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Minimum days needed to enjoy japan 2007/10/11 21:06
Hi,
Me and my girlfriend were thinking of travelling to Japan over the christmas break. However due to work constraints the most we could spend would be about 8 nights.
Would we be able to see enough of Japan during this time? or are we better off saving our money for a longer holiday.
Cheers
by Mattyb  

. 2007/10/12 09:35
Idealy you would like to stay longer, but if you only have 8 days you should consider just staying in one part of Japan, or one city rather then criss crossing all over.
by John rate this post as useful

short trip to Japan 2007/10/12 12:32
John is 100% right. Staying in one area (Kansai or Kanto for example), or even one town, will allow you to become quickly familiar with streets, coffee shops, restaurants, stores around your hotel and also to go back to a couple of neighbourhoods.
this will give you a better feel not just for these places but also for the Japanese way of life.
crisscrossing a country in one week trying to see a lot will result in everything beeing a big blur in your mind months later ( where in the world did we take that photo? )
by Plantagenesta rate this post as useful

my trip 2007/10/12 14:14
Depends how much you want to see/do. I spent 2 weeks in Japan, Aug 3-17th, and visited 3 of the 4 Islands. I climbed Mt Fuji, night climb, and visited several of the larger cities (Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Sapporo, etc).
The JR pass was great investment for visiting the whole country, bullet train to local lines, because you can jump onto any train (during eregularf day) and reserve seat for holiday periods.
Now I spent most of my time on the train and running to/from etouristf site, peace park/temple/etc, then recover from the heat (35-39C everyday). I donft know about winter, what sites are open/travel time, but traveling with your luggage (backpacking) to visit the whole country might be a pain.
Now I didnft plan my trip well enough, first time over sea, I felt that I cheated myself of a great trip. Donft get me wrong I enjoyed my time, but fell that if I timed things better I would have had more fun.

In my opinion 3 weeks minimal, 4-5 weeks if you want to spend time in each city, if you are into scenery trip of Japan (garden/mountain rather then tours of temple/clubs).

This is an opinion of a 26 year old Canadian, white male, who enjoys nature/small city over large city (crowded places).
by Pouliot rate this post as useful

. 2007/10/12 14:30
It also depends on where abouts in the world you're visiting from. I'm going to Japan for 9 nights early next year (as it's all my husband and I can get off work) but as we're coming from Australia there won't be much of a change in timezones and so won't have any jetlag. In 9 nights we're seeing Kyoto, Hiroshima and Tokyo. If I were you I'd do it. Who knows what will pop up in the future and whether you'll have a better opportunity to go.
by Leah rate this post as useful

.. 2007/10/12 15:24
I spend 16 days there and coverd a fair bit of ground, around 6 major places... I definitely wish i had more time in some. You will need a minimum 2 days to take in the major attractions at any one city, so i'd plan 2 or 3 cities/towns/whatever catches your eye with 8 days and allow for about half a days travel time between them.

A Tokyo - Kyoto highlights run would be possible on 8 days. Depends on what you like and want to see?
by Tristan rate this post as useful

Trip 2007/10/12 20:29
We have sent people to Japan before for only about 7/8 nights (sometimes less). It entirely depends on what you want to do. Have you been to Japan before? If not, I would recommend flying by JAL, as you can land in, say, Tokyo and fly out of Osaka, or vice versa. You could spend half you're time in Tokyo, and half in Kyoto, doing maybe a handful of day trips out from either centre (from Tokyo, you could day trip to Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura or maybe Matsumoto, and from Kyoto you could day trip to Nara, Hiroshima - stopping off in Himeji - although thats a bit far). That way, you could also have a few days in Tokyo and Kyoto respectively - both cities you could spend several days in, but we usually send clients to Kyoto for the longest time, as there is just so much to explore there! Good luck.
by Claire rate this post as useful

New Year 2007/10/12 22:36
Note that a lot of Japanese people return to their home towns and families for New Years and if you intend to extend your stay over New Years, it might get very crowded in trains, planes and hotels.
by Kappa rate this post as useful

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