Traveling to Japan? Tip Page

[Lacey]

Warning: Long post...but could be very helpful to you!

Hi everyone, I looked around and I didn't find a thread that was quite like this, so I'm sorry if I missed it.
I thought I would start a general Japan travel tips thread from those who have personally been/ lived/ live in/ to Japan and those who have heard possibly useful stories for those who are planning and wanting to go to Japan.

Japan tips off of my head:

To help you, you may want to know what these mean:
入口: Entrance
出口: Exit
X病院: X Hospital
〒: Symbol denoting mail (box, post office, etc)
円： Yen

Though it changes from day to day (sometimes to our favor and sometimes not) 100 Yen = 100 cents

To make your life a little easier, it may be wise to learn Hiragana and Katakana and some more basic Kanji than what I have written, especially if you plan to go to a smaller city.
Bring an umbrella.
Not many musems have English.
Do not spread out on the subways.
Do NOT leave tips (that is an insult).
Go to the bars (if your old enough...and sometimes a little younger)!!
Drinking age is 20 in Japan.

Good Japan Airlines: JAL and ANA. I liked ANA more because they had more leg room the times I've flown (I needs me some leg room).
I think JAL is more popular, though.
They are both good.

Tokyo:

I recommend useing "Limobus" out of Narita airport. You call them ahead and tell them if you need to go to another airport or to the hotel. If I am remembering correctly, you can get them to pick you up from the hotel and take you to another airport than Narita, too.
Shinjuku has a lot of great hotels and because there are so many there, they are competitive.
Asakusa is great for cheap shopping and has a beautiful temple.
Akihabara=cheap electronics!!!! I love that place. One time I saw a PSP for about 40 bucks!!! Got my MD player there when I wasn't trying to be cool.
Odaiba is also great for shopping, a little more expensive, but it has an indoor shoping mall that is simular to "Ceasar's Palace" in Vegas, called "Venus Fort". Also, Odaiba has onsens, one of the many huge Tokyo Farris wheels, the TV station, and it is by the ocean.
Shibuya has a lot of unique stores (Harajuku) and high end stores...there is a large range there.
Ginza has lots of high end stores.
You must at least try to drive by Chiyoda to see the Palace, it's like a forest.
The aquarium was fun, too.
Try to look at the subway map online before you go.
To get a really good taste for the city: at least one week, and that will be rushed.

Mt. Fuji:

A must to go, it is so beautiful. They have skiing there, though I don't know if it is year around. It is windy and cold at the top, even in the hottest part of the summer. One could spend a day there if you are staying in Tokyo and come back by night.

Kyoto:

One should sign up with a full temple tour, and (especially in the summer) bring an umbrella.
Go to Gion and see all the Geisha stores. Girls, you can get some of the most kick ass hair items, makeup, and purses there...just some are a little expensive.
If you want to spend the cash (and it usually is very expensive, when I wanted to do it, it was going to cost close to $250), go see a Kabuki, Noh, or any type of Kyogen preformance...you can see that anywhere in Japan, but it's Kyoto!
Go see Uji bridge.
If you go on a day long, full temple tour you can't miss this place, but Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka have some of the neatest stores with a lot of old world things.
Personally, I love this city, so I would just say to go everywhere, people are generally friendlier there and it feels like you are going back in time, but just a bus ride away to the present.
If you really want to get a good look at the temples, more than a week stay would be wise.

Osaka:

FOOOOOOD.
It is 「天下の台所」, the nations kitchen.
Osaka people are so friendly and, oddly, loud (steriotype):P That city is a great place to go and do Karaoke.
If you really want to get a taste, don't eat a full meal in one resturant. Eat one course in one and ask for recommendations and go there for the next. They have such a wide varity of food and no double dipping. They wont say anything, the people eating next to you will no longer be friendly, from what I understand.
YOU MUST SEE OSAKA CASTLE! It was the best I saw there!

Between Osaka and Kyoto, there are parks that are really nice to go trecking in and in some places you can feed the deer...and they will want to be fed.
Nara, anouther city close to Osaka and Kyoto is famous for thier deer.

Okinawa (Naha):

If you like beaches and lots of them, take the time to fly out there. If I'm remembering correctly, it is like a 2-3 hour flight from Narita (you can't fly directly from the U.S. to there unless you are military, you must go through Tokyo Narita). That drove me nuts in Kill Bill...I know...nerd (they were also carrying katanas...why would I let a flight pattern bother me?).
Try to eat Okinawa soba, it is so different and so good.
There is a resturant that is made to look like it is in a tree, you have to take an elevator to it. It was soooo good and it has all kinds of food there, not just Japanese.
When you go to the beach, watch out for box jelly fish. The beaches are really wonderful, though.
Just a side note, for some reason that reminded me of a shirt I got at the aquarium in Okinawa that had a box jelly fish on the back and on the front it said "Don't Touch" in Japanese. A couple of days later my friend and I were cramming ourselves into the subway out of Akihabara, Tokyo, and I was forced to practically have my boobs in this guy's face. It was horrible and hy-larious at the same time.
Shopping and Karaoke (Big Eccho in particular) is a must for Naha.
And if you are tall, you will be able to find clothes that fit you in Okinawa.
The other kick ass castle in Japan is in Okinawa: Shuri castle. You can see how different Ryukyuan culture is from Japanese by going there, you can see the Chinese influence, it was so neat, and the times I've been, Wednsdays had Ryukyuan dancers out in the court yard area. They are so different from the main land Kyogen dancer...and I love Rika hats, I would have gotten one if my friend put had have put logic in my head (they are like 3 feet in diameter)...(it was as if she didn't want a cowboy hat when she was in Texas with me) :P
I really recommend going to the WWII memorial musem...but you will cry, I don't care how many times you go, you will cry. Read the first hand accounts, it will make you feel like a spoiled brat.
Notice the difference of graves from mainland Japan to Okinawa, many Okinawa famlies have family tombs that can be seen everywhere.
The caverns are great...I fell on my butt. Everyone laughed.
Try the snake wine and go to the snake distillery (spelling?). It is kind of freaky.
There are lots of Onsens thoughout Okinawa, but Okinawa is hot and humid (but so is the rest of the country).
Try to avoid going in the end of August to about the end of September because that is typhoon season and it lasts for days at a time. It is really the main rain they get in Okinawa (even though it is a beach area, they don't get a lot of rain thoughout the year, they have tanks on the top of their homes to store water).
Soak up the Okinawa music!!!

That's all I can think of right now. Arn't you glad.

[johnnyoh]

Originally Posted by Lacey

Warning: Long post...but could be very helpful to you!

Hi everyone, I looked around and I didn't find a thread that was quite like this, so I'm sorry if I missed it.
I thought I would start a general Japan travel tips thread from those who have personally been/ lived/ live in/ to Japan and those who have heard possibly useful stories for those who are planning and wanting to go to Japan.

Japan tips off of my head:

To help you, you may want to know what these mean:
入口: Entrance
出口: Exit
X病院: X Hospital
〒: Symbol denoting mail (box, post office, etc)
円： Yen

Though it changes from day to day (sometimes to our favor and sometimes not) 100 Yen = 100 cents

To make your life a little easier, it may be wise to learn Hiragana and Katakana and some more basic Kanji than what I have written, especially if you plan to go to a smaller city.
Bring an umbrella.
Not many musems have English.
Do not spread out on the subways.
Do NOT leave tips (that is an insult).
Go to the bars (if your old enough...and sometimes a little younger)!!
Drinking age is 20 in Japan.

Good Japan Airlines: JAL and ANA. I liked ANA more because they had more leg room the times I've flown (I needs me some leg room).
I think JAL is more popular, though.
They are both good.

Tokyo:

I recommend useing "Limobus" out of Narita airport. You call them ahead and tell them if you need to go to another airport or to the hotel. If I am remembering correctly, you can get them to pick you up from the hotel and take you to another airport than Narita, too.
Shinjuku has a lot of great hotels and because there are so many there, they are competitive.
Asakusa is great for cheap shopping and has a beautiful temple.
Akihabara=cheap electronics!!!! I love that place. One time I saw a PSP for about 40 bucks!!! Got my MD player there when I wasn't trying to be cool.
Odaiba is also great for shopping, a little more expensive, but it has an indoor shoping mall that is simular to "Ceasar's Palace" in Vegas, called "Venus Fort". Also, Odaiba has onsens, one of the many huge Tokyo Farris wheels, the TV station, and it is by the ocean.
Shibuya has a lot of unique stores (Harajuku) and high end stores...there is a large range there.
Ginza has lots of high end stores.
You must at least try to drive by Chiyoda to see the Palace, it's like a forest.
The aquarium was fun, too.
Try to look at the subway map online before you go.
To get a really good taste for the city: at least one week, and that will be rushed.

Mt. Fuji:

A must to go, it is so beautiful. They have skiing there, though I don't know if it is year around. It is windy and cold at the top, even in the hottest part of the summer. One could spend a day there if you are staying in Tokyo and come back by night.

Kyoto:

One should sign up with a full temple tour, and (especially in the summer) bring an umbrella.
Go to Gion and see all the Geisha stores. Girls, you can get some of the most kick ass hair items, makeup, and purses there...just some are a little expensive.
If you want to spend the cash (and it usually is very expensive, when I wanted to do it, it was going to cost close to $250), go see a Kabuki, Noh, or any type of Kyogen preformance...you can see that anywhere in Japan, but it's Kyoto!
Go see Uji bridge.
If you go on a day long, full temple tour you can't miss this place, but Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka have some of the neatest stores with a lot of old world things.
Personally, I love this city, so I would just say to go everywhere, people are generally friendlier there and it feels like you are going back in time, but just a bus ride away to the present.
If you really want to get a good look at the temples, more than a week stay would be wise.

Osaka:

FOOOOOOD.
It is 「天下の台所」, the nations kitchen.
Osaka people are so friendly and, oddly, loud (steriotype):P That city is a great place to go and do Karaoke.
If you really want to get a taste, don't eat a full meal in one resturant. Eat one course in one and ask for recommendations and go there for the next. They have such a wide varity of food and no double dipping. They wont say anything, the people eating next to you will no longer be friendly, from what I understand.
YOU MUST SEE OSAKA CASTLE! It was the best I saw there!

Between Osaka and Kyoto, there are parks that are really nice to go trecking in and in some places you can feed the deer...and they will want to be fed.
Nara, anouther city close to Osaka and Kyoto is famous for thier deer.

Okinawa (Naha):

If you like beaches and lots of them, take the time to fly out there. If I'm remembering correctly, it is like a 2-3 hour flight from Narita (you can't fly directly from the U.S. to there unless you are military, you must go through Tokyo Narita). That drove me nuts in Kill Bill...I know...nerd (they were also carrying katanas...why would I let a flight pattern bother me?).
Try to eat Okinawa soba, it is so different and so good.
There is a resturant that is made to look like it is in a tree, you have to take an elevator to it. It was soooo good and it has all kinds of food there, not just Japanese.
When you go to the beach, watch out for box jelly fish. The beaches are really wonderful, though.
Just a side note, for some reason that reminded me of a shirt I got at the aquarium in Okinawa that had a box jelly fish on the back and on the front it said "Don't Touch" in Japanese. A couple of days later my friend and I were cramming ourselves into the subway out of Akihabara, Tokyo, and I was forced to practically have my boobs in this guy's face. It was horrible and hy-larious at the same time.
Shopping and Karaoke (Big Eccho in particular) is a must for Naha.
And if you are tall, you will be able to find clothes that fit you in Okinawa.
The other kick ass castle in Japan is in Okinawa: Shuri castle. You can see how different Ryukyuan culture is from Japanese by going there, you can see the Chinese influence, it was so neat, and the times I've been, Wednsdays had Ryukyuan dancers out in the court yard area. They are so different from the main land Kyogen dancer...and I love Rika hats, I would have gotten one if my friend put had have put logic in my head (they are like 3 feet in diameter)...(it was as if she didn't want a cowboy hat when she was in Texas with me) :P
I really recommend going to the WWII memorial musem...but you will cry, I don't care how many times you go, you will cry. Read the first hand accounts, it will make you feel like a spoiled brat.
Notice the difference of graves from mainland Japan to Okinawa, many Okinawa famlies have family tombs that can be seen everywhere.
The caverns are great...I fell on my butt. Everyone laughed.
Try the snake wine and go to the snake distillery (spelling?). It is kind of freaky.
There are lots of Onsens thoughout Okinawa, but Okinawa is hot and humid (but so is the rest of the country).
Try to avoid going in the end of August to about the end of September because that is typhoon season and it lasts for days at a time. It is really the main rain they get in Okinawa (even though it is a beach area, they don't get a lot of rain thoughout the year, they have tanks on the top of their homes to store water).
Soak up the Okinawa music!!!

That's all I can think of right now. Arn't you glad.

Thanks for the tips. I am going in October 2008 and was planning on flying JAL, but I may reconsider based on your advice. BTW, if you ever fly to Korea, I recommend Asiana. Most legroom and best service.

[Lacey]

I'm glad somone found use for it! Though, before you totally decide which airline to take, you might want to find a list of types of airplanes that are going to your destination at the time you wish to go, and look online at the plane's specks just to be sure, just the times I used ANA, they had more leg room than JAL. JAL, on the other hand, had much better service! I was so supprised. If you were asleep, they left a sticky not apologizing that they did not take your order at that moment.

Thanks for the recommendation yourself!

[GhostBlade]

"I was forced to practically have my boobs in this guy's face."

That's hot! Pics now! Anyway, thanks for the advice!