Visiting Japan in Winter (consolidated)
 

Hi all

I'm considering a trip to Japan for a holiday, arriving OKA 23 Dec and Departing out of NRT 7 Jan. Nothing else planned in the middle so my itinerary is wide open.

Looking at the average weather conditions it appears that Japan isn't that cold (in OAK), however, it's still cold enough to bring thick winter gear (in NRT and north).

Primary mission is to see some nice sites and eat great food - seafood and sushi/sashimi, noodles, etc.

A few questions for the FT Japan forum:

1) I'd like to see a sumo match but looking online it's not sumo season - are there any similar alternatives in the off season?

2) I'd like to stay in a Ryokan with great food + onsen. Are there any bang-for-the-buck Ryokans that you recommend as the ones online I've seen so far are quite expensive.

3) I'm considering 3-4 nights in OAK then the rest on mainland. We'll probably get a JR Pass for 7-days so we can take the bullet trains everywhere. With this in mind, what cities do you recommend and in which order? I was thinking Osaka->Kyoto->Tokyo though I think we have more time to see more places.

Thanks in advance

It looks you'll be traveling during New Year's in Japan. Word of caution, the days leading up to and right after Jan. 1 will be some of the busiest travel days in Japan. Its similar to our Thanksgiving holiday, where people go back to their hometowns.

One common piece of advice on this forum is picking a base for a couple of days in a specific area. For example, you listed Osaka and Kyoto. You could base yourself in Osaka and go out to Kyoto, Himeji, or Nara. These places are about a 1-2hrs away and make good day trip options.

You refer to arriving at OKA (Naha, Okinawa) but then refer to OAK (Oakland, CA.) Then there is a mention of Osaka. Please use the names of the places you wish to visit rather than the codes. It will make it much easier to help.

Whoops - that was a typo... OKA meaning Okinawa. I want to go there because 1) I've never been but 2) it's a warmer climate and don't want to spend the whole holiday freezing :)

Thanks for the tip Gradfly on ppl going to their home towns - perhaps that's why it's hard to secure reservations at Ryokans? many of them are booked out already.

During my last winter trip, I remember booking a ryokan in rural Nagano for the New Year's holiday in late June. Even then, availability was getting low. After the holiday, I recall the availability was better. Which sites are you using to book ryokans?

not using any specific sites right now. I wrote emails to a few this morning but none have come back to me yet (it's not yet Monday over there yet) so let's see what they come back with. are there specific sites you recommend?

http://www.ryokan.or.jp/english/

https://travel.rakuten.com/

What is your budget for onsen?
and are you looking specifically for room with private ensuite onsen bath, or are you okay with doing communal onsen baths ( which is what most people do )?

there are plenty of places where you can stay for about ¥50,000 per night for two people with private ensuite onsen tub, dinner and breakfast included. However, rates like that I will only be available on the weeknights ( i.e., not Friday or Saturday night). Also, at most places, rates get substantially higher from around December 28 through the first three days or so of January. December 26 or so maybe just about the best date to get the most reasonable rate for Onsen ryokan.

there are countless nice onsen places. So randomly emailing places here and there is probably not the most efficient way to find a place with a reasonable rates.

I'd like the best bang for the buck in a traditional ryokan with onsen. communal onsen is OK. Flexible with dates so OK to do mid-week. Ideally 200-300 USD per night with breakfast + extra for dinner - not sure how realistic that is? also flexible on location so really like to plan the trip around 1-2 onsen ryokans with great food offerings.

Thanks

One more that I like:
www.ikyu.com

If you're looking for the best "bang for the buck" I recommend that you search in minor towns and rural areas rather than the largest cities and most celebrated onsen resorts. Since you're starting in Okinawa, you might consider flying to Kyushu and exploring that island for a while before progressing toward Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Kyushu would be a good place to enjoy an onsen ryokan IMHO.

If you want to visit Kyoto at some point during those 12 days, you would be advised to book your accommodation there first and plan your other stops once you know your dates for Kyoto.

Okay. There're just so many onsen places that it's hard to recommend one or two places unless you have a specific area in my mind. But sticking to southern Kyushu, Kirishima Hotel in Kirishima Onsen for instance comes in at 17,000yen + tax for 2 adults on 27th Dec, breakfast and dinner included. I've never stayed there, but it's a place I've been wanting to check out for a while.

In general, I expect to pay <30k yen for a room without private onsen, probably <55k yen for a room with private onsen. For 2 adults. Breakfast and dinner included. Only places that are >4.0 rating on Rakuten. Certain onsen towns are more expensive than others. But I usually book my onsen stays 2-6months in advance, and it's never a problem finding a reasonably-priced place in late Dec unless it's Fri, Sat or 28 Dec ~ 3 Jan or so as long as you have some flexibility. I stayed in Beppu around 26 or 27 Dec last year. When I went online to look for rooms literally the day before, tons of availability.

Thanks for the recommendation - is it this one? https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...u_Okinawa.html this appears to be quite a big ryokan, would prefer one of the more traditional ones that are 20ish rooms.

Thanks for the budget figures - yes 30k seems to be the right ballpark with breakfast and dinner. Any other recommendations? and yes I have flexibility, do not need to stay 28 Dec - 3 Jan, can be before or after.

That's the one. I've never used tripadvisor to look at hotels in Jpn, but it seems to me that photos on tripadvisor are not very good.

Look at this one:
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/kirishima.html

It seems the hotel's official website does not have an English version. The rate I quoted is from Rakuten Japan which is the same as the official website's rate. You can check to see if you'll get the same rate on English third-party sites... often times you get more packages and lower rates on Japanese engines. Anyways, the rate I gave you is on a traditional Japanese tatami room. I don't think you should necessarily equate more traditional with smaller. This place is sort of a moderate-sized ryokan (<100 rooms). But I've stayed in small ryokans with contemporary wayou (Westernized Japanese) style and French-influenced kaiseki. On the flip side, I've also stayed in large ryokans (~200 rooms) where the entire experience was very traditional. Also, at a lot of the places, whether you have dinner in a restaurant, koshitsu or your guestroom depends on what package you choose. One thing I can tell you, though, is that if you're equating 'more traditional' in your mind with more personalized, then that means you'll need to pay more. Another thing I can tell you is that you will not find many small ryokans (<20rooms) with nice, extensive communal onsen facilities.

I will offer a few thoughts:

1. The first time I visited Japan I only went to Tokyo, from January 2-4. I didn't like it, I thought it was cold and dreary and it seemed like almost everything was closed. Things in Japan will be closed on January 1-3 they way things in the USA are closed on December 25 or January 1. On the other hand, shrines and temples in Kyoto may be quite crowded on these days, I don't know.

2. I really like Nagasaki, there are interesting historical sights there a pleasant waterfront and area with old European buildings. As it's in the south of Japan, it may be warmer this time of year. There are direct flights from Okinawa to Fukuoka and then it's a 2 hour train ride to Nagasaki. Then you can fly from Nagasaki airport to Osaka or Tokyo I think.

3. I went to Okinawa this year. I didn't really like it. You pretty much need to rent a car to get around, I couldn't get used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road. The Himeyuri monument/museum was probably the highlight. The underground naval headquarters and peace park are also good. You can also visit "Hacksaw Ridge" but there's not much there.

Very crowded. New Years is a time of year when it feels like everyone visits a shrine or temple to get the year off to a good start. A lot of people dress in traditional costume for that. In that sense, it's an interesting time to be in Kyoto which has so many shrines and temples.

There are also non-stop flights from OKA to NGS (and to other cities in Kyushu - e.g. Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki at the southern end of Kyushu).