Going to japan

[hgeek23]

I am going to japan in August and I will have about 8 full days to explore. I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas as to where to go? I'll be in Tokyo, but am not averse to packing up and visiting/staying in other cities.
From a production art standpoint, anyone have any good ideas on where I can go to find the genga from the shows I have so eagerly searched for? Is there a way to visit the studios who produce the anime's that i want to get art from? (Geass, Death Note, Fate, produced by madhouse, sunrise, and studio deen)

Thanks!

[KuroiTsubasa4]

Tokyo is great for shopping and if you want cels you can always check out Nakano Broadway (it's basically an anime mall). When I was there, I hopped around Shibuya and Shinjuku, visited Harajuku, saw Tokyo Tower, went to Disney Sea and went to a couple of museums (National Museum, Edo Museum, Ghibli Museum...). You can also visit Sky Tree, which the whole country has been buzzing about. But I've always much preferred the Kansai region. If you don't mind an expensive shinkansen ride or the painfully long overnight bus, you should come over and check it out I wouldn't leave Japan without visiting Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and maybe Kobe as well. The good thing is once you get over here you can easily hop from one city to the next for very little money. Kyoto has amazing temples and shrines, Osaka is a great city for food and shopping, Nara has the deer park and some lovely shrines, and Kobe is another great city to shop around. A warning though, it's been bloody hot here. I've gotta go play tag with kids soon in 95 degree weather and high humidity T_T I know there are some deals for travelers on shinkansen tickets that you can only purchase before you leave, so look into getting one of those if you plan on doing a lot of travel. Taking the shinkansen definitely beats the bus >.< I have to go play that game of tag soon but if you have any questions, let me know I currently live in Kyoto prefecture so I can help you out on anything in the Kansai region.

[Rekka Alexiel]

I agree about everything above. You can easily spend the day at Nakano Broadway if not several hours. It's always fun going there and the guy who runs Anime Commit is really nice, it's on the 4th floor.

Akihabara is an interesting area. There are all sorts of 'geek' shopping to do there. I went to a Seiyuu cafe there once with a friend. Definitely an interesting experience.

Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku are great for shopping. Sometimes I like to go there just to walk around or go relax in a nice cafe. The Gyoen park just east of Shinjuku is very nice, too, but now that it's summer I wouldn't recommend it too much.

If you want to enjoy the ocean, Enoshima, Kamakura, and anywhere along the Miura peninsula is nice. I just went to Zushi Beach yesterday and the condition of the beach there was quite nice compared to what I was used to over by Nagoya. I heard Hayama Beach just south of Zushi is also very nice. I need to get there next.

But anyway, if you're in need of any help, I live in Yokohama and can help you a little if you need. I just moved last summer so there are many things I have yet to learn about Tokyo, but I can zip along just fine. Definitely need a trip to Nakano again, after my paycheck....

[Gonzai]

If you want to see beautiful people - Harajuku is the place to go.

A nice little town with great temples is NIkko.

I absolutely loved Shiretoko in Hokkaido. There is beautiful wildlife up there.

If you make it to Osaka, make sure you have some Okonomiyaki. It is delicious!!

Also, I agree with Kyoto. Its got great temples and history.

Whatever you decide to do - have fun!! ^_^

[hgeek23]

Thanks for the advice! I'm compiling a list based on things you guys mentioned. Harajuku is a place i've never heard of before. I have to google almost all of what you guys just said but it looks great so far. Do you think i'd be able to find some of the genga im looking for at Nakano broadway?
Thanks!

[cutiebunny]

^It depends on the series you're looking for. If it's more recent, Commit's a good place to stop by. He's got a lot of stuff. It's kind of a grab bag, though. Mandarake Nakano largely takes over most of the building, and it's a good place to go if you're looking for lots of rare tchotchkes.

First thing's first, though. If you plan to travel outside Tokyo, buy yourself a JR Pass. You can only do it outside of Japan, and you have to be in Japan under a short term visitor/business visa (or visa waiver) admission. When I last went, for a week, it was about $400 (?). Well worth it. You can use it on all trains/buses/boats that are owned by JR...which, in Tokyo, means that you can take the Yamanote Line for free.

I recommend Takayama. It's about a 2 hour train ride north of Nagoya. Takayama is a rural area, and you can hike around the city and visit a lot of shrines on the way. It's also a good jumping point if you want to see other things in the area, like Inuyama.

Itsukushima (formerly Miyajima) Island is also very nice. The hike around the mountains is very nice (lots of shrines) and there's an UNESCO World Heritage site there (Itsukushima Shrine). Watch out for monkeys at the top of the mountain, though. They can be pretty aggressive, so hide your food.

If you're after UFO prizes, I recommend Taito Station in Akihabara. There's also a machine there that acts as a 'trainer' machine. If you don't mind older prizes (like stuff from anime popular the year before or seasonal plushies), it's not a bad place to go.

I agree with going to Nikko. It's about a 2 hour train trip from Tokyo Station. If you can, overnight there. The bridge near the shrine looks absolutely fabulous in the morning light.

If possible, stay at ryokans. They can be more expensive than a regular hotel, but the service is much better (and they usually have onsens). I can recommend a couple if you'd like.

I recommend bringing an extra suitcase with you just to use to it haul back all your purchases. Also consider paying for Kuroneko Yamato services to pick up and drop off your bag at your hotel, especially if you decide to go outside Tokyo. Not all train stations have elevators or escalators, and lugging your bags around Japan is not fun. It's worth the extra money just to have them delivered. Just be advised that, if you plan on going from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto/Nara in a day, your bags will not be delivered until the next day. So bring a day pack to tide you over.

If you're going to Tokyo, fly into Haneda. Avoid US carriers and flying into Narita, if possible. You'll get better service on foreign carriers, and Narita is nowhere close to Tokyo. You'll have to take a 45 minute train ride to get from Narita to Tokyo. Haneda is very easy to get to from Tokyo, and it will require a few train transfers. Nothing too difficult, and a lot cheaper than the Narita Express.

[hgeek23]

Thanks for that advice. The series i'm looking for are all recent. Geass, D. Note, Fate, Gundam 00.
I have already bought the delta ticket. It cost me about 1350 to go to narita (i'm flying seattle-tokyo-boston). I wanted ANA but it was 500 dollars more expensive.
Regarding places to stay--I assumed that I would be constantly out and about if possible and wouldn't need such good service (although I like most far prefer better accomodations and service whenever i can), and I thought that it would be imprudent to spend that much on hotels/accomodations if i was really only going to be sleeping there.

I have classified the trip into sections based on your suggestions with what i'd predict would be the amount of time per place:
Tokyo region--2 days:
Nakano Broadway
Tsukiji Fish Market
Shubuya
Shinjuku
Harajuku
Tokyo Tower
DisneySea (only if time, I can always see disney world)
SkyTree
Akihabara

Northwest--1 day (although it seems like it'd be smarter to fold this into "West", but geographically it's kind of on its own)
Takayama

West-2 days
Kyoto
Osaka
Nara
Kobe
Himeji

Northeast tip, very far away--1 day
Shiretoko

Very west--1 day
Hiroshima
Miyajima

Regarding buying the JR pass, is 400 dollars for a pass worth it? Are travel expenses going to rack up that quickly?

I will be in tokyo an extra 7 days, but on a leadership forum, meaning that i'd only get to explore during that time at night. So I have 7 days of personal exploration and 7 days of the conference. I am afraid to count on "seeing" anything during the conference but obviously suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

[Rekka Alexiel]

Any reason you wanted to go up to Takayama? It's nice 'cause it's in the mountains, but there's not too much to see. Other locations might be better to hit up before Takayama; it'd take awhile to get to, too. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice area just not one of the places I would choose to put on a limited schedule. ^^;;

[cutiebunny]

Honestly, I think you're forcing too much into each day. There's no way you can fit Takayama into one day. From Tokyo, it will take you four hours to arrive there (transfer shinkansen at Nagoya). To do the walking tour in the city, you'll need to book at least two days (one to arrive, one to explore the city, leave Takayama the next day). Or, you could take a bus from Takayama and visit Shirakawa-go instead. Shirakawa-go is an UNESCO site as well (though you can get a similar experience from visiting the Hida no Sato in Takayama. Both feature old style mountain homes that were once lived in. Very neat.). Either way, at least two days for Takayama.

In Takayama, I've stayed at Asunaro (C grade ryokan) and Hagi Takayama. If you can afford Hagi Takayama, stay there. Service was fantastic. Breakfast and dinner were included, and after a long day of hiking, relaxing in their superbly maintained onsen was the best. They also have a private onsen that you can reserve for an hour at 2000 yen. If you don't like to bathe with others, go that route. HT will pick you up at the train station. Asunaro was ok. It was clean, but dated. It's in an old farmhouse.

Miyajima is probably best seen in two days as well. The hike takes several hours and if you're out to take some good photos, you'll need to spend a day there to capture the buildings in the best light.

While you could do Osaka and Kyoto in one day (I'd recommend just hitting Kyoto instead), there's no way you could do those two cities and then Nara as well. It's just too much.

Tsukujii Fish Market is quite difficult to get into now. They only open it to 100 people a day. That means that you have to get there at 3am to get tickets since the auctions begin at 4 and go to about 6am. And the subway is closed at that time of night. So you either book a room really close by or you just decide to hit the sushi place across the street around 8 am for a chirashi breakfast.

In Kyoto, I recommend going to Kinkakujii and Kiyomizu-dera. For ryokans, stay at Shimizu in Kyoto. It's not too far away from the train station. Very clean (but sparse) and a decent hot tub. If you pay 1000 yen extra, they include a traditional breakfast (though there's a Circle K down the way).

Hiroshima - Unless you're a history buff or have another reason to be there, with 1 week's time in Japan, I'd recommend skipping it. The museum is very graphic (wax statues with flesh melting off them...), so not for the faint of heart. Outside there's generally a bunch of schoolkids and they'll ask you questions in English to practice.

Or, you could just head up to Hokkaido. The leaves should be in the process of changing color up north (generally koyo starts in Hokkaido around late August), so that would be the time to go there and see there.

My recommendation based on a week's time in Japan is -

Day 1 - Tokyo. Get acclimated to the time. Pick some things you want to see (you mentioned Shibuya, Akiba, etc.) or head to Nikko. Remember that you have to haul your purchases around Japan..
Day 2 - Leave for Takayama. Check into hotel, and if you have time, walk around.
Day 3 - Explore Takayama. There are some castle ruins in the area along the Hida walking tour, and there's also Hida no Sato. I recommend doing Hida no Sato first since it closes at 5p, and then spending the rest of the day on the walking tour (start at the left hand portion of the map).
Day 4 - Leave Takayama for Kyoto. Trip will take you approximately 4 hours via train. Check in to hotel, explore.
Day 5 - Hop on a bus and visit shrines in Kyoto. Or take a calligraphy class. Or take a train to Nara and spend the day there.
Day 6 - Return to Tokyo and shop!
Day 7 - Return home.

This will give you a taste of Japan. But if you're going to only stay a week in Japan, I'd recommend going to no more than 2 other cities. This will give you some time to enjoy each city instead of worrying about catching trains and buses to get to each place in a timely fashion. It is a vacation, so, take your time, and go slow.

I'd recommend checking out the Lonely Planet website. A lot of people have posted suggested trips and information regarding those routes.

[KuroiTsubasa4]

Yeah, two days for that many cities in Kansai would be difficult. If you want to go to all of them you'd need at least four days. You could do Nara in the morning and see the deer park and todaiji (the giant Buddha) and then go to osaka for some shopping, dinner and maybe see the castle. (there's also a nice aquarium) However you need at least a full day in Kyoto though really 2 or 3 would be better. There are literally hundreds of temples to see, some highlights being kiyomizudera, kinkakuji, ginkakuji, Fushimi inari, yasaka shrine, and the temple of the one thousand kannons. I'd skip Kobe if you don't have time. Also himeji has a gorgeous castle but it's unfortunately under heavy construction so you may want to postpone that trip until after 2014. I did do all of those cities minus Kobe in four days but even then I felt like I was rushing things a bit too much. Kyoto Osaka and Nara are doable tho. (himeji is out of the way but those three cities are very close together) 8 days isn't very long but rather than trying to see everything I'd recommend picking the places you absolutely want to see the most and spend more time there. i hope this helps. Of course do what you want in the end, I just wanted to let you know my two cents ^_^

Sorry if I double post. My iPhone is misbehaving.

[hgeek23]

I guess I will have to remove some things but the issue is that I will have day one, 2, and 3. then I will have to attend the f with a friend of mine in japan to see the studio ghibli museum. Then i will have the forum. After the forum I will then have day four, 5, 6, and 7. So its broken into 3 days and then a break of 7/8 and then the last 4.

[cutiebunny]

Then in that case, stay in Tokyo, do your shopping, visit Ghibli and if you're up to it, see Nikko. Then pick an area you want to visit most and go there. August is not the best time to be in Japan since the summers are so very hot and humid. Hitting the mountains or Hokkaido might be best, especially if you don't like warm, muggy weather.

[hgeek23]

Cutie, I like the schedule you laid out before. Ill just have to break it up 1,2,3 then 4-7. That is feasible correct?

[cutiebunny]

The main thing is going to be what time your flight departs from Narita. If it's early morning - afternoon, you're better spending the night near Tokyo (or even Narita - there's some interesting things to see there). If you're coming from Kyoto, it'll take you approximately 5-6 hours to get to Narita airport, and about the same amount of time if you're coming from Takayama.

But assuming that your flight back home leaves in the evening, then going from either city wouldn't be as problematic.

[hgeek23]

Here's how my trip is structured:
Land August 6th at 4:15 pm at Narita.
August 7-9: Personal time (the first 3 days)
August 10: Ghibli museum tour with friend
August 11-18: Forum in Tokyo, will be able to get out at night
August 19-22: Personal time (last 4 days)
August 23: Depart at 3:05 pm from Narita

So when I said i'd have 7 days of personal time i meant 7 full days not including the days of departure or arrival.