Best Japan "Sights"

[kudo]

Originally Posted by aphrodite

A good japanese site is japanzone.com i love that site thats were i meet many of my japanese and chinese friends if that url isnt right this might be the url i really dont know its been a while since i have been there japan-zone.com

japanzone.com doesn't seem to be working.

Originally Posted by kinikuchunks

Make sure you visit kyoto, beautiful, gorgeous city. I had a blast there.

In tokyo make sure you visit shinjuku, wink, wink! I had lot's of fun there too, especially if you like the ladies, oh yeahhhhh.

yep, kyoto is on my list of places to go. i intend to cause a wreck when i go to japan. lol. gonna have a blast there myself.

Originally Posted by Vesperd

Hey have fun, tell us all about it when you get back!

oh i will, no worries. When i go, check my blog out from time to time (every other day) as i'll be posting stuff about what happened and what i'll be doing. including lots of pictures and such.

[jieshi]

I'm surprised everyone has stuck to the basics (Kyoto and Tokyo). If you can get down to places like Shizuoka where foreigners are rare, you are guaranteed to have twice as much fun! Getting off the beaten track is definitely a must see when you go to Japan as you will see what traditional Japan is like rather than urban life. Also if you can, try out Fukuoka- the capital city of Kyushu. Fukuoka is one of the most vibrant, youthful and fun cities I have been to while in Japan- definitely a must see!

[babi]

in no particular order, here are the best places I recommend! Lot's of pictures and information!

If I had to pick only ONE place I would go with Himeji Castle during cherry blossom season bc not only is it considered the best castle in Japan but it is also considered one of the best places to see cherry blossoms...

[Gwen_Goth]

in tokyo; the senso-ji temple in Asakusa district - take losts of money for souvineers
Ueno park is a nice walk through, and the Tokyo National Museum is great to look through - its huge though (its in Ueno Park) - when i was there they had a Hokusai Exhibition on - was utterly amazing! - spent 5 hours there

the Mikimoto department store is like the eqivelent of harrods; it even has its own metro station; they have an amazing kimono department also xD

theres a Miyazaki museum somwhere too if youre into his films

ahh.... cant remember everything now


I gotta say; the best guide book ive found (and had/ still have) is This One - so very worth it


As for Japan Rail pases - mine cost £200 and covered the enitre country - im not sure how long it was for though (mum sorted it out) - its worth it though - it allows you to travel on all shinkansen (bullet train) EXCEPT for the Nozomi (the fastest [there are 3 speed ones the second fastest is only 30 mins more] - full fare for a single is £300) and a JR railnetworks - including Osaka's metro system (im pretty sure).

as for tokyo - i sussed out the Metro system pretty quickly and you can buy a kind or Oyster card thing (if youre familiar with london's travel system you'll know what i mean) - its basicly a card with so many credits on, so you dont have to keep buying tickets as all tickets are singles on a flat fare (fare zone) system - is i remember correctly a basic inner city flat fare is 180 yen - less than a £1 to travel accross tokyo? - not too bad

the tain system in kyoto was bloody confusing - there are two different companies that run the sytem, and they have alot of overlapping destinations, so you have alot of stations for the diff companies right next to each other; and none of the stations link to their competitors ones! teh worst was one particlar place in kyoto - theres a cross roads and on ech corner a entrace for a station; two for each company; if you went down the wrong one, and walked about 100 metres down a tunnel to the station, and then found you were on the wrong companies' station you'd have to walk all the way back again and then find the right steps to go down xD

ohh yes, sights in kyoto; theres a few; gion, obviously but also the pontocho district - gion's rival.
other good places are Fushimi Shrine; Very pretty - one of my faves, Nijo Castle; with the nightingale floorboards, Yasaka Temple and Pagoda, Kinkaku-ji; the Golden Pavilion and Kiyomizu Temple

one problem we sometimes had was finding ATMs that took our cards; Citibank definatly takes them, but are sometimes hard to find; when all else fails the easiest way to find help is at a post office - theres alway someone who speaks english, and they usually have ATMs that take foriegn cards
the sign for post offices in japan is

hope all this help

gods ive ranted xD

[jasonbvr]

Everyone is giving you some excellent advice. The JR rail pass is an excellent deal since two way fares on the bullet train (shinkansen) will cost about the same as the rail pass. For me unfortunately you can't get one and use it with a work visa. You have to have the tourist visa to buy it. One big thing though is that you must purchase a voucher before you come to Japan because according to the site I looked at before I came you can't purchase the pass inside Japan. You trade in the voucher once you arrive.

For coming through customs at the airport you will need to know the name of the hotel you will be staying at to fill in on the embarkation card or whatever they call it. I don't know how it is for Russians (I think you said you are Russian) but coming through customs is fairly easy for US/UK/Aussies/etcetera. If you don't know where you will be staying just make something up.

As far as sight seeing in Tokyo I could show you a few places you can go. Yoyogi park on Sunday afternoon is where you will find the Nihonjin (Japanese people) in costume. The towers everyone has told you about in Shinjuku is Tokyo Tocho. These are the Tokyo Metropolitan offices and admission to the viewing deck is free. This is the best place to go first because the ground level of the towers has a Tokyo/Japan tourist center. They have free maps of Tokyo and these helpful flyers that have a map for every district in Tokyo and the top attractions in the district. The maps are really good and after following some of them, the sights they suggest are not bad either. Tokyo Tower (the Eiffel of Tokyo) is best at night and so is Sensoji and Kaminari-mon in my opinion. Because one, they are all lit up and pretty at night. Two, there are a zillion people (Japanese and Gaijin "foreigners") pouring through Kaminari-mon and Senso-ji during the day. These two are right next to each other. As far as the Ueno Royal Museum, it is a real bummer you are going to miss the Salvador Dali exhibition since it closes on the 6th of Jan. But for the latest happenings in Tokyo I use :: Metropolis Tokyo :: Japan's No. 1 English Magazine XMAS SPECIAL which is an English e-zine or something.

The rest of Japan I have not seen yet because I have only been here three months and am working most of the time. I think you said you are coming mid-Jan. and maybe I will have a weekend to help you out, but this is the peak of snowboard season so my weekends may be a bit full.

One more thing, for ease of traveling the train lines you can check out Welcome to Jorudan Co.,Ltd. which gives you times and line transfers. The fares are not always accurate meaning sometimes it is cheaper. I highly reccomend Japan Atlas: A bilingual guide published by Kodansha International. This is about the best map I have found unless you speakuth Nihongo. Best wishes and happy holidays and as I tell my students, Ganbatte Kudasaine (try hard/good luck). Ja ne...

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by Gwen_Goth

one problem we sometimes had was finding ATMs that took our cards; Citibank definatly takes them, but are sometimes hard to find; when all else fails the easiest way to find help is at a post office - theres alway someone who speaks english, and they usually have ATMs that take foriegn cards

This is true and one of the biggest potential problems you might face. The PO wouldn't work for any of my cards (not in the city I live in, never tried it in Tokyo) because US ATM cards use the magnetic strip vs. Japan which uses the smart card (a chip embedded in the card). This is a little gold looking thing on your card as opposed to the black strip on the back. But yes, Citi will take your card or should (I have a Citi account) and their banks are usually conviently located close to rail stations. In Tokyo they are, I don't know about the others. Once you leave Tokyo there are possibly only two to three other cities that have Citibank branches. Just pull the cash you need before leaving Tokyo and you will be okay. Japan is very, very safe. The only rumoring of pitpockets I have heard is the Osaka area, but again this is only a rumor spread through who knows who and I don't know of anyone actually being pitpocketed.

[Gwen_Goth]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

This is true and one of the biggest potentail problems you might face. The PO wouldn't work for any of my cards (not in the city I live in, never tried it in Tokyo) because US ATM cards use the magnetic strip vs. Japan which uses the smart card (a chip embedded in the card). This is a little gold looking thing on your card as opposed to the black strip on the back. But yes, Citi will take your card or should (I have a Citi account) and their banks are usually conviently located close to rail stations. In Tokyo they are, I don't know about the others. Once you leave Tokyo there are possibly only two to three other cities that have Citibank branches. Just pull the cash you need before leaving Tokyo and you will be okay. Japan is very, very safe. The only rumoring of pitpockets I have heard is the Osaka area, but again this is only a rumor spread through who knows who and I don't know of anyone actually being pitpocketed.

ah, in the UK we have smart cards too, so i guess thats how it worked better ^^

yea, i felt really safe all the time i was there, osaka was lovely and everybody really friendly; i think most rumours are just that; started by rivalry
although osaka is apparently still the centre for yukasa 0___o
again with i felt toatlly safe though

[D.C.O.]

Gwen_Goth thank you very much for your advices.

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

One big thing though is that you must purchase a voucher before you come to Japan because according to the site I looked at before I came you can't purchase the pass inside Japan. You trade in the voucher once you arrive.

On which site I could do it?

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

... but this is the peak of snowboard season so my weekends may be a bit full.

By the way, I have never heard about ski/snowboard resorts in Japan, but I suppose they are. Could you give me some info?

[jasonbvr]

Snow Japan - Snowboard Japan, Ski Japan, Snowboarding Japan, Skiing Japan, Winter Sports Japan - the ultimate Japan online winter sports community Lists all the resorts and current conditions with info about closest stations and major roads. JAPAN RAIL PASS This is the primary site for the rail pass.

[Jollyaard]

Some other ideas for places to visit in Tokyo are:
the Edo museum in Ryogoku - very good history of Edo/Toyko and how it ended up as it is today - can also visit the sumo museum while there, or even go to the sumo matches
Japanese Sword Museum - small place, but very good info in the english handouts they give
Odaiba - shops (pallet town, venus fort), mini statue of liberty, the famous light show ferris wheel, Tokyo big sight - best to get there by boat from Asakusa and take the scenic journey down the river
Koishikawa Korakuen gardens - oldest of the city gardens - next to Tokyo dome (for baseball, and quite a good fun fare)
Nakano Broadway - the best shopping place for any anime, manga, toy collectors and cosplay!!! - just opposite the Nakano train station
For some culture you could try seeing a Kabuki play at the Kabuki-za theater in Ginza
Harajuku - go on a Sunday for Yoyogi park (and the bands that play on the south and sometimes west side - there's also a flea market there a couple of times a month for some second hand bargains), the Harajuku girls, the Meiji Shrine (and also the Meiji shrine treasure museum - often forgotten, but a nice place to visit), and of course the shops (especially kiddieland)
Yokohama is also nice for a visit (and only about £3 on the train from Shinjuku) - when there you can visit the funfare, the tallest building in the area (59 stories high), and lots of shops (including Harrods!)
And much, much more!!! Just go exploring and you'll have great fun.
(one handy hint for Tokyo travel - if you can't decypher the fare machines before you set off, buy the cheapest ticket, and use a fare adjust machine at your final stop (which has an english option) - it'll tell you how much more you need to pay to get out at that stop and saves a lot of hassle)
I was over this last march for a couple of weeks, and going back again March 07 to get another 2 week fix of the city
Hope this helps!