  Japan
Click to get the inside scoop from
real travelers here at VirtualTourist. See the Japan Travel GuideInside advice from real people on:Overview, Hotels, Things to Do, Restaurants, Nightlife, Shopping, General Tips, Transportation, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Warnings or Dangers, Local Customs, Packing Lists or Sports Travel.
 19641 Japan Tips.38098 Japan Photos.3 Japan Videos. Japan Pages by worldkiwi
| Page Views: 1,297 Last Visit to Japan: April, 2006 | Japan by worldkiwi - last update: Apr 26, 2006 |
I have visited Japan in three consecutive years: 2004, 2005, 2006. On each trip my travel has been related to my work. In 2004 and 2005, it was marketing, but in 2006, I took a group of students from my school on a twelve day trip to Tokyo, Matsumoto, and Kyoto.
Japan is, there's no argument, an expensive travel destination, but with careful planning one can enjoy an affordable trip through the country and see and experience some amazing things. Spring is a fantastic time to visit the country, especially the first half of April, when all the sakura (cherry blossom) is blooming.
Japan is an easy country to travel around and there is a rich culture to discover. Hopefully these pages and the ones on individual cities, will give you some good insight into Japan.
|
|  | Japan - 2004
In April 2004 I visited Japan for the first time. Many people had told me that April (the northern hemisphere spring) was a good time to visit and this turned out to be very true. The cherry blossoms are a famous icon of Japan and I was indeed fortunate to visit the country during what several people there reckoned was one of the best sakura seasons for a while.
My visit to Japan was primarily related to my work, but there were weekends and a little bit of free time on a few days to explore the places I found myself in.
I began my trip in Osaka and had five days to get to know this urban jungle. Somewhat regretfully, I only had 1 day in Kyoto, but was forntunate to receive a memorable guided tour of Ni-jo and be taken to an authentic Japanese restaurant for a dining experience like no other I have ever had. Next stop was charming Yokohama, a city that really appealed to me, and seemed to be extremely different to Osaka. From there I had a brief afternoon in Tokyo, a place I will no doubt visit again and spend longer in one day.
One highlight I have no photos of, was Mt Fuji as seen from the Yokohama bound shinkansen. The morning we passed the mountain, it was clear and the sky was blue. Mt Fuji was a spectacular sight.
I think rural Japan would be great to explore one day. I hope I get the chance.
|
| Early blush of blossom below Matsuyama-jo walls. |
| | Return to Japan - March 2005.
In March 2005, I had twelve days in Japan. Once again, my motive was business, but this time the trip covered three of Japan's main islands: Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Although the weather was pretty grim for most of the trip and very cold (after a lovely late New Zealand summer), the hospitality of my hosts was out of this world and the trip was very enjoyable.
|
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| Pros: | "Friendly and courteous people, delicious and wonderful food, brilliantly efficient public transport, surprisingly good coffee!" | | Cons: | "Your wallet will sting after a visit, lots of stairs in the railway stations, the urban landscapes can be very dreary." | | In A Nutshell: | "An intriguing country worth exploring." |
worldkiwi's Japan Travel Tips
 worldkiwi's Japan Travelogues | | | |
|
 Comments for worldkiwi about Japan | | | | |
dolores10 Tue Feb 26, 2008 16:20 UTC
To add to the comment about money - if you come from the UK, many of our bank machines are not configured the same as Japanese banks. However, you should be able to extract money from the ATMs at Citibank. | BarbaraForza Sun Feb 6, 2005 08:15 UTC
Japan and its castles...fascinating! I'm thinking of Japan as one in my future travels... | bkoon Tue May 25, 2004 09:24 UTC
1.5 days to explore Kyoto is defintely not enough. I was there for a few days and still, not enough time. | vigi Tue May 25, 2004 09:13 UTC
Hey, we got the same picture (almost the same angle) of Japanese garden at the Palace!!! |
|
|
email me
add as friend
