Japan any tips?

havyn12

We are hoping to save up and go to Japan next year and maybe go to the Grand Prix while we are there.

We've seen a budget trip of £720 for seven days, which has Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone, so we'd probably add a few days at the beginning/end for the grand prix. The price excludes flights, it's travel and hotels/inns only.

Is it easy to get around Japan on your own using rail passes etc. or is it best to go on a guided tour? I know a bit of Japanese from watching animes, but I'm certainly not fluent

I would love to go, but I have a lot of food intolerances, the main ones being dairy, msg and soya, so wondering what sort of things I could eat there. I'm not a big fish eater, but I suppose I'll have to try some of we go to Japan.

What are the must sees if we're only there for 9-11 days? We're not really lie on the beach sort of people, we'd like to see some sights/culture stuff

Thanks,
Annette

Crossy

I loved Japan when I went on a business trip a few years ago, I managed to add about 5 days for personal touring, and my main advice would be, get a rail pass and do it yourself, if a 50 ish women can manage the Japanese undergound on her own, you certainly can. People are so helpful, they just want to try out their English, so if you look lost or are staring at a map, someone will almost certainly help you.

I did do some one day tours of Tokyo and Kyoto (Hato bus), just to get my bearings, and I suggest you do the same, this gives you some idea of where to go on your own.

In respect of food, there are the same type of restaurants you will find in big cities, I think I ate italian, french and of course Japanese.

I enjoyed Hakune, there are direct trains from Tokyo, definately a must see.

Enjoy!

aileth

I've been to Japan three times, and I have to say getting the rail pass suggestion above is a great idea. It also works on the Tokyo underground, and as you'll probably be using it a lot it's way easier to wave your pass at a guard than figure out ticket machines. It also works on the bullet train, but I think you have to make reservations (which is very easy even if they don't speak english). Lots of pointing goes a long way. The rail passes are somewhat pricey, but if you want to hop city to city it saves a lot of money as the bullet train individual tix are £££.

Most hotel staff I encountered speak english so they're a good point of call if you need help. If you have things you can't eat, maybe try researching the Japanese phrase for it before you go to tell restaurant staff etc?

First time I went I did an eight week japanese course (non-intensive before I went), and when I came back after a week my vocab had doubled. Lots of restaurants have pictures etc so you can try and deduce from that, and take a guide book with food phrases in so if in doubt you can point and ask. The Japanese are incredibly friendly and even if you attempt the language and get it horrifically wrong, they know what you're on about most of the time!

For things in Tokyo, Sunshine City is amazing, it's one of the tallest buildings, has an observation deck, massive shopping centre, 'theme park' (more like an adventure land), and an aquarium. Nothing else jumps immediately to mind as there's so much, and just wandering round taking station to station via tube you will bump into a lot.

For Kyoto, definitely the Nijo castle and Gion. It's like walking back into old school Japan. Iirc there is also three temples quite close to each other in north Kyoto which are wonderful to see, massive gardens etc.

Hope that helps!

geoffky

I have lived a worked in japan and first thing is outside the city's it is very hard to find someone who speaks good English and a lot of the signs are only in Japanese..
Food was also a problem for me that i had to get the bullet into Tokyo so i could get some western food as fish and rice for breakfast and Japanese food just did not float my boat..
I suppose if you stay in the tourist areas you will be ok..
Enjoy the country as it is like nowhere else on earth..

SaveTheEuro

havyn12 wrote: »

I'm not a big fish eater, but I suppose I'll have to try some of we go to Japan.

I know a good Mexican restaurant in Tokyo! There's a wide choice of restaurants in tourist areas but be prepared to look up; it's not unusual for restaurants to be on the 10th floor of a building.

havyn12

Thanks so much, everyone, some great ideas here Now, we just have to save up enough for it

Take care,
Annette