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Having lived in Japan for two years, what I'd add to this is to spend a lot of time walking, if physically able. For example, in my opinion the best way to exp
by impendia 4y ago
Having lived in Japan for two years, what I'd add to this is to spend a lot of time walking, if physically able.
For example, in my opinion the best way to explore Tokyo is to simply leave your hotel in the morning, wander around all day, and stop anywhere and everywhere that looks interesting. The excellent mass transit system means that it won't be a problem to get back.
In more rural parts of Japan, there are signposted walking trails. Here are three which I highly recommend, in whole or in part.
Yamanobe Road: https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/nara/the-yamanobe-road/ https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/nara/the-yam...
Kyoto Trail: https://kyoto-trail.net/trail_course_e.html https://kyoto-trail.net/trail_course_e.html
Shikoku Henro-Michi: https://www.henro.org/shikoku-pilgrimage/map https://www.henro.org/shikoku-pilgrimage/map
These places are wondrous for their natural and human-made beauty, and have tons of temples, shrines, and historic sights along the way. I strongly second Patrick's advice to get out of the big cities, and virtually anywhere you go you will find much that is beautiful.
- TEP_Kim_Il_Sung 4y agoDon't worry, any places foreigners are forbidden from entering, are clearly marked.
- BonoboIO 4y agoWhere would that be?
- TEP_Kim_Il_Sung 4y agoI knew an Airforce guy stationed on Japan, he said the Japanese straight up made whole villages and districts off limits to foreigners. Not just to soldiers. He said it's to dissuade land flight of women.
- rippercushions 4y agoExcuse my French, but bullshit. This is probably some game-of-telephone story of some bars near American military bases plastering "Japanese Only" signs on their doors so they don't have to deal with drunk GIs. As a rule of thumb, the only places in Japan that do not welcome foreigners by default are in the sex industry.
- TEP_Kim_Il_Sung 4y agoMakes sense. Also probably private property, which is obvious for Japanese.
- throwawaaarrgh 4y agoTokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.
- mnky9800n 4y agoI feel like if you followed the advice and kept inside yamanote this is totally feasible
- ghaff 4y agoThe subway system is sprawling but, as someone who doesn't know any Japanese, I've never had any real trouble navigating it. Didn't know about woman-only cars but I assume most Japanese would take it as just another clueless foreigner and wouldn't think much else about it.
- traceroute66 4y ago> The subway system is sprawling but, as someone who doesn't know any Japanese, I've never had any real trouble navigating it. The Tokyo subway was never difficult to navigate. But as someone who has recently returned from a trip to Japan for the first time since COVID I can tell you they've made substantial improvements since (mostly as a result of the run up to the Olympics). There is now substantially more English signage on the subway than ever before. The ticket machines even now have extensive English language menus.
- rippercushions 4y agoYou really can't "get stuck" though. Carry a phone with Google Maps and get a Pasmo/Suica fare card, and it's easy to get back to your hotel from anywhere at all in the city.
- awslattery 4y agoGoogle Maps + Suica worked wonders in 2019!