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Well there are basically 10 places in Tokyo everyone goes to, and maybe they go to Kyoto or Osaka too. That leaves... the entire rest of the country. I've trave

by rjh29 4y ago

Well there are basically 10 places in Tokyo everyone goes to, and maybe they go to Kyoto or Osaka too. That leaves... the entire rest of the country. I've travelled around most of Japan and the majority of time I see zero foreigners. Seriously just pick a random city from Japan Guide or go to an onsen. Visit Kyushu, it's beautiful and nobody seems to travel there because it's too far away :P

ehnto 4y ago
Truly. Even if you want to land in Tokyo (since lots of flight deals take you there or Osaka). Grab the Rail Pass before you fly in, then take the bullet train to any number of cities. You'll enjoy relatively low-cost travel thanks to the rail pass, and you'll get to see a bunch of cities that aren't as popular.
- ValentineC 4y ago
  > Grab the Rail Pass before you fly in This doesn't seem to be a must now that JR themselves is selling it online (though at a slightly higher price): https://japanrailpass.net/en/purchase.html https://japanrailpass.net/en/purchase.html
  - rjh29 4y ago
    That's good to know. Last time I looked at agencies in my country, they were charging more than it costs to buy one in Japan!
- m4rtink 4y ago
  Its perfectly doable to land, activate Rail Pass and then move to your starting city by Shikansen on the same day. In 2019 we moved all the way to Hiroshima on the first day and stayed in Tokyo at the end for a couple days. This order also very useful if you want to buy stome stuff, as usually Tokay has the best selection but you don't want to lug it all over Japan with you - best do the shopping at the end of the trip.
tmtvl 4y ago
I love Matsumoto (in Nagano Prefecture), it's a lovely city located right in the midst of some beautiful mountains. Nara is also nice, but I'm a mountain boy at heart.
- rjh29 4y ago
  Nice, not had the chance to visit Matsumoto yet! I lived in Kyoto and being surrounded by mountains was definitely one of the nicest parts.
  - tmtvl 4y ago
    One of my favourite memories of my travels to Japan was when in Kyoto my buddy and I were standing at the corner of... I think it was Shijo and Karasuma? And we were heading to Sanjo (I may have mixed Shijo and Sanjo up, don't mind it), and I had just double checked on a map that we were heading the right way when suddenly a guy on a bike saw us standing there with our map and stopped. He decided to tell me and my friend about all the great places around Kyoto to go see temples, buy souvenirs, get a good drink, and so on. A ways through his explanation someone else came up to us to ask us where we were going, and told us that our destination was simply straight ahead, and after saying our thanks we just kept listening to the guy rattle on. That kind of thing is what I really like about travelling, being a couple of thousand miles away from home, just listening to someone go on a ramble about whatever they think is interesting to talk about.
- FunnyLookinHat 4y ago
  I'm planning a trip to Japan (my first), and I'm mostly interested in small towns or villages as day trips from somewhere that is already well outside of Tokyo. Would Matsumoto fit that bill? Ideally I'd take a train out of the city and rent a car or bike in whatever smaller city I make my hub. Would love any other advice you have, and open to DMs/emails/etc. :-)
  - m4rtink 4y ago
    My tips: - Kurobe Gorge (industrial train ride into a beautiful deep mountain gorge) - Kanazawa (middle size town with a beautiful garden and castle ruins - near Kurobe/Touyama) - Izumo (100% inaka, one of the oldest shrines in Japan, traditional iron working museum, nice coast with a beautiful lighthouse, in day trip distance from the only real desert (!) in Japan in Tottori) - Kinosaki (gorgeous onsen-only town, reachable by express train from Osaka) - Kagoshima (has the huge active Sakurajima volcano right on the other side of the bay, many Meiji restoration landmarks, don't forgot to check what the satsuma maid group is up to) - Hitoyoshi (a little town in a mountain valley pan in Kyushu, the mid point of the Hisatsu Line - a bit less reachable right now due to some washed out railway bridges, setting of Maitetsu VNs) - Ikede (day trip distance from osaka, home to the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum & nice view of Osaka from the hill) - Beppu (a not so big city that is effectively the onsen capital of the world, really - the Kannawa district that hosts the 7 hells is just bonkers) - Enoshima (go by hanging monorail with tunnels (!!) from Ofuna, visit a beautifula island with calves, shrines, temples and botanical gardens, go back to Kamakura via Enoden - a cute old electric train that hugs back dors of peoples houses and runs on regular streets part of the way)
fomine3 4y ago
Onsen is a great reason to visit random rural area in Japan.
- m4rtink 4y ago
  Babadani Onsen FTW! Just make sure the cold water hose does not fall out or selse the water ming be a little hot. ;-) (Elevantion 800 above see level, 1 hour walk from Keyakidaira, which itself is 1 hour industrial train ride from Kurobe. Coincidentaly the very first onsen bath we took in Japan back in 2017. And without the cold water hose - but back then we didn't know an onsen should not be that hot. :D )

by rjh29 4y ago

ehnto 4y ago

Truly. Even if you want to land in Tokyo (since lots of flight deals take you there or Osaka). Grab the Rail Pass before you fly in, then take the bullet train to any number of cities. You'll enjoy relatively low-cost travel thanks to the rail pass, and you'll get to see a bunch of cities that aren't as popular.

ValentineC 4y ago
> Grab the Rail Pass before you fly in This doesn't seem to be a must now that JR themselves is selling it online (though at a slightly higher price): https://japanrailpass.net/en/purchase.html https://japanrailpass.net/en/purchase.html
- rjh29 4y ago
  That's good to know. Last time I looked at agencies in my country, they were charging more than it costs to buy one in Japan!
m4rtink 4y ago
Its perfectly doable to land, activate Rail Pass and then move to your starting city by Shikansen on the same day. In 2019 we moved all the way to Hiroshima on the first day and stayed in Tokyo at the end for a couple days. This order also very useful if you want to buy stome stuff, as usually Tokay has the best selection but you don't want to lug it all over Japan with you - best do the shopping at the end of the trip.

tmtvl 4y ago

I love Matsumoto (in Nagano Prefecture), it's a lovely city located right in the midst of some beautiful mountains. Nara is also nice, but I'm a mountain boy at heart.

rjh29 4y ago
Nice, not had the chance to visit Matsumoto yet! I lived in Kyoto and being surrounded by mountains was definitely one of the nicest parts.
- tmtvl 4y ago
  One of my favourite memories of my travels to Japan was when in Kyoto my buddy and I were standing at the corner of... I think it was Shijo and Karasuma? And we were heading to Sanjo (I may have mixed Shijo and Sanjo up, don't mind it), and I had just double checked on a map that we were heading the right way when suddenly a guy on a bike saw us standing there with our map and stopped. He decided to tell me and my friend about all the great places around Kyoto to go see temples, buy souvenirs, get a good drink, and so on. A ways through his explanation someone else came up to us to ask us where we were going, and told us that our destination was simply straight ahead, and after saying our thanks we just kept listening to the guy rattle on. That kind of thing is what I really like about travelling, being a couple of thousand miles away from home, just listening to someone go on a ramble about whatever they think is interesting to talk about.
FunnyLookinHat 4y ago
I'm planning a trip to Japan (my first), and I'm mostly interested in small towns or villages as day trips from somewhere that is already well outside of Tokyo. Would Matsumoto fit that bill? Ideally I'd take a train out of the city and rent a car or bike in whatever smaller city I make my hub. Would love any other advice you have, and open to DMs/emails/etc. :-)
- m4rtink 4y ago
  My tips: - Kurobe Gorge (industrial train ride into a beautiful deep mountain gorge) - Kanazawa (middle size town with a beautiful garden and castle ruins - near Kurobe/Touyama) - Izumo (100% inaka, one of the oldest shrines in Japan, traditional iron working museum, nice coast with a beautiful lighthouse, in day trip distance from the only real desert (!) in Japan in Tottori) - Kinosaki (gorgeous onsen-only town, reachable by express train from Osaka) - Kagoshima (has the huge active Sakurajima volcano right on the other side of the bay, many Meiji restoration landmarks, don't forgot to check what the satsuma maid group is up to) - Hitoyoshi (a little town in a mountain valley pan in Kyushu, the mid point of the Hisatsu Line - a bit less reachable right now due to some washed out railway bridges, setting of Maitetsu VNs) - Ikede (day trip distance from osaka, home to the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum & nice view of Osaka from the hill) - Beppu (a not so big city that is effectively the onsen capital of the world, really - the Kannawa district that hosts the 7 hells is just bonkers) - Enoshima (go by hanging monorail with tunnels (!!) from Ofuna, visit a beautifula island with calves, shrines, temples and botanical gardens, go back to Kamakura via Enoden - a cute old electric train that hugs back dors of peoples houses and runs on regular streets part of the way)

fomine3 4y ago

Onsen is a great reason to visit random rural area in Japan.

m4rtink 4y ago
Babadani Onsen FTW! Just make sure the cold water hose does not fall out or selse the water ming be a little hot. ;-) (Elevantion 800 above see level, 1 hour walk from Keyakidaira, which itself is 1 hour industrial train ride from Kurobe. Coincidentaly the very first onsen bath we took in Japan back in 2017. And without the cold water hose - but back then we didn't know an onsen should not be that hot. :D )