International > General Travel Discussion
Can you tell me about your vacation to Japan?
complainypants1985:
Anyone have any advise for visiting Japan? I want to go for a few days during my winter vacation.
Thanks!
Melody
wardmj7:
Where do you think you might visit? If you're only planning on going for a few days you probably want to stay in one area - Tokyo or Kyoto/Nara or Osaka/Kobe or Fukuoka, etc. What are you interested in doing? I could recommend a lot of things to do in Japan but my interests steer more towards cultural events, festivals, shrines and temples - not a lot of help if you want to go to Japan for its nightlife and shopping.
I should add if you're not sure where you want to go -
Sapporo's Snow Festival is in February (http://www.snowfes.com/english/)
and Nagasaki's Lantern Festival is over lunar new year (http://www.kyushu-tourist.com/lanternfestivaljapan.html)
complainypants1985:
Thanks for the links! Yeah, I have been thinking about going there but didn't really get around to looking into where to go or what to do. I was hoping to see if anyone knew of amazing events or locations that I should absolutely see.
wardmj7:
Unfortunately when I lived in Japan I never made it to either festival but they're well known throughout Japan. I love festivals in Japan especially for the street food - Japan seems to have mastered food on a stick. :D
If you can't make the festivals and this is your first visit I would recommend either Tokyo or Kyoto/Nara. Tokyo is a great mix of traditional and modern. It has huge shopping districts, shrines and temples (Meiji, Senso-ji/Asakusa, Yasukuni, etc). The last time I was in Tokyo I went to Yasukuni which plays a role in the stressed dynamic between Korea and Japan (it's where some Japanese WWII war criminals are enshrined). Also, I visited a bar run by Buddhist monks which was quite interesting - here's an article on it - http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/143804448/the-real-buddha-bar-tended-by-tokyo-monks?sc=fb&cc=fp It's a bit difficult to find but a cool experience. Personally though I'm not a big fan of Tokyo, the city is much too big for me.
If you're interested in more "traditional" Japanese culture - shrines, temples, geisha, etc. then Kyoto might be more interesting to you. I'd recommend going to some of the more popular temples and shrines like Kinkakuji (The Gollden Temple), Roan-ji (a well-known zen temple), Yasaka (this shrine hosts the annual Gion Matsuri every year) and Sanjusangen-do (features 1001 statues of the Bodhisattva Kannon). My personal favorites are Fushimi Inari Taisha - it has thousands of vermilion torii leading up a mountain, Kiyomizu-dera - this temple overlooks Kyoto, and Shimogamo Jinja. If you're interested in religious studies you can visit the small Yoshida Jinja which is the only known Shinto shrine with a body buried beneath one of the Shrine's buildings.
Kyoto is also enjoyable just to wander about - Gion and Pontocho are quaint neighborhoods and on the rare occasion you will see geisha running from one appointment to the next. More often though they're tourists dressed up as geisha. If you are curious what you'd look like as a geisha you can book an appointment and you'll be dressed up in elaborate kimono, adorned with a wig and have your makeup done. Some people think it's too touristy and it can be but it's popular even with Japanese women - I did it when I was younger with a few friends and we had a good time.
Nara is just a short train ride from Kyoto and features a beautiful temple and meandering deer (be careful they nip!)
I hope that helps a bit!
zongal2012:
The Osaka Aquarium and Ferris wheel were fun.
http://www.kaiyukan.com/language/eng/
As an adult I am unashamed to say I loved Hello Kitty land and all the rides ;)
http://www.sanrio.co.jp/english/harmony/harmony.html
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