Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 The Ultimate Guide to Summer Travel in Japan By ©Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 1/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 So you are going to Japan for summer vacation! Maybe it's your first time here or maybe you live in Japan and have a nice long break to spend travelling around. For those of you planning your first holiday in Japan, I can imagine how anxious you must be. It isn’t the biggest country in the world, yet there is so much to see and do! We don't want you to waste your time here, so we have prepared what we think is a great itinerary for Japan, giving you opportunities to see everything, and maybe a bit of time to have some serendipitous adventuring too! Some of the places in this guide are obvious, and some you can only appreciate if you have been to Japan. If you have any suggestions, you can tell us at the bottom of the post on our website or on the Facebook page; we always listen to feedback and if you know somewhere awesome to go, don't hesitate to share. © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 2/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 Itinerary Contents Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo 東京, then REST. Day 2: What you Must See in Tokyo. 浅草神社 ­ Asakusa Shrine. 渋谷スクランブル ­ Shibuya Crossing. 東京スカイツリー Tokyo Skytree OR 東京都庁 Tokyo Metropolitan Building. 明治神宮 Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi 秋葉原 Akihabara Ueno 上野 お台場 Odaiba Day trips out of Tokyo Koedo 小江戸 in Kawagoe 川越 Kamakura: Day 3: Go to Hiroshima for a day. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Day 4: Miyajima and then off to Kyoto. Day 5: Day trip to Osaka Castle. Day 6: Kyoto 京都 Tour. Day 7: Visiting historic 奈良 Nara and then on to Mount Fuji. Day 8: 河口湖オルゴールの森 Kawaguchi­ko Music Forest and 久保田一竹美術館 Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. Day 9: Back to Tokyo. Day 10: Get packed and ready to leave. The History of Japan and why it is such an incredible place! Resources: Accommodations: Travel: Tours: © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 3/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo 東京, then REST. If you come on an international flight to Japan, you will likely land right in Narita Airport 成田空港. Narita is somehow called a Tokyo airport, but it is actually in another prefecture called Chiba 千葉県. Be warned: you will need to ride an hour or longer on the Narita Express train that ​ ​ ​ costs about 3000­4000¥ (30 to 40 USD), or alternatively you can take the Keisei ​ Skyliner train to get into Tokyo for a little less. This is important to know in advance ​ so you can plan to have your yen ready and so you know that it will take you a bit more time to get into the heart of Tokyo. If you have a hotel in Tokyo, they may arrange a ride for you from the airport to the hotel directly. Another option is going by bus which takes 2 hours, but the train is faster and generally about the same price. Warning number 2: A taxi going to run you in the hundreds of dollars! Ride if you ​ want but be ready for it to cost 25% of the cost of your plane fare. Welcome to Japan © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 4/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 The trip to Japan from most Western countries is a tough one. You will need sleep after you arrive. The best thing you can do is try to go to bed early in the evening and sleep for long enough to reset your body clock, then wake up the next day ready to do things and have fun. If you're hungry then go grab a bite! Check out our Japanese delicacies article and take the challenge to eat all of them during your travels here! Day 2: What you Must See in Tokyo. We have very limited time in Tokyo so a good bet would be to check out the things that really are unmissable. If you have the energy you can try to hit every one of these locations, but if not, feel free to go home a little bit early and rest up for the remainder of the trip. © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 5/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 浅草神社 ­ Asakusa Shrine. Definitely a must see. It is very popular and for good reason, it is considered an important cultural property by the Japanese Government. The temple at the end of Asakusa’s cool market street is a great place to go and learn the way to pray at a Shinto Buddhist temple, and pick up みくじ, what we would call a fortune, and hope for 大吉 (great luck). If you get 大凶 (worst luck), you can attach it to the bars at the temple to keep your bad luck away from you and have a happy year. This is not busy for Shibuya, try going on a Saturday night! 渋谷スクランブル ­ Shibuya Crossing. This is of course one of the most popular tourist attractions, seeing the most travelled crossing in the world. It is on many lines so that makes it super easy to get to just about anywhere else you want to go in the city from here. There are a few good places to get a good look of the crossing from. Most people recommend the Starbucks above Tsutaya but personally I prefer L’Occitane cafe on the second floor. It’s less crowded and has some very exotic teas, and a much more © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 6/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 relaxing atmosphere than the dozens of people always crowding out any Starbucks in Japan. There is sushi, soba, udon and every kind of Japanese food you can imagine in Shibuya so if you get hungry, you can’t go wrong there. You could stay in the Shibuya area and head on the Yamanote to Harajuku 原宿 to see the newest fashion trends in Takeshitadori 竹下通り. Or if you want to walk to Harajuku, you could pass through Yoyogi park 代々木公園. And don't forget to say hello to Hachiko ハチ公! This is a meeting place for people all across Tokyo. The story goes that this loyal dog waited for his master at the station even after the master had passed away. 東京スカイツリー Tokyo Skytree OR 東京都庁 Tokyo Metropolitan Building. While Skytree is taller, the Metropolitan building has a free observation deck that is open to the public, and have a pretty great panoramic view of the city. If you do want the full experience, a little tip for you: do you see that crazy long ​ ​ line for the Skytree tickets? Ignore that, go around to the side and there is a single line for “International Visitors” that will take about 2 minutes instead of an hour or longer. 明治神宮 Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 7/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 An old shrine in Yoyogi park, a little ways from Harajuku station (paradoxically, Harajuku station is closer to Yoyogi park than Yoyogi station is… go figure). It takes a while to walk there but it is a really nice walk, and surprisingly peaceful for somewhere located in the heart of Tokyo. 秋葉原 Akihabara For those of you who love technology, Akihabara is a very exciting place to visit. Most of the shops sell all kinds of electronics and the whole place is lit up with neon signs. I go there frequently to find old videogames in places like Trader and レトロゲーム Retro Game, where they basically have everything you could ask for. If you want the full Japan experience you could visit a メイドカフェ (Maid Cafe) where you are served by girls wearing faux French maid uniforms. For most people it is a pretty uncomfortable experience, but who knows? You may awaken some strange feelings within yourself. Only one way to find out! Ueno 上野 ​ Ride the Ginza line from Shibuya or the Yamanote line from Shibuya or Harajuku to get here. Ueno is famous for the large park 上野公園 as it is not just a park. There are museums, shrines, and ongoing festivals to see there all year round. I like paddling in the Shinobazu pond 不忍池 on a swan boat especially when I’m with friends. You could see the Ueno zoo 上野動物園 of course. I also enjoy taking a stroll through Ameyokocho アメ横町, a huge market in the middle of Ueno with many cheap food stalls called yatai 屋台 to eat delicious Tokyo street food. © Live! Work! Play! JAPAN! Page ­ 8/24 Ultimate Guide to Summer Travelling in Japan Ver.1.1 May 2016 お台場 Odaiba There may not be a better place to get a view of the Tokyo Bay and the city of Tokyo than Odaiba. It is a little world unto­itself. Residents of Tokyo know it well but not as many tourists seem to make their way there. I would grab dinner and then make my way on the Yurikamome line ユリカ モメ線 to get to the Oedo Onsen Monogatari 大江戸温泉物語. ​ ​ As Japan is the among the most volcanically active areas of the world, it benefits from thousands of natural hot springs called Onsen 温泉 where people bathe.