Travel Course to Japan - Looking for Suggestions

[[ Final Omega ]]

I've been gifted with the opportunity to take a Travel Course to Japan. It'll be a 19 day venture that'll get me three college credits and some fun experiences. The basic itinerary is as follows:

Tokyo: Edo Imperial Palace, Meiji shrine, Yasukuni shrine, Tokyo Government Building, Ginza, Harujuku

Nagano: Yamnouchi Jigukudani Monkey Park, Hokusai Museum, an Onsen

Kyoto: Kyoto Imperial Palace, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Nara

Hiroshima: Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima Torii

Osaka: Osaka Castle, Minami

In addition, there will be a few days where I can go pretty much wherever I want. I'll have a bullet train pass in my possession, so I'll be able to cover some ground. I was wondering if there were any "recommended destinations" that anyone would have other than those already listed above, preferably things not too far from the above areas.

I'm so psyched for this trip. My language skills are limited, but I should be able to do all right. Starting next semester I should be taking some more advanced Japanese courses too, so if I go back to Japan after this trip, I'll probably be able to speak with the people a little bit better, and I won't be such a tourist. *chuckle*

Any additional information (phrases I should know, random other locations, etc.) would also be appreciated. Many thanks to all you that respond.

Maybe I'll bring back gifts for y'all. mrgreen  

[Nagaikami]

finalomega

Tokyo: Edo Imperial Palace, Meiji shrine, Yasukuni shrine, Tokyo Government Building, Ginza, Harujuko(=Harajuku sweatdrop )

Nagano: Yamnouchi Jigukudani Monkey Park, Hokusai Museum, an Onsen

Kyoto: Kyoto Imperial Palace, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Nara

Hiroshima: Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima Torii

Osaka: Osaka Castle, Minami

Those seem like a bunch of good places to start. If you want to expand on any of them, which ones are they? Chinotenshi lived in Nagano for a year, so she can prolly answer questions about there.

Living in Tokyo, I'd say some more "essentials" include Asakusa (there's a temple there with a long name I cannot remember, but if you say "Asakusa" that's enough), if you're an anime fan there's nothing wrong with stopping in Akihabara for a little while, and Shibuya and Shinjuku and fun for shopping. Oh, "Odaiba" is the name of the area where Fuji TV headquarters and a few other places are. If you have a lot of extra time you can try going there (though I didn't find it all that interesting)

I was in Kyoto last week and visited a bunch of temples and shrines, but the names escape me right now. In general, pick which ever city you enjoy the most, go back there, and ask what's good to visit.

And above everything else, I suggest a trip to Nagasaki. It's a wonderful city.

[EDIT] And if you're buying gifts, I'll pick mine up in Tokyo wink  

[chinotenshi]

finalomega

Nagano: Yamnouchi Jigukudani Monkey Park, Hokusai Museum, an Onsen

W00T! NAGANO!

*dances*

Nagano is like my hometown in Japan biggrin I love it to death.

The Yamanouchi Jugokudani Yaen-Koen is an awesome, awesome place. I went there a few years ago in fall and it was gorgeous! The monkeys were soooo cute ^^ They just sit in the spring like humans! domokun That's a great place to go.

Other places in Nagano to go:
-Zenkouji Temple in downtown Nagano City. If you need directions here, I can get them for you. I know that area better than my hometown in the states sweatdrop It's an awesome Buddhist temple and while most of the buildings are within the temple grounds, there is a second pagoda up on the mountain behind the temple. Has a great view of the city. I TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY COMMAND YOU TO GO TO ZENKOUJI! If you're going in the summer, I know a great place to get awesome kakigoori (shaved ice) right next to the temple heart
-Tanaka Honke museum in Suzaka City. A very wealthy merchant family from Suzaka City made their traditional style house, warehouse and other buildings on their property into a museum. Very awesome place to go to. I've been there twice and I love it.
-Matsumoto Castle in Matsumoto city. One of the few remaining original castles. Competely original, not a replica like most of them. It's a good experience and it has an awesome garden.
-Ueno City. Has some castle ruins and lots of nice onsens.

I'll let Kami-kun give suggestions for Tokyo and Kyoto cause he lives in Tokyo and just went to Kyoto. My suggestions for Kyoto are Ginkakuji (silver pavilion), Kyomizudera, Nijo Castle and Gion.

For Hiroshima:
-The ENTIRE ISLAND of Miyajima. I took HUNDREDS of pictures there. Gorgeous place. Lots of deer O_o
-Hiroshima Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum.
-Since you'll have a bullet train pass, head over to Okayama City in Okayama prefecture (half hour bullet train ride?) and stop at Okayama Castle and Kourakuen Park. I spent three hours BY MYSELF in Kourakuen. It's that pretty/large of a park.
-Setouda City. This is a city on an island to the South of Hiroshima City. Have to take a ferry to get there, but it's worth it. There's a really nice temple called Kousanji that looks like something out of Nikko. Next to it is a museum of Ikuo Hirayama's paintings. It's an awesome, awesome museum to go see.
-Onomichi City. This is a city near Hiroshima City that has a bunch of temples and shrine. It's a nice place to go to. There are a few temples up on mountains that give great views of Hiroshima.

Those are my suggestions. Have fun when you go ^^ Bring me some soba from Nagano City! biggrin  

[[ Final Omega ]]

Oh man, thanks you two!

(Sorry for the spelling error, Nagaikami. I fixed it. sweatdrop )

Akihabara is on my list for sure for when I'm in Tokyo. One of the two professors organizing the trip spent a lot of time in Nagano herself, so there'll probably be plenty of time there to visit all the places. She's probably heard of Zenkouji Temple and can tell me how to get to it, unless we go as a group. I'll try to hit up those little places along the way, chinotenshi. Some of those places in Nagano, Kyoto, and Hiroshima may be in the schedule, but I just gave the basic itinerary that I've been presented with. If I get an updated one, I'll update my list a little, but this is the tentative one for now.

Thanks for the locations and ideas... I'm keeping a running list and doing some research on the places. I've got some reading to do before I leave for the trip anyway, as per required by the course.

mrgreen  

[_x_haruko-chan_x_]

[ Final Omega ]

I've been gifted with the opportunity to take a Travel Course to Japan. It'll be a 19 day venture that'll get me three college credits and some fun experiences. The basic itinerary is as follows:

Tokyo: Edo Imperial Palace, Meiji shrine, Yasukuni shrine, Tokyo Government Building, Ginza, Harujuku

Nagano: Yamnouchi Jigukudani Monkey Park, Hokusai Museum, an Onsen

Kyoto: Kyoto Imperial Palace, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Nara

Hiroshima: Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima Torii

Osaka: Osaka Castle, Minami

In addition, there will be a few days where I can go pretty much wherever I want. I'll have a bullet train pass in my possession, so I'll be able to cover some ground. I was wondering if there were any "recommended destinations" that anyone would have other than those already listed above, preferably things not too far from the above areas.

I'm so psyched for this trip. My language skills are limited, but I should be able to do all right. Starting next semester I should be taking some more advanced Japanese courses too, so if I go back to Japan after this trip, I'll probably be able to speak with the people a little bit better, and I won't be such a tourist. *chuckle*

Any additional information (phrases I should know, random other locations, etc.) would also be appreciated. Many thanks to all you that respond.

Maybe I'll bring back gifts for y'all. mrgreen

That sounds so much like the tour I did except we had alot more free days and in Tokyo we were basically free to do whatever we wanted.

Here are some fun tips/General Information:

*Harajuku wasn't all that great and make sure to steer clear of the main road....go like 3-5 blocks away from that like past the snoopy store if your getting off the JR line and you'll hit good stuff ^_^ The main strip is like Coach and Lui Vitton and other things normal people can't afford.

*Make sure to go to Akihabara In Tokyo!...I bought a camera and a japanese electronic dictionary for REALLY cheap!! Like the dictionary only costed 115 and has a special Kanji reading setting with strock order! It was a serious steal!!

*Kyoto was boring...there were alot of temples but it was geared to the older crowd. Don't get me wrong it was nice but I dunno...temples aren't particularly my style but some very pretty. Temple of the Golden Pavilion very nice! Kyoto Imperial Palace=Boring and tour guilded....Oh and you can't touch anything so have fun looking at re-enactments and squeaky floors that are supposed to sound like some kind of bird and warn about intruders >.<

*Hiroshima was great! Great Nightlife and the shopping was EXCELLENT!! Although the Atomic Bomb Museum was very depressing...it was very well done and laid blame on no one which is probably why I got so depressed. Also there is a video that you can watch it's a 1/2 hour long and we watched it before the tour it's called "Mothers Story" or something like that it's a very heavy movie. I was close to crying and don't cry often. The Park was also very beautiful and the Sadako monument is killer!! Definatly donate a crane and ring the bell! It was so nice!

*Miyajima OWNS!! I like Chinotenshi took a bunch of pictures!! Wild deer are definatly not something you see everyday! Oh and don't bother buying deer food we found out they'll eat leaves >.< So just grab some off a try and feed them those it's just as exciting and it's free ^_^


.....I'm sad you won't be venturing to Kyushu the southernmost island T-T That's where I did my homestay and is my personal favorite place!!  

[Shay.Pop.Tart]

[ Final Omega ]

I've been gifted with the opportunity to take a Travel Course to Japan. It'll be a 19 day venture that'll get me three college credits and some fun experiences. The basic itinerary is as follows:

Tokyo: Edo Imperial Palace, Meiji shrine, Yasukuni shrine, Tokyo Government Building, Ginza, Harujuku

Nagano: Yamnouchi Jigukudani Monkey Park, Hokusai Museum, an Onsen

Kyoto: Kyoto Imperial Palace, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Nara

Hiroshima: Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima Torii

Osaka: Osaka Castle, Minami

In addition, there will be a few days where I can go pretty much wherever I want. I'll have a bullet train pass in my possession, so I'll be able to cover some ground. I was wondering if there were any "recommended destinations" that anyone would have other than those already listed above, preferably things not too far from the above areas.

I'm so psyched for this trip. My language skills are limited, but I should be able to do all right. Starting next semester I should be taking some more advanced Japanese courses too, so if I go back to Japan after this trip, I'll probably be able to speak with the people a little bit better, and I won't be such a tourist. *chuckle*

Any additional information (phrases I should know, random other locations, etc.) would also be appreciated. Many thanks to all you that respond.

Maybe I'll bring back gifts for y'all. mrgreen

[ Oh my word! You have to visit Meijimura. It's an outdoor museum featuring plenty of historical building that have been relocated to the museum grounds to promote learning about ancient Japan. While I used to find Japanese history totally boring, while I was more into teen culture, I found this place enchanting and it sparked a lot of questions for me. Oh, and my advice: don't let your two, very underaged friends run off with a huge bottle of sake, because then you start freakin' out, and it's bad, bad stuff. ]

[ There was also this wonderful little island that we had to ferry out to get to. It was the most quaint little tourist village I could ever imagine. You can rent bikes, oh and there are deer everywhere. One mauled me and took my lunch. It was so exciting. Oh, and Mason had nijuusen en in his pocket, which was eaten by a deer. No big deal, because he's a dumbass for carrying it there anyway, though. xD ]

[ And I'd like to warn you that I started out all happy and peppy about going to Hiroshima, as I was happy and peppy just about the whole trip, because I was in Japan. How much better could life get? Anyway, by the end of the day, I was almost in tears. The museum is so incredibly humbling. Everything that's there just makes you weak in the knees. It was at Hiroshima that I really started firming up my plans to permanently take residence in Japan for two reasons. For one, I love the culture and I've wanted to live there since I started Japanese classes at five. And the other reason is that I'm not sticking around when Hillary Clinton becomes president. She will run. She will win. Then it's my turn to run, all the way to another country. ]

[ Anyway, I'm going to Japan next year for traditional Japanese school. I just got accepted on a program myself, to the tune of about $12,000. It's completely worth it. Anyway, Japan is really worth going, and I do wish you the best of luck in your travels. Drink and smoke there to your heart's content, or choose not to, whatever floats your boat. Either way, you'll have a hell of a time. Congratulations. biggrin ]

[ Before I forget, I visited most of the places you listed up there, but if you're looking for somewhere peaceful to be, and I intend to move here when I'm old enough, Hashima is the most amazing little town. Everyone gets everywhere by bike. There are temples littered between quaint gift shops, chocolate shops, toy shops, and while we were there, we stopped to take a picture, but to get everyone in, the woman taking the picture had to stand across the street. As we were just about to shoot, a policeman on a moped comes by and pleasantly waves to us as he stops his bike so that we can get a picture. After we're finished, he says goodbye and putts of happily. I'm in love with the place hardcore. It's even more wonderful if you have friends in the area to show you around. Again, have fun on your trip. ]

 

[Shay.Pop.Tart]

_x_haruko-chan_x_

*Kyoto was boring...there were alot of temples but it was geared to the older crowd. Don't get me wrong it was nice but I dunno...temples aren't particularly my style but some very pretty. Temple of the Golden Pavilion very nice! Kyoto Imperial Palace=Boring and tour guilded....Oh and you can't touch anything so have fun looking at re-enactments and squeaky floors that are supposed to sound like some kind of bird and warn about intruders >.<

[ Here's where I'm totally going to disagree with you. Kyoto can be all about temples and it can be boring and stuff, if all you do is stuff you're not so interested in, and stuff you can see elsewhere. With the trip I went on, we had a kind of free day in Kyoto. The nightlife was amazing. My friends and I went street shopping and bought entirely new wardrobes from vendors on the streets. I bought my favorite spiked collar ever there from this (really hot) shopkeeper. We hooked up with a couple teens who were feeling hospitable and they showed us around. Nathan got his hair dyed, and it was just a really great time. I'm pretty sure that was where we bought ice cream from this lovely store called "Asse" xD Finger-lickin good Asse cream, that's what that was. Anyway, have fun. If you're really interested in Japan's history, and I'm especially interested in their religious philosophy, give the temples a shot too. They can be so fascinating. I learned a lot there and can't wait to go again in a year. ]

 

[Leonhart118]

if you do happen to go to the tokyo govt building make sure you inform me.also ive been wanting to go to kyoto because of the culture and shrines.im sure edo is a very good shrine tho.