Suggestions for Japan?

[Lisa Nikodym]

Well, the next vacation will be a week in Japan in late March.  My spouse has been there for business a lot and so knows how to function adequately well there, but has only "played tourist" there a little bit here & there.  We are thinking about staying part of the time in Tokyo and part of the time in Kyoto, and taking some day trips out of those bases.  I'm looking for suggestions on places to go, where the best photographic opportunities are that time of year, recommended day trips, and anything else useful you can think of.

The one day trip out of Tokyo we definitely want to do is to Nikko.  Also considering Kamakura; is that the best place out of either Tokyo or Kyoto for "quaint historic town" sorts of places?  Any other ideas?

Thanks for your help,
Lisa

[Frere Jacques]

Any other ideas?

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Nara -- it was the first capital of Japan (before Kyoto) and the terminus of the Silk Road.  The architecture is a fascinating blend of Asian, sub-continental Indian & Muslim. We were only able to spend an afternoon there in 2004, but I would love to go back. It is about a 50-minute train ride from Kyoto.

Kyoto is, of course, not to be missed!!! I love that city!!! The people are gracious, and the city is beautiful. Take extra memory cards!!!

Bon voyage!

-Jim

[Hank]

Kyoto and Nara are excellent suggestions.  If in the future you can arrange a more substantial adventure, by all means book a trip to Hokkaido.  Nemuro and other northern environs are tops, but if your timing is right don't miss the ice festival at Sapporo.  Spectacular sculpture beyond your wildest imagination.

[BernardLanguillier]

Hello Lisa,

Excellent pick!

There is a lot to see in Japan, and your short list is a good start.

- In Kamakura: In Kita Kamakura (North Kamakura), one of the main temples is Enkakuji. Besides the main buildings, try checking out the kyudoujo on the left just after entering the premises. Kyudou is the Japanese traditional archery, and they often practise in that doujo on weekends. The access is normally restricted, but they have let enter the side viewing area a few times... some strane foreigner priviledge... :-)

In central Kamakura, besides the main temples, I would recomment that you pass by Take dera for a nice Japanese tea (Macha) in the corner of a bamboo groove and Myouhonji (late afternoon is best) for the overall atmosphere. Myouhouji (also called Kokedera - the temple of the moss in English), located closer to the sea, is also one of my favourites.

If you go back towards Tokyo late afternoon, I recommend that you ride the small Enoden line back to Fujisawa. It is not the fastest route, but you will have great views of Fuji san overlooking the sea at sunset around Enoshima,

- In Nikko, besides the World heritage Toushougu temples, there is also a national park that has great landscape only 40 minutes bus away from the temples, higher up on the plateau (1500 m altitude). It is cold there though (-10 C at night, -2-3 at day time wouldn't be surprising), and there will still be a lot of snow late March.

If you like nature, and are not afraid of the cold, it is a good pick though. It is possible to rent snow shoes in the Senjougahara plateau (between Chuusenziko and Yunoko).

It is impossible to do both in one day, so I would advice you to stay overnight somewhere in Yumoto, in a place that has a hotspring (onsen in Japanese). A good pick is the place called "Mori no Hotel". I have stayed there many times.

The following image was taken late March 05 near Yumoto:

http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=...d=viewportfolio

- In Kyoto, I wouldn't miss Daitokuji if you like stone gardens (Sekitei in Japanese).

You might want to check in advance if it is still the case, but the outer wall of the Ryouanji stone garden was being repaired early January. I believe that it will still be so in March... this pretty much ruins the place, I would personnally avoid Ryouanji at the present time.

As far as other places are concerned, well, there are many, but if I were to propose one I would probably go for a place in Wakayama prefecture that is called Koyasan. A group of mountains temples that was picked as a World heritage area last year. Some images here:

http://bernardlanguillier.blogs.com/photos...aphs/index.html

Other places that I like are Yamadera between Sendai and Yamagata, Takayama and surroundings in Gifu prefecture...

If you like nature, Yaku shima is a great pick, though it is difficult to get to.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Anon E. Mouse]

Kyoto is an ugly city with beautiful temples. Nara is much nicer. On the other side of Kobe is Himeji that has one of Japan's most beautiful castles - the town is ugly though. Osaka castle is big, but it is a concrete replica. Koya-san is also worth considering.

In Tokyo, get up early and go to the Tsukiji fish market. 4am or 5am is OK, but it does start at midnight and everything wraps up at 9am. The tuna auctions are around 5am. The Asakura museum in Nippori is well worth a visit is you like architecture. Asakusa and Sensoji temple is fun. If you perfer a more somber atmosphere, then Meiji shine in Harajuku is the place. There are a million little secrets in Tokyo, you just need to look.

For a one day trip out of Tokyo, Kamakura and En-no-shima (in the same area) has more to see than Nikko. Nikko is really a two day trip as you would want to go to Oku-Nikko in the mountains. Toshogu is nice, but it is a long way to go to see one temple. BTW, there is an affiliated shine to Toshogu in Ueno park in Tokyo.

If you take the bullet train to Kyoto/Nara, Mt. Fuji is on the right side of the train.

[Lisa Nikodym]

Wow - thanks for all the suggestions!  I'll look them up in my guidebooks.  Sadly, I'm starting to think that there will be waaaay more I'll want to see than we can fit into seven days.  If we love it, we can always go back.  

I'm actually more interested in the culture (temples, gardens, streetscapes, etc.) than in nature on this trip, since it's culturally so unlike anywhere else I've been.  I unfortunately also should avoid anywhere where the ground might be very icy in late March; I'm normally an avid hiker and unafraid of cold and snow, but this time I'm having surgery a couple of weeks before the trip, and risk doing unusual damage to myself if I slip and fall (plenty of stable walking is excellent, though).  Because of that, I should probably avoid the national park near Nikko or anywhere else high elevation or with rough trails.  Would Koyasan still be icy in late March, Bernard?

Thanks, all
Lisa

[Anon E. Mouse]

Koya-san will most likely be ice-free in March.

[BernardLanguillier]

Koya-san will most likely be ice-free in March.
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Yes, that's my feeling as well, although I have never been there in March.

The best part of Koya san is the possibility to stay in a temple, the following page provides information in English:

[a href=\"http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/]http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/[/url]

You should probably ask a confirmation about the weather when booking if you decide to go.

Cheers,
Bernard

[AJSJones]

I'd actually recommend dispensing with Tokyo and the attendant airport trek (unless there are business reasons) - it was largely rebuilt after the war and is mostly modern.   Instead flying to and from SFO to Osaka/Kansai. You would not run out of the things you mentioned  in Kyoto even for a week,   and could add side trips e.g. to Nara or Himeji.  Central Kyoto (the old capital Heian-kyou) was not really damaged in the war.


Late March will give you cherry blossom in both Kansai (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto) and Kanto (Tokyo/Kamakura) but Nikko is at higher elevation, as well as harder (longer, more complex journey)  to get to than Kamakura

[tsjanik]

Dear Lisa,

I'm a flight attendant for United Airlines and I cherish my two and three day layovers in Osaka.  I'd have to agree with the last posting...there are endless things for you to do in Kyoto and Nara and Tokyo holds no magic for me...except for the fact that the airport that serves Tokyo is near the town of Narita.  Narita is a beautiful old village...NOT a little city, but a real old world village, with one of the most important and largest Buddist temple complexes in Japan.  

I am totally enamoured with Kyoto and by late March you are bound to see some cherry blossoms.  Yes, the modern parts of Kyoto may not be attractive, but there is so much "old Japan" there and such beautiful streets and gardens that I think you'll love it as much as I do.  It is nestled in bamboo covered hills and although it is a sizable city, taken in small sections, it is very walkable.  '

As far as restaurants, if you want something really Japanese, try Mimiu in the Gion district.  It means "rabbit" in Japanese.

For food markets. head to the basement level of Takimashaya department store, again in the Gion district.  There, among many other things, you can buy the very special tea called Gyokuro.  It is lovely.  There's a more famous market...I think it is called Nashikki Market just down the street.

My favorites, as far as temples and gardens...so far...the temple complex in the southeastern part of the city called Kenninji Temple.  This is the oldest (1202) Zen temple in Kyoto.  If you can, try to see the painting on the ceiling of the temple...the one that depicts the wind gods fighting.  It is incredible.  I also love the Yasuko shrine and the gardens above it as well as the Ginkokuji Temple and gardens.

Nara is incredibly special too.

Dont' be afraid of taking the trains and buses on your own.  Yes, it is slightly scary at first, but many of the uniformed train company personnel speak a bit of English and can help you with directions.

Have a blast!

By the way, I'm not a photographer, and not TS Janik...I'm his wife, and he thought you might like my input.

AJ

[Frere Jacques]

Tokyo needs to be seen just because it is so BIG...and it WORKS somehow despite its size. (and you have 9-story camera and electronics stores!!!!!) And it is a wild trip -- parts of the city feel like Paris, parts like New York, parts like a Kurosawa film, parts like Blade Runner...it is East meets West meets...the future.

But I prefer Kyoto hands-down. I mean there are 17 World Heritage Sites in Kyoto Prefecture! 17!!! Gion is a marvelous neighborhood. (Stroll around a night, too...) Everything is an order of magnitude more relaxed than in Tokyo. People smile more, the subways are less crowded and then you turn the corner and run into 9th century temple...I would say by more memory cards, but they will be cheaper over there ;-D

Logistics note: If you are going to be moving around a lot, the Japan Rail Pass can save you a bunch of money: http://www.japanrailpass.net/ You buy a voucher in the US, then trade it in for the pass when you get to Japan. Then you flash the pass and can walk on just about any JR train. (Heads-up -- there are, however, serveral private, non-JR train lines & even a seperate subway in Tokyo!) If I remember correctly, it paid for itself after one rounde-trip Tokyo-Kyoto and the outbound trip to Nara. After that, we were traveling for free.

You will have a *great* time!!!

[Lisa Nikodym]

Thanks for the additional comments.  My spouse has spent a some little bits of time in Tokyo before, and he enjoys wandering around the skyscrapers and gardens of Shinjuku, and the archaeology/art museum complex, and shopping in the Ginza for "only in Japan" goodies, so we'll spend about two days in Tokyo doing those things.  Definitely more time in Kyoto, though.     He has also used the train network some, and says that it works fine as long as you don't mind getting on the wrong train about one time out of five.  He didn't know about the rail passes, though - we'll definitely look into that - thanks.

Lisa