We are at the very early stages of deciding our 2007 vacation which we usually take in Sept or Oct of every year and for 2007 we just started looking at Japan so I went to Barnes and Noble for several hours and was looking at some of the books and a few questions came to mind and I thought I would shoot them out here and see what other peoples opinions are. So here goes...

1. I am reading that in Japan only 3 cities are layed out like a grid but even those 3 cities are difficult to get around in and Tokyo is extremely difficult to get around in....Yet I come to this board and was reading a few trip reports and the trip reports didn't really reflect that...so...which is it....As we will have a language barrier problem how difficult will it be to actually get around.

One book I read a guy who frequents Japan says even he has a hard time and when his daughter went...her hotel was 5 minutes from the JR station but she got lost in the 8 block radius around the station and it took her 2 hours to find her hotel !!!

I must say this story scared me....Will I get lost every time I go out? I travel frequently to europe and I think I have a pretty good sense of direction but what I am reading is beginning to make me wonder or am I worrying needlessly ?

2. Travel to other parts of Japan outside of the major cities...Should we use a car so we can have more spontaneity, take a train or bus or tour group...

When we go to europe we usually rent a car and pretty much do things on our own...we like this method of traveling best. One year we did eastern europe all by rail and found we didn't enjoy that as much. It just didn't really suit our style of travel so I would like to continue however, I feel that may be impossible to really do it that way in Japan. Am I correct in thinking this or will I be OK if we just rent a car from time to time and be able to get around even though the signs will be in Japanese, which did I mention...we can't speak, read or write Japanese...

Once I feel more comfortable about the language thing and getting around thing I can then look to the cities and places I want to go to and build a 3 week itinerary.

Any help or suggestions would be so appreciated...

Thanks,
Pat in Tarpon Springs, FL

If you are in major cities - Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima - there will be signage in English.
We never got lost in Tokyo, the subway is really easy to figure out. Of course we bought the wrong ticket the first day.
The guy at the turnstile walked us over to the ticket booth to get our money back. The he took us to the automatic ticket machine (directions in both English and Japanese) and showed us how to purchase the tickets we wanted.
I wouldn't worry about the language.

Hi

My wife and I went to Japan in May last year. I have posted a trip report with links and pictures on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm . Maybe you can find some useful information there to start with

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

yes, the stree addresses can be quite confusing. Because of this, most ppeople in Japan rely upon maps and landmarks (such as "leave the subway at exit 5 and turn left...) instead of street addresses.

I don't think you'll get any more lost than in any other city, and the nice thing is that a) people will be so happy to help you if you are lost, and b) it is safe in Japan, so you don't really have to worry about getting lost in a bad area.

I would not recommend using a car to get around in Japan. Street signs can be hard to follow, many of the roads have very high tolls, car rentals prices are very high, traffic is nuts and may be on the "wrong"side for you. Trains in Japan are clean, comfortable, run right on time, adn go everywhere. In addition, the stations are very safe and usually in a good location to get to hotels and other destinations. there is often a Tourist info center inside the main ones.

My first trip to Japan was very spur of the moment. I didn't speak a word of Japanese, and was on a tight budget. I had a wonderful time, never went hungry, and fell in love with the place!

The next trip, I brought along my "Gateway to Japan" book, had a reservation for the first week (we were skiing in Hokkaido)and a rail pass to just wander the second week. Oh and we had our 5 month old daughter and it was winter!

Still had a wonderful time, and the few mishaps were more amusing than anythiing else.

Its a great country, and October is a wonderful time to go. The info here is better than you'll find in any guidebook as well.

Thank you all so much for your replies. You have all made me feel so much more comfortable about going to Japan. The books describe so many wonderful and exciting things to see and do and I want to go really bad but it was those concerns I mentioned that has made me hesitant but now I feel so much more relieved that I think I am ready to go forth and start figuring out an itinerary.

gard..I will now read your trip report and look at your pictures.

Thanks again...I knew the fodorites would come thru for me...

Pat

I have been to Japan several times in the last few years for travel and snow sking. I have found it very safe and the people have been very friendly and helpful.

The road signs in Japan now have english in the majority and the trains have many english maps and instructions.
Getaways for girls takes womens trips to Japan and you might get some tips from their sight

www.getawaysforgirls.com

Driving in Japan is very civilised and even in the Tokyo center it is busy but well organised with polite drivers. Much harder to drive in Paris or London.
I also found that most Japanese speak english although the accent can be a bit tricky. If you try hsrd and give a few smiles it is possible to get by quite easily.

I would ask for directions at train stations and hotels. Usually the staff are more than helpful with directions. Maps are often available also.
The Japan travel experience has been 9.5/10 for my travels there.

Oh and for the skiers the powder snow in Hokkiado is beyond description

I did go to a map store and bought maps for Kyoto and Tokyo.
Kyoto is built on a grid and was very easy to get around.
The Tokyo map was invaluble, we never got lost.

I would recommend having a good city map, and carrying a business card of the hotel you're staying so that you can show it if you get lost. We tried to keep a mental note of nearby landmarks. Subway stations have a neighbourhood map which shows you what exit is the closest to your destination. Buying a prepaid card saves you a hassle of trying to figure out correct fares. Agree Tokyo street address are rather useless.

Again agree with previous posters trains are far better option than driving.

Oh, btw, contrary to dsbraid's post, don't expect MOST Japanese to speak or understand much English. Though you're likely to find SOME Japanese who would.

Most Japanese read and write English much better than they speak it.
Written directions and addresses - preferably in Japanese are very useful.

if you feel you need a cell phone, read emd's trip report.
She has details on the service she used.

WOW...thanks again for all the advice. I don't think we will rent a car. I think it will be trains and buses for us.

gard...I finally did go to your website and see your pics and read your trip report. I found it to be really great. I will definitely book mark this for my planning stages. Thanks a bunch !!

dsbraid...thanks for the website link..very informative...

angethereader...Gee I hope we get as lucky as you and not get lost. We have gotten lost a few times in europe but usually they ended up being great experiences...maybe we will get lucky here too....

also who is emid ? and where can I find his trip report...would love to read it....I put emid in the search line and I didn't get it..

Thanks again guys...I am now doing a lot of reading so I can decide where I want to go in Japan and route out a practical itinery but first I have to educate myself on what there is to see and do. I know some stuff but not enough to keep me busy for 3 weeks so I need to learn more and I am very sure by looking so far I will find more to do than I can possibly squeeze in....

Thanks,
Pat
Tarpon Springs, FL

It's emd (not emid). She has two trip reports, one with her teenage son and another with her daughter. Search for emd and you'll find, she has great detail.

Put the following in the search field:

EMD trip report

Both trip reports of mine will come up, one from 3/05 w/my son and one from 4/06 w/my daughter. I rented different brands of cell phones on each trip and described the different plans in the reports.

OK...I got it now....silly me...my keyboard can't spell...isn't that something...duh

Hey emd...I was reading some of your posts...you are indeed very knowledgeable...

Did you ever go to the Hyatt Regency in Kyoto? I went to the site and checked rates...not bad...almost seems too good to be true doesn't it?

The Hyatt Kyoto opened just after I got back in May 2006. I am dying to try it out. Several posters on here have given us a review of it, generally very positive. They had a few service problems but seem to be working those out. If you have not done so, check the posts on here about it; do a search for Hyatt Kyoto and they come up. Look for the post w/title, "Japan in Two Weeks and Haven't Booked a Hotel Yet...". A poster named DIANAS did a Hyatt review there.

I've only been to Japan twice. Some posters here have been there many more times and some people live there. I just do detailed trip reports and I am somewhat obsessive so I do an incredible amt. of research/planning and remember a lot of details...

Vagabond, have you looked at the JNTO site yet? Aside from this site, thw two sites that helped me most before my first trip were JNTO and japan-guide.com JNTO has been revamped in last few months but it is still good. Just google JNTO and it comes up.

Thanks for the infor emd...I have to work today...darn...but I will check them out this evening.

I've been to Japan only once - this past March.
I bought maps for the major cities (as I posted earlier) I also bought two guide books that seemed to have the info I needed. They're a little expensive, but I found them worth it.
Frommers and Lonely Planet were the books I bought.
I brought the Frommers with me to Japan.

I'd go to Borders or Barnes and Noble and look through the books to see which suit you. I found them very helpful in planning some of the more specifics of our trip.

I like the DK Japan book. Quite a bit of nice detail and lots of great pictures. I took it on the 2nd trip w/me.

http://tinyurl.com/yysy8y