I'll be visiting Japan for three or four weeks in June/July.
Has anybody got any tips for places that shouldn't be
missed? I plan to get a three week JR pass and will be
spending a while visiting a friend in Hiroshima. Otherwise
I'm open to suggestions.
Also, is English widely spoken in Japan. I'm trying to learn
a little Japanese but I can't see it getting me far.
Thanks
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spent a week in japan last october. not enough time. I
definatly would get the train pass, it will save you a lot
of money. i went to kyoto and nara. i really enjoyed
these places. kkyoto has a lot of neat walking trips to do
and nara has a great park with a lot of tame deer. the
rest of the time was in tokyo. it is easy to get around by
subway. e never had a problem with the language barrier.
People will help you if you ask them though they will not
volunteer info. just ask
I am a native Japanese living in Yokohama.
Hope these info will help you.
If you are going to do a roundtrip travel to
Hiroshima by JR train, you should plan to
visit places located between Tokyo and
Hiroshima. Kyoto and Nara is a must stop.
Going to Shikoku Island, which is located
south of Hiroshima, is also beautiful.
If you like mountains, you should visit
Nagano prefecture, the site of the recent
winter Olympic. The prettiest place in
Nagano is the area of Kamikochi, which
is a 2 hour bus ride from Matsumoto.
The place is surrounded by 3000m+ rugged
mountains and have a sweeping meadows
and creeks in alpine setting. Day hikes to
upper moutains are spectacular, too!
There are also many remote "Onsen Ryokan"
(Japanese style hotel with hot spring bath)
in this mountain area that you can't miss.
The best one is "Shirahone Hot Spring" near
Kamikochi. It's definitely worth the visit.
If you like to see some genuine Japanese
seaside scenery, Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka
prefecture has the best. West part of Izu
Peninsula, especially the area between the
villages of Matsuzaki and Heda displays
local Japanese seaside life along with
spectacular ocean scenery.
Once you get back to Tokyo and felt some
loneliness, head to Roppongi. There are lots
of nice bars and restaurants with many
foreighners and cute Japanese girls. Great!
One thing I will warn you.
June and July in Japan is the rainy season.
Weathers change everyday, so check the
weather forecast daily on TV. Channel 1(NHK),
Japan's national TV station, provides the
most accurate and detailed weather forecast
at 11:53AM and 6:53PM.
Hope you have a wonderful time in Japan!
Got back from two weeks in March - definitely get JR pass
before you leave as you cant buy it otherwise - a 2 week
pass almost pays for itself on a rt from the airport!
Things are still expensive, but you can find bargains if
you look hard enough. Yes, see Kyoto and possibly even
Nara - most people really like Kyoto, you might actually
see geisha. Yes - forget what anyone says, learn soem
Japanese - no, most people outside Tokyo don't speak
english and it can save you on dark nights when your
desperately looking for your street (posted in kanji). It's
also very useful because many people, including taxi
drivers have a very limited knowldege of surroundings. Plan
on alloting extra time to find things etc.. Speaking a bit
of Japanese always brings smiles so go ahead and learn
some. It's a fun place, if you need any more send me an e-
mail. Also check out the NE Asia section in thorntree -
they're always talking about Japan and also these sites:
www.jnto.go.jp and www.inn-info.co.jp/english/home.html
if you need a recommendation for a cheap ryokan in
outskirts of Tokyo try the one listed in the above website
as Ryokan Toki - was about $60/night for two
have fun!
George