XUEC

Hi guys,

My partner and I will be traveling to Tokyo next February for about 2 weeks. We scored one of the sweet $350RT deals from JFK to SIN via NRT on JAL, but are planning to do most of it as a stopover in Japan. It's the first time in Japan for both of us and we're very excited. I know it's a long long way out, but would love to get your opinions on our very rough itinerary.

Some quick things about us--we're both in our 20s, very outgoing and easygoing. Love to eat and explore new things of all kinds. Very few turnoffs, but in general we like to be safe and clean at a minimum (understand this is very easy in Japan) Our budget is pretty high, but ideally would love a mix of high-end restaurants and great local places that are fun, cheap and delicious for food, and generally upscale accomodations (either Western or Japanese):

Days 1-5 - Tokyo (day trips to Nikko, maybe Hakone)

Days 6-7 - Skiing in Nagano (was thinking about Nozawaonsen for its mix of small, traditional town and also great skiing. Would love recommendations of other ski areas around Nagano with similar qualities--especially if they are more convenient for traveling to Takayama the next day) Days 7-8 - Takayama (would love any ideas as to whether this is worth seeing, or if Osaka/Hiroshima/Kobe/Other places in the south might be a better bet for a first-time trip. We do, however, love the idea of staying in a small mountain village. In particular, would love to hear perspectives of Takayama vs. Koyasan)Days 9-13 - Kyoto (with day trips to Nara, maybe Himeji)

Days 14-16 - Singapore (no plans yet--we have been told a weekend is enough to see most of the important things in Singapore. Think we are mostly using this time to decompress after a long, tiring, and overwhelming Japan trip)
Some hard-to-reserve restaurants we've been eyeing--a little worried since if we went to all of these, there would be hardly enough time left to explore the street food/more authentic places, especially in Tokyo. Would also love to hear other recommendations, whether high-end of not, that are not all over the blogs/guidebooks (which is how we've mostly been planning so far).

If we do end up doing some or all of these, think a combination of the hotel concierges + Amex plat/CSR concierges will be able to get the reservations? If so, any ideas on how far in advance we should start trying?
Thank you so much guys! Really appreciate the community here and would love to hear any critiques.

angra

What are the dates of your time in Japan? The Sapporo snow festival is in February and might be fun for you guys. I'm not sure it is worth giving up time in Tokyo or Kyoto, but it would nice to know if it's an option.

There is also skiing in Hokkaido.

XUEC

Thanks for the response! We will be there Feb 9-23.

We did read that Hokkaido has amazing skiing but thought that the hassle and expense involved with traveling there was a little too much and might detract from the rest of our trip, which is why we settled on skiing in Nagano, if at all.

evergrn

$305 total is an incredible deal for such itinerary. I've never seen anything like it. How did you come across such deal?

Some feedback:
- I've been to Takayama at different times of the year. When I went there one time in either Feb or March, when it was still really cold with snow on the ground, the town was rather dead. Not sure if it's worth your while to go out of your way to swing by there, let alone spend 2 nights.
- You'd have to budget 3hrs or more to go from Shinjuku to Nozawa Onsen... meaning you'd probably only have 1 full day of skiing if you only plan to stay 2 nights. If it were me, I'd reassign those Takayama nights to 1 extra night each in Nozawa Onsen and Kyoto.
- Use Kyoto as a base for doing one or two day trips. I'd recommend that one of those be Hiroshima/Miyajima, which is a long but very doable day trip if you plan it right. I've done numerous such day trip from Kansai region, most recently a few months ago from Kyoto.
- I can't really help you with the super high-end restaurant business. But one thing I will say is that Tokyo is bursting with great food everywhere. Don't overplan/over-reserve restaurants there. That will limit your flexibility, and also I guarantee you will be running into great-looking food all the time. I would also check out gourmet deli food in the basement of major departments stores (eg, Isetan in Shinjuku).
- I'm not a Singapore expert, as I've only been there once, although I'm heading back there soon. Highly recommend Singapore zoo (take taxi there) and trying out hawker food a couple of times. Of course you will go see the Merlion, walk around Marina Bay, and perhaps go to the observation desk at the top of Marina Bay Sands. But I found the Marina Bay area to be otherwise quiet and more of a business area, as compared to like Orchard which is where I stayed. Just loved the zoo. You may also try the Night zoo, although I did not go.

jib71

Takayama is a town (officially a "city") with shopping streets, markets, etc. - Definitely not a village. You can take a bus from Takayama to the village of Shirakawago, where various thatched houses are preserved. That gives you a picture of how rural Japan used to be. It's picture-postcard pretty.
Koya-san is different again. It has the population of a town. But basically, it's a collection of monasteries, and temples, atop a small mountain. Very peaceful and beautiful, but it's not a farming community, it's a place of pilgrimage and tourism.
Another place to add to your list of possible places to visit, is the city of Matsumoto - not far from your ski slope, with one of the best preserved castles in Japan. Worth an overnight trip IMHO.
Actually, all three of these places is worthwhile for a first visit to Japan. I think they all offer an interesting contrast against the more "modern" and more urban places that you will see.

WorldLux

Seeing the monkeys near Nagano in their natural onsen might be interesting too.

angra

So, yeah, snow festival is something you could do if you wanted. It's not as "canonical japan" as a lot of stuff in Tokyo / Kansai, but it is a fairly unique event and maybe especially fun for people who really like playing in the snow.

Getting up to Hokkaido isn't expensive - should be <$100 each person each way for domestic tickets. Hassle factor could be moderate, though, depending on timing and how much luggage you have, etc.

Anyway, I think you have a pretty good trip plan overall and probably would not suggest upending it to visit Sapporo this time around .

I think if it was me, I'd ditch Takayama and allocate those days to Kyoto/Osaka. I favor minimizing lodging moves for my trips and there is plenty to see and do in Kyoto and Osaka particularly for a first time visitor.

evergrn

Agree with this.


Forgot about Shirakawago, which may be worth the detour depending on what you like and what you feel you must see. And if you are going to include Shirakawago, then you might as well swing through Takayama also.

Having said that, if it were me personally, I still would ditch Takayama. I'm taking into consideration the following factors:
- If you're going to Nozawa Onsen to ski, wouldn't you want at least 2 full days of skiing?
- Nozawa Onsen itself fulfills your criteria of mountain village, with great onsen to boot... although I have heard the the place has been packed with foreigners in recent years. (I'm not sure if that detracts from your experience, though... Noboribetsu the past couple summers has been packed with gaijins, but I certainly enjoyed it)
- As I said before, I don't remember Takayama in cold Feb~March being anywhere near as vibrant as it was during summer/fall.
- I think it'll become quite a detour for you to stop through Takayama en route from Nozawa to Kyoto.
- As angra says above, it really helps to minimize the number of times you have to check in/out of hotels on a trip like this.

Finally, I should add that a lot of hotels (particularly the onsen lodgings in Nozawa Onsen) will not be accepting reservations this far out. Many places in Jpn don't take bookings until 3-6 months out. If there's a place that interests you, I would contact them and find out when they start taking bookings.

ksandness

I took a group of students to Japan one January, and Takayama was worth seeing: the sake breweries have their tours (in Japanese only, but you can still get the basic idea), and the Hida Minzoku Mura (a "village" of traditional buildings brought from all over the area) was open. If you're into arts and crafts, Takayama has a lot of them. The train ride from Nagoya is also very scenic.

However, we did the trip as a long day trip from Kyoto.

Japan is only the size of California, but with a train system that is light years ahead of anything in the U.S. and superior to what is found in Europe, so even basing yourself just in Tokyo and Kyoto, you can take a lot of wonderful day trips, especially with the newer Shinkansen lines.

For skiing, of course, you're going to want to go to the actual resort. Did you know that Japanese people often ship their ski equipment to the resort instead of carrying it on the train, which has very little room for luggage? Your hotel in Tokyo can arrange this takkyuubin service for you--unless you plan to rent equipment at the resort.

I'll admit that I was nervous the first time I used a takkyuubin service, but now I've used it on twenty years worth of trips without any lost luggage.

groovbusta

The Park Hyatt / AMEX concierges can probably help out with some of those restaurants, but not sure about Saito. First timers usually need to be introduced by a regular and you should know there are 2 counters at Saito, so first timers usually end up with his apprentice. I've sat at both counters with a long-time regular and felt the experiences are noticeably different.

One of my personal favorite sushi places is Sushi Sho Masa. Only 7 seats and a great, intimate atmosphere. It's definitely on the food bloggers radar now, but reservations are still relatively easier to get.

If you like beef, you should consider yakiniku at either Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara in Ichigaya or Jumbo yakiniku in Shirokane.

You may also want to checkout the Japan board at Chowhound for more food recs. Lots of expert local advice over there.

XUEC

Thanks for this. We had not considered that it might be very cold and deserted in the mountains in February. I think we will nix this and add a day each to Nagano and Kyoto (the latter so that we can do Himeji/Hiroshima as a daytrip).

XUEC

Sushi Sho Masa looks amazing! We will certainly add it to our list.

Have not really looked into a beef place, and will check out your recommendations.

Thank you!

sleepro

Just had dinner at Sushi Yoshitake last week. Overall, it was excellent but it also had a few dishes that might take a little getting used to for a westerner. A capable hotel concierge would be helpful in securing the reservation 2-3 months ahead. It is a bit hard-to-find place located in a tiny room of the 3rd floor in the back alley of Ginza. Make sure your show up on time.

I was told flat-out by our concierge at MO Tokyo that Sushi Saito would not take reservations from first time customers. I tend to believe them since they had never said no to any other requests/inquiries from us.

IMOA

Just a quick comment about takayama. I've done it in different times of the year and by far my favourite time to visit was in February. I found in autumn the town is overrun by tourists and the locals are just a bit over it whereas in February you get the snow etc which adds to the aptmosphere, the locals are actually happy to see you (many a night drinking with locals till 4 or 5am) and there is a lot on with all the brewery tours etc. I'm in the minority but I think a couple of nights in takayama with a day trip to shirakawa-go is a great idea.