I havent decided yet on a Ryokan but will definitely stay in one, most probably in Kyoto. I'm also looking into staying in a ryokan on Miyajima island called Iwaso. there are 3 places during my trip that I want to spend a night in very nice accommodations: Miyajima island, Hakone (I'll try and book the Hyatt Regency since I simply cannot afford to stay in the Hakone-Ginyu Ryokan which looks amazing) and Tokyo (probably the Park Hyatt).

I've finally booked all of my travel spot accommodations. 34 days to go and I can hardly wait!

I read somewhere that there is a direct boat ride from Hiroshima peace park to Miyajima? Has anyone taken it?

Any large lockers to keep luggage in Himeji train station?

My plan is to travel directly from Mount Koya to Nara. Does anone know how long the trip takes? I'll try and see as much as possible in Nara that day. After spending the night in Nara I'm wondering whether I should continue seeing sites in Nara or travelling to Inari Fushimi shrine and spend most of the day there. What do you think? Apart from that day. I'll have 2 more full days to spend in Kyoto.

What are the best sites in Hakone? I'll have about a day and a half there.

The boatride from the A-bomb domb to Miyajima is called the "World Heritage Cruise". I haven't taken it myself so I don't have any advice, but the place to catch the cruise is just south of the A-bomb dome and next to a cafe on the east side of the river. There is also a boat from Hiroshima port that goes to Miyajima island, again I didn't use it.

Is there anywhere in Tokyo where you recommend I exchange foreign currency into yen or would I get a better rate by bringing yen with me to Japan?

The currency exchange desk in Narita is probably not a good deal, is it?

I find the ATM at the postal outlet give me the best daily rate. Some suggest taht CITI bank also have the same kind of international ATM....

Thank you for the info

Hello from Osaka everyone!

I arrived in Japan last Thursday and ham having a blast up until now.

I spent 1 day in Tokyo, went to Ginza and the imperial palace area. Ginza was very cool yet I only looked at stuff in the shops since the prices were crazy, 5th ave prices.

The day after that I took the bullet train to Hiroshima and spent half a day at the atomic bomb peace memrial park and museum, a powerful experience.

The next morning I took the ferry to Miyajima Isalnd and spent the night in a hotel on the island. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget!

Yesterday, I stopped at Himeji on the way to Osaka. The Himeji castle grounds were very nice with all the cherry blossom trees. Lots of Hanami parties. With regards to going into the castle itself I think that it's not really necessary. I was there on a Monday and there still was a huge crowd.

I'm currently at J Hoppers hostel in Osaka. The location is good in my opinion, 1 train stop from Osaka station. Lots of restauarants nearby. Every place that I've eaten in Japan so far was very good, even the sushi packs I bought at the grocery stores.

Today, I went to the Umeda sky building with some fantastic views of Osaka. The Osaka Aquarium was amazing! I stopped at Den Den town which is a geeks dream, especially the Super Toy Land stores :-)

Tomorrow I'm off to Universal Studios and Dotombori districts in the evening.

Using the train system so far in japan is very easy. It takes a very short time to get used to it. I managed very well to get by with some very basic japanese which includes greeting/thank you/excuse me words.

I'm loving every minute here!

Well, I'm having a fantastic time so far in Japan. Since Osaka, I've been to Mount Koya, Nara, Kyoto, Hakone and now I've just arrived in Tokyo for the next 7 days. Every place I've visited was great and special.

I have a million pics already. I'll upload when I'm back home.

Does anyone know where I can find a coin laundry place in the Akasaka district in Tokyo, preferably next to the Grand Prince Akasaka hotel? The laundry service in the hotel is way too expensive!

What did you think of Koya-san? And you didn't, by any chance, stop for lunch or something in Hashimoto, did you?

By the way, you passed within a few feet of where I lived in Japan... just after Hashimoto station, the train does a wide turn before crossing a bridge, and my apartment was right there, next to the tracks.