hiroshima. 2/3 nights.
Pick up hire car. Drive to Himeji. 1 night. (or 2 if you fancy a rest day)
Drive to Kyoto. 3 nights. Watch out hotels are very expensive. Use the bus to get around. (its your only real option)
Drive to Kanazawa. 4 nights. Shirakawa + Kanazawa + Nagano (Zenkoji).
Drive to Matsumoto - 2 nights. R&R plus its a nice place.
Drive to Fuji. 3 nights. Do the ropeway and maybe the speedway (cough)
Drive to Tokyo - 5/6 nights. Finish off with the major stuff in Tokyo, shopping (watch out tax free rules are changing) and just relax.
Thats roughly 31 nights.
If you dont fancy as much driving you can get the train but it will really limit your access and its a lot easier to have a car tbh once outside the golden traiangle.
For car use Toyota. Get ETC card and full insurance coverage. Fuel is £1 / L and tolls are cheap so dont worry. Parking outside the city is usually about £5 a night. In the cities £10 a night ish. You will get hit with one way fee on the car - but f**k it. Get a roomy for a laugh - or a GR Yaris if you want to spend more.
Hotels, use Agoda or trip.com. Hotels will be small but clean and tidy.
That first day in Tokyo get your admin done.
Take clean new £20 notes. Change them at Ninja Exchange in Shinjinku (the sign on the front says Interbank in blue).
Get a suica card (not a welcome suica) as soon as you can.
Book your train tickets in Japan using the JR website and go to the station and collect the physical tickets (for high speed trains its 2 tickets per pax).
Book tickets for things like Sky Tree etc etc well in advance (weeks not days).
Watch as many you tube videos as you can - but make sure they are recent as stuff changes literally week by week. Cakeswithfaces is a good one for up to date info. Remember to follow all the little unspoken rules i.e no eating and walking etc.
Make sure to make use of the hotel laundry rooms. A load of washing is usually around 100-300 yen and drying usually is 100 yen per 20 mins.
If you are on a budget then you can eat really, really well in the convenience stores. But dont discount the family restaurants as you can get some good value deals like salad bar, drinks bar and a main course for under £10 per person.
When booking trains if you have big luggage you MUST book the back 2 rows for your cases. I think the fine isnt that big if you dont but a) you dont want the embarrassment and b) they might ask you to forward your luggage....
For driving its same as UK but KMH. You must have an IDP. No IDP no rental.
If you want a few rest days in a row then a nice Airbnb is a good option. We usually do this as we find they are very well equipped and often much larger space wise. We do this mid point on most of our trips to get all our admin done and laundry etc and just take a break for a couple of days.
Flying into Tokyo if you can fly into HND. NRT is ok also - but its a much longer transfer.
Tokyo - 4/5 nights. Ease into it. Don't go flat out, hit a few of the big places, Seno Ji, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Jingu / Harajuku. Enjoy the food and soak it in but dont over do it. Get used to how everything works.
Train to Osaka. 5 nights. Hit Nara at the same time day trip. (make it 7 if you want to do Koyasan - its a mission though)
Train to Hiroshima. 2/3 nights.
Pick up hire car. Drive to Himeji. 1 night. (or 2 if you fancy a rest day)
Drive to Kyoto. 3 nights. Watch out hotels are very expensive. Use the bus to get around. (its your only real option)
Drive to Kanazawa. 4 nights. Shirakawa + Kanazawa + Nagano (Zenkoji).
Drive to Matsumoto - 2 nights. R&R plus its a nice place.
Drive to Fuji. 3 nights. Do the ropeway and maybe the speedway (cough)
Drive to Tokyo - 5/6 nights. Finish off with the major stuff in Tokyo, shopping (watch out tax free rules are changing) and just relax.
Thats roughly 31 nights.
If you dont fancy as much driving you can get the train but it will really limit your access and its a lot easier to have a car tbh once outside the golden traiangle.
For car use Toyota. Get ETC card and full insurance coverage. Fuel is £1 / L and tolls are cheap so dont worry. Parking outside the city is usually about £5 a night. In the cities £10 a night ish. You will get hit with one way fee on the car - but f**k it. Get a roomy for a laugh - or a GR Yaris if you want to spend more.
Hotels, use Agoda or trip.com. Hotels will be small but clean and tidy.
That first day in Tokyo get your admin done.
Take clean new £20 notes. Change them at Ninja Exchange in Shinjinku (the sign on the front says Interbank in blue).
Get a suica card (not a welcome suica) as soon as you can.
Book your train tickets in Japan using the JR website and go to the station and collect the physical tickets (for high speed trains its 2 tickets per pax).
Book tickets for things like Sky Tree etc etc well in advance (weeks not days).
Watch as many you tube videos as you can - but make sure they are recent as stuff changes literally week by week. Cakeswithfaces is a good one for up to date info. Remember to follow all the little unspoken rules i.e no eating and walking etc.
Make sure to make use of the hotel laundry rooms. A load of washing is usually around 100-300 yen and drying usually is 100 yen per 20 mins.
If you are on a budget then you can eat really, really well in the convenience stores. But dont discount the family restaurants as you can get some good value deals like salad bar, drinks bar and a main course for under £10 per person.
When booking trains if you have big luggage you MUST book the back 2 rows for your cases. I think the fine isnt that big if you dont but a) you dont want the embarrassment and b) they might ask you to forward your luggage....
For driving its same as UK but KMH. You must have an IDP. No IDP no rental.
If you want a few rest days in a row then a nice Airbnb is a good option. We usually do this as we find they are very well equipped and often much larger space wise. We do this mid point on most of our trips to get all our admin done and laundry etc and just take a break for a couple of days.
Flying into Tokyo if you can fly into HND. NRT is ok also - but its a much longer transfer.
I can really recommend doing the Hakone loop as a day (or overnight) trip from Tokyo. Express tourist train or slower normal train from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, then either way around a loop of; steep, switch-back narrow gauge train, finicular, cable car, cruise boat, bus.
A different, less common (and having done both I'd say better) view of Mt Fuji than the classic Lake Kawaguchi one.
Oh, and if you go anticlockwise you can get off at Tonosawa station and take the footpath from there, past the loneliest vending maching on your way to a dip at Hakone Yuryo onsen, with just a 10/15 min walk (or taxi) back to Hakone-Yumoto.
A different, less common (and having done both I'd say better) view of Mt Fuji than the classic Lake Kawaguchi one.
Oh, and if you go anticlockwise you can get off at Tonosawa station and take the footpath from there, past the loneliest vending maching on your way to a dip at Hakone Yuryo onsen, with just a 10/15 min walk (or taxi) back to Hakone-Yumoto.
I spent most of November '24 touring Japan solo. I started a thread about it in which there's lots of good info!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
DSMSMR said:
yes please.
Our "plan" is into Tokyo, then mince about there for???? 5 days including trips to places....then down to Kyoto via some places as well, then Fukuoka via some other places, then pop over the ferry to Busan and a few stops to Seoul and back.
how are you travelling,,,train?? Most probably. Car rental for 1 month woof£££ probably.
I will go back to front since you start in Tokyo....Our "plan" is into Tokyo, then mince about there for???? 5 days including trips to places....then down to Kyoto via some places as well, then Fukuoka via some other places, then pop over the ferry to Busan and a few stops to Seoul and back.
how are you travelling,,,train?? Most probably. Car rental for 1 month woof£££ probably.
Hotels
Tokyo - https://klook.tpo.li/eXmF3yeR
Hakone - https://klook.tpo.li/CY1uGaU6
Kyoto - https://klook.tpo.li/Y1erNktf
Hiroshima - https://klook.tpo.li/ymqLs2ms
Osaka - https://klook.tpo.li/JNP9mjPg
Plan is to use trains for all travel between locations and use the luggage forwarding service between Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo and travel light to Hiroshima and Hakone. Not much in terms of clothes required for those few days. Not even thought of car hire as holidays are my driving free zones
Tokyo - plan to do a trip to Kamakura and probably pick another day trip leaving a few days for mooching seeing Shibuya/Shinjuku etc
Hakone - 2 nights at ryokan so will do the Hakone loop during full day
Kyoto - Either Nara or Kobe, Arashiyama bamboo forest and a few things in the NW of city, Uji
Hiroshima - Peace Park and then Miyajima island early
Osaka - Nara or Kobe. Osaka Castle (and the rest of the time trying to deal with jet lag) and mooching.
Most looking forward to Kyoto out of all of them
Edited by pavarotti1980 on Tuesday 23 June 15:58
Ah just saw you plan to ferry to SK. Mmmm, I dunno, have you seen the sea states?... LOL
Our last really big tour of Japan took us as far south as Miyazaji.
We did 3 days in Fukuoka and then 3 days in Kumamoto and then 3 days in Beppu.
The area around Mt Aso is stunning in the right conditions.
The Beppu ropeway is great for views too. The hells of beppu are a bit fake - but so what they are good fun.
So you have all that to explore if you have a car. Plus more.
That said are you set on getting the ferry? Are you planning to go back to Japan? I think if you want to depart FUK by ferry then you might have to make a sacrifice along the way.
If you are going back then you could do the Alps on another trip.
Our last really big tour of Japan took us as far south as Miyazaji.
We did 3 days in Fukuoka and then 3 days in Kumamoto and then 3 days in Beppu.
The area around Mt Aso is stunning in the right conditions.
The Beppu ropeway is great for views too. The hells of beppu are a bit fake - but so what they are good fun.
So you have all that to explore if you have a car. Plus more.
That said are you set on getting the ferry? Are you planning to go back to Japan? I think if you want to depart FUK by ferry then you might have to make a sacrifice along the way.
If you are going back then you could do the Alps on another trip.
pavarotti1980 said:
Not even thought of car hire as holidays are my driving free zones
Having a car in Japan isn't really needed. The cities have amazing public transport.But if you want to explore anywhere outside of the city then its really your only option.
The busses are ok to a point then you are just wasting time so a car makes sense outside of the golden triangle.
Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido are pretty much car only. And most places north of Tokyo TBH.
On our last trip we only had a car for about 10 days because I knew it was the only sensible way to get around on Hokkaido and Fukushima / Yamagata.
take a look at Walk Japan to get a workout in the countryside with great guides. mostly Aussies, Brits & Americans.
we've spent 2 x 2months there all over the country. My favourite surprise location was Benese House in Naoshima. The whole island is an art museum. stunning.
It's not cheap there and some of the best experiences do cost - Ryokans and sushi tables.
we've spent 2 x 2months there all over the country. My favourite surprise location was Benese House in Naoshima. The whole island is an art museum. stunning.
It's not cheap there and some of the best experiences do cost - Ryokans and sushi tables.
I've done multiple trips to Japan over the years, including some 3-4 week runs. I was there in January, and I'll be back out briefly in October.
Lots of good advice above, I'd definitely recommend Hokkaido, but it really suits being able to drive around due to lack of shinkansen coverage.
I would do it yourselves. I've always found it an easy country to get around and get along with, and I think the value proposition of many "tour organisers" is horrific.
Note, since they made the JR pass more expensive, it's not the "must buy" it once was, but can still be good value if you will be doing a lot of travelling about in a compressed period. Some of the regional variants can be worth looking at too.
But there are also some quite good passes, for example to Osaka Amazing pass, which gets you access to a load of tourist stuff in the city plus a couple of day's unlimited public transport, and you can easily double the value you get out of it vs the purchase cost.
Lots of good advice above, I'd definitely recommend Hokkaido, but it really suits being able to drive around due to lack of shinkansen coverage.
I would do it yourselves. I've always found it an easy country to get around and get along with, and I think the value proposition of many "tour organisers" is horrific.
Note, since they made the JR pass more expensive, it's not the "must buy" it once was, but can still be good value if you will be doing a lot of travelling about in a compressed period. Some of the regional variants can be worth looking at too.
But there are also some quite good passes, for example to Osaka Amazing pass, which gets you access to a load of tourist stuff in the city plus a couple of day's unlimited public transport, and you can easily double the value you get out of it vs the purchase cost.
I would say the north is best saved for 2nd or 3rd visit. Its also very much cooler than the south - about a 10c difference is easily possible - sometimes more. Its nice, but its very much just huge open spaces with small villages / towns. The main city of Sapporo is nice and its large but its mostly 1960s/70s buildings. Limited temples and history.
YMMV.
YMMV.
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