AboutRobert Expertise General questions about tourism/travel and life in Japan, including shopping, visa issues, culture-shock, finding accommodations and employment, proper cultural etiquette, and common problems ex-pats in Japan experience. Bachelors Degree in Japanese Culture and Masters Degree in Marketing.
Question Hi Robert, my group of friends and I will be traveling to Japan on June 23rd night at Kansai International, we are planning to stay in Osaka on saturday, make a day trip to Kobe and back on sunday, finish up Osaka by monday noon, head towards Kyoto that afternoon and finish up Kyoto on tuesday and wednesday and head back to the airport thursday morning. I just hope that you can suggest any of the must-see, can't miss in these 3 cities. Thanks
Answer Hi Darren,
Well I would spend the majority of your daylight time in Kyoto, which is the cultural jewel of the country.
For Kyoto, there are far more temples than you can see, but
the most famous are Kinkakuji (the Golden Pavilion), Heian Jingu Shrine (http://www.heianjingu.or.jp/index_e.html), Kiyumizudera, Sanjusangendo Temple, and Nijou Castle. Plus take a stroll down the Philosopher's Walk.
If you want to see the geisha or maiko, and many do, at dusk go down to the Ponto-cho area, surrounded by the Kamo River and Kawaramachi Dori on the sides and north by Sanjo and south by Shijo, as well as the Gion area.
You can see some going to or from assignments. If you like animals, stop by any convenience store nearby, like 7-11 or Lawson's and get a couple cans of cat food, and go to the Neko no Koen or Cat Park. At least a few years ago there were many strays who lived there and people came by to feed them.
One warning is that while one temple of shrine is not expensive in itself, after a dozen you can find yourself nickle and dimed to death.
One of the best sources of info you can get at Kyoto is the tourist info office just outside Kyoto Station, they can give you a large amount of help on where and how to go, and what to see.
You should definitely NOT miss Nara while there, you can catch a train from Kyoto - go see the deer park and Giant Buddha at Todaiji. Missing it is like missing the Taj Mahal in India.
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture is also worth seeing, and is the best castle surviving in Japan.
There is not much to see in Osaka, but you might go there at night for the nightlife, such as Dotonbori and Nanba, as well as some electronics shopping in Nihonbashi before 8PM when all the stores shut down.
Kobe is worth half a day, such as its Chinatown, but Kyoto by far outshines them all in the region.
You can find rail fares at http://ekimae.itp.ne.jp/tra-bin/jrtrageng.cgi
You can also find major city subway maps at http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/transport.html
The exchange rate is around 115 yen to the US
dollar at the moment, which makes things
cheaper for you compared to a few years ago.
You will find many if not nearly all things there
to be very expensive, but you do not need to sell
your soul to find a good buy here and there. A good
website to look at is
Price Check Tokyo at http://www.pricechecktokyo.com
You can also see what Japanese money looks like at http://www.geocities.com/ropponmatsu/japanfaq1b.html
Note that you can not use
1 or 5 yen coins in vending machines and phones.
And if you get hopelessly lost, which is very easy in
Japan, it is better to find some older school or college
age students and *write out* your questions in simple
words. Japanese are still very poor at speaking English
but are often glad to help you out if you lose your way.
Carrying a business card or matchbook with your hotel's
address on it can be a big help.
If you still have problems communicating, you can always
call the Travel-Phone, a toll-free nationwide English-language helpline set up by the JNTO at tel.
0888-22-4800, available daily from 9am to 5pm (in Kyoto, tel. 075-371-5649).
Try and go to at least one hot spring (called onsen)
while you're there. They are all over the country.
See http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/Japan/Travel_and_Tourism/Hot_Springs
for more info and guides. They range from free
to very high at hot spring resort hotels.
Regarding money, Japan is still very much a cash based
society - credit cards are taken in larger stores and
hotels, but not much in small shops and restaurants.
But you can go to any Japanese post office and get yen
from a Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Diners Club
credit card, or ATM card in the Plus or Cirrus networks
(look on the back of the card), or debit cards in the
Visa Electron or Maestro Networks. Post Office ATMs also have menus in English.
Also see The Japan FAQ at http://www.thejapanfaq.com/
for lots of useful info and good links, as well as
The Japan National Tourist Org. Page at http://www.jnto.go.jp plus Frommers Guide at http://www.frommers.com/destinations/japan/
and a Japan Photo Gallery at http://japaninfo.esmartweb.com/pics.html
Yahoo also has a good database of country and
regional guides to look through.
