Hi everyone,

I'm in Japan for two weeks from the 1st till 15th of May 2010. I'm planning to go outside of Tokyo during the first week so it would be great if you could recommend places to visit. At the moment my itinerary is the following:
-Yokohama (maybe 2 days)
-Nagano or Nagoya (although more leaning towards Nagano. Only one day)
-Kyoto (is the city big? I thought about staying for two days)
-Hiroshima (only one day)
-Osaka + return to Tokyo within the same day (I think I'm being unreasonable here...)

I still haven't booked accommodation in any of these cities so any website/in/hostel you may know of is good. Obviously I am a bit apprehensive and at the same time excited as I am on my own to a country at the other end of the World (I live in the UK).

Is anyone in Japan during the same time? We could meet up or travel together.

Looking forward to this trip!!

And many thanks for your answers.

Ed.

Your trip coincides with Golden Week, which is traditionally a time when many, many Japanese go off on vacation. Which means that you're very likely to have some issues in booking accommodations, especially from May 1-9. You are more likely to find suitable lodging in cities (except Kyoto) during that period, as people tend to leave the cities for the countryside or to a city like Kyoto that's also a tourist haven.

As for your itinerary, I'd counsel a lot less moving around. In my mind, Japan is not a place where you check off places that you've been to or seen -- more than most places, you really need to spend several days in a place in Japan before you can get a good sense of it.

(Also, why Yokohama? It's more or less a big, industrial city on the outskirts of Tokyo, and not really a place that comes to mind when thinking of places to visit.)

Cheers Rizzuto for your reply.

It's true that there may be too many cities on my itinerary but I'm trying to make the most out of this trip!

So If I removed Yokohama from the list of cities to visit my travel visit would like :

-Nagano or Nagoya (although more leaning towards Nagano. Two days)
-Kyoto (is the city big? I thought about staying for two/three days)
-Hiroshima (two days)
-Osaka then return to Tokyo within the same day (I think I'm being unreasonable here...)

I am going to book my JR Pass on Monday or Tuesday. Thinking of just opting for the 2nd class one as there is a substantial difference between the latter and a 1st class card (Green Pass). Is it any worth paying the premium for a 1st class rail pass?

I'm relieved to read that I'm likely to successfully book accommodation in all these cities. Would you recommend hotels or hostels or even ryokas/inns?

I'm tempted to try out the "capsule" accommodation for one night in Tokyo.

Ed.

> Kyoto (is the city big? I thought about staying for two/three days)

It depends on what you want to see and experience, but I think Kyoto offers enough to keep many travelers busy for 4 or 5 days.

Why would you stay in Yokohama? It's minutes from Tokyo by bullet train and there's not much there for tourists. Why Nagano and Nagoya? Are you just rattling off city names?

Kyoto is great and you can find enough both there and with day trips from it to keep yourself busy for over a week. You can day trip to any of Hiroshima, Himeji, Osaka, Nara, Nagoya and Kobe from Kyoto.

Nagano is not some charming little Japanese equivalent of Aspen just because it hosted an Olympics and I'm not sure what specific attractions Nagoya or Yokohama hold for you. Go to japan-guide.com to get suggestions on what to see and do.

I would take Nagoya over Nagano but I would take 2 nights in Matsumoto over either

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6050.html

with 3 night you could also visit the nearby Kiso Valley

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6075.html

Kyoto will be the most expensive place you stay in Japan so know why you want to go there and don't waste your time doing day trips from Kyoto imho. I know there are cheaper places to stay in Kyoto but at this time that option may be moot for you.

If you are a shopper see more of Osaka than Kyoto. If you like temples and World Heritage sites spend your time in Kyoto and skip Osaka.

Aloha!

I wanted to go to Nagano because of the Hot Springs.
If they have those in Kyoto or any other city then I can skip this town.

As I said, I wanted to go to Yokohama because it is another big city close to Tokyo and I wanted to see if life felt different over there than in the capital. Although I didn't really know what kind of places I wanted to visit...

Maybe I should book accommodation in Kyoto for 4 days and just day travel to places such as Nara, Hiroshima, etc.

Booking JR Pass tomorrow!

Thanks for all answers. Much appreciated.

Cheers,
Ed.

There are hot springs all over the Nagano and Gunma Prefectures and all over Japan for that matter.... See here for some ideas of onsen in the area if you are so inclined, great way to relax and dive into the culture.....

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/nagano/index.htm

Actually Yokohama is a good example of Tokyo lite and I like the place. It is the second biggest city in Japan so be prepared. Yoko has a vibrant Chinatown area but I do love the night life of Tokyo even Osaka much better

Aloha!