LongTimeLurker Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 (edited) Pretty sure they'll have that on Kyushu, although it's probably more Okinawa and the Ryuku islands that are the destinations of choice for that in Japan as they are even further south. Don't know too much about Kyushu, unfortunately, beyond shochu, the local alcohol, being well worth a try as an alternative to sake, as I have only been there once for a single day. Edited January 3, 2018 by LongTimeLurker 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjc Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Shochu is well worth a try. Lots of different types too! Bit harsh on Hiroshima tbh The okonomiyaka there is sensational for a start! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Naoshima Island, near Okayama sounds tempting for a couple of days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Shochu is well worth a try. Lots of different types too! Bit harsh on Hiroshima tbh The okonomiyaka there is sensational for a start! Miyajima also well worth the trip, fantastic views from the top if you get a clear day. Hiroshima is a good base for visiting quite a few places along that coast to be honest. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 The remoter parts of Shikoku (sjc is based in one of the larger cities there) might be worth a visit if you had more than a week and aren't just doing a whistletop tour of all the main tourist traps and wanted to see a bit of Japan away from the conventional the tourist trail. Make sure you know some core Japanese vocabulary and understand your way around the train system, and can use a few Japanese words with people that don't speak English and are not used to dealings with gaijins in shops and hotels, before trying something like that though. Been on Shikoku for a few days a couple of times and although most of it is nothing out of the ordinary for scenery, the mountains in the central part are quite spectacular on a train line from Okayama over the bridge to nowhere then through the mountains to Kochi on the south side. There's a bit of a different vibe about the place to Honshu maybe because it's still more traditionally Japanese, although not as much as with Hokkaido, which is like Japan's answer to the American wild west in terms of being a frontier of relatively recent settlement (they stole it from the Ainu along with northern Honshu if you go even further back). I also used to enjoy the Sea of Japan side of Honshu (especially the Niigata to Akita part) as a way to get off the beaten trail, but maybe more in a way you appreciate when you are working in one of the overcrowded cities on the Pacific coast and need to get your head straight from dealing with a Japanese boss rather than as a tourist. Less industry, lots of space and everything seems to be happening at a slower pace. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjc Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 On 1/5/2018 at 06:07, LongTimeLurker said: The remoter parts of Shikoku (sjc is based in one of the larger cities there) might be worth a visit if you had more than a week and aren't just doing a whistletop tour of all the main tourist traps and wanted to see a bit of Japan away from the conventional the tourist trail. Make sure you know some core Japanese vocabulary and understand your way around the train system, and can use a few Japanese words with people that don't speak English and are not used to dealings with gaijins in shops and hotels, before trying something like that though. Been on Shikoku for a few days a couple of times and although most of it is nothing out of the ordinary for scenery, the mountains in the central part are quite spectacular on a train line from Okayama over the bridge to nowhere then through the mountains to Kochi on the south side. There's a bit of a different vibe about the place to Honshu maybe because it's still more traditionally Japanese, although not as much as with Hokkaido, which is like Japan's answer to the American wild west in terms of being a frontier of relatively recent settlement (they stole it from the Ainu along with northern Honshu if you go even further back). I also used to enjoy the Sea of Japan side of Honshu (especially the Niigata to Akita part) as a way to get off the beaten trail, but maybe more in a way you appreciate when you are working in one of the overcrowded cities on the Pacific coast and need to get your head straight from dealing with a Japanese boss rather than as a tourist. Less industry, lots of space and everything seems to be happening at a slower pace. Good post as well as good advice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calum_gers Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 (edited) Hello team, I'm going to a wedding in Tokyo next year, and will likely have a week or so free afterwards for a wander. What would people recommend? Edited June 11, 2018 by calum_gers 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjc Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 1 hour ago, calum_gers said: Hello team, I'm going to a wedding in Tokyo next year, and will likely have a week or so free afterwards for a wander. What would people recommend? Don't try to do too much. You only have a week. Perhaps a whistle stop tour on the bullet train of Shizouka, Osaka, Kobe and Hiroshima. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calum_gers Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 21 hours ago, sjc said: Don't try to do too much. You only have a week. Perhaps a whistle stop tour on the bullet train of Shizouka, Osaka, Kobe and Hiroshima. Thanks, will look into that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjc Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 7 hours ago, calum_gers said: Thanks, will look into that. Sorry, should have also said Kyoto.......which is practically part of Osaka nowadays. Plus, It's worth looking into a rail pass for getting around (see attached) although the bullet train isn't part of this. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, sjc said: Sorry, should have also said Kyoto.......which is practically part of Osaka nowadays. Plus, It's worth looking into a rail pass for getting around (see attached) although the bullet train isn't part of this. Pretty sure you can get a bullet train, just takes a bit longer as it stops at more stations than the quicker one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjc Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 6 hours ago, welshbairn said: Pretty sure you can get a bullet train, just takes a bit longer as it stops at more stations than the quicker one. Its a different pass from the JR pass. There are "fast" and "slow" bullet trains like you say, depending upon the number of stops but the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) and JR are separate from one another. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar_Army Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Bump... 5 of us off backpacking to Japan for 3 weeks starting 19 April. (Did not realise until booked that week two is "Golden Week"). Not drinkers, prefer the cultural, historical and food stuff. Happy to rough it (not needing 4/5 star accommodation) local living and apartment renting most likely our thing. Plan to start in Tokyo and head towards Hiroshima first two weeks then Mrs SA and I will do our own thing on week 3 before heading back to Tokyo for flight. Any advice/tips would be appreciated. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eednud Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Sugar_Army said: Bump... 5 of us off backpacking to Japan for 3 weeks starting 19 April. (Did not realise until booked that week two is "Golden Week"). Not drinkers, prefer the cultural, historical and food stuff. Happy to rough it (not needing 4/5 star accommodation) local living and apartment renting most likely our thing. Plan to start in Tokyo and head towards Hiroshima first two weeks then Mrs SA and I will do our own thing on week 3 before heading back to Tokyo for flight. Any advice/tips would be appreciated. On your way to Hiroshima spend a couple or more days in Kyoto then stop at Himeji to visit Himeji Castle. Look into getting a JR pass for train travel, also valid for some of the Tokyo lines. You’ve probably already done so but check through this thread for any comments from the sadly departed @sjc as he lived in Japan for a few years. If you have time in Hiroshima try to visit Miyajima Island also when in Hiroshima you must eat okonomiyaki. If you’re just doing Honshu island head to the Takayama region and stay in one of the onsen hotels. For planning train travel there is a great app called Hyperdia that I think you can download before you go. Tokyo is great but spend most of your trip outside it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar_Army Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Thanks. Will definitely follow up on your advice. Think we are planning a couple of days in Tokyo as that is our in and out airport but most of it will be a day or two max in each place as we move around. Have done China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam but still expecting a wee bit of a culture shock in Japan. The other three have never been to Asia so are in for a treat. Have had to put Japan on back burner for 5-6 years for various reasons so really looking forward to it and while it is only 3 weeks I really want to pack in as much as possible. Might be last visit to Asia for a bit as for similar reasons South America has never been visited (was supposed to be Peru/Bolia/Colombia instead of Japan) and Mrs SA wants to head back to Africa at some point. Had a look at a few two week itineraries on line to get an idea of basic places of interest to us then building from there so any ideas however obscure accepted. One such of the village with dolls are a bit out of our way though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eednud Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 26 minutes ago, Sugar_Army said: Thanks. Will definitely follow up on your advice. Think we are planning a couple of days in Tokyo as that is our in and out airport but most of it will be a day or two max in each place as we move around. Have done China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam but still expecting a wee bit of a culture shock in Japan. The other three have never been to Asia so are in for a treat. Have had to put Japan on back burner for 5-6 years for various reasons so really looking forward to it and while it is only 3 weeks I really want to pack in as much as possible. Might be last visit to Asia for a bit as for similar reasons South America has never been visited (was supposed to be Peru/Bolia/Colombia instead of Japan) and Mrs SA wants to head back to Africa at some point. Had a look at a few two week itineraries on line to get an idea of basic places of interest to us then building from there so any ideas however obscure accepted. One such of the village with dolls are a bit out of our way though. It’s an amazing place and people are friendly. Amazing to think that 75% of the place is mountainous so they certainly squeeze a lot of people into the rest and seem to make use of any spare land to grow rice, vegetables etc. Nara and Nara Deer Park is interesting and close to Kyoto and Osaka but suggest you don’t bother with Osaka other than a place to change trains. JR pass info, if money not a huge issue go for the green pass. https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/how-to-use-japan-rail-pass 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 12 hours ago, Eednud said: ...suggest you don’t bother with Osaka other than a place to change trains. ^^^this. It's basically just modern urban sprawl. The thing I remember most about Osaka is taking an internal Japanese flight from the old airport at Osaka which involved a takeoff directly into a mountain that had to be avoided by planes quickly banking away from it. There's a reason why they needed to build an island off the coast for Kansai international airport. Vaguely remember that one of Osaka's other claims to fame is that the locals stand on the other side of escalators to let people pass from what happens in Tokyo. The rail pass mentioned gets you places quickly on the shinkansen. The budget way to do it by the slower local trains would have been one of these guys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seishun_18_Ticket but it's only available at certain times of year, unfortunately. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eednud Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) @Sugar_Army download the NHK World app (Japanese national broadcaster) as the On Demand section has a lot of stuff that might help. It’s in English with sub-titles when necessary. Edited January 31, 2023 by Eednud 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar_Army Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Done. Cheers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girth Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 I went there just before Covid. I miss it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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