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Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 12th, 2003, 01:27 PM
Colonel Legno
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Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving

hello Gerry Scott-Moore, and Harlan, thank you for the informative
replies.

Interestingly you have both weighed in on NOT driving. Yet some of our
best experiences in Europe (and England and Australia, where they do
drive on the left (sheesh!) have been when we got out in the country in
a rental car. Can anyone weigh in on the positive side of driving in
the countryside in japan?

The Legnos.


In article , Colonel Legno
wrote:

We are thinking of traveling in the Japanese Alps in central Honshu in
the vicinity of Takayama. We are thinking of spending a couple of days
in Takayama and using this a base. Is this worthwhile. Can anyone
recommend places to stay there.


We stayed at Kuwataniya and the food was fantastic the onsen were
great and it was marvelous. The Rickshaw Inn comes highly recommended
by regulars we encountered. Across the street there was a very
inexpensive business Hotel Hana we had to migrate to when our
reservations ran out and we weren't ready to leave the town!

We just walked in the lobby and got a room. This was when we started
splitting stays in minshuku or ryokan and business hotes. Kobe?
Business hotel. Osaka? Business hotel. Takayama? Ryokan. Any small
town or area, we do ryokan.

Can anyone report on the walk in Kiso Valley from Magome to Tsumago?


Too hard! Actually, it's not but we were so damned pooped by the time
we got there. If you're leaving from Kyoto, come MUCH earlier than
you'd like or spend the night in Nagoya (where I've never been, but
wonder about for the possiblity to travel south from there.

We would like to tour Hakone. Any thoughts or suggestions on things to
do? Is anyone familiar with the Fujiya Hotel in Hakone?


I've stayed there and it's an impressive place. Very historic. We did
the hot-diggity kaisekki dinner at the affiliated restaurant. The most
expensive meal at close to $300, that we've ever had. And worth it, if
you can imagine.

We stayed three days on a great deal which we got by calling two days
ahead of time and booking in the early part of the week. We should
have stayed two. You have to spend a fair amount of time on buses and
trains to get anywhere, and you'll be getting there with the herd more
than likely. Fujiya is really not in a city per se. There's a few
blocks of business and such, but that's it. Up the hill from there are
what looks like some great old rustic ryokans where doubtless a gaijin
would be a surprise, but if you have a little Japanese... It looks
interesting up there.

Any recommendations on places for westerners to stay in Ryokan?


Take your chances. We've practically thrown darts (using the trad
travel guides) and have almost always had wonderful experiences.

We though Beppu sucked. We only stayed on evening, but we were
imprisoned in that onsen on the hill which is supposed to be so gauche
and bizarre. It's none of those in a fun way.

Obviously we welcome any additional suggestions or accounts of
experiences.

Can anyone recommend other scenic regions on Honshu that we should
consider?


Read the guides. They have such wonderful stuff in them. It depends
on what you like. We enjoyed all the major cities. If you're reading
Frommer's, check the Okayama Prefecture Inn's it's a sorta membership
think for 5 bucks or something. We stayed at Chiraishi Island, but the
others look fabulous too.

We would like to hear how feasible and difficult this is for
non-japanese speaking/reading people to do something like this,
navigating on our own. We understand the rail system is good,
especially with a JR pass, but would expect that it is difficult to use
to get out into the countryside. We understand that a car would be a
great liability in the cities and would not intend to use it or keep it
there.


I wouldn't dream of a car anywhere. It's just too much additional
misery and separation from the place and people. And left-side!
Sheesh!

The transit is great and it allows you to meet people. You need to
spend a few days with a phrase book. Just a little will get you
through 90's of your needs. You'll have to ask for a bathroom or water
or "two beers" or something. So you might as well just learn a few of
them.

But even without a dab of Japanese you'll find people going to
extraordinary lengths to accomodate you whenever and wherever.

And so forth.


-----

Another reply to your post advises you to spend some time with a phrase book
to learn some basic phrases. Good advice. If you know no Japanese at all,
look at "Japanese for Dummies." It's good basic stuff. It's not a pocket
book, but you might consider taking it with you. The most useful expression
for the traveler is "sumimasen", essentially "excuse me". If you have a
question about anything, say sumimasen to a Japanese, and every person in
hearing will turn and be ready for your question. If you don't know the
question in Japanese and the person to whom you're speaking knows no
English, you can often make yourself understood, as in "sumimasen . . .
Yokosuka?" when you are standing in a train station and are looking for the
platform for the Yokosuka train. Then when you reach the indicated platform,
ask someone the same question.

Harlan


Unless you have a death wish, do not rent a car. Even if you are accustomed
to driving in heavy traffic with a right-hand drive car, you will consume
more time on the road than you would by taking the train and the occasional
taxi. You can get to the countryside and some villages by train. Admittedly
you would need four-wheel transportation to get to some of my favorite
places. For some suggestions about where to go, see my article at
http://softadventure.net/japan2003article.htm. We reached most of the
destinations described there by train.

Harlan

  #2  
Old September 12th, 2003, 05:16 PM
Gerry Scott-Moore
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving

In article , Colonel Legno
wrote:

Interestingly you have both weighed in on NOT driving. Yet some of
our best experiences in Europe (and England and Australia, where they
do drive on the left (sheesh!) have been when we got out in the
country in a rental car. Can anyone weigh in on the positive side of
driving in the countryside in japan?


Hey, I've had great experiences in the states in a car too. I guess
the main thing is that you don't normally think of travel as an
*opportunity* for interaction with folks on a train or bus or taxi in
the US. But it is just that in Japan.

I've thought about renting a car in Japan to amble about as I please.
And it appeals. Particularly when I don't want the time-restrictions of
public transport. It would be nice to just "jump in the car and go", as
I do at home. But I don't think it would work like that anyway. Here or
anywhere, driving a car is about driving a car to me.

That said, I wish you WOULD do it--so you can report back about how
great it worked out and have me considering it anew.

--
///---
  #3  
Old September 12th, 2003, 11:27 PM
John W.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving

Colonel Legno wrote:
hello Gerry Scott-Moore, and Harlan, thank you for the informative
replies.

Interestingly you have both weighed in on NOT driving. Yet some of our
best experiences in Europe (and England and Australia, where they do
drive on the left (sheesh!) have been when we got out in the country in
a rental car. Can anyone weigh in on the positive side of driving in
the countryside in japan?

I've taken many trips in the Japanese countryside by car, and love it.
For one thing, there are all the same 'good' reasons for driving as in
any other country, so I probably don't need to go over all of those. But
here's an example of something you can gain by driving in Japan that you
can't by train. Picture yourself going down a highway in the
countryside, fairly mountainous. Suddenly on your left you see this log
cabin, US style. It's a coffee shop, so you stop in. Later on you're
driving and there's this small, tiny temple off to the side; you'd never
know it's there if you weren't driving, so you spend a few minutes to
maybe eat a picnic lunch or snack there. Later you see a little
restaurant; it's Japanese home cooking, a local's place, and while there
are planty near the train stations, *this* one is in a small town that
is miles from the nearest rail line, much less station.

Certainly you'll need to familiarize yourself with as much Japanese
(reading, if you can) as possible. But if you're riding a train and see
a really cool place that you'd like to see, you often can't unless it's
close to a station. All rail stations have parking; but they don't all
have cars you can just walk up and rent.

John W.



  #4  
Old September 13th, 2003, 03:50 PM
Gerry Scott-Moore
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving

In article , John W.
wrote:

Picture yourself going down a highway in the countryside, fairly
mountainous. Suddenly on your left you see this log cabin, US style.
It's a coffee shop, so you stop in. Later on you're driving and
there's this small, tiny temple off to the side; you'd never know
it's there if you weren't driving, so you spend a few minutes to
maybe eat a picnic lunch or snack there. Later you see a little
restaurant; it's Japanese home cooking, a local's place, and while
there are planty near the train stations, *this* one is in a small
town that is miles from the nearest rail line, much less station.


Point well made.

--
///---
  #5  
Old September 14th, 2003, 05:59 AM
Colonel Legno
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving

Thank you John W.!!

This is just the kind of experience we had been hoping to hear about.

Any more? Others wish to weigh in?

-colonel and the mrs.

-----

In article , John W.
wrote:

Colonel Legno wrote:
hello Gerry Scott-Moore, and Harlan, thank you for the informative
replies.

Interestingly you have both weighed in on NOT driving. Yet some of our
best experiences in Europe (and England and Australia, where they do
drive on the left (sheesh!) have been when we got out in the country in
a rental car. Can anyone weigh in on the positive side of driving in
the countryside in japan?

I've taken many trips in the Japanese countryside by car, and love it.
For one thing, there are all the same 'good' reasons for driving as in
any other country, so I probably don't need to go over all of those. But
here's an example of something you can gain by driving in Japan that you
can't by train. Picture yourself going down a highway in the
countryside, fairly mountainous. Suddenly on your left you see this log
cabin, US style. It's a coffee shop, so you stop in. Later on you're
driving and there's this small, tiny temple off to the side; you'd never
know it's there if you weren't driving, so you spend a few minutes to
maybe eat a picnic lunch or snack there. Later you see a little
restaurant; it's Japanese home cooking, a local's place, and while there
are planty near the train stations, *this* one is in a small town that
is miles from the nearest rail line, much less station.

Certainly you'll need to familiarize yourself with as much Japanese
(reading, if you can) as possible. But if you're riding a train and see
a really cool place that you'd like to see, you often can't unless it's
close to a station. All rail stations have parking; but they don't all
have cars you can just walk up and rent.

John W.



  #6  
Old September 14th, 2003, 06:10 AM
Colonel Legno
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving


Thank you Gerry Scott-Moore

We are leaning to driving, and will certainly post our experience, but
we are in the early planning stage for a trip for next summer, so that
feedback will be some time in coming.

You write, relative to jumping in the car and going, "I don't think it
would work like that anyway." Why not?

With respect to interacting with others, it seems that one can do it in
a variety of ways, be it stopping in a food shop or filling the gas
tank or stopping at the quaint little temple that John W conjured up in
his post. But I take your point, that if one is in a train compartment
(do they have those, or are they seats in rows; that makes a difference
in our experience) one has the opportunity for some extended
conversation while going from point A to point B.

Which brings up another question: how do you pay for gas? Do gas
stations take credit cards as they do in the states and europe? I
recall reading in an earlier post that when you drive into a gas
station there is a crew that comes out to service your car and that
they all stand by and wave when you drive out. Talk about
interactions!

thanks again

-the colonel and the mrs

---

In article , Gerry
Scott-Moore wrote:

In article , Colonel Legno
wrote:

Interestingly you have both weighed in on NOT driving. Yet some of
our best experiences in Europe (and England and Australia, where they
do drive on the left (sheesh!) have been when we got out in the
country in a rental car. Can anyone weigh in on the positive side of
driving in the countryside in japan?


Hey, I've had great experiences in the states in a car too. I guess
the main thing is that you don't normally think of travel as an
*opportunity* for interaction with folks on a train or bus or taxi in
the US. But it is just that in Japan.

I've thought about renting a car in Japan to amble about as I please.
And it appeals. Particularly when I don't want the time-restrictions of
public transport. It would be nice to just "jump in the car and go", as
I do at home. But I don't think it would work like that anyway. Here or
anywhere, driving a car is about driving a car to me.

That said, I wish you WOULD do it--so you can report back about how
great it worked out and have me considering it anew.

  #7  
Old September 15th, 2003, 07:04 AM
Gerry Scott-Moore
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Questions about vacation in Japan: Driving

In article , Colonel Legno
wrote:

Thank you Gerry Scott-Moore

We are leaning to driving, and will certainly post our experience, but
we are in the early planning stage for a trip for next summer, so that
feedback will be some time in coming.

You write, relative to jumping in the car and going, "I don't think it
would work like that anyway." Why not?


In the US the open road is mine because I can speak the language and
read the signs. Not so in Japan. I have very crude abilities in both.
Nancy and I have only recently graduated to going into restaurants that
ar missing all: Plastic food display, English-language menus,
English-speaking wait-help. We actual have enough navigational skills
to do this in Japanese.

But as John described, many rustic restaurants won't be identifiable as
such. Nor will much else. It may be interesting but it certainly won't
be a jump-and-go situation.

With respect to interacting with others, it seems that one can do it in
a variety of ways, be it stopping in a food shop or filling the gas
tank or stopping at the quaint little temple that John W conjured up in
his post. But I take your point, that if one is in a train compartment
(do they have those, or are they seats in rows; that makes a difference
in our experience) one has the opportunity for some extended
conversation while going from point A to point B.


Rows. But mostly we get acquainted standing in lines, waiting for
trains, on the trains and so forth. In all cases we have at least
minimal interaction as part of getting the job done.

--
///---
 




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