# Visiting japan for 13 days



## kyuzo

Hi, I'll be coming to Japan as a tourist mainly for the purpose of sightseeing and phototaking. It seems like there is a huge community here that knows about Japan. So therefore, if there is anything to share that would make a trip to Japan enjoyable and memorable please do share. Places to visit that are confirmed so far are Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, Niigata and Kanazawa.

And it will also be great if there are any cheap and interesting places to visit, shop and eat? 

Should I start my trip from Tokyo since I will arrive in Narita airport first. Or I should make Tokyo the last place to visit in my itinerary?

Finally, I'll appreciate if there are any natives that are willing to show us around.

Cheers,
Cleve


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## larabell

If you're arriving in Narita I'd suggest starting in Tokyo. You can reach the rest of the places on your list by train from there -- which should be somewhat cheaper and a lot more interesting than flying (at least in my opinion).

The only suggestion I have is to allow yourself at least 2 or 3 days in Kyoto -- more if you have the time. There's a lot to see there and the public transit isn't as extensive as in Tokyo so it takes time to get around to see everything.

There are certainly interesting places to visit, lots of shopping (in Tokyo, at least), and plenty of good food. You could fill volumes with lists of places -- and many people have. I doubt you're going to even scratch the surface of what's available by asking for suggestions on a forum. I would suggest you avail yourself of the resources on the Internet and possibly buy a decent travel guide and scan through what's there to see what piques your interest. Then, if you have specific questions, perhaps someone here can answer them.

By the way, the current "big thing" in Tokyo seems to be SkyTree.


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## kyuzo

Hey thanks Larabell, I will consider starting in Tokyo then. One thing about the JR Pass, is it worth it to buy the 7 days nationwide pass if I were to travel to so many different places mainly by train. What do you think?


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## larabell

If you're headed to Kyoto and fancy taking the Shinkansen, then a JR Rail Pass is a good deal. The last time I was eligible to buy one, the 7-day pass cost pretty much the same as a round-trip ticket between Tokyo and Osaka (just past Kyoto). It's not a very good deal if you stick around Tokyo the entire time but it pays off if you do any long-distance travel. You can probably get most of the way to Niigata via Shinkansen as well. Other destinations, like Hakone, may be easier to get to via non-JR lines but my guess is that you have enough JR travel in your plans to make a 7-day Rail Pass well worthwhile. If you activate it at Narita Airport you can also use it on the NEX from the airport to Tokyo (or on the trip back if you activate it exactly 7 days before you leave). I'm not sure whether the 14-day pass would be worth the extra money; it mainly depends whether you figure you can stuff all your non-Tokyo travel into just 7 days.


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## kyuzo

Ok.. Is there like a cheaper place/way to purchase the nationwide JR Pass? Just trying my luck.. Are there any places that you can recommend in Tokyo that are interesting to visit?


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## larabell

kyuzo said:


> Ok.. Is there like a cheaper place/way to purchase the nationwide JR Pass?


Not that I know of.



> Are there any places that you can recommend in Tokyo that are interesting to visit?


Like I say, there are whole books written to answer that question and you'd be well advised to at least scan through a couple just in case there's something you might be interested in that I don't necessarily know anything about.

What kinds of things interest you? There are many popular touristy things to do and if this is your first and possibly only trip, the touristy things might be good enough. For that I'd recommend SkyTree (and, in the same general area, Senso-ji temple), Akihabara if you're into gadgets (though lately it's more about maid cafes and anime), shopping in Ginza and/or Shibuya (depending on your taste), Ueno Park, Roppongi (at night), Odaiba, Kabukicho.

Or, of course, you could break out the browser and do a bit of research...


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## kyuzo

Sorry about the misunderstanding and thanks for the information nevertheless. I'll do the research on the touristy places with my friend. We focus more on sceneries, culture, and also the music scene of Japan since we are guitarists..

But what I'd like to know is.. Are there any extraordinary places that are not so well known to tourists but really worth going because of the scenery, the prices of the items sold, the food quality for the price, has things that are exclusively found in that shop.. Stuffs like that. Not sure if you've watched Japan Hour which is a programme (stopped broadcasting) that shows places in Japan that are worth checking out but those places are Kindda "hidden". As in not so exposed to the tourism business in Japan. I can't seem to find clips of Japan Hour anywhere else on the net so hope you can help a little. Appreciate it so much.


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## larabell

Scenery... The garden next to the Imperial Palace is pretty. It's open any day that the Emperor isn't hosting someone there. Shinjuku Gyoen is nice and there's a small Japanese garden across from the Pokemon Center in Hamamatsucho (the first two are probably listed in guidebooks, the latter probably not). Kyoto is better for pure scenery -- Kiyomizu Temple (very famous) tends to be pretty most times of the year. And Meiji Shrine (Harajuku) is both scenic and cultural. And, while I've only been there once myself, I'm told hiking Mt Takao just to the west of Tokyo is very scenic (though on weekends it could be crowded).

Shopping-wise you should make a point to visit Tokyu Hands (there are several in Tokyo). The prices aren't cheap but they have strange things there that you won't see very often (the novelty floor is a trip -- I think the one in Shibuya has more odd stuff than Shinjuku, which seems to be devoting less floor space to novelties lately). Shopping streets like Ameyoko (Ueno) and several around Asakusa tend to have cheap and interesting stuff. And there's a chain of 24-hour shops called Don Quixote that sell all sorts of crazy things at reasonable prices. My kids like to go there just to look around. If you go to SkyTree there's a bunch of shops around the base of the tower. Ask about the Salt shop (a store that specializes in salt). Not only is a salt shop unique in itself but it's situated in an area where all the shops are unique or interesting in some way. I can't begin to tell you how to get there because the SkyTree shopping mall is still somewhat confusing to me but if I ask the girl at the information desk for directions to the salt shop that usually works.

There are TV shows like Japan Hour here as well -- many of them seem to focus on unique eating establishments. There really are way too many to enumerate. I can recommend a small Yakitori place in Shinjuku (PM me if you want the address) but it's not cheap -- just extraordinarily good. The conveyor-belt sushi place on the top floor of Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara is really good -- it's a part of the chain whose owner pays record-high prices for the very first tuna auctioned every New Year. I think this year's fish went for USD 1.8 million. For one fish... There's also an interesting curry shop on the back-streets near Shinagawa that I can direct you to if curry is your thing. The area under the tracks between Tokyo station and Yurakucho is lined with decent eating establishments and pretty much every train station has an area close by where locals eat -- the smaller the street, the better the shop.

I can't help much on the music side since I don't get out to live shows much any more but if you're into Jazz, the Blue Note is supposed to be pretty famous. And for night life, Roppongi is popular (or Kabukicho if strip clubs are your thing).

Most of this stuff can be found on the web. I really don't know of very many places that can't be -- other than small local restaurants and you can find those just by wandering the shopping areas. One thing you could do if you're adventurous is just walk around and find a small owner-operated restaurant with a counter and sit at the counter. Sooner or later you'll see him making something that looks good and you can point at it, then at yourself, and then hold up one finger. I did that a couple times when I came over on vacation and I was never disappointed. If you decide to try that, bring cash -- very few small restaurants like that take credit cards.

There's also a tempura shop near Hiroo station called Buono (the owner owns several restaurants and the first one was an Italian place -- hence the name). I can find the address if you want. The chef used to work near my home which is why I know of the place. It was featured on one of those TV shows a couple months back and it's really good if you like tempura.

The thing that makes this kind of recommending so hard is not that there aren't any places worth visiting but that there are so damn many. The restaurant trade in Tokyo is very competitive here and mediocre places mostly just disappear.

One thing... to stay cheap on the eats stay away from places that cater to tourists like hotel restaurants. Small owner-operated shops will have the most interesting stuff but they're not always cheap, either -- and many don't speak English. Look for a web site called the Tokyo Food Page. That's an English website listing many restaurants by area and category.


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## kyuzo

Hey thanks larabell!! That gave me some ideas. Really appreciate it!! 

Cheers!


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## metallica.kyoto

If u like traditional places try nara and kyoto


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