FAO: Tombs, RE: Japan

Let me go through some of your points in turn
=======================
1. got to be springtime hasn't it? duration 10 days

- Very good choice. But, if you are going for the cherry blossom, be aware that they can differ in terms of when they appear and they are pretty brief. If you are travelling around the country, and are adamant you want to see them, you might want to consider varying your route to coincide with them, once you are here. They start in the south, where it is warmer, and make their way north. You can google sakura maps to find out where they are nearer the time. One example is here:
User Posted Link and you can see that they are forecast to commence around 20th March and conclude mid-April (unless you plan to go to Hokkaido)

=======================
2. definitley: Visiting sites, architectural, cultural and natural

- Ok, as some have mentioned, Kyoto is amazing for this. Kinkakuji (golden template), Ginkakuji (Silver temple) but so much choice so a really good idea to research these. I'd recommend sanjo, shijo areas in the city where you can wander around the old streets and, if lucky, see a maiko. Nara was also mentioned and this is a really fun day out and less than an hour from Kyoto by train. There is a massive wooden temple (todaiji - User Posted Link housing a massive buddha statue and is full of deer that eat special biscuits that you can buy and hand feed them. Just make sure that you don't litter or leave food in bags in bins - there is a real issue with these deer dying and being found with hundreds of plastic bags in their stomachs...

Other areas I would strongly recommend, for a mixture of culture and nature are:
- Mount Aso in Kyushu - it is an active volcano that has a cable car over it. If you are lucky and the sulphur output is low it will be open. The time I went it was closed but the views and landscape were amazing. This area is an example of the variety in the Japanese landscape across the different islands, as it is rolling hills, more like Europe.
- Mount Fuji because, well, you gotta. My recommended route is to go from Tokyo and get the romance car train (that is its name) to hakone-yumoto. This is a quaint little town where you can buy local produce including pickles and wood carvings and you can then get the switchback railway up the mountain, then cable car, then gondola to what is one of the most amazing places I have been on earth. If you go in Spring, you have a good chance of some amazing views. There is a similar sulphur risk as above but I have been half a dozen times and only once failed to get to the top. You can eat eggs cooked in the volcanic pools. Then you can make your way to one of the various ryokans to spend the night either in hakone itself or near fujinoko (Fuji's lake), visit an onsen and bask in the amazing views of fuji, especially if you have fuji and sakura (cherry blossoms) together.

The romance car and onward travel info: User Posted Link

- You said not interested in universal studios but there is also Fuji-kyu Highland close by to Hakone, which is a very Japanese theme park and has some of the best rides I have ever been on. They also have a 'zombie hospital' where you have to walk around and not s**t yourself with people jumping out, chasing you, etc., which is very good fun.

- Nikko. This is an ancient Japanese area with temples and some incredible lakes, waterfalls and geological structures. It is also an amazing place to go to by coach from Tokyo as you go through mountain roads. It is more beautiful in autumn probably, as the mountains are full of the turning leaves in various colours. Highly recommended though.
User Posted Link

- I would also recommend Okinawa and Hokkaido but they are the extreme south and North islands and if you only have 10 days this time, you may want to focus mainly on Honshu.

- An important place to mention is Hiroshima. If you have a chance to visit, I recommend it. The peace museum is incredibly touching and harrowing. To learn the horror of being human, this is right up there. If interested, I’d recommend going to the museum first, then walking around the city, as you will see some of the locations in the museum which will of course then bring things to life much more. My late mother-in-law saw the mushroom cloud when she was a little girl, so this is a very important one for me to mention.

=======================
3. Spiritual, get away from it all? some of that yes

- Obviously, some people feel spiritual about the temples, so cross over with some of the points above. Ditto Fuji, etc. There are, however, some specific places that people often go, to properly get away from everything. One of the famous places for this is Koyasan. It is a retreat, basically and you can stay in the temple. You can read about it more here:
User Posted Link

=======================
4. Anything, as long as it involves loads of food? Not loads of food but yes sample the local cuisine esp seafood

- Basically, it is quite hard to get crap food in Japan, in my view. Tokyo has more than you could ever imagine. It is really fun to find somewhere that you have no idea what stuff is and just try it. My advice, try it first, then ask what it was, rather than ask first.

- Sushi – you really can get very decent sushi at the conveyor belt places. There is a very good one in Shinjuku that my family went to often, called himawarizushi, which means Sunflower Sushi. It is in the middle of the electric district but down one of the restaurant side streets. Plates are colour coded and start around £1 a plate. The guys that run it are great and you can get menus in English if you need. I like the standing sushi bars and they make it for you and serve it on a bamboo leaf. A little pricier but still start around £1.50 a plate.

- I would really recommend going to a yakitori place. Chicken on sticks, basically, but they start super cheap and it is amazing beer food, if that’s your thing.

- Robatayaki – There is a place in Shinbashi called Musashi. It is my favourite robata. Basically, a dude is kneeling in front of a charcoal grill and has various raw fish, vegetables, etc. around the grill and he has a large wooden paddle. The table wraps around the grill. You point at something, he grills it, then serves it to you on the paddle. It is all great beer food (theme here) and a really fun social way to eat.

- Izakaya – England needs these. Basically, you grab a table and order beer and food and they bring it over. Sometimes it is waiter service but more and more you just have a digital menu and stuff comes when it is ready. You can see running total of your bill, see how much each person owes by entering how many people at your table, etc. It’s often called Japanese tapas as they are small sharing dishes and everyone just orders for the table, over and over. Fun evening out.

- Generally, as some have mentioned, good to know what you are going to pay. Ask to see the menu or use your common sense in that many places will have blackboards posted on the walls or outside so you can get an idea of costs. You really can eat out very reasonably but you can also bankrupt yourself, so pick your budget and have fun. You never have to tip in Japan, but in recent years they do add a sales tax (VAT) onto the bill, so worth checking if the price on the menu is before or after tax. It is still a very cash based society but most bigger places will take card. Older places (which can be the most fun) often don’t. Also, there are some places where you pay at a vending machine at the entrance which gives you a ticket, which you give to the counter staff when you sit and they make up your meal. Ramen places are often like this, and many stalls in motorway service areas are too.

- I would also make a special mention for yokocho. This is basically an indoor or outdoor collection of street food stalls. Normally they have very few seats, e.g. 6-20 and you can order from different stalls to your table. You can meet loads of fun people in these places because they have a festival atmosphere. There are a few in Shinjuku but my favourite is in Ebisu. If I remember correctly, Friday night is groups of friends and Saturdays tend to be more couples, so either will work if you go with a partner.

=======================
5. got to have a cabby on a bullet train; had a bit of googlage and listen to rec's on here so tokyo/kyoto/osaka

- Cabby? Bullet train is fun but expensive fun. If you are going from Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka, it really is the best way to travel tho. The Rail Pass is something you can look at but make sure you justify the cost. When I last used it, you couldn’t use on the fastest bullet (Nozomi) but that may have changed. You need to book and pay before you leave UK, so you cannot buy it in Japan, meaning you are locked into it if your plans change. It may well prove really good value if you plan to move around a lot but worth checking first. Also check where you can exchange it. If you are getting the train from the airport, you will need to exchange your rail pass voucher in the airport before you get on the train, which might be a real ballache after a 12 hour flight, especially if there is a queue of tourists doing the same. Just saying. I often use the bullet train one way because I find it is easy for me to fly into Osaka and out of Tokyo, or vice versa, depending on my route. Not all trains are on the rail pass, e.g. the romance car isn’t as it is operated by Odakyu, not JR.

=======================
6. not interested in universal studios/anime or tech apart from giant smart arsed robots
Ok, there is a massive gundam robot in odaiba, which is on another fun route I used to take visitors on when they came over. There is also the robot café in Shinjuku, if that’s your thing. Easily googled.

The route I recommend, which is brilliant in Spring is:
Daimon temple, Hamarikyu Park (you can do tea ceremony here if you have time/inclination), then train from Hamamatsu to Akasaka, then walk to Kaminarimon and walk up the main street to the pagoda, then get the river taxi (passing all the cherry blossoms) down to Odaiba, then get the train back to Hamamatsu across the rainbow bridge. There is also an amazing set of stone steps near daimon, near onarimon station, that has an amazing story behind it and a hidden temple at the top. I’ll leave you to explore that if you get there.

=======================
- Onsen are a must, if you get a chance. They vary from a hot spring bubbling up from the bed of a river, to a communal bath, to a private bath on your balcony. They are incredibly relaxing and a wonderful way to share an evening with a partner. Sat with a beer, with your missus, in a hinoki wood bath, overlooking mount fuji with cherry blossom petals fluttering by – it really is amazing if you time it right.
=======================
I am sure I have missed out loads but hopefully this will give you plenty of ideas to kick start your googling and finding something that works for you.
=======================
If you are based in Norwich, I really would recommend going via Schipol on KLM. It is so much less hassle than having to get to/from London and if you time it right, fares are really competitive. You can get to Tokyo in 14.5 hours via Schipol from Norwich, which is quicker than driving down to London and getting a direct flight.

Posted By: Jester, Jan 31, 19:55:33