Japan, Off The Beaten Track?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SAN
Programs: AA, SPG, UR, MR
Posts: 181
Japan, Off The Beaten Track?
Any suggestions for some great things to see that aren't touristy, mid to late March? Just trying to avoid large attractions and monuments for a more authentic experience.
Looking to visit Japan for the first time, will be there for about 2 weeks, from March 17 to April 1, flying out from Tokyo (and yet to determine entry point with my AA miles).
Was definitely interested in seeing some cherry blossoms, heard that for mid/late-March I might have to make it down to Nagasaki or Fukuoka for that. Not sure if the JR pass would get me there from Tokyo...
Looking to visit Japan for the first time, will be there for about 2 weeks, from March 17 to April 1, flying out from Tokyo (and yet to determine entry point with my AA miles).
Was definitely interested in seeing some cherry blossoms, heard that for mid/late-March I might have to make it down to Nagasaki or Fukuoka for that. Not sure if the JR pass would get me there from Tokyo...
#2
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
Japan Rail Pass will get you anywhere from Tokyo - except Okinawa. You'd need to fly or take a ship there.
If you use the "Search this Forum" feature above and enter "beaten track," you will find 3 or 4 pages of threads discussing your questions. Several address the exact same time frame. This is an often asked topic. Suggest you start there and come back with questions after.
If you use the "Search this Forum" feature above and enter "beaten track," you will find 3 or 4 pages of threads discussing your questions. Several address the exact same time frame. This is an often asked topic. Suggest you start there and come back with questions after.
Last edited by abmj-jr; Dec 28, 2015 at 10:29 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: SAS Eurobonus - Blue / Emirates Skywards - Blue
Posts: 618
If you want to avoid lots of tourists then avoid
Tokyo
Osaka
Kyoto
Nara
Himeji
Kobe
The above is the "golden" trail where world and dog goes.
If you want somewhere thats off the beaten path try Shikoku (Matsuyama has an excellent onsen(bath) - my contact www.shikokutours.com can organise excursions / tours for you.
-mrploddy
Tokyo
Osaka
Kyoto
Nara
Himeji
Kobe
The above is the "golden" trail where world and dog goes.
If you want somewhere thats off the beaten path try Shikoku (Matsuyama has an excellent onsen(bath) - my contact www.shikokutours.com can organise excursions / tours for you.
-mrploddy
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SAN
Programs: AA, SPG, UR, MR
Posts: 181
Thank you everyone for the suggestions! I suppose sticking to the beaten path the first time will be a new experience in itself as I've never been to Asia.
Thanks abmj, good to know about the rail pass. Will use the search function to find other threads to get some more info.
Thank you for the suggestions mrploddy! I will look into Shikoku, it looks like a interesting place.
Japan Rail Pass will get you anywhere from Tokyo - except Okinawa. You'd need to fly or take a ship there.
If you use the "Search this Forum" feature above and enter "beaten track," you will find 3 or 4 pages of threads discussing your questions. Several address the exact same time frame. This is an often asked topic. Suggest you start there and come back with questions after.
If you use the "Search this Forum" feature above and enter "beaten track," you will find 3 or 4 pages of threads discussing your questions. Several address the exact same time frame. This is an often asked topic. Suggest you start there and come back with questions after.
If you want to avoid lots of tourists then avoid
Tokyo
Osaka
Kyoto
Nara
Himeji
Kobe
The above is the "golden" trail where world and dog goes.
If you want somewhere thats off the beaten path try Shikoku (Matsuyama has an excellent onsen(bath) - my contact www.shikokutours.com can organise excursions / tours for you.
-mrploddy
Tokyo
Osaka
Kyoto
Nara
Himeji
Kobe
The above is the "golden" trail where world and dog goes.
If you want somewhere thats off the beaten path try Shikoku (Matsuyama has an excellent onsen(bath) - my contact www.shikokutours.com can organise excursions / tours for you.
-mrploddy
#9
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
For a first-timer, I agree with most above that skipping Tokyo, Kyoto and other classic sites would be a mistake. If you do decide to go to Shikoku instead, be aware that English-language usage is less prevalent. Not missing altogether, just less common. I find myself having to use my limited Japanese more often on Shikoku.
If you visit Shikoku, don't just stick to the main places like Matsuyama. Takamatsu has the famous Ritsurin Japanese garden and park. I spent multiple days photographing and wandering around there. The train ride down to Kochi (on the Pacific coast) goes up and over the mountains through a rugged river gorge and is one of the most spectacular in that part of the country. Kochi has one of the best preserved feudal era castles in the country - featured in a famous historical drama. Shikoku is one of my favorite parts of Japan. Get a good guide book to find the best places.
If you visit Shikoku, don't just stick to the main places like Matsuyama. Takamatsu has the famous Ritsurin Japanese garden and park. I spent multiple days photographing and wandering around there. The train ride down to Kochi (on the Pacific coast) goes up and over the mountains through a rugged river gorge and is one of the most spectacular in that part of the country. Kochi has one of the best preserved feudal era castles in the country - featured in a famous historical drama. Shikoku is one of my favorite parts of Japan. Get a good guide book to find the best places.
#10
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: SAS Eurobonus - Blue / Emirates Skywards - Blue
Posts: 618
Oh I agree with you. For a first time visitor to Japan I too would recommend sticking to the "Golden Trail".
But I was just answering the OP's specific question hence suggested Shikoku.
I have lived in both Nagasaki and now Matsuyama and I would prefer either city to the main drags of Tokyo and Kansai as a place to live and even my wife balks at the idea that tourists proactively want to come to Shikoku with all that Kyoto and Tokyo has to offer.
I would also concur there is more to Shikoku than Matsuyama but it does serve as a good base of operations. For example the food in Kochi's Hiromeichiba is to die for or the Muroto Peninsula or dare I say it 3 weeks of Ohenro ? XD.
But I was just answering the OP's specific question hence suggested Shikoku.
I have lived in both Nagasaki and now Matsuyama and I would prefer either city to the main drags of Tokyo and Kansai as a place to live and even my wife balks at the idea that tourists proactively want to come to Shikoku with all that Kyoto and Tokyo has to offer.
I would also concur there is more to Shikoku than Matsuyama but it does serve as a good base of operations. For example the food in Kochi's Hiromeichiba is to die for or the Muroto Peninsula or dare I say it 3 weeks of Ohenro ? XD.
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,389
The well beaten route between Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima has always been reinforced by the Shinkansen bullet train line.
One could argue that there's another city that would have featured prominently on this beaten track had it had more convenient transport connections.
Now it has.
The city has long been a popular tourist destination for the Japanese market; it's currently gaining more and more popularity with foreign visitors thanks to the direct Shinkansen links to Tokyo that opened recently.
You can visit Kanazawa (city) and Kenrokuen (garden) and have the kudos of travelling somewhere the majority of Western tourists to Japan still haven't been to; be amongst the first to beat on the newly laid tracks.
One could argue that there's another city that would have featured prominently on this beaten track had it had more convenient transport connections.
Now it has.
The city has long been a popular tourist destination for the Japanese market; it's currently gaining more and more popularity with foreign visitors thanks to the direct Shinkansen links to Tokyo that opened recently.
You can visit Kanazawa (city) and Kenrokuen (garden) and have the kudos of travelling somewhere the majority of Western tourists to Japan still haven't been to; be amongst the first to beat on the newly laid tracks.
#12
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
Programs: UA, NW
Posts: 3,752
Kanazawa is lovely. It has one of the most famous gardens in Japan, it has a famous folk craft tradition, and it somehow escaped bombing during World War II, when few other cities of its size did. It's also an easy train trip from Kyoto.
If you want at least one "off the beaten track" adventure during a two-week trip, I'd suggest skipping Osaka and Kobe (except to pass through on your way to Hiroshima and Himeji) and taking in Kanazawa or one of the cities (Matsuyama or Takamatsu) in Shikoku.
You could return from Hiroshima, for example, by ferrying across the Inland Sea to Matsuyama, traveling by train along the north coast of Shikoku to Takamatsu, and crossing back to Honshu on the Seto Ohashi rail bridge.
I consider Tokyo (as the showcase of contemporary Japan) and Kyoto and Nara (as the showcases of Japanese history) to be essential for a first timer.
The Japanese themselves are avid travelers in their own country, so there is very little that has never been discovered by anybody. But you don't have to venture very far off the beaten track to be the only Westerner for miles around.
If you want at least one "off the beaten track" adventure during a two-week trip, I'd suggest skipping Osaka and Kobe (except to pass through on your way to Hiroshima and Himeji) and taking in Kanazawa or one of the cities (Matsuyama or Takamatsu) in Shikoku.
You could return from Hiroshima, for example, by ferrying across the Inland Sea to Matsuyama, traveling by train along the north coast of Shikoku to Takamatsu, and crossing back to Honshu on the Seto Ohashi rail bridge.
I consider Tokyo (as the showcase of contemporary Japan) and Kyoto and Nara (as the showcases of Japanese history) to be essential for a first timer.
The Japanese themselves are avid travelers in their own country, so there is very little that has never been discovered by anybody. But you don't have to venture very far off the beaten track to be the only Westerner for miles around.
#13
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Boston, Jo'burg, HK
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Instead you can join the 25 million mainland Chinese who have Kanazawa as part of their tourist route.
#14
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: SEA
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I would disagree on the Kanazawa recommendation. The most flattering description I've heard of Kanazawa is that it's a "little Kyoto." If someone has Kyoto on their itinerary, then it seems to me like it would be redundant to go to Kanazawa. Also I can't imagine that a new shinkansen route would be a big attraction vs. the more established shinkansen routes. I've never been to Shikoku, but to me, that sounds like a more interesting addition to a Tokyo + Kyoto trip.