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Leaving in a week no plans 2013/1/26 11:54
I will arrive in Narita at 14.05 on the 4th Feb.
My first time to Japan but have traveled a lot .
Fit active 63 year old person traveling alone .
Have no plans .
I have 36 days.
I will be staying in Tokyo for 3 days with a friend. In that time I will see a small part of Tokyo but it will be enough.
I will get the Suica Nex card and use the Narita express no problem . I understand how it works.
I have purchased two 2 week JR rail passes. I will start the first pass on about the 8th. I would like to end that 2 weeks in Kyoto and stay there until i start my second 2 weeks.
I will visit in the 5 days between passes Nara, Osaka etc. I am open to suggestions for the 5 days.
I think i would like to spend the first 2 weeks in the Chubu area or there about.
The second 2 weeks i would like to get to Shikoku and Kyushu. I would like to get down to Kagoshima.
I am looking for suggestions for 2 2 week itinerys etc.
I really do not need to see everything and i also do not have to come out on top with my rail passes.
Culture , out of the way places, do not have to move every day hopefully you get the picture.
I know what it means to watch the grass grow for a while.
I would like to thank you in advance.
You do a wonderful job with your site.
by rawmati  

Re: Leaving in a week no plans 2013/1/26 12:46
If you come in February I suggest you visit the Snow Festival in Sapporo (Hokkaido).

Winter is not really the best season to come to Japan, but there are a few things that you can only experience in winter.

I also highly recommend the snow monkeys in Nagano! While there you should also visit Matsumoto Castle.

Kuyshu is great! There are so many awesome things to see. I hope you also intend to visit Yakushima when you're in Kagoshima?
http://zoomingjapan.com/travel/yakushima-waterfalls-and-fruit-garden/
by zoomingjapan rate this post as useful

Re: Leaving in a week no plans 2013/1/27 00:01
Wow, how wonderful - sounds like a great trip!

I don't know Japan at all well enough to suggest an itinerary as such, but I have been to a few places that I would recommend trying to include in your itinerary:

Takayama and Kanazawa in Chubu are both fantastic and can work as bases for day trips to other places (like the Noto Peninsula, or Shirakawago, or Kaga Onsen). I also really enjoyed Matsumoto Castle, though you can easily visit that without rushing in half a day without making a stay there. The Izu Peninsula and the Fuji area are also lovely, and worth a visit either while leaving or returning to Tokyo.

Near Kyoto, you might consider an overnight trip to Koya-san, where you can stay in a Buddhist temple lodging. There are some wonderful cultural properties there and it's a unique experience - even the trip there on private railway is lovely.

Miyajima (Chugoku) is also very beautiful and could be fitted in on the way to or from Shikoku. In North Chugoku is Matsue - again, that would make a lovely stop on the way back from Kyushu.

I don't know Kyushu at all, sadly, but I am sure you have plenty of time to visit the places you named in the time you have. The train system is exceptionally efficient in Japan and it is surprising what you can fit in within one day. And when I was there, I thoroughly enjoyed even the longer train journeys I took, because watching the landscape go by is extremely relaxing.
by guest (guest) rate this post as useful

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