Please suggest a base for visiting Japan
Sep 10, 2017, 12:45 pm
#16
Join Date: Mar 2015
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I only had a short time there, but I really loved Hiroshima. You'd have access to great food, museums, castles, temples, shrines, and hiking all as day trips (Miyajima would be a must). I found the public transportation there to be easy to use (we used the trams).
Sep 10, 2017, 2:08 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2004
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OP's criteria are still no definitively clear, but I agree with everything in jib's 1st post. He does say he wants to use public transport to get around... I think that makes Hokkaido not a great option. I love Yokohama personally, but Yokohama is very much like Tokyo in that main stations will be crowded and the trains will have lots of people. When one says he wants to see a country and stay off the beaten path, it's never clear how literally he means it. I have based myself in Kofu for numerous nights and have loved it because the town is laidback, the hotel has onsen, amazing views of Mt.Fuji, and shopping/food within walking distance, plus I know many great off-the-beaten-path spots around Kofu. However, I know Kofu won't work for most people, even those who say they want to be off the beaten path.
Anyways, I would recommend Okayama. It's a big city that offers plenty to do/eat, but it's certainly not Tokyo or even Kyoto. It is amazingly well-connected by trains to so many attractions that are both prime (Kyoto, Himeji Castle, Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima) and second-tier (Kurashiki, Onomichi, Matsue, Matsuyama / Dogo Onsen, Shodojima).
Anyways, I would recommend Okayama. It's a big city that offers plenty to do/eat, but it's certainly not Tokyo or even Kyoto. It is amazingly well-connected by trains to so many attractions that are both prime (Kyoto, Himeji Castle, Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima) and second-tier (Kurashiki, Onomichi, Matsue, Matsuyama / Dogo Onsen, Shodojima).
The JR Pass for this area is 174.00 for 7 days, a great value.
I would never skip Tokyo as it is a wonderful city and has smaller, areas that are not crowded or overwhelming. If you visit Yanaka you will find an almost peaceful oasis in Tokyo. I encourage OP to visit Tokyo. The people are incredible.
Sep 10, 2017, 7:19 pm
#18
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OKayama....yes. We go to Japan every year and always spend a week in Tokyo and then do an additional 1-2 weeks in other places. We are again going to Okayama in November for the night time light events at the gardens. We really liked the city. It's a great base.
The JR Pass for this area is 174.00 for 7 days, a great value.
I would never skip Tokyo as it is a wonderful city and has smaller, areas that are not crowded or overwhelming. If you visit Yanaka you will find an almost peaceful oasis in Tokyo. I encourage OP to visit Tokyo. The people are incredible.
The JR Pass for this area is 174.00 for 7 days, a great value.
I would never skip Tokyo as it is a wonderful city and has smaller, areas that are not crowded or overwhelming. If you visit Yanaka you will find an almost peaceful oasis in Tokyo. I encourage OP to visit Tokyo. The people are incredible.
Agree about Tokyo. It is something not to be missed.
Just avoid Ginza in Tokyo. The busloads of Chinese tourists make it even more suffocating.
Sep 10, 2017, 9:34 pm
#19
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
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I wonder where the OP got the idea that one has to line up for everything in Tokyo, even to exit a building. For starters, I don't ever remember having to line up to exit a building and I've exited from a whole lot of buildings in Tokyo over my multiple visits.
Probably the place with the most lining up in all of Japan is Tokyo Disneyland. Just skip that and you'll do fine.
Probably the place with the most lining up in all of Japan is Tokyo Disneyland. Just skip that and you'll do fine.
Sep 10, 2017, 10:47 pm
#20
Join Date: Jun 2005
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I wonder where the OP got the idea that one has to line up for everything in Tokyo, even to exit a building. For starters, I don't ever remember having to line up to exit a building and I've exited from a whole lot of buildings in Tokyo over my multiple visits.
Probably the place with the most lining up in all of Japan is Tokyo Disneyland. Just skip that and you'll do fine.
Probably the place with the most lining up in all of Japan is Tokyo Disneyland. Just skip that and you'll do fine.
Sep 10, 2017, 10:53 pm
#21
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 93
when my family came to visit me the flew into tokyo and we went straight to kyoto same day, than back to tokyo for the ast few days before they flew out.
There are plenty places to visit that definitelly are more "human". But tokyo can be extremely human as well. You don't need to stay in sue jammed areas, you can find great spots in Ueno, Meguro, Gotanda, which are great spots as they are well connected for your travel and much more quiet that if you stay in shinjuku-shibuya-ikebukuro triangle!
There are plenty places to visit that definitelly are more "human". But tokyo can be extremely human as well. You don't need to stay in sue jammed areas, you can find great spots in Ueno, Meguro, Gotanda, which are great spots as they are well connected for your travel and much more quiet that if you stay in shinjuku-shibuya-ikebukuro triangle!
Sep 10, 2017, 11:12 pm
#22
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Tokyo
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I agree I have never lined up to exit a building, and I have lived in central Tokyo for 15 years now ! Queues for the train, yes, rush hours to be avoided but its always orderly and polite and if you are note sure people will help ! And you can trust the help. Ginza and Shibuya can be busy but you never bump into people, just take its slow and easy.
I would add nagasaki as a great place to see slow Japan and pleanty of foreigner friendly places, easy to get around, but not so easy to explore surrounding country side without a car.
I would add nagasaki as a great place to see slow Japan and pleanty of foreigner friendly places, easy to get around, but not so easy to explore surrounding country side without a car.
Sep 11, 2017, 12:41 am
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA
Posts: 2,983
I wonder where the OP got the idea that one has to line up for everything in Tokyo, even to exit a building. For starters, I don't ever remember having to line up to exit a building and I've exited from a whole lot of buildings in Tokyo over my multiple visits.
Probably the place with the most lining up in all of Japan is Tokyo Disneyland. Just skip that and you'll do fine.
Probably the place with the most lining up in all of Japan is Tokyo Disneyland. Just skip that and you'll do fine.
Sep 11, 2017, 1:00 am
#24
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
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I loved Nagasaki and would agree with most here except that I didn't have a problem seeing the countryside with local transport. I didn't mention it because it is a bit out of the way and can become awash in tourists during school breaks.
Sep 12, 2017, 8:59 am
#25
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
Programs: UA, NW
Posts: 3,752
People sometlimes tell me, "I don't want to go to Tokyo. I want to see the real Japan."
The trouble with that sentiment is that Tokyo and places like it are "the real Japan" for perhaps a majority of the population.
Granted, the large cities have their concrete jungle aspects and their crowds, but if you stay in a less popular area, you can end up in a neighborhood that has almost a village-like atmosphere, with little mom-and-pop shops and restaurants.
Furthermore, with a Japan Rail Pass, you can use Tokyo as a base to explore places as far flung as Sendai, Nagano, Nikko, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Hakone, Mashiko, and Mito as day trips via Shinkansen (sometimes plus other trains) and easily see closer destinations, such as Kamakura, Kawagoe, and Chichibu.
The trouble with that sentiment is that Tokyo and places like it are "the real Japan" for perhaps a majority of the population.
Granted, the large cities have their concrete jungle aspects and their crowds, but if you stay in a less popular area, you can end up in a neighborhood that has almost a village-like atmosphere, with little mom-and-pop shops and restaurants.
Furthermore, with a Japan Rail Pass, you can use Tokyo as a base to explore places as far flung as Sendai, Nagano, Nikko, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Hakone, Mashiko, and Mito as day trips via Shinkansen (sometimes plus other trains) and easily see closer destinations, such as Kamakura, Kawagoe, and Chichibu.
Sep 12, 2017, 9:25 am
#26
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Smyrna, GA, USA
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When people who haven't been to Japan talk to me about "the real Japan" I tend to assume that they mean historical Japan, and in particular early Edo period. I'm not sure at all that that's correct, but that's how I tend to interpret such comments.
Sep 12, 2017, 10:16 am
#27
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
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Sep 13, 2017, 10:48 am
#28
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
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Yes, I once rendezvoused with a work colleague who was in Tokyo for a conference and was a huge fan of samurai films. He was visibly disappointed to see people walking around Tokyo in Western clothes, driving cars, and doing other modern stuff.
I had the sad duty of informing him that no one dresses like a samurai outside of a movie set and that rickshaws are no longer a routine form of transportation, except as novelty rides in heavily touristed areas. He was only slightly placated when I took him to Sengakuji, the site of the graves of the 49 ronin.
