Japan Favorite Tips by Paul2001

The Akihabara District in Tokyo

Favorite thing: A visit to the Akihabara district of Tokyo is a must if you want to introduce yourself to the Japan of 21st century. It is here that you will find all of the electronic shops that the Japanese have become famous for. There are over 600 shops in all in the district. Especially interesting is the brightness of the decorations on the storefronts. The attempt persumingly is to catch your eye and to get you to go. Personally I am not a nut for the latest electronic gadgets but strolling around the area is fun just the same. The Akihabara district is located on the Yamanote Line north of the Ginza.

Kurashiki's Old Town (Bikan District)

Favorite thing: Probably the most delightful old town that I visited while touring Japan was the old town of Kurashiki commonly known a the Bikan historical district. This section of the lovely town consists of 200 year old black and white granaries. As with old towns that you find throughout the world many of these fine old building are being used for other purposes today such as museums, restaurants and boutiques. There is also a canal the bisects the towns main street that is flanked by willow trees that offered respite from the heat while I was there. It was about 38 celcius during my visit so the shade was welcomed.
The old town of Kurashiki is very popular and receives over 4 million visitors a year. Thanks to the heat, I had the town largely to myself however if you want to visit yourself and would like to avoid the crowds, then come on weekdays as most tourists arrive on the weekends.

Hiking in the Japan Alps

Favorite thing: I knew I should have worn sunglasses that day. Anyway this is me at the summit of Mt. Norikura in the Japan Alps. The Japanese are really into hiking(as they should be for it is very healthy) and Japan has many great places to hike. There are trails over Japan and great mountains to hike upon.
I might bring it to your attention that Japan is supposedly the most mountainous country in the world. Therefore it is a great place to go for an alpine trek. There is one problem however and that being the actual popularity of hiking here. The trails, especially on weekends are just full of people. This mountain here, Mt Norikura was a crowded as Central Park on a Sunday. In fact it was Sunday when I climbed up to the summit.
This particular hike was rather short. It was just 90 minutes up to the summit from the carpark. However considering the altitude, 3000m above sea level, it was rather tiring. The other annoying things was that the little girl behind me here, who was about 7 or 8, was not the least bit tired. I guess she was a seasoned alpine trekker already.
I should also note that the Japan Alps has numerous longer trails with maintained huts for overnight stops. The only reason I did not do more hiking myself was that the weather became rather foul with plenty of rain.

Miyajima Island

Favorite thing: Miyajima Island was one of my favourite experiences in Japan. For those that have never heard of this wonderful small island in Japan's Inland Sea, you would be surprise to know that you have probably seen pictures of in virtually every progam or book that you have seen on Japan. That is because of the famous huge red Torii Gate that sits just off shore of the island. The image of the Torii Gate is probably the most reproduced of any image of Japan.
I had one serious problem when I visited this delightful island and that was heat. I visited in mid June and the temperature was 38C. On another downside was my attempt to reach to the top of the highest hill on the island. As it was so hot, walking was out of the question. There is a cable car but it was out of service at the time
The island is reachable by way of train and them ferry from Hiroshima. The trip takes 45 minutes hence it is an easy daytrip from that city.

Fondest memory: The island is also remarkable for its many fine temples, its lush wooded hills and its superb craftworks shops.

Kanazawa's Nagamachi Quarter

Favorite thing: The Nagamachi Quarter is in fact the samurai district from days passed. Kanazawa managed to avoid the American bombing in World War II and therefore unlike much of Japan, was able to preserve its old houses and temples relatively undamaged. The district is distinguished by its narrow streets bordered by thick yellow earthen walls topped by greenish ceramic tiles. There are some old homes that are open to the public where you can learn about silk weaving and other such skills.

Fondest memory: Because of its well preserved old quarters, I found Kanazawa to be one of the more atmospheric cities in all of Japan.

Explore Nikko

Favorite thing: Of all the places in Japan I wish that I spent more time it is Nikko. Nikko is town about 128km north of Toyko. It is the home of splendid temple complex, fine hiking trails, an enchanting lake and a bunch of lovely waterfalls. It is usually seen by Western tourists as a daytrip out from Tokyo. For my money this does not offer you enough time to explore all the wonderful temples and to even have a hope of wandering around the hiking trails that surround the lake.
Nikko has plenty of accommodations to stay at. Furthermore there are many fine restaurants. I had a great lunch at one place but I cannot remember the name of the place. Finally there is plenty of transportation, cable cars, buses to boats across the lake.
It took me more than two hours each way to get to and to return from Nikko. This is another reason that I suggest that you stay there for a night or two.

Fondest memory: I was very impressed how the temple complex intermingle amongst the beautiful tall pine trees.