mont fuji, imperial palace and gifts, 5Tokyo)

Dear
you can check this website for mtFuji: http://bus-en.fujikyu.co.jp/
you can buy the tax-refund stuff nearly everywhere, just ask the staff about the details and normally there is the minimum consumption price to do the refund, really easy to get it.

my husband and I are going to Japan in May (Tokyo and Kyoto)

Avoid Golden Week in early May if you can. Other than that a very pleasant time to be in Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto).

Mont Fuji (day trip, no climbing): cruise on the lake to see the Mont Fuji and also the buddhist statues? Is it possible?

Possible. I'd pick either Five Lakes/Kawaguchiko or Hakone for the day trip.

Five Lakes is closer to the mountain and therefore you should have a bigger chance to see it. However there is not a whole lot to do (at least for my interests) besides watching Mount Fuji. Hakone is further from the mountain, but has a lot more to do besides it such as onsen, good museums, the old Tokaido road... As far as I am aware the cruise in Hakone is a lot more popular than the one in Five Lakes, probably also because it serves as a means of transport.

What Buddhist statues do you mean? Can only think of the Moto-Hakone Stone Buddhas at the moment. I liked these, but it is rather off-the beaten track.

how to get there from Tokyo, by train, by bus?

For Five Lakes, the easiest/cheapest is by direct bus, but you can also go there by train with one change.

For Hakone, many people chose to travel on a Hakone Free Pass which is a good deal if you do a bit of moving around in the Hakone area. In that case you'd travel by train on Odakyu Line up to Hakone-Yumoto which is basically the entrance point to the Hakone area. Inside the Hakone area you have all kinds of transport: buses, trains, ropeways, cablecars, boats...

I read in my French guide book that if we want to visit the Imperial Palace , we have to book tickets in advance by internet?

Which of the Imperial Palaces?

The one in Kyoto (which is a lot more interesting) can now be entered without a tour and without advance reservation.

The one in Tokyo (which is quite boring/modern) can only be entered with a tour which you can reserve through the Imperial Household Agency or get same-day registrations at the Kikyomon Gate of the palace.

do you know the name of the metro getting aroun Tokyo (a ring), to see the big city and rest a the same time?

Yamanote line

i am looking for a tea pot, round and quite flat, made of cast iron, for my mother? do you know where i can get this tea pot? and the prices

This can be anything from perhaps 2000 yen in a cheap department store or at Kappabashi Street for something made in China (?) up to many more yen for a handmade artist thing.

I would like to buy a necklace or ear rings with pearls from Japan. In Japan, the tax is 8 % and in France is 20 %, is it a good deal? cheaper than in France? the tax in Japan can be refund too?

No idea about this.

Fuji 5 lakes is best accessed by bus, although you can take several trains and then a shorter bus if you feel so inclined.

By the Imperial Palace it depends on what you mean. No one gets to actually tour the residence of the emperor. Its restricted. Some of the grounds of the palace, where the castle use to stand are open to strolling for anyone

The 'big ring' metro is actually not a metro, it's a JR train. It is called the Yamanote line and hits a lot of the major destinations along it's route. It can be useful for getting around, but it is slower than the subway on many routes.

You can get tax refunded at a lot of places, but it will end up taking some time to actually process the reciept and to get the money at the airport. It isn't always worthwhile for smaller items.

hello Bamse
thank you very much for your advices, it is very helpful
I checked on internet about the iron cast tea pot
I was talking about pearls : the name is Akoya japanese pearls (very famous pearls and quite expensive)

last question about Onsen : I read in my french guide book, the onsen are public hot bath (hot spring) and you have to be nacked without swimsuit or you wear a thin towel and men and wome are separted
Is it rigth?

thank you very much

hello

thank you very much for your post

hello

thank you very much for your post
I do appreciate

thanks

last question about Onsen : I read in my french guide book, the onsen are public hot bath (hot spring) and you have to be nacked without swimsuit or you wear a thin towel and men and wome are separted
Is it rigth?

Yes, that's basically correct. Also check the onsen etiquette. In some very remote parts of Japan there are even mixed gender onsen, but you have to look very hard to find these. If being naked is an issue, you can also rent a private onsen.

Apart from onsen which are more about the health aspect, are often located close to nature and which should have naturally heated water; there are also sento, which look basically the same, but are public baths (i.e. mostly about cleaning), typically in cities with artificially heated waters.

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