Holiday to Japan

Ballard

desdemona01 wrote: »

Is there a nice relaxing, chilled, kick back place we could got to at the end to charge our batteries at the end of the tour?

It wouldn't be my idea of relaxation but there's Disneyland in Tokyo.

There are a few islands fairly close to Tokyo which looked lovely in the guidebook but I didn't go because I couldn't fit them in and you have to rely on fairly long ferry rides. As it happens there was a tropical storm on my penultimate day so being outside wasn't a great deal of fun anyway,

globalds

desdemona01 wrote: »

Is there a nice relaxing, chilled, kick back place we could got to at the end to charge our batteries at the end of the tour?

Try a Ryokan for a day or two ...One with an onsen (hot spring ) would be much better for a real feel of Japan something like one of these places

paulfarrugia

We spent one month in Japan. Remember to buy your bullet train tickets before you go as you can only get the discount fares when you are out of Japan.

Kyoto was our highlight but we loved everywhere really. We have written a few posts on our experiences there which I will include at the bottom.

We went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Fuji, Hiroshima and Gunma Ken to stay in a Ryokan. (Highly recommended). Japan is my favourite country in the world and I am sure you will love it. Give me a shout if you need anymore info.

Have a great trip!

http://globalhelpswap.com/things-to-do-in-kyoto-japan/

http://globalhelpswap.com/weekend-away-kawaguchiko-visit-mount-fuji/

http://globalhelpswap.com/wedding-in-tokyo/

gem75

We went with Inside Japan Tours and they were excellent. They specialise in holidays to Japan and gave loads of great advice. They can organise your own itinery or we went on one of their group holidays.
https://www.insidejapantours.com

chong168

desdemona01 wrote: »

Is there a nice relaxing, chilled, kick back place we could got to at the end to charge our batteries at the end of the tour?

You could end the trip with a visit to Hakone and stay in one of the hotels with private onsens (hotspring). The area is 90 minutes away from Tokyo and you get magnificent views of Mount Fuji. You can get a round-trip ticket which is valid for 2 day and includes admission on the trains, trams, cable cars, and boat. Depending on the hotel you can choose to have a private onsen or a public one. You get to wear a yukata (Japanese garment), and can experience a true Japanese cuisine served in your own room. Well worth doing!

another_login

make sure you get some data for your mobile phone as it's really easy to get lost. There are two alternatives rent a pocket wifi or a data only sim card. I got mine from the japan rail pass website. It's really easy to get lost so having maps and data makes a massive difference

A pasmo or suica card is useful - it's like a oyster card and makes internal travel easier. I used mine ina few cities.

another_login

Another thing to bear in mind is kyoto is really spaced out, all the temples are a good bus ride away from each other. You might want to consider staying in Osaka and travelling through . Seemed like there was more to do in the evenings in Osaka - though much harder to get around as more of a business city with much less english spoken

lovehackney

If you want somewhere relaxing at the end of your trip, you could fly south to the many tropical islands. Okinawa is the largest and is the main point of entry for the rest of the islands. It's about a three hour flight. From there you can get the ferry to the smaller islands.
I went to Aka Jima, population 156! There are hardly any restaurants or shops on the island, but most b and bs serve dinner. The beaches are beautiful, lots of snorkelling (you can see turtles!, diving, sea kayaking and at certain times of the year whale watching. Not sure how it will work out with your dates - I went in September and weather was fantastic, really hot, although we did miss a serious monsoon by one day.
Zamami is also accessible from Okinawa and has a bit more going on. Geruma has a population of less than 50 But has an excellent restaurant in a converted shipping container if you do go there!

lovehackney

Oh and as above yes it is easy to get lost, particularly in Tokyo. The buildings are numbered in the order they were built on a particular street, not the order they come in!
I would disagree about staying in Osaka though instead of Kyoto. There was plenty to do in the evenings in Kyoto, and it is a great place to sample Kaiseki cuisine (lots of small plates, kind of fine dining).

I stayed at Ryokan Shiraume, which was expensive but really worth it and very relaxing. You could do 2 nights there and then stay in many of the cheaper places near the train station.

Also depending on which temples you go to, some of them are walkable, especially if you stay in the old town. Some of them, like the ginkaka-ju (golden temple, which you must see) do need a bus but not all.

I would also recommend a day trip to Nara from Kyoto. The town has some great temples but best of all they have hundreds of small deer that have free roam of the town! There is some legend about spirit coming in a deters body (or something like that) and so they are protected.

My itinerary was (might be a day or two off as was a couple of years ago) Tokyo (4 nights) - Kyoto (3 nights) inc day trip to Nara - Osaka (2 nights) - Okinawa (1 night) - Aka Jima (1 night) - Tokyo (2 nights) inc day trip to Hakone

As others have said it is a fantastic trip and I am very jealous you are going! To give you an idea of cost for the above itinerary my partner and I spent £4400 between us inc all hotels, international flights etc. we could have spent less if we had needed to, but instead chose to go for some very nice dinners, buy souvenirs etc.

lovehackney

Sorry another message - when I went exchange rate was about 150yen = £1. Now it's nearer 190 so should be a lot cheaper.