Clueless about Japan

I'll be Japan shortly (2nd of April) and as part of a round-the-world
trip with many countries on the list (I'm in New Zealand) right now I
just haven't had time to plan where to go etc. for it all.

And since I know so little about Japan and haven't met anybody who's
been backpacking there I'm starting to worry a bit and feel more or
less clueless.

I'm going to buy a guide-book for Japan as soon as I get to a bigger
city here in NZ, but I certainly won't have time to plan things much
more then either, so is there something I should keep in mind to
prepare myself for Japan?

I really haven't planned any proper itinerary either other than a
rough one:

1 Arrive at Osaka airport, take train or bus to Kyoto
2 Stay with a friend in Kyoto for one week
3 Take plane from Osaka to Sapporo
4 Stay in Sapporo for 3-4 days
5 Take plane down to Tokyo
6 Stay in Tokyo for 3-4 days

7 Take train or bus to Kobe where I'll stay for the most part (a
couple of weeks)
7a Possibly stop (and stay overnight) around Mt. Fuji on my way to
Kobe
(in any case, at some part of my trip I want to see/be around Mt.
Fuji, and since it's between Tokyo and Kobe it might be a good idea
before I actually get to Kobe).

8 Take day trips (if possible) from Kobe to various places around the
country (haven't made up my mind yet, but at least to nearbying
cities/towns if possible -I'm contemplating if I should buy a JR rail
pass or not: maybe not because I don't know yet if I'll be travelling
constantly for a week or not, and it'll be more relaxing if I can
travel now and then, but then again a week's worth of JR Railpass
might save me a lot of money).

9 Take bus or train to Tokyo
10 Stay in Tokyo for about a week
11 Leave Japan from Tokyo


Does that sound like a plan?
Suggestions?


Hallvard

(Hallvard Tangeraas) wrote in message . com...
I'll be Japan shortly (2nd of April) and as part of a round-the-world
trip with many countries on the list (I'm in New Zealand) right now I
just haven't had time to plan where to go etc. for it all.

And since I know so little about Japan and haven't met anybody who's
been backpacking there I'm starting to worry a bit and feel more or
less clueless.

Don't worry. It's an easy country to get around, and you'll have no
problems.

I really haven't planned any proper itinerary either other than a
rough one:

1 Arrive at Osaka airport, take train or bus to Kyoto
2 Stay with a friend in Kyoto for one week
3 Take plane from Osaka to Sapporo
4 Stay in Sapporo for 3-4 days
5 Take plane down to Tokyo
6 Stay in Tokyo for 3-4 days

7 Take train or bus to Kobe where I'll stay for the most part (a
couple of weeks)
7a Possibly stop (and stay overnight) around Mt. Fuji on my way to
Kobe
(in any case, at some part of my trip I want to see/be around Mt.
Fuji, and since it's between Tokyo and Kobe it might be a good idea
before I actually get to Kobe).

8 Take day trips (if possible) from Kobe to various places around the
country (haven't made up my mind yet, but at least to nearbying
cities/towns if possible -I'm contemplating if I should buy a JR rail
pass or not: maybe not because I don't know yet if I'll be travelling
constantly for a week or not, and it'll be more relaxing if I can
travel now and then, but then again a week's worth of JR Railpass
might save me a lot of money).

9 Take bus or train to Tokyo
10 Stay in Tokyo for about a week
11 Leave Japan from Tokyo

Can you fly into Tokyo/Sapporo and out of Osaka? Just seems you're
bouncing around a lot. Or maybe fly to Sapporo and then return to
Osaka, finishing up with Tokyo. I love to travel, and because of that
I hate to waste time if I can help it. My advice would be to
consolidate your schedule, if possible, but I know you're staying with
friends and sometimes that's a big factor on itinerary.

John W.

(John W.) wrote in message . com...
(Hallvard Tangeraas) wrote in message . com...

And since I know so little about Japan and haven't met anybody who's
been backpacking there I'm starting to worry a bit and feel more or
less clueless.

Don't worry. It's an easy country to get around, and you'll have no
problems.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear :-)
Thanks.


1 Arrive at Osaka airport, take train or bus to Kyoto
2 Stay with a friend in Kyoto for one week
3 Take plane from Osaka to Sapporo
4 Stay in Sapporo for 3-4 days
5 Take plane down to Tokyo
6 Stay in Tokyo for 3-4 days

7 Take train or bus to Kobe where I'll stay for the most part (a
couple of weeks)
7a Possibly stop (and stay overnight) around Mt. Fuji on my way to
Kobe
(in any case, at some part of my trip I want to see/be around Mt.
Fuji, and since it's between Tokyo and Kobe it might be a good idea
before I actually get to Kobe).

8 Take day trips (if possible) from Kobe to various places around the
country (haven't made up my mind yet, but at least to nearbying
cities/towns if possible -I'm contemplating if I should buy a JR rail
pass or not: maybe not because I don't know yet if I'll be travelling
constantly for a week or not, and it'll be more relaxing if I can
travel now and then, but then again a week's worth of JR Railpass
might save me a lot of money).

9 Take bus or train to Tokyo
10 Stay in Tokyo for about a week
11 Leave Japan from Tokyo

Can you fly into Tokyo/Sapporo and out of Osaka? Just seems you're
bouncing around a lot. Or maybe fly to Sapporo and then return to
Osaka, finishing up with Tokyo. I love to travel, and because of that
I hate to waste time if I can help it.

I agree, but I got that internal flight (Sapporo) as part of my
round-the-world ticket, and one of the rules is that you can't enter
the same city twice, so I had to do it that way.

The big question now is if I should go for the JR railpass or not. I'd
feel a lot freer without a time-limited ticket. Especially for the
time being since I know so little about the country, and knowing that
plans change when you get to a place. But then again if there are huge
savings that will affect my economy.
Any compromisable solution? Middle ground? Buses are apparently
cheaper to take than trains.

If I stop by the Mt. Fuji area and spend the night there on my way
from Tokyo to Kobe I'll already have "wasted" one day of taking the
train.



Hallvard

(Hallvard Tangeraas) wrote in message . com...
(John W.) wrote in message . com...

The big question now is if I should go for the JR railpass or not. I'd
feel a lot freer without a time-limited ticket. Especially for the
time being since I know so little about the country, and knowing that
plans change when you get to a place. But then again if there are huge
savings that will affect my economy.
Any compromisable solution? Middle ground? Buses are apparently
cheaper to take than trains.

You could combine several options. The highway bus is cheaper, and
there's a certain 'adventure' element to it, but in my experience most
travel at night meaning you can't see anything. There are two airports
in Osaka; can you fly out of one and into the other using your around
the world ticket? Or maybe fly into Okayama (or even Hiroshima). If
you did that you could get a kansai only pass (the Sanyo pass
http://www.westjr.co.jp/english/travel/con04/sanyo.html) for four
days. There's also a Kansai only pass, but the link is broken right
now; same base URL. In addition, there's a pass for Kansai that is
valid on non-Japan Rail lines; I'll try to find that link when I go
home later, if I can remember. It's a good deal and you can get in
single-day varieties.

John W.

(John W.) wrote in message . com...

In addition, there's a pass for Kansai that is
valid on non-Japan Rail lines; I'll try to find that link when I go
home later, if I can remember. It's a good deal and you can get in
single-day varieties.

Well, I remembered! http://www.surutto.com/. Good deal for local
travel, and you can buy it in Japan in 2- and 3-day varieties (no
single-day).

John W.

In article , Hallvard
Tangeraas wrote:

Does that sound like a plan?

I might fine-tune or quibble about some things (a two week base of
operations out of Kobe? A nice town, certainly but....), yes it sounds
like a plan. You clearly have time. Get a *FEW* good travel guides,
seems you'll have plenty of time to study them for the specific as they
arise. I found "Gateway to Japan" a good comprehensive navigational
tool, and such as Frommer's good for suggested explorations.

Get a good in-pocket phrase book for learning shards and snippets of
Japanese. Leearn a few early and use them often. Attempt your Japanese
everywhere, when you found it wanting you'll frequently find your
Japanese counterpart has plenty of English they can call forth if
circumstances demand.

And a little dictionary that will help you with some of the kanji as
wel as look-up aid. I suggest Berlitz for the former and the "Webster's
New World Compact Japanese Dictionary for the later. Both easily
jammed in a small pocket. If you think you might acquire a taste of it
Barron's has a great (tiny) grammer guide.

--
First they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only
care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy.
-- Gail Collins

Gerry wrote in message ...
In article , Hallvard
Tangeraas wrote:

Does that sound like a plan?

I might fine-tune or quibble about some things (a two week base of
operations out of Kobe? A nice town, certainly but....), yes it sounds
like a plan. You clearly have time.

I've actually started thinking that perhaps it would be a better idea
to take a day-by-day trip towards the western part of Japan (Fukuoka
etc.) stopping along the way where I want, then take a plane or the
Shinkansen back to Kobe, depending on which is the better deal. That
would make it less stressfull than having to go back daily (especially
the farther away I get), but then there's the accommodation issue
which worries me.

I know there are many YHA houth hostels around, but from what I've
read in travel guides and the hostels' websites themselves, there
seems to be a very strict, almost militant way about it all. Checking
in between 3pm and 6/7 pm, no staying in the hostel between 10am and
3pm, showering at certain times only, curfews at 9/10/11 pm etc. Fine
for kids who need to be told what to do, but not a grown up,
individual traveller. It's hard enough to determine travel
distances/times alone, but when you HAVE TO be at a place a certain
time where you are spending the night it all just becomes stressful
and too worrying. Especially when in addition there's the language
barrier and I suppose *everything* will just be a lot harder to figure
out/get around than for example here in New Zealand.

But, I haven't found cheaper options around -are there any, or the
same priced sort of thing?
I will stay pretty cheap in Kobe, but that's because it's people my
parents know.


Get a *FEW* good travel guides,
seems you'll have plenty of time to study them for the specific as they
arise. I found "Gateway to Japan" a good comprehensive navigational
tool, and such as Frommer's good for suggested explorations.

Well, I thought I had plenty of time to read through travel guides and
plan things all along my round-the-world trip, but not so. Even on
buses/trains there's always scenery to look at, and/or someone sitting
next to you to talk to, so the little reading I've done has just been
glancing at the titles etc. of sections, then taking it from there.

But I will take your suggestion and look around for any more books. I
suppose it will be hard to get English guidebooks in Japan, even for
Japan itself.


Get a good in-pocket phrase book for learning shards and snippets of
Japanese.

Yup, I've bought myself a Lonely planet pocket phrasebook.
I will try to learn a few phrases, just to break the barrier a bit
when I meet people if nothing else.


And a little dictionary that will help you with some of the kanji as
wel as look-up aid. I suggest Berlitz for the former and the "Webster's
New World Compact Japanese Dictionary for the later. Both easily
jammed in a small pocket. If you think you might acquire a taste of it
Barron's has a great (tiny) grammer guide.

Haven't thought of that. I'll look around in bookstores here in New
Zealand.



Hallvard

In article , Hallvard
Tangeraas wrote:

I've actually started thinking that perhaps it would be a better idea
to take a day-by-day trip towards the western part of Japan (Fukuoka
etc.) stopping along the way where I want, then take a plane or the
Shinkansen back to Kobe, depending on which is the better deal. That
would make it less stressfull than having to go back daily (especially
the farther away I get), but then there's the accommodation issue
which worries me.

True, but then it makes it somewhat more stressful,in that you're
shlepping your baggage everywhere and ceaselessly navigating the
process of check-in and check-out.

Perhaps something in between....

I know there are many YHA houth hostels around, but from what I've
read in travel guides and the hostels' websites themselves, there
seems to be a very strict, almost militant way about it all. Checking
in between 3pm and 6/7 pm, no staying in the hostel between 10am and
3pm, showering at certain times only, curfews at 9/10/11 pm etc. Fine
for kids who need to be told what to do, but not a grown up,
individual traveller. It's hard enough to determine travel
distances/times alone, but when you HAVE TO be at a place a certain
time where you are spending the night it all just becomes stressful
and too worrying.

The idea of staying in a hostel is out of the question for me. But then
I'm not staring down the barrel of a 10-dollar-a-day budget or
anything. I've found business-class hotels quite reasonable outside
Tokyo, and when I've had enough of them I find an inexpensive ryokan
for a few days. It can be done.

Especially when in addition there's the language
barrier and I suppose *everything* will just be a lot harder to figure
out/get around than for example here in New Zealand.

It takes some acclimating, but generally folks sure will help you out a
lot.

But, I haven't found cheaper options around -are there any, or the
same priced sort of thing?

It depends on how much differential you consider "same priced". Look
at such as Frommer's. They give you a pretty good idea of the low end.
Assume that there are *many* more places than they will report. I've
gotten inexpensive rooms by checking at the city tourist agency in
major train stations, and have also gotten help from places that were
booked when I asked for recommendations.

Get a *FEW* good travel guides,
seems you'll have plenty of time to study them for the specific as they
arise. I found "Gateway to Japan" a good comprehensive navigational
tool, and such as Frommer's good for suggested explorations.

Well, I thought I had plenty of time to read through travel guides and
plan things all along my round-the-world trip, but not so. Even on
buses/trains there's always scenery to look at, and/or someone sitting
next to you to talk to, so the little reading I've done has just been
glancing at the titles etc. of sections, then taking it from there.

It's a start. If figure if you're going to be in the country for 3
weeks or more, you'll have enough time to plan/plot the next 3 days
while eating breakfast. We did. On the occasions we needed the
navigational utility of "Gateway", it was a godsend.

But I will take your suggestion and look around for any more books. I
suppose it will be hard to get English guidebooks in Japan, even for
Japan itself.

Quite possibly not. Kinokuniya (seemingly the Barnes & Noble") of
Japan, has all the stock titles. Most medium to small-sized bookstores
have an English-language section.

Get a good in-pocket phrase book for learning shards and snippets of
Japanese.

Yup, I've bought myself a Lonely planet pocket phrasebook.
I will try to learn a few phrases, just to break the barrier a bit
when I meet people if nothing else.

And a little dictionary that will help you with some of the kanji as
wel as look-up aid. I suggest Berlitz for the former and the "Webster's
New World Compact Japanese Dictionary for the later. Both easily
jammed in a small pocket. If you think you might acquire a taste of it
Barron's has a great (tiny) grammer guide.

Haven't thought of that. I'll look around in bookstores here in New
Zealand.

--
First they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only
care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy.
-- Gail Collins

Gerry wrote:

I know there are many YHA houth hostels around, but from what I've
read in travel guides and the hostels' websites themselves, there
seems to be a very strict, almost militant way about it all. Checking
in between 3pm and 6/7 pm, no staying in the hostel between 10am and
3pm, showering at certain times only, curfews at 9/10/11 pm etc. Fine
for kids who need to be told what to do, but not a grown up,
individual traveller.

Welcome to Japan. If you want flexibility, find a business hotel. Most
of the hostels here have never embraced the idea of customer needs.

For the traveller, what are you going to be doing at midnight in most
towns other than Tokyo?

The idea of staying in a hostel is out of the question for me. But then
I'm not staring down the barrel of a 10-dollar-a-day budget or
anything. I've found business-class hotels quite reasonable outside
Tokyo, and when I've had enough of them I find an inexpensive ryokan
for a few days. It can be done.

Remember that ryokan also have curfews.

The minshuku that I use in Atami will leave the door unlocked if I tell
the owner that I'm going to be back late, though. It helps that I stay
there a lot. YMMV.

--
Matt

Gerry wrote in message ...
In article , Hallvard
Tangeraas wrote:

I've actually started thinking that perhaps it would be a better idea
to take a day-by-day trip towards the western part of Japan (Fukuoka
etc.) stopping along the way where I want, then take a plane or the
Shinkansen back to Kobe, depending on which is the better deal. That
would make it less stressfull than having to go back daily (especially
the farther away I get), but then there's the accommodation issue
which worries me.

True, but then it makes it somewhat more stressful,in that you're
shlepping your baggage everywhere and ceaselessly navigating the
process of check-in and check-out.

Perhaps something in between....

Yes, I've been reading that trains/buses in Japan aren't made for
carrying large backpacks etc. so a better idea might be to do the
above (travel from place to place) BUT.... not with my large backpack.
I'll leave that behind in Kobe, then take my small rucksack (which I
carry with me everywhere because it's where I've got my camera,
tickets etc.) and fill it up with the bare essentials for a week's
worth of travel or so.


I know there are many YHA houth hostels around, but from what I've
read in travel guides and the hostels' websites themselves, there
seems to be a very strict, almost militant way about it all.

The idea of staying in a hostel is out of the question for me. But then
I'm not staring down the barrel of a 10-dollar-a-day budget or
anything. I've found business-class hotels quite reasonable outside
Tokyo, and when I've had enough of them I find an inexpensive ryokan
for a few days. It can be done.

I'm not on a 10 dollar/day budget either, but since I'll be in Japan
for about 1 1/2 month I really need to save as much as I can, and with
hostels costing around 3000-4000 Yen a night it'll surely add up.
Are there other hostels around than the YHA ones, and are they easy to
find/book? This is supposed to be a relaxing holiday for me, not
having people "commanding" me what to do, and when.
At age 37 I don't feel like being pushed around that way.


Especially when in addition there's the language
barrier and I suppose *everything* will just be a lot harder to figure
out/get around than for example here in New Zealand.

It takes some acclimating, but generally folks sure will help you out a
lot.

It's probably going to be *different* from here then, but not worse or
better. Just different. And that's the way it's been everywhere I've
been. Every country is more or less different from the previous/next
one, so I basically have to "reset" my mind and not compare it with
other places, but start from scratch. In fact, that's a nice
experience -seeing so many different countries.


But, I haven't found cheaper options around -are there any, or the
same priced sort of thing?

It depends on how much differential you consider "same priced". Look
at such as Frommer's. They give you a pretty good idea of the low end.
Assume that there are *many* more places than they will report. I've
gotten inexpensive rooms by checking at the city tourist agency in
major train stations, and have also gotten help from places that were
booked when I asked for recommendations.

I'll look around for Frommer's. Do they have one guide for Japan, or
are there several? 'm not too familiar with Frommer's, so I'm not sure
what to look for in the bookstore, but I suppose it's just a
competitior to Lonely plant, Rough guides etc.


Well, I thought I had plenty of time to read through travel guides and
plan things all along my round-the-world trip, but not so. Even on
buses/trains there's always scenery to look at, and/or someone sitting
next to you to talk to, so the little reading I've done has just been
glancing at the titles etc. of sections, then taking it from there.

It's a start. If figure if you're going to be in the country for 3
weeks or more, you'll have enough time to plan/plot the next 3 days
while eating breakfast. We did. On the occasions we needed the
navigational utility of "Gateway", it was a godsend.

Not sure what you mean by Gateway -a book? A website?


But I will take your suggestion and look around for any more books. I
suppose it will be hard to get English guidebooks in Japan, even for
Japan itself.

Quite possibly not. Kinokuniya (seemingly the Barnes & Noble") of
Japan, has all the stock titles. Most medium to small-sized bookstores
have an English-language section.

Cool! Yes, Kinokuniya is found everywhere in Asia (and even in Sydney)
-I've been in their stores in Hong Kong, Singapore (possibly Malaysia)
and Sydney.


Hallvard