jib71

The showroom at Nissan HQ never struck me as all that fancy, although it always has a dozen or so cars on display... The Ginza gallery on Harumi (as mentioned by IMOA) is more "fancy", but smaller: http://www.nissan.co.jp/GALLERY/GINZA/access.html

railroadtycoon

If you are also into anime and manga, then Nakano Broadway (Nakano Station, in Tokyo is a must visit).

Since you're not an outdoorsy person, then Mount Takao or Mitake might not be to your taste, though it is different from Central Tokyo, while still being Tokyo.

cwerdna

Interesting, I'll ask about the walking tours then.

Nonono, Japan isn't getting old. It's just that I feel I've been to a large % of the tourist attractions there already. It looks like I'm just going to have 3 full days at TMS, 1 leftover for other sightseeing then I'm going to go to South Korea, including a day trip to the DMZ.

Thanks but I'm not into anime or manga.

jpatokal

Fine, not much in the way of cars and technology out on Okinawa, but plenty of the OP's 3rd interest, "Japanese culture". I'd also associate "outdoorsy" Japan with climbing mountains and bathing in waterfalls, while Okinawa's more along the lines of walking on the beach, listening to sanshin and quaffing awamori.

cwerdna, I'm getting the feeling you haven't really been anywhere "off the beaten track" in Japan? No obscure hot springs in the middle of the mountains or overnight stays at temples? There's more to the country than big cities and temples inundated with tour groups...

jib71

Okinawa wouldn't be very close to the top of my list of places to visit for "Japanese culture" , although I suppose there's Japanese culture wherever there are Japanese people. But that's beside the point...

I guess, basically, my negative attitude throughout this thread is because I have the impression that if someone has been to Japan three times and thinks she's seen most of what there is to see ... then there's a fair chance that she's seen most of what she'd be interested to see.

I think that most people who "dig" Japan, tend to have a better idea of what they could do on their next visit (e.g. " ...on this trip I'd like to explore the mountains/theater/music/pottery/textiles/history/food in greater depth" or "I've got a plan to tour Tohoku. What are the best onsen up there?"). The corollary to that is that if someone with experience of Japan is struggling to think of ways to kill a few days in the country ... it's time to go somewhere else.

FMNSHO
(Forgive my not-so-humble opinion)

chamade

And Tohoku seems so over!

I love Shirakami Sanchi for its stunning natural scenery but so many of the towns in Tokohu have renovated themselves and feature hideous mini mall architecture and there is minimal Japanese essence to them; and many of the seacoast towns on the Japan Sea side have few if any traditional Japanese districts left - due to storms and rebuilding.

It is hard if not impossible to 'find' any quaint, untouched, traditional towns and villages anymore in Japan - the Japanese have destroyed most of them in the name of convenience and modernization (Nakai, Hida Takayama, Shirakawa-go and a few others wear their 'history ' on their sleeves but are still very touristy and full of non Japanese milling around, always a visual problem), and I suggest people still pursuing that lost dream go on to places like China, rural Korea (very underrated) and rural Taiwan.

The 'real' Japan is, like it or not, places like Daikanyama.

jib71

Are we that hideous?

cwerdna

I'm not much into climbing mountains and certainly not bathing in waterfalls. I've seen my share of waterfalls like Niagara Falls, some near Portland, Oregon and Snoqualmie Falls in WA (shown in Twin Peaks).

I definitely haven't been to "obscure" hot springs. I've seen the steam coming out of the ground while doing the Hakone loop and have been to Yellowstone Park in the US. Hmmm, I don't think an overnight stay at a temple would be my thing.
Hahaha, I'm a he. It's andrewc spelled backwards. I think your statement is about right. I think I've seen what I'm mostly interested in seeing that also fits within my time and distance constraints. Tokyo Motor Show for 3 days is a must but if I head to say, Kobe (hear there's not much touristy stuff there), Hokkaido, Nagasaki or Kyushu, is it worth the cost and time to go? Would the sights in that area interest me? (I've taken the Shinkansen before from Tokyo to Kyoto to Hiroshima and then all the way back before.) If there were say some cool electronics or R&D facilities to see somewhere AND there were some interesting attractions nearby, say a castle, then I'd visit it.

Anyhow, thanks for all the suggestions. The points are all mostly moot now as I've decided to have 4 full days in Japan and 3 full days in Korea (first time to Korea for me, too bad Seoul Motor Show was 1/2 year ago). I bought airplane tix the night before. This trip was almost spur of the moment so I was trying to decide on whether to go to Japan at all, for how long and where else I should go if I were to make the trip.

At least, I'll have some more info for the 5th visit to Japan.

jib71

Somehow I guessed you might be, but I was making a general point.
I hate to use "they" as a pronoun to go with "someone"

Cha-cha-cha

Don't know if the OP is still following this, but I'd enthusiastically recommend a trip to Takayama. The train trip there goes through wonderful Japanese Alps scenery, and the town is unspoiled and traditional, has a number of attractions like a folk museum, traditional houses that you can visit, etc., and there are other traditional villages in the area.

cwerdna

Yeah, it was on my list. I'm sort of following this again after discovering that almost all non-Japanese automakers aren't showing up to Tokyo Motor Show this time. From glancing at the map, it looks like it's going to be 1/2 the size or less than previous TMSes. I think my stay there will be shorter than the past.

I was feeling out canceling my trip but having to forfeit $250 as a penalty is not appealing so the trip's still on.

cwerdna

Unfortunately, I found out today that the larger gallery has moved to Yokohama. The woman at the Ginza gallery said it moved ~6 months ago and then the light bulb came on. I recall reading about Nissan moving their HQ to Yokohama.