Planning a trip to Japan

Yudi, where exactly do you plan to visit in Japan? Is it only Tokyo or do you want to travel anywhere in Japan? Also, what kinds of things interest you? The reason I ask is that every city or region in Japan has fantastic things to see and do, so it would be pointless telling you to visit Himeji castle for example if you are only planning to stay in the Tokyo area. What do you like to see? Nature, temples and shrines, eat local food, visit museums, etc. Your approximate age group would also help.

@wyngrove60 First of all thank you for the comment and I appreciate your time. We will be visiting Japan from Oct1-10. We honestly have not planned anything yet (still doing our research in terms of the places we can visit and the activities we can do). We will be landing at NRT in Tokyo. We are a couple from Toronto in our thirties with no kids yet. We like to explore the nature and meet local people. No night life/pubs/clubs/etc please. We surely would like to try local food and visit shrines/temples and mount Fuji for sure. We would also like to explore beaches too. Long story short, we don't want to go to any touristic places and would rather explore the rural parts where there is less traffic and less tourists so that we can explore the "real" Japan. Any feedback/advice will be greatly appreciated.

There are a lot of places in Japan which I have never been which you will probably find very interesting, but I am more familiar with Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara.

I feel that the area around Fuji is definitely one to explore with their many lakes, lava tunnels, samurai village (Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nemba) and some wonderful waterfalls such as the Shiraito and Otodome falls. Then there is the suicide forest, Chureito Pagoda, Hakone which is wonderful to explore, Oshino Hakkai (8 saccred ponds), Ashagiri highlands where you'll see cows against a backdrop of Mt. Fuji and maybe some wonderful koinobori also in front of Mt. Fuji. You can walk to the peak of Mt. Fuji from I think it is the 5th station. That road up Mt. Fuji closes in November as it becomes icy and dangerous but in October it will still be open. Then there is the Nirayama Reverberatory furnace which is of historical significance and where they used to make cannons.

Not too far from Mt. Fuji on the south coast is Numazu port where fishing boats bring in fresh tuna and other fish often before arriving at Tokyo, and all around the port are very cute seafood restaurants. There is also a tsunami gate at the entrance to the harbour. Numazu is part of the Izu peninsula which is also interesting. There is also a road from Mishima to Atami where you get wonderful views of Mt. Fuji, and if you like you could visit the Mishima Skywalk, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Japan with views of Mt. Fuji. Atami is faous for it's onsen and hot springs, there is a beach and marina there but it can be touristy.

I would definitely visit Kyoto and Nara as both are full of history and wonderful old temples and culturally rich. In Nara, apart from the deer park, you can literally walk around for two days visit some of the most important temples in Japan, eating fabulous food and visiting the deer park. I only spent a day there and only got through half of the places I wanted to see on my list.

There is actually so much to see, that you really need to read up more about it and decide which parts you want to visit. For us, the best way to get around is by train but when we reach the Fuji area we normally hire a car as driving in Japan is very easy.

@wyngrove60 Thank you very much for the useful information you provided. I understand that it must not be possible to cover "everything" in just 10 days or so but I can try and plan accordingly and cover whatever I can in the limited time frame during my visit to Japan.

Appreciate your time and response.

Regards,

You're very welcome. Good luck planning your trip and hope you have a wonderful time.