What to do in Japan for 9 days?

I am going to Japan this summer for several weeks. Before I return home, I am going to travel using one-week JR Pass.

I am aware that there are many threads like this, so I apologise in advance, I don't want anyone to totally make up my travel plan, just if you would be so kind and told me what would you recommend, what would you change in the plan and so on.

I will start travelling on 14.8. in Nagoya and I am leaving on 22.8. from Narita.

13.8 - 15.8 is when Obon takes place. I suppose trains will be pretty crowded and I should make reservations enough time in advance, right? Can I book before my JR pass comes into validity (for connection on date when JR pass is valid)?

Actually, what does that mean that Obon lasts 3 days? Is one of the days a main one, or the festival really lasts whole 3 days?

So, what I would like to visit?

Yeah, I forgot ... since I suppose I won't have another opportunity to go to Japan for a long time, I would like to see as much things as possible. That doesn't mean I will literally run through the museums and cities, but I would like to stuff as much thinkgs as possible to my schedule. Even if it can mean getting up at 6 every day, doing sightseeing in a city, moving by train to another city in the afternoon, get accomodation there and do sightseeing around until night.

2 days - Osaka, Kobe, Nara
1 day - Hiroshima + Miyajima
1 day Fukuoka
1 day Hakone (I am aware of invalidity of JR pass there)
1 day Kamakura, Yokohama.

It's just a tentative schedule I just made up of things I think would be good to see. So, one day left. What to do? On 21th, my pass will have expired, I'll probably arrive to Tokyo on 20th and stay there.

I didn't list Kyoto and Fuji - I will have visited them by then (as well as Nagoya and vicinity), since it would be waste of JR pass (I want to stay in Kyoto for at least 2 days and I will be staying nearby). Maybe I will be do able to do the same with Osaka (and visit Koya at the same time) and Nara, I still don't know. So, anything I should change in my itinerary? What to add, preferably along the way? Nagasaki/Beppu? Himeji? Kanazawa/Takayama? Nagano? Nikkou? Day trip from Fukuoka to Busan?

I am 18 and will be travelling just by myself, is that all right, regarding security? I have heard it's no problem in Japan, but just to be sure.

Is it necessary to book accomodation in advance? I would stay at ryokans or something as cheap as possible. It's peak season after all. It would be quite bad if everything was booked, since my schedule won't probably be totally fixed and may change during travelling.

Any other general advice? It will be my first time to Japan.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry to dig up my thread like this, but I am surprised I got no answer. So I am trying it once more. Any comment to things I asked about is welcome.

Thanks.

Well everyone will have a different opinion, but here is mine after my trip last fall.

Skip Hakone. It is very touristy and is the one area of Japan we did not like.

Of the places you asked about, I will highly recommend Takayama. It was one of our favorite towns.

yes you can reserve trains way before you actually start using your JR pass. On the day you exchange your voucher --bought in your home country --for an actual pass, you will tell them (actually write it down: day..month..year)when you want your pass to start: right away, a few days or weeks later..Note that the date they enter goes by the Japanese calendar so don't panic. You can then reserve seats on various trains at the same time.Booking hotels in advance or not? most people do, I can't because I never even know whether or not I will be able to fly on a given day. If you plan to travel when everyone else does it too (can't remember your dates) you should book in advance. I like www.japanhotel.net because you deal with the hotels/ hostels/ ryokans and don't pay in advance. Be aware that cheap ryokans aren't that great. As for safety Japan is very safe but that doesn't mean that you should walk alone in an alley or across a park at 2 in the morning or accept to go in a car or house with people you don't know. Also try to look older.. some hotels aren't keen on renting a room to teenagers.
your travel plans look OK. go wherever you want to go, it is your trip.
one reason why you didn't get any fast reply is because most of your questions have been answered many times before. try to enter a couple of them in the "search this site" window on the top left and you will see what I mean..

nikko was very beautiful to vist lots of history and komakura go of the beaten path and theres alot more to see im giong back in july for two weeks

There isn't much in Hakone/Kamakura/Yokohama. Mainly excursions for ppl staying in Tokyo. Obon is 3 days but Japanese ppl will be travelling back to their hometowns all thru Aug/Sept.

Traveling Japan is expensive.
If I were you, I try to visit
many attractive place in Tokyo area and near by. Do�@not go too far away. Time is short.
You can go to Kamaura and Yokohama in same day.
In Tokyo go many museums as possible. Edo Tokyo museum is very interesting. You can also
go to The National Museum in Ueno Park, there are Ameyoko Shopping district and many temples near by.
Go Akihabara town only 1 miles from Ueno, you can see Japanese modern culture especially on Sunday because there are street live there.What is the purpose of going for Hakone?
For mountain, go Takao, the closest hiking area in Tokyo.
For night life go Roppngi there
are many English speaking people.
map of Ueno Park
http://www.parkside.co.jp/en/guide_ueno.html

Map around Ueno
http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/infomation/2area/map/03map_ueno.htm...

Tokyo hotel and travel
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/tokyo/

Thank you for your replies.

Well everyone will have a different opinion, but here is mine after my trip last fall.

Skip Hakone. It is very touristy and is the one area of Japan we did not like.

Maybe. When I think about that, you may be right. I might save up one day. I just listed it because everybody talks about this but when I think about that, I came to conclusion that something else would be better...And it's going to be peak season after all, Hakone will be pretty crowded, I assume. (I know that everything else will be crowded as well, but Hakone is a small and really popular area after all). I'll consider skipping Hakone.

Of the places you asked about, I will highly recommend Takayama. It was one of our favorite towns.

I am already considering this. As I mentioned earlier, I will have been living near Nagoya. And maybe I would be able to make one day trip from there, since it's not so far (compared to other places I'd like to visit).

Red Frog:

Actually, japanhotel.net is pretty expensive for me. But it isn't so difficult to find some accomodation on the Internet, that's not a problem (but whether or not it's fully occupied in summer, that's a different question of course).

Be aware that cheap ryokans aren't that great.

What do you mean? Something particular?
I just need a place to sleep in. I don't care if there's private bath or shared with tens of people, as long as I can sleep there, it's fine for me.

Also try to look older.. some hotels aren't keen on renting a room to teenagers.

Well, since I'm foreigner, I suppose I will be taller than all of them XD. No, I look older than 18 even in my country, so that shouldn't present a problem.

one reason why you didn't get any fast reply is because most of your questions have been answered many times before. try to enter a couple of them in the "search this site" window on the top left and you will see what I mean..

Well, in the first place, I wanted to help about the itinerary. Just the comments like "one day of Osaka isn't enough, make it two days" or "there's not much to do in Hakone, you can leave it out" are okay and help me. And since I already created the thread, I asked other questions as well. I knew about some things, just wanted to confirm (eg. the security), but I didn't find answers to other questions (eg. what I asked about Obon, I still don't know if it the festival with dance and all lasts whole 3 days...).

ken: Somebody else persuaded me that Nikko is worth visiting, so I am already considering that as well.

Traveling Japan is expensive.

I know. But since I am going to buy JR Pass, I don't care. Maybe next time I go to Japan (which isn't going to be soon, but never mind), I won't be able to get JR Pass, so I want to travel through as much as I can now.

You can go to Kamaura and Yokohama in same day.

Yes, that's what I wrote above.

In Tokyo go many museums as possible. Edo Tokyo museum is very interesting. You can also
go to The National Museum in Ueno Park, there are Ameyoko Shopping district and many temples near by.
Go Akihabara town only 1 miles from Ueno, you can see Japanese modern culture especially on Sunday because there are street live there.What is the purpose of going for Hakone?

I am planning that I will spend one weekend in Tokyo as a trip from Nagoya. It will be expensive without JR Pass, but I came to conclusion that there are so many things in Tokyo that I can't spend just one day there. That would be a shame. I like manga&anime, so Akiba is of course one of my objectives as well. As for Hakone, really many people admire and recommend it, but as I wrote above in this message, I currently consider leaving it out.

By the way, would you recommend Hells in Beppu? The photos I found are really fascinating and attract me, but I found several comments it's pretty boring and not worth visiting.

I am sure that you will have a great time. You are obviously organized, a good planner..don't cram too many things in a day as it often takes longer that one think to see a place,if only because there are so many fascinating or unusual or unexpected things to look at. Nikko is definitely worth seeing.The Japanese have a saying that goes something like " you don't know what beauty is until you see Nikko".The sculptures, carvings etc.on the buildings are astounding. Kamakura is also very interesting, never mind what some people say. The only problem is that, like Tokyo, there are so many temples that it is hard to choose only a few. About the ryokans what I meant is that anyone going to a cheap ryokan yet expecting a big room, refined decoration etc. will be badly disapointed. If you only want a place to sleep then its OK. Japanhotel.net does have cheap ryokans and hostels in Asakusa. I don't find transportation in Japan expensive. Compared to passes in Europe the 7 days JR pass is an incredible bargain. Food is also relatively cheap if one eats in small places with a limited menu.

Just some comments about Obon:
In my experience the worst crowds (travelling) are on the weekends surrounding the 13 - 15 August. This year the 13th is a Wednesday, so the weekend before would probably be bad, and the weekend after (16 & 17 August) I bet will be TERRIBLE. People will be rushing back to Tokyo (or other major cities) in droves.
But August will be relatively crowded anyway, at any time, since school holidays start the end of July and go to the beginning of September.
Obon is 'advertised' as 13 - 15 August and some places have one celebration - a bon odori maybe - on one of those nights, or even on one of the weekend nights before or after. My observation has been that though many holidays have official dates, the Japanese often observe them near those dates, when it's convenient. More like, during the 'season' than on a specified day. Some places have two or more days of celebration - I think Matsumoto's famous Bon-Bon is two nights, I think, around the 15th of August. Tokyo's neighborhoods have various little bon odoris on various dates through July and August. Gujo-Hachiman dances all summer, with all-night dancing from 12 - 15 August. Up north in Tohoku there are a variety of different festivals like Nebuta (Aomori's famous Nebuta is earlier than Obon, around the 6th) that are not tied to the Obon dates yet draw many people home and also draw many tourists so accommodation and transportation is crowded there during those times.
So you see it's difficult to set down a date for Obon and say, 'this is exactly what happens'.

Japan is hot.
Many hotels are expensive during holidays season.
Many go to Karuizawa instead of going Hakone summert time.
For Onsen,hot spring,Kusatsu is
better place, not to far from Karuizawa direction, it is in
Nagano prefecture.

I live in Tokyo. I think Akihabara is the interesting place too.

Also, I think you can find cheap & cute stuff these plase. You mingt already knows. But I tell you.

1."Takeshita Douli(Street names)"in Harajyuku
2."109"(this is a Shopping center for young age. It pronouce"ichi-malu-kyu"in japanease) in Shibuya
3."Ameyoko"(Street name) in Akihabara.
4."Tokyuhands"(shopping center for living). Tokyuhands is Shibuya & Shinjyuku.
5. "100 yen Shop"(Shopping center). You can buy everything 100 yen. You can find big one in Shibuya.

And,And..I think Japan is so safe coutry!! You can wark almost everywhere even if it is midnight.


At last, Enjoy Japan(^^)! from japanease(@@)