Japan newby - please help
 

Is a trip to Japan in early January going to be very cold? I am planning a week in the first week of January, and would like to at least see Tokyo, but am at a loss thereafter. Any good itineraries? Budget is of the essence.

Where would I go for snowy weather (though not skiinng)?

I spent two weeks during December in Japan a few years ago and the weather was like this:

Osaka Sunny crisp days, daytime very pleasant around 17c and at night it was cold and windy around 5 c.

Kyoto, same as Osaka.

Tokyo, cloudy and cooler then the other two cities. Hovering around 0 at night.

If you want snowy weather then I would suggest Hokkaido, northern Japan.

Japan is very expensive and I remember my hotel expenses to be as follow:

Osaka - Ritz Carlton Jr Suite special corporate rate US $250 per night.
Kyoto - Hiiragaya Ryokan(Japanese Inn)about $700 for three per night.
Tokyo - Park Hyatt Jr Suite about $500 per night.

For a typical stay I would suggest that you plan to spend at least 1 night in a Ryokan(Japanese Inn), visit an Onsen(Japanese bath / spa), visit Kyoto and see all the palaces and temples and try the various cuisine like a Kaiseki meal etc. I'm sure Florence and other posters will give you other great advices.

Oops the Hiiragaya cost more than what I've mentioned - I just checked my notes and it cost $500 per adult per night and 250 for our kid per night.

Hi Nigello,
we were in Japan in December last, Tokyo in fact and it was very very damp, raining but not particularily cold.
In fact it was just like home.

Muck
Wales

Bonjour Nigello,

Hanuman and Mucky have given you good accounts of the weather, but don't be daunted by Hanuman's financial horror stories ;-)

First, get a railpass, you'll save on the train between the two cities.
Second, look at reasonnably priced hotels and ryokans here http://www.itcj.or.jp/indexwel.html . You'll see you can find all manners of good hotels and ryokans for as little as 4-5000 yen/person, especially at that time of year.

You'll find snowy weather in all of the Japan Alps (Nagano, Matsumoto, ...), or way further North than Tokyo (Tohoku region).