Holiday Ideas (Feb 2018) | Japan - Lonely Planet Forum

ONLINE

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 03:35:44 +0000

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can give me some ideas for a holiday this spring. I should be able to take a couple of weeks off in March, to travel in Japan. I'm thinking of spending some time in the Kanto region, and perhaps combining it with something else. Given that it's March, I feel my options are a little limited (though correct me if I'm wrong). Also, if I'm going to be spending a fair amount of time in and around Tokyo, I'm not going to be bringing my car with me.

So the idea is to plan how much time I want to spend in Kanto, and what I could easily combine it with. I'm not looking for specific information on Kanto - I'll start another thread for that. I'm more trying to figure out how much time I should give to exploring some of the highlights of the Kanto region, and what I could easily combine it with, on public transport. The major areas in Japan that I haven't been to (excluding Okinawa and Hokkaido, neither of which I'm considering) are:

Tohoku - I'm fascinated by Tohoku, as I've never been there at all. But I figure that Tohoku is best explored in the summer, with a car. Does that seem reasonable? Or are there any regions, perhaps in the south, where exploring in March on public transport would still be a good way to visit? I'm including Niigata in this.

Nagano and Yamanashi - Again, I figure this is best in summer, with a car, so that I can include hiking with visiting obscure temples and historic sights. Or does anyone know any better? I've been to Matsumoto before, but nowhere else in the region.

The islands south of Tokyo - Are any of these accessible and/or interesting enough to make a nice diversion for a few days?

And of course, Kanto itself. I've been to Tokyo a couple of times before, and have also visited Kamakura and Yokohama. There's more stuff in Tokyo I'd like to see, but the focus of the trip would be in getting to know the surrounding Kanto region better - probably trying to visit every prefecture, and get something of a feel for the region. I could probably devote a full two weeks to this, but I don't think I want to. Unless you can convince me that Kanto is as fascinating as Kansai. ;-)

Anyway, a little vague, but I'm looking to gather some ideas before I try and decide exactly what I want to do this March!

Learn all about the island of Awaji, the largest island in Japan's Inland Sea. You can contact me through that website, if you wish.
Also, Japan's architectural and historic heritage.

ONLINE

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 15:34:04 +0000

What about spending a couple of weeks in Taiwan? If you feel that March is not the optimal time for Japan.

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ONLINE

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 15:37:13 +0000

That's not an option - I have to stay in Japan.

Learn all about the island of Awaji, the largest island in Japan's Inland Sea. You can contact me through that website, if you wish.
Also, Japan's architectural and historic heritage.

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ONLINE

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:47:06 +0000

I've travelled a bit of Tohoku, all of it by public transport. Hirosaki and Sendai are probably my favourites Hirosaki has an original castle (The keep has been moved from it's normal position for renovations - they jacked it up and physically) as well as a nice historic area. Sendai has the mausoleum of the daimyo Date Masamune and Matsushima is nearby. Aizu has some interesting historic areas as there was a big battle there during the Meiji restoration. Easy to get there by train. Very nice onsen at Tsurunoyu in Akita (there is a bus from the station at lake Tazawako) Stayed at another outside of Morioka years ago, that was easy to get to by bus but can't remember the name but looking at google maps is probably Hachimantai onsen.
There 's some places in Kanto outside of Tokyo that I have found interesting: Kashima shrine and Narita-san are both accessible by public transport. Some of the more interesting places in Chiba for me look like you may need a car (terraced rice fields, Kasamori-ji: a temple that has interesting construction) and I haven't managed to get there yet.
And there is always Nikko and Kamakura (and I like Enoshima but I'm a fan of Benzaiten)
These are based on my experiences and interests in those areas bit I hope it helps.

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Thu, 22 Feb 2018 12:29:26 +0000

I have done both Tohoku and the Kanto area as ten-day trips. I did the former in August for all the amazing festivals (Morioka Matsuri, Hirosaki Neputa, Aomori Nebuta, Akita Kanto, Yamagata Matsuri, Sendai Tanabata). I did it all by train (Shinkansen and local trains) but if I ever go back I think a car is the way to go if you want to see anything outside of the cities.

As for my Kanto trip, which was done in early March, it included a few days for Tokyo, plus Gunma (Tomioka Silk Mills - UNESCO), Saitama (Kawagoe), Tochigi (Nikko), Ibaraki (Mito - top 3 garden), Kanagawa (Yokohama - foreigner's cemetery plus more) and Fukushima (I know it's Tohoku but I was not able to visit during my Tohoku trip because of a typhoon). I went to Aizu-Wakamatsu and had a great time there - wish I had spent more time there. There are a couple of interesting cemeteries there that I'm sure you would like as well. I used the Tokyo Wide Pass to travel to some of these areas - 3 days, 10,000 yen, full travel including Shinkansen anywhere in Kanto area, open to foreign residents living in Japan (need to show your passport).

There are a lot of options out there, even without a car. I guess it depends what interests you most.

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Mon, 26 Feb 2018 05:27:51 +0000

Thank you very much to the two of you for the replies!

Hirosaki actually has the only original castle in Japan which I haven't visited, but I think it's rather too far for this trip. I think even Sendai is going to be too far: I'd rather save that region for another time, when I can travel in summer, with a car.

I'd never heard of Aizu, so thanks for the recommendation. It looks kind of interesting. Does anyone want to give me a summary of what it's like, and what's so interesting about it? I might try and combine Aizu with Niigata-ken, if there's time. Does anyone know of any good hiking possibilities in that general area which might be accessible in March? I'll be traveling with my girlfriend, who particularly loves volcanoes, but March might be too early to get anywhere near any of them.

tsuoyoi, by "Kashima Shrine" do you mean "Kashima Jingu" in southern Ibaraki? That looks kind of interesting to me. For the geography as well as the shrine. Kasamori-ji looks rather interesting in pictures as well. Only 7km from the nearest rail station... Hmmmm!

moose, thanks for the other tips! I'll be back with another thread on Kanto destinations, I think. I'm definitely not going to run out of things to see...

Learn all about the island of Awaji, the largest island in Japan's Inland Sea. You can contact me through that website, if you wish.
Also, Japan's architectural and historic heritage.

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Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:32:07 +0000

Hi Giora,

Yes, I do mean Kashima Jingu. Didn't explore it all because I was flying out of Narita that night but look like it had some interesting paths through the shrine's forest.

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Mon, 26 Feb 2018 21:49:22 +0000

Thanks tsuyoi for the clarification.

Learn all about the island of Awaji, the largest island in Japan's Inland Sea. You can contact me through that website, if you wish.
Also, Japan's architectural and historic heritage.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 01:00:34 +0000

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