lesliejudyh

My husband and I plan to leave mid February to spend a month in the following Japanese cities. Does anyone have advice re: good places for reasonably priced meals? Also, we would love to have wine with meals, but we assume that wine will be quite costly in Japan - right? What about beer? Is that more affordable and also available? Do you have any suggestions for souvenirs that might be peculiar to the particular cities we'll be visiting, e.g. jewelry, dolls, crafts, art? Any names of stores for best prices and best selections?
THANKS,
Judy

CITIES:
Fukuoka
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Kagoshima
Beppu
Hiroshima
Okayama
Osaka
Kobe
Nara
Kyoto
Kanazawa
Takayama
Tokyo

Therese

Wine doesn't pair particularly well with most Japanese food in any case, so I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it. Beer is widely consumed and the price charged will reflect the overall prices in the restaurant, just the way it does elsewhere in the world. Beer and other alcoholic beverages are even sold in vending machines and are quite inexpensive.

Sake is a nice option, depending on the meal, and shochu (often served with a soda or fruit juice mixer) is also nice.

Therese

Just about everywhere worth visiting in Japan has something for which it's known, and it's generally very easy to figure out what it is: just look at what's being sold in the gift shops. Kanazawa, for instance, is known for gold leaf manufacture (you can see it being made at a shop there and even make your own decorated chop sticks) and candy making (wagashi, Japanese sweets that are consumed as part of the tea ceremony).

lesliejudyh

Thanks for these suggestions, Therese. We've never tried Shochu - sounds interesting, and I'm glad that beer is so available! The gold leaf work sounds intriguing also. I have 4 granddaughters and I like to bring them dolls when possible. Any other suggestions about well priced eateries and/or giftware are greatly appreciated.

usernameistaken

I found wine less expensive in Tokyo than it is in Boston at a restaurant but beer and sake are generally cheaper (unless you go for high end sake). Be warned that the wine isn't of really high quality and they serve red wine chilled. Wine won't ruin a meal but it won't necessary enhance it either. They make wine in the Kyoto region (Tamba) and it is actually quite nice - dry and mellow. I agree with the others - try sake! I didn't try it really til the end of my second trip. The beer (Asahi especially) is sublime - light and crisp.

Kumamoto - there is a great little izakaya (pub) adjacent to the train station. You can't miss it - you walk out and it is on your right, in the corner. Very affordable

Kyoto - try the Asahi beergarden! It is styled after a German -style beer garden and located right in the central shopping district.

Food in Japan is generally excellent and affordable.

Therese

Not only is food in Japan excellent and affordable, it's very easy to order and see exactly what you'll be getting due to the very common use of plastic food models and/or photos to show you what you'll be eating and how much it will cost. These displays are in the windows of restaurants and are not specifically for tourists--Japanese use them to decide what they'd like as well.

Many restaurants specialize in certain dishes: ramen, katsu, tempura, sushi, etc. Itdoes help to be familiar with Japanese food items ahead of time, so you might want to do some google image searches to gain familiarity if you don't already eat much Japanese.

It's difficult to get a truly bad meal in Japan.

hawaiiantraveler

Wine in Japan......something I know a little about....

We find that wine goes very well with Japanese food. White with all the seafoods and red with the abundance of meat dishes. So well in fact that I think the Japanese have also figured it out and started making a rice wine called sake a while back.... I know, I know sake is brewed not fermented, been there done that....

You can find nice bottles of cheap French, Italian and Chilean along with some American wines in a Lawsons,Seiko Marts,7-11's or corner stores. I surprisingly find that the American imported wines are the most expensive. Well maybe not too surprised. The French and Italian along with the Chilean selections cost the least. Must be the duties charged or <i>whatever</i> as my daughter would say.

Most restaurants and even izakayas will serve you a glass of chardonnay of burgundy. I have been in izakayas that only serve beer and sake though.....no problem. Have you ever tried a good junmai daiginjo with your fish? You should.

Aloha!

Hanuman

Wine is very big in Japan and the Japanese tend to be a major participant at wine auction houses all around the world. Like HT I enjoy my wine with Japanese food as well.

Paul1950

Just wander around in the restaurant areas and you'll find a huge variety of cusines, menus, prices. We had dinners that cost as little as 1,000 yen each for fast food rice bowls with grilled eel plus a beer, and as much as 10,000 yen each for a fancy local speciality meal. Average was probably about 1,800 to 2,200 yen each for dinner. Lunches were, of course, less, and I think the least expensive lunch we had was at a chain rice bowl place where dishes started at around 500 yen.

mrwunrfl

Fukuoka: Hakata dolls!

Hakata is a ward/district of Fukuoka and the main train/shinkansen station for Fukuoka is Hakata station.

There is a Hakata doll shop in the mall at Tenjin. Here is a link. It is in Japanese but shows some dolls:
http://www.fukunet.or.jp/member/ITOH/

I googled "Hakata doll shops" and came up with this link that lists several shops, including ones at Hakata station and the airport, but not the one at Tenjin:
http://yokanavi.com/eg/landmark/keyword/103

Here is a website for Tenjin.
http://tenjinsite.jp/first_jp/first_eg.php
if you scroll down you will see a list of local specialties and souvenirs.

mrwunrfl

Kanazawa: gold leaf! Kanazawa means gold swamp and the place is famous for gold leaf. It is called Kanazawa haku.

I have a small container (tube about the size of a lipstick case) that contains flakes of gold leaf. I think of it as a package of "dietary gold" because you are supposed to sprinkle it on food, like a salad. You can get tea with gold leaf in it.

But Kanazawa-jin also do other things with the gold leaf, of course, like gold leaf painting:
http://shofu.pref.ishikawa.jp/shofu/.../H_S50702.html

mrwunrfl

Just south of Fukuoka prefecture is Saga-ken which is famous for pottery. You should be able to find some in Fukuoka city.

Beppu is a hot springs town. One of the touristy things to do is to view the "hells": www.japan-guide.com/e/e4702.html

You can also take a dip in various hot springs known for their curative powers depending on the minerals that are naturally in the water. If you don't want to soak there, then you can buy packages of the minerals to take home and use in your bath.

mrwunrfl

Kyoto: Kyoto dolls (also known as Kyo dolls, I think).

Kyoto dolls are ceramic but have hair and cloth clothing. Hakata dolls are all hand-painted ceramic, including the hair and clothing.

Here is a webpage with a few dolls. The ones listed as "(Clay)" are Hakata dolls. www.art-craft-japan.com/product-list/1

greg

Nagasaki - Champon Ramen Noodle and Saraudon Ramen Noodle in Chinatown. Nagasaki was the traditional entry port of foreign culture to Japan. Castella egg cake. Although Bunmeidou Co. distributes its version nationally, Nagasaki adopted what was a Portuguese cake. Once you tasted this, you would want to pick up a Bunmeidou version in Tokyo before flying home.

Kyoto - Kaiseki cuisine (not cheap) all over the city. Kyoto fans at many (mixture of tacky and nice) stores along the path to Kiyomizu temple. Yatsuhasi crackers. Yatsuhasi is uniquely Kyoto and rather difficult to find elsewhere. It comes in sheets about a size of a chewing gum and cinnamon flavored. You can get raw (mainly rice flour and sugar) as well as baked. I like the raw ones better, but they are perishable. I get both: raw ones to eat within a week and the baked ones for later. The baked ones look like roof tiles. I bought them at the shopping mall below Kyoto station. Also at Japanese pastry shops, you can get exquisite Japanese tea pastries. They are so pretty you would hate to eat them.

Kyoto also has Nishijinori textile products, Kiyomisuyaki ceramics, and Uji green teas. I love Kyoto.

ileen

Looks like you are already in Japan by now. Thought I will share my shopping experience.

Couple of years ago we traveled to Nara and Kyoto for a very short trip. I love Japanese stuff and thus shopping was as much a priority for me as were the various sights.

So,in Nara one day I ventured out to the large department store, named K'ntetsu in search of some unique items. Of course the stuff was exquisite and the price equally high.

While browsing at the various departments and floors, I happened to see a sign near the stairway with an arrow to go up. But the information was in Japanese and no one around me could answer in English as to what was up there.

So, I just went up. Well, I found that on this particular floor there were many different vendors showcasing their stuff. It was supposed to be like an antique show.

Again, no one around me was helpful with any English so with broken English and signs I figured what was happening.

There were cases and cases filled with all sorts of Japanese stuff and most of them looked quite new to me. Maybe they were used items, but looked very new, pretty and unique.

So, I found very gorgeous tea set complete with a teapot and 4 cups, a set of sushi plates, chopsticks and another set of decorative dishes. All really, really nice and very low priced. Each item was under $15 and I was thrilled to find these bargains.

The cashier was using the deapartment store equipment and so I was able to charge my purchases. They even gift-wrapped the items for travel in bubble wrap and in colorful paper. In addition they put everthing in the store's signature large shopping bags.

Well, later in the week, my husband decided to go again with me as we had some time before taking our flight out. We planned to pick up a few more tiny items.

This time we headed straight to that special floor. Well, the vendors were gone. But on this day, new vendors were selling kimonos, carpets, lamps and furniture.

Very interesting stuff to look at. I finally bought an obi (kimono belt) with a gorgeous design. The price was kind of high, but I am sure it would be higher in the real stores too. I converted the obi into a runner for my very large dining table.

Still truly enjoying my collection and treasuring the memory of finding bargains on my own!!

Hope you can find this kind of shopping in other department stores as you will find some treasures. Good luck and do write a report after you return. Sayonara

offlady

Last summer in Kanazawa I brought home some gold skin lotion, harc candies with gold flecks, and snacks with gold flakes on top. You can buy all these things at the Kanazawa Station. There is a nice shopping arcade there with various vendors selling souveniers and food.

Kyoto should have lots of shops with traditional Japanese arts and crafts (including dolls) which may be harder to find in other cities. My favorite craft item I like to get is their hanging small mobiles with origami.

Lots of souvenier shopping at Akasaka (Nakamise) in Tokyo. Don't miss that.

kappa1

> Lots of souvenier shopping at Akasaka (Nakamise) in Tokyo.

I guess she means Asakusa. Akasaka is another area. These two names do look similar though.

alan64

Our favorite souvenir from Japan was our Shrine/Temple pilgrimage signature & stamp book. The first shrine we visited was Toshogu Shrine in Ueno Park, Tokyo. There we purchased a beautifully covered small book with blank pages. At that shrine and others we visited, one can get a page stamped by the people at the shrine. Many also have priests that will inscribe the page with the temple's signature in Japanese caligraphy. Each has a different style. We did right a small note at the bottom of each page in English to identify what shrine or temple we were at. Many tourist sites like castles will have stamps (but obviously no priests to sign!). We love looking back at each signature and remembering the shrines and sites that we visited.

offlady

Oops, sorry, I meant Asakusa. Once I did stay at Akasaka Prince and shopped at Asakusa. Thanks kappa!