wheat-free in Japan

I am considering a bike trip to Japan but am gluten intolerant, meaning I can't eat wheat. Will I be able to find enough things to eat along the way? I am particularly concerned about soy sauce, which contains wheat. Is it in everyting? I don't mind bland food, so is it always easy to ask for dishes before the sauce is added, or are most meals pre-prepared?

I could certainly feed exclusively on sushi, but are these relatively affordable and available anywhere?

Jianshui to Kunming bus schedule

Does anyone know the Jianshui to Kunming bus schedule? What time do buses stop running for that route? I'd like to know so that I don't miss the last bus of the day from Jianshui back to Kunming.
Thanks.

Hotel Suggestions for a week in October

Looking for a clean and safe place in an energetic part of the city for October. I will stay a few days then travel a bit and then a few days at the end. This is my preliminary search so please be patient.

Tattooed Caucasian woman in onsen? Plus Hakone advice please.

Hi guys! I've been reading the tattoo posts and wanted to follow up with my own specific questions.

I'm travelling to Japan alone in mid-November for my 4th time and thinking about finally going to Hakone. What the heck - looks beautiful (is it?) and I've yet to visit an onsen. In past trips I have been to Tokyo, Nikko, Kamakura, Kyoto, Nara, Takayama, and Shirakawa-go.

A few questions:

1) I am a very friendly, modest, extremely un-intimidating-looking 40+ year old woman with 2 full sleeve tattoos (that's 2 full arms of flowers and Buddha, plus a full calf of flowers and trees). I'd like to visit an onsen and could not in a bazillion years be mistaken for yakuza or even a "cheap" woman. The argument that tattoos in Japan are still strongly or exclusively associated with yakuza seems so outdated given the huge popularity of tattoos with Japanese youth; I know of no other count... more »

Hiking in Japan for 4 days, need advice

Hi there,

A friend and I are going to be in Japan for 16 days in August and want to do a 4- ish day hiking trip. We were hoping for something slightly remote/not busy with people. I currently have the lonely planet hiking guide to Japan but can't find something like this.

At the moment we start our trip in Tokyo, work our way to Kyoto then Hiroshima and end in Osaka (Yes I know this is right by Kyoto but our flight goes from there).

We looked at possibly doing part of the 88-Temple pilgrimage in Shikoku or the Japan Alps, however both these options seem very busy with people. We would prefer the Shikoku or the area around Hiroshima/Kyoto/Osaka but are open to the Alps as well. We are considering Kumano-Kodo pilgrimage but not sure this wont be packed either...

Both of us are relatively experienced hikers, looking for an adventure and to experience a bit of rural Japan (T... more »

Hirayu Onsen Area

We are planning a three day hike in Kamikochi, with a return travel to Matsumoto at the end of the hike. If we finish early enough, we were thinking to go to HIrayu Onsen for a detour stop back to Matsumoto. As it is not on the way, looking for recommendations if the public spas are worth it? I looked for a place to stay, but everywhere was sky high, so any budget accommodations would be appreciated too.
Cheers!

Visa for China - Air ticket 'problem'.

I'm hoping to spend some time in China. In fact, I did last year. I got a 1 month tourist Visa from the UK. The Chines consulate require you to have a return flight booked which was a problem because I wanted to possibly stay longer than 1 month. I had arranged with a school to study with them (not a language school) and that once out there they would get my Visa changed which they did and I stayed there for almost 5 months in total. So, I purchased a ticket with a set return date but one which was possible to change the return date. The ticket was more expensive and I had to pay an additional £100 admin cost to change the date. It was also very difficult to get through to the ticketing office and the waiting cost quite a bit too. What I would like to know is.....how could I get around this? I would like to go for a month again and might stay longer but the problem is with th... more »

money

What is the best thing to do concerning costs and exchange rate?

• Do we take cash euro’s with us and change them in Japan?
• Do we purchase Japanese yen in Belgium?
• Do we withdraw cash with visa at domestic ATMs?