gard

Hi

My wife and I are hoping to go to Japan in mid May this year. We haven't bought any guide books yet and we are still in the very early planning phase. Is mid May a good time to go? We hope to stay for about 10-12 days and the plan is to visit Tokyo, Kyoto and maybe Hiroshima. This will be a city vacation and I'm wondering which cities that are worth visiting really. How many days do you need to "do" Tokyo? I really need to get that guide book so I can get started on the reading But I would appriciate there are anyone out there that can give information about prices, how to get around, language barrier (do people speak English?), what to see etc

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway
Http://gardkarlsen.com

mrwunrfl

Hi gard. Middle to late may is a very good time to go. The weather will be nice where you are going. There is a grand sumo tournament in Tokyo, the Japan Derby is held then at Tokyo race course, and it is baseball season all@over Japan.

You can start some online research at the JNTO website www.jnto.go.jp and for info on getting around go to www.japanrail.com

emd

Hi Gard. My teen son and I are going for 13 days in mid to late March, first trip. I started my research here, but have also used the following two websites extensively:
www.jnto..go.jp/eng/ (the japanese National Tourist Org. site)
www.japan-guide.com
Both of those have very good general info on the questions you have asked, but also very good coverage of the cities you mention, as well as day trips from each area. In particular, the JNTO site has wonderful regional and city guides, including walks in each city which can be used to explore.
The transportation is covered in both of those sites, but also at :
www..japanrailpass.net/
There you will find info on the JR passes that are useful and economical for foreign travelers, esp. if you are going to Kyoto, Hirshima, and back from Tokyo.
I started reading old posts on here, mostly the trip reports at first, to get an idea of what people did on their trips, what interested me, and then I took it from there w/the books and other info, and started asking more pointed questions on this forum.
There are many other cities that seem worth visiting to me, and everyone has an opinion about this, but personally I think Tokyo and Kyoto with a few day trips is a good way to get to know Japan on a first trip. We thought alot about going to other areas of the coutry, but decided that both Tokyo and Kyoto deserved this first trip. We are going to Hiroshima on a day trip (although many people stay overnight on Miyajima island), Osaka on a day trip (for baseball and sumo), Nara, a day of hiking in Karama and Kibune. There are other day trips from Kyoto described in the books above. We will likely stop in the Hakone area on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto as well. Many people also go to Nikko or Kamakura as a day trip from Tokyo. We thought about Kamakura, but since we are going to Kyoto and will see temples and shrines there we opted for Hakone instead.
Once you get started on the trip reports and books, you'll start to decide what interests you and what doesn't.
People say Japan is expensive, but from the trip reports and other posts, it seems to me to be no more expensive than New York. That said, there are many ways to do NY, you can stay in the 5 star hotels and eat at the best restaurants, or you can do a more budget-minded trip, or combine a little of both. There are ideas on this forum for how to do a more budgetminded trip (someone just
asked that question last week and got good answers).
You will want to get subway and JR train maps maps for both Tokyo and Japan. JNTO can provide these. I also had much sucess w/emailing the Tokyo Tourist Info Center ([email protected]) to get excellent subway, JR maps, and regular maps of Tokyo (in English).
I have found the following guidebooks to be the most helpful:
1) Fodor's Exploring Japan (this one helped me decide what we were interested in seeing and doing; has alot of cultural info as well)
2) New Japan Solo. A JNTO book w/alot of detail and solid down to earth info (like good maps)
3) For Kyoto: Exploring Kyoto on Foot, A Guide to the Ancient Capitol. This one is different. In addition to covering sites in Kyoto, it has alot of info on the background of each site, legends, myths, etc. that go along w/each topic and site.
Most people on this site speak little or no Japanese and seem to get around ok if they have done their planning. I have learned that although Japanese take English in school, the emphasis is on writing and reading, not speaking. One nice thing about the New Japan Solo book is that in the back they have provided cards you can copy and use, that have essential travel phrases in Japanese (like "I need a ticket to ______.&quot You fill in the blank and hand it to the person selling tickets at the station, or whatever the situation is.
Good luck!

DonTopaz

Hi Gard -

I love visiting cities, as well, and have been to Tokyo and Kyoto, but not Hiroshima. For a traveler, I found Kyoto to be a far more rewarding city than Tokyo. Kyoto is a manageable size (though it is still a very big city), and it's a pleasure to walk around in. In Kyoto, I'd very much recommend staying either in Gion or just across the river from Gion (for example, the Okura or Fujita) -- Gion is a treasure for a city traveler.

I found language to be much more of a hurdle than in other places that I've visited. While English is understood (more or less) in the hotel and is available for public transportation, the majority of shops and restaurants have their signs and menus in Japanese only. Hardly an insurmountable problem in restaurants, but it can be a bit disconcerting to pass a shop with a curtain and not be sure whether it might be a tea room, a plumber's supply store, or who knows what.

I'd strongly recommend learning a dozen basic phrases before you go: the courtesies, hello and goodbye, asking where such-and-such is, asking a cab driver to take you to a place. I found the people in both Kyoto and Tokyo to go to incredible lengths to be helpful, especially when I was able to blurt out a Japanese phrase or two.

emd

On that same note, I shoudl add that when I visited the JNTO office in NY, I picked up a great little booklet called, "Tourist's Language Handbook; Practical Ways to HElp you Communicate", with all kinds of useful phrases for traveling. What is really great about this little booklet is that each prase or question is in English, then Japanese, but also has the Kanji characters for each question, so if you can't say it you can point to the phrase and they can read it. Covers eating out, shopping, accomodations, transportation, getting sick or injured, etc. What happens after that w/their answer is another matter. Most of the questions are phrased to get a yes or no answer. If you can get one of these from JNTO or find somethign similar, esp. w/the japanese characters, that should be really helpful.

gard

Hi

Thanks for the tips and links so far. I will take a look at them and I will also get started on buying a guide book

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com