I was wondering if anyone here has travelled to Japan before, and if so what sights/activities they'd recommend? Probably already a thread on this, and if so I apologise!

The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is an obvious attraction

orphic okapi is going to japan

he might help you

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Watch everything but only take the good things from it

Ask, think and learn. Because the more we know the more we grow.

Watching the wrong to happen is the same as commiting the wrong.

If it looks like things are forcing you to be creative, Then be creative.

its a uniquely Miyazaki film, one only he could make and its uniqueness places it beyond being easily critiqued.[About Porco Rosso]
taken from a quote of Saddletank and Orphic Okapi

I'm also interested in Japan. Depending where i go to university next year, i might go to Japan for a couple of weeks in a few months time.

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I haven't been there yet, so I can't say what's worth seeing from personal experience. It's also kind of a big country with sights all over the place. If you're planning to visit Japan I would purchase a Lonely Planet guide, or just check out the Lonely Planet website on Japan. Along the left side of the page is a column titled "Our Top Picks for Japan," which can be expanded to fifteen items. It's probably as good a list as any, and a good starting place if you're trying to figure out what to see.

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I like tea!

Japan Guide and wikitravel sites are good too. I'd like to go Tokyo - Osaka/Kyoto - Hiroshima myself.

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Mush went to Japan a couple of years back. She might have some advice. You could ask her by PM if she doesn't see this thread.

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Isakaya High School Roleplaying Info

"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)

Realizing that it was a couple years ago is saddening... it feels so recent to me!

I had a great time in Japan, although my approach was a bit different than most tourists perhaps. With a few exceptions I didn't really draw up a list of sights and landmarks; instead I just tended to wander. So most of what I came across were buddhist temples, shinto shrines, mountain trails, burial grounds, small rice fields, farmer's markets, and other interesting (to me) things. I found it a really fun way to learn things about Japan that most people probably never notice, like the fact that vending machines offer progressively better deals (and more obscure products) as you get farther from populated areas. But I had a lot of time to spend, so aimless adventuring was a good fit for my schedule. ^^

There were a few places that I really did draw up a plan and set out to visit -- namely, Himeji Castle, the Tokyo Tower, Hiroshima, and a few areas in Kyoto. And Shizuku's neighbourhood, of course.

The Lonely Planet guide was useful though, and it had a surprising amount of information about smaller cities and other places not often travelled. It's a handy resource to have with you (I borrowed a friend's copy). Also bring a Japanese dictionary, and if you have one, a smartphone or Nintendo DS to use for Kanji translation (unless you're good with those). Speaking of which, there's some things that will be important to know when it comes to giving advice: How's your Japanese? Do you know anyone there already? And how will you be visiting Japan? (Exchange student, homestay, tourist, work term, business trip, etc...)

I didn't spend a lot of time around Tokyo, so I'm not the person to ask if that's where you're going. (But invest in a good map is my advice, if you go there. Make sure it has English and Kanji on the place names, so that you can compare where you're trying to go with your surroundings).


Here's a few places that I found quite cool:

Kyoto:
Fushimi Inari -- this is a forested mountainside with trails covered by torii gates. If you're brave and want an extremely spooky experience, go at night with a flashlight. XD
Kamo river - maybe my favourite part of Kyoto. You can wander up from Sanjo station along the riverside to the Imperial palace; it's a beautiful walk and there's a mix of deeply historic neighbourhoods and energetic green space. Lots of kids practicing guitar, teenagers practicing on skateboards, adults playing pick-up frisbee, and if you pay close attention, you might spot a Maiko.
Uji - Not technically part of Kyoto but very close by. A stunningly gorgeous town in a valley, famous for green tea.

Himeji: probably the most amazing castle in Japan. I went in autumn. Also has stunning gardens, and the town itself is quite nice. Some guy tried to sell me sharp antique katanas at a flea market.

Hiroshima: I spent two days here. Aside from the nuclear bomb memorial, which was deeply moving, the the city is beautiful and upbeat (though the trees are all young). I met a couple start-up bands practicing on the riverside parkways.

Osaka: Lots of stuff to do, but unlike Kyoto it will mostly be big noisy city stuff. They have theme parks like Universal Studios Japan, stadiums if you want to watch a Japanese baseball game, and other big attractions. That wasn't my interest so I didn't spend as much time exploring Osaka, but I wandered into some arcades just for fun, poked through the malls, set about the streets, and also visited the Suntory Museum which at the time had a special exhibit on Ghibli artwork. Also I wanted to see if people really do cross the street on red lights in Osaka (you'll see). Osaka Castle is a reconstruction, unlike Himeji, but the interior has some nice displays and the view from the top was beautiful. The castle grounds, though, were quite stunning, and the foundation and walls are historic and very impressive.

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can i spam about my country?

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Watch everything but only take the good things from it

Ask, think and learn. Because the more we know the more we grow.

Watching the wrong to happen is the same as commiting the wrong.

If it looks like things are forcing you to be creative, Then be creative.

its a uniquely Miyazaki film, one only he could make and its uniqueness places it beyond being easily critiqued.[About Porco Rosso]
taken from a quote of Saddletank and Orphic Okapi

What time of the year did you go Mush?

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My wife and I just got back from our first trip of Japan last weekend. Our 10 day trip took us through Nagasaki, Kyoto, Koyasan, and Tokyo.

I'm not sure i have any advice except to find out whatever personally attracts or means something to you, and know where it is/how to get there/when it's open etc before you go. For example, i obviously went to the Ghibli museum since I'm a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, but I'm also a fan of Japanese films. With a little pre-trip research we were able to visit the graves of two of my all time favorite Japanese directors, as well as visit many of the locations of my favorite films.

If your love of anime extends to a love of Manga as well, there is the International Museum of Manga in Kyoto. Pretty neat!

We didn't stay in any western style hotels, instead opting for Japanese Ryokens (and one night in a Buddhist temple on Koyasan). This was both more cost effective, and gave us much more of an around the clock experience with the Japanese culture.

One thing I can say is don't be overwhelmed by the language barrier. Neither my wife or I know any Japanese beyond a few words, and it wasn't an issue at all. All of the public transportation was labelled in both English and Japanese so getting around was a cinch (Though i suppose if you speak neither Japanese or English that could be problematic). In addition to the multilingual nature of things, the Japanese people were amazingly helpful. If we ever looked the slightest bit lost of confused, we would be approached by a local and offered assistance.

My wife and I blogged each day when we were there about our experience and posted photos. If anyone is interested in the link, let me know.

In any event, anyone interested in a trip to Japan should just take the plunge. It's more affordable than you think, and certainly more doable than i ever imagined. Good luck everyone!

I went up around summer-autumn-winter time. I have yet to witness the spring.

In addition to what Shadedpain says, I'd add that outside of cities, English signage begins to disappear. So if your destinations take you to the countryside and you don't read Japanese, make sure to look up what the place names are in Kanji and Hiragana, and keep them written down on a piece of paper so that you can match it to the station names and signposts.

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Mush is correct. While we didn't exactly do the most touristy of things while there, we also didn't go too far into the countryside either. I'm sure there is less English out there.

One thing that really came in handy was renting a portable wi-fi device. This allowed us to have use of our smart phones for both internet and translation apps no matter where we traveled (for the most part, train tunnels not so much)

This is what we used for the trip. Invaluable and not too expensive (unlimited data was helpful).

Hey Mush, how long were you there for, again?

Oh, and welcome to shadedpain!

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Thanks Fenkashi!

Where from in Canada?

I should really look through this thread properly some time, and check out Orphic's bloggy thread too. I'm going to Japan for a year starting next August, as part of my university course, so it would be good to know what stuff I should go and see!

quote:

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Originally posted by shadedpain4
If your love of anime extends to a love of Manga as well, there is the International Museum of Manga in Kyoto. Pretty neat!

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Ooooh, I've been thinking that I'd probably like to study in Kyoto, so maybe I can check that out when the time comes!

Also as you've not been here for long, welcome!

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Thanks Arren, good to be here.

The manga museum was pretty fun. They had two manga artists there who you could hire to draw your portrait in manga style. We got one done from each of them!

We gotta see them, Shade... we gotta... lol
You can post them in the 'Photo' thread...

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I'm in southern Alberta, shadedpain. Close by the Rockies. You're from Canada? Or have you travelled here?

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quote:

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Originally posted by fenkashi
I'm in southern Alberta, shadedpain. Close by the Rockies. You're from Canada? Or have you traveled here?

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hahaha, I, too, am close to the border, but the southern one also known as 'BC'. In this case, Baja California... lol

I was born in Vancouver, BC (the northern one) and was moved at 6years to So Calif. I've lived all over So Calif with a couple of years in Va, A year or so near Chicago (Navy), then spent some wonderful time in that vacation land of the South China Sea, Vietnam. I was lucky enough to be homeported in Yokosuka and my stepdad was on the same ship. With mom and sister and the family Mustang and my Japanese drivers license, I wasn't restricted to the liberty ports and bars and etc.... I got to see some of the wonderful aspects of Japan and a Japanese friend of mine, his family owned a rice farm and invited my family to spend the weekend. What a great experience. They had some rice fresh from the field (gifted us with a 20 kilo bag of it) and I've never tasted better rice in my life...

Anyway, a few years later after married life and some kids (3) and now grandkids (16) I am a Ghibli fan and have been for some time. I do watch other anime and read manga, got a couple of tats (Totoro and
a kodama) The very first anime that I can remember watching was "Alakazam the Great" Back when I was a kid... Yeah, they had movies then!!! with sound, even...

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell. Some might say I belong in a nut house, but I deny their accusations...

I love the chibi on Irisa's face in the second drawing. I want to get somethng like that now... lol

I will read the blog later when I not tied up doing some Historical stuff...

Later.

Husky

BTW, once in a while our service is interupted. Don't be alarmed. We now have a FB site/page ? whatever it's called. saviour can tell you where, also Roarkiller has a website that you can contact him there. We are worldwide and we love it. Looking forward to lots of your posts.

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