51–60 of 103 posts
To fellow American HN people. Right now USD/JPY is around 145, and it was about 100 in 2020, which means almost 30% discount for everything! (Please note that CPI of Japan is not so high) Come to Japan, and enjoy!
Road trip across Japan is quickly moving to the top of my bucket list? Has anyone done it? How was it? Must see stops?
Ryokan in Kyoto is a must. Also, if you spend enough time - don't just do Shinkansen all the time. It gets boring pretty quick as you are moving from one big city to another. Rent a car for some time too!
Nothing wrong with the normal train lines though.
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I mean as in I could get special visa.
So in your mind it's not your behavior that sets you apart as a tourist, but your ability to get a special visa? Personally, someone going with the main purpose to take photos of a place is the most touristy of tourists. Even when I visit a place like Japan for 3 months, I barely take photos because it takes you out of it and you get in the way. Take enough photos to capture key memories and places but mainly enjoy t…
They will soon learn that nobody cares.
Doubtful they were even considered going to Japan, they just wanted to brag about a piece of hardware.
Road trip across Japan is quickly moving to the top of my bucket list? Has anyone done it? How was it? Must see stops?
I don't think there's any particular location you need to go or see if you're road-tripping - but where you go depends on the activities and vibe you like, I guess. The main divide would be mountain/ocean/city. Unless you have particular needs, I'd recommend staying at local ryokans (inns) or guest houses rather than major hotels, especially chains. Same for restaurants.
Cherry blossom in spring and red leafs in fall are great with pleasant climate, but also attracts big crowds and crowded roads. Summer sees lots of matsuri (traditional festivals) and fireworks. NYE's a dozo. If you can, avoid typhoon season in typhoon areas, obv. Kyushu was just hit pretty bad.
Also if you're into that kind of stuff, from late spring to early fall there are a lot of small outdoor 1-3 day music events happening in random places, some of which are great for camping. The stereotype that Japanese people tend to get really dedicated to whatever they're doing has a seed of truth I think, and the same holds for "party people" ;)
(Part of me is hesitant writing all this as I selfishly have really appreciated all the quiet and serenity during the pandemic. But honestly, the local economy really needs some tourism. Please come. Local businesses are struggling really hard. But please do respect the peace and do a quick refresher on local customs pre-arrival ^^)
And HMU if you ever come by the Yamanashi side of Mt Fuji; we have some deservedly famous spots here and if I'm free I'm happy to meet :)
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It's only a return to the previous norm.
"On Sept. 7, the government allowed those on nonguided tours who had booked their flights and hotels through registered travel agencies." ← is the "through registered travel agencies" portion dropped now as well? I couldn't discern that from the article.
Road trip across Japan is quickly moving to the top of my bucket list? Has anyone done it? How was it? Must see stops?
I've traveled extensively in Japan and very highly recommend it. I especially recommend a long walk in rural or small-town Japan. Perhaps the best one-day option is the Yamanobe Road https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/nara/the-yam... which is breathtaking. You pass ancient tombs, temples, and shrines -- you will have beautiful mountains to your east and even more beautiful small towns to your west. If yo…
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Edit: for some reason I'd interpreted the question as being about cycling. Leaving in case it's useful for cyclists or motorcyclists. I've done a lot of cycling across various bits of Japan, from shorter day trips on the order of 150km to longer 1000km+ trips. One thing to keep in mind for visiting cyclists on longer road trips: this may seem obvious but Japan is very mountainous which means a lot of narrow roads wit…
How easy it is to bring bikes on trains or public transit?
I wonder to what extent this reflects desperation for foreign currency (especially dollars) given the recent intervention by BoJ to stop the yen's freefall. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/boj-keep-ultra-low-rate... My guess is that this would be a drop in the bucket, but who knows?
I haven't been following this. This is very interesting considering most Japanese economic policy has been an attempt to reverse deflation or stagnation. Now it's inflating too fast?
It makes me sad to think about that a lot of service staff is already living tight on eq ~7 USD/h pay and very likely cost-of-living will continue to increase sharper than any pay increase. There's a large poverty in Japan you don't necessarily see on the surface.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Edit: for some reason I'd interpreted the question as being about cycling. Leaving in case it's useful for cyclists or motorcyclists. I've done a lot of cycling across various bits of Japan, from shorter day trips on the order of 150km to longer 1000km+ trips. One thing to keep in mind for visiting cyclists on longer road trips: this may seem obvious but Japan is very mountainous which means a lot of narrow roads wit…
How easy it is to bring bikes on trains or public transit?
To fellow American HN people. Right now USD/JPY is around 145, and it was about 100 in 2020, which means almost 30% discount for everything! (Please note that CPI of Japan is not so high) Come to Japan, and enjoy!
Any advice or resources for someone seriously considering this?
In Tokyo, hit up harajuku and omotesando for awesome fashion. I'm really curious how well those boutiques have survived (around the world hasn't been pretty over the last year).
but aside from that, Tokyo is a day trip for me, the real cosmopolitan action is in Osaka.