Visiting Japan in October

Inspired by the Germany thread I need to get started making arrangements for Japan in Oct.

Wife and I will be over there for 10 days the 2nd and 3rd week of October and wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

Will be flying in and out of Tokyo but plan to hit up at least one other city (leaning towards Kyoto).

Will be the first trip to Asia for both of us.

Tokyo is a blast as there's so much to do and see--car stuff and not car stuff. (I know, not a real answer.)

Akihabara is totally worth some time. 

Can't recommend enough you take advantage of the Japan Rail pass, available to tourists. If you're going to Kyoto and/or other destinations (Nara, Himeji, Hiroshima, etc.) it will more than pay for itself. Experiencing Japan via bullet train is a must!

I can send you a Google Doc of what I saw on my 2 week visit a few years ago. PM me your email if interested.

I work out of HK, and travel all over Asia all the time.

took my whole family to japan first time last year. We did 10 days in Kyoto last year in nov. flew into Osaka, flew out of Tokyo 

3 days Kyoto/Osaka

6 days tokyo

shinkansen between the two

be happy to help if you have specific questions. We are doers and would leave our airbnb 9am- get home 11 pm. Didnt waste a minute 

kyoto is a must. Great contrast to tokyo.

was back in Tokyo again this May for 4 days and saw a few more things 

Agree with others about Akihabara and Kyoto. We also took a day trip to Osaka from Kyoto, which was neat.

Take a boat ride on Tokyo Bay; ours went to an artificial island called Odaiba, which was neat. Rather than explicitly recommending Shinjuku or Shibuya, I'd say that we generally just went wherever we read some sort of recommendation about, and it was all so interesting, pleasant, and safe-feeling that we just had a lovely time.

Communication can be hard. We took a little Japanese, but are not gifted language learners and didn't have a ton of time; meanwhile, not much English spoken by folks we met on our trip. However, people were very polite, patient, and friendly. We got by just fine, but ended up ordering the wrong thing a lot. I had not nearly enough ramen and too many episodes of buckwheat noodles in weak broth... I spent a lot of time worrying about being rude in a place known for being very polite and having quite a lot of specific customs.

Random cultural note that I thought was awesome: There was a sign on the train showing a person wearing a backpack and another person looking at it intently. Being an American, I assumed this was "Watch your possessions." Then we worked out the wording. It actually was an admonition not too take up too much space with your bag and be mindful of others' space.

Random language anecdote: "Sumimasen" means "Pardon me/excuse me/sorry." "Wakarimasen" means "I don't understand." So when I fumbled and dropped my coins all over the place and held up the line to get off the bus (you pay on the way out), guess which phrase I managed to grab out of the mush in my jetlagged head? I was the random American kneeling on the floor of the bus, holding everything up, repeatedly mumbling "I don't understand... I don't understand..."

Be mindful of elevator etiquette. Skytree tower is well worth the money, but try to choose a day with some visibility. Kyoto imperial palace. Try all forms of Sake (clear, cloudy, hot and cold) Tokyo market. Don't eat American food or American style food while you are there.  Look for true Japanese restaurants which are usually a tiny room in a basement without a westerner in sight. Japan is about the best and safest country to truly shock yourself culturally, so make the most of it.

bearmtnmartin said:

Be mindful of elevator etiquette. Skytree tower is well worth the money, but try to choose a day with some visibility. Kyoto imperial palace. Try all forms of Sake (clear, cloudy, hot and cold) Tokyo market. Don't eat American food or American style food while you are there.  Look for true Japanese restaurants which are usually a tiny room in a basement without a westerner in sight. Japan is about the best and safest country to truly shock yourself culturally, so make the most of it.

 

Oh yea, I meant to mention something along these lines. The restaurants in Kyoto station will be very busy, but don't eat at them. Local establishments even a block away from the train station will be much more authentic. There's a neat sake bar in Kyoto not far from the station where we did a number of tastings and learned a lot. 

Ship me back a skyline

Thanks to all for the tips/itineraries/suggestions!

We try to be out full days and only back to hotel/hostel/Airbnb just to sleep; avoid chains as a rule even in US.

Come on down to VA and get all the JDM goodies at Duncan imports or Japanese classics (sitting about 3 miles from them now).

The wife and I are going to Tokyo and hakone in August. Back in September. I’ll let you know what it was like. 

Bring handkerchiefs/ bandannas / small towels.  For whatever reason there are no towels in most bathrooms!

Most do speak English, but not English that you would understand or allow them to understand you, it’s a bit weird.  Google translate and a data plan should solve that.

I was there about 10 years ago, on a tour.  Very cool place.  Kind of alien in a cool sort of way. I did want to see a baseball game while we where there but did not have time, they do that very different also.

I don't know why but I was struck with the urge to take my kids to Japan at some point before I tip over or get immobile.  I'll be following this thread closely.

stroker said:

I don't know why but I was struck with the urge to take my kids to Japan at some point before I tip over or get immobile.  I'll be following this thread closely.

I took kids and wife for the 10 days

kids loved it 

If you stop by a music store in Tokyo, see if my cousin Ken is still popular over there. Some garbage straight edge screamo band named Ponytail, but also as a solo artist with some hybrid digital acoustic headache inducing noise. They got pretty popular over there maybe 10 years ago, and while we don't speak, I'm curious is all. 

Cash, make sure you have cash.

I will be visiting Yokohama in August.  Any specific suggestions for that area?  

Just bumping this back up as we'll be rolling out a week from Thurs.

I appreciate all the info so far, have incorporated a lot of your suggestions.

One thing we're doing is an "air bnb experience" the night after we land, should give us a nice crash coarse in the restaurant scene with a "local guide". Basically just a person offering their own tour for cheaper than one of the fully official organized ones.

Any additional tips and tricks?

Subscribed.

Looking to maybe go in early December, so please report back once you return!