Over Christmas and New Year in Japan contd!

Hi,

You seem ill-informed about the weather in Japan. In most of Japan (let's say, Tokyo and places to the west), it doesn't get much colder than it typically does in the UK. Cities like Tokyo and Osaka have similar winter temperatures to London. Nearly all major cities in this region of Japan are at or near sea level, and they don't get that cold. Whatever coats and scarves you wear in the UK will be fine in Japan (I've lived in the UK before, and I currently live in Japan).

Then there's snow. Snow distribution in Japan is very uneven. The "south coast" of Japan from Tokyo west (ie. places close to the Pacific Ocean or the Inland Sea) sees very little snow. That includes Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and anywhere in Wakayama Prefecture which is at low altitude. Kyoto is a little inland, and so sees a bit more snow, but still not much (it can snow much more in the areas immediately surrounding the city though).

On the other hand, the "north coast" of this region (ie. areas close to the Sea of Japan, including Kanazawa) see an incredible amount of snow. I have personally experienced over a meter and a half of snow in just one weekend in that region. Stop and imagine that for a moment. Now the funny thing is that although it can snow that much, it doesn't actually get cold. Kanazawa is only slightly colder than London is in the winter, but it averages nearly 3 meters of snow over the course of the winter. It's a bit odd. You don't really need any special gear for dealing with the snow: a waterproof jacket is a good idea, along with waterproof shoes or boots of some sorts and gloves. Trainers are not a good idea of walking in snow, but you don't need special equipment. I get by with a regular pair of hiking boots. And note, that because temperatures aren't that cold, the snow melts quickly. One week in Kanazawa, you might have a meter of snow on the ground, the next week it's green.

The other places where it snows a lot are in the mountains, or indeed anywhere at a bit of altitude. Takayama, which is in the mountains, is colder than the cities along the coast in winter, and sees lots of snow. I'm sure the mountains of Wakayama see snow as well in winter, but don't know what typical altitudes are for snow cover there. Wakayama, which is a bit south in Japan, is noted for its mild climate and is, for example, one of the best places in Japan for growing oranges.

Anyway, to summarize:

Apart from Takayama and perhaps the mountains of Wakayama (if you wanted to go to Koyasan, for example), no where else on your list is going to be significantly colder than London in winter.

Snow varies a lot, depending on where in Japan you go, and what the weather that week happens to be.

And in case you're not aware of it yet - New Year's is a major holiday in Japan, where many things shut down for about 3 days. You need to prepare well for that particular time.

And finally, I suppose. It's Wakayama Prefecture, rather than Wakayama Province. What exactly do you want to do there?

Hi Giora, thanks so much for your comprehensive reply - Okay, waterproof shoes it is! (btw, that wasn't a list of places we want to go, but where we went on our last trip, we did want to revisit some of them so maybe I didn't express myself very well.).
I'm disappointed we can't go to Takayama as we ate the most divine hida beef that a butcher served uncooked for us to grill, he supplied the grills, all at decent rates, it was memorable: is there anything like that elsewhere?
As I said, we were sort of thinking of taking in Wakayama Prefecture |(thanks for the heads up!) as a focus of this trip: we don't necessarily want to do mountains so we can definitely stick to the lowlands - have you got any guidelines? Also could one go to Wakayama direct from Yokohama sort of west along the coast? Or is it better to do a fast train to Osaka and then another train south to Wakayama?

We are going to spend time in Tokyo as we love art galleries, I wonder if those will be open around New Year as we are allocating around New Year to be in Tokyo - oh damn, I see the Tokyo National Museum is closed on the New Year holidays (how long is this holiday and what are the dates this year?). So, we may rather go somewhere else over the New Year holiday I am now thinking! Phew, it's always difficult around the festivities for travellers - but that is the only time we can go.

We are going to spend time in Tokyo as we love art galleries, I wonder if those will be open around New Year as we are allocating around New Year to be in Tokyo -

You could check their websites. Most likely they do have information on opening hours over New Year there.

oh damn, I see the Tokyo National Museum is closed on the New Year holidays (how long is this holiday and what are the dates this year?).

The TNM is closed from Dec 26 to Jan 1. Japan Guide has an overview on what is and what isn't closed over New Year and which dates are expected to be busiest on transport.

Thanks. bamse - this has put me in a quandary - the main reason I would want to visit Tokyo over New Year (as fellow TT'ers suggested was a safe option) was I could fill my time going to art galleries - now I won't go there over New Year and must rethink how to travel the 3 weeks we have. I assume somewhere small in the Kansai area would at least have chain restaurants open, and as long as we have booked our travel and accommodation we can move around during that time?

As Giora says, Japan is not particularly cold or wet in winter. I find you dont need particularly thick coats, just lots of layers and make sure they are light weight.

Museums and restaurants are open on odd days. Jan 1st is a holiday, but lots of places are open. They give the staff a day off on another day that week and close. So It really depends on the place as to whether they are open or not and when.

I'm disappointed we can't go to Takayama

You could certainly still go to Takayama, it's just likely to be colder and more snowy than Tokyo, say. But it's unlikely to be really freezing.

is there anything like that elsewhere?

Numerous places in Japan are famous for their beef, and I'm sure there is every kind of beef restaurant you could imagine in a corner of Tokyo somewhere. For the more local experience, Matsusaka (in Mie) and Kobe are two examples of beef-mad places.

As I said, we were sort of thinking of taking in Wakayama Prefecture |(thanks for the heads up!) as a focus of this trip: we don't necessarily want to do mountains so we can definitely stick to the lowlands - have you got any guidelines?

Why Wakayama? What attracts you there? Wakayama city is a mid-sized Japanese city, with a few fairly low-key sights. My one top recommendation for the city would be to do a day-trip to the islands of Tomogashima. If you like temples, there are a few lovely ones in the surrounding countryside, which you could visit as day-trips. None of them are particularly well-known though. Koyasan is Wakayama Prefecture's most popular draw, and is a great place. I've never been there in winter though. It's at 800 meters, so probably a little chilly. There's also a rural railway out of Wakayama which is famous for having cats dressed up as station managers. Which may or may not appeal...

Also could one go to Wakayama direct from Yokohama sort of west along the coast? Or is it better to do a fast train to Osaka and then another train south to Wakayama?

The fastest way to Wakayama would be to take a train to Osaka, and then switch to another train to Wakayama. An alternative route would be to head from Tokyo to Nagoya, and then continue all the way around the coast to Wakayama. Nagoya's an interesting enough city, if you're there, and has 2 of the finest museums in Japan, in my opinion. If you like Tokyo's National Museum, I imagine Nagoya's Tokugawa Art Museum, or whatever the official name is, will also appeal. I also really, really like the Toyota Museum in town (half of the museum is about cars, the other half is about the industrialization of clothing production, complete with numerous models of the machines involved; it's the best place I've ever been - by a mile - for learning about the Industrial Revolution).
> We are going to spend time in Tokyo as we love art galleries, I wonder if those will be open around New Year as we are allocating around New Year to be in Tokyo - oh damn, I see the Tokyo National Museum is closed on the New Year holidays (how long is this holiday and what are the dates this year?). So, we may rather go somewhere else over the New Year holiday I am now thinking! Phew, it's always difficult around the festivities for travellers - but that is the only time we can go.

There are also numerous nice day-trips out of Nagoya (look into the Meijimura Museum, for example).

From Nagoya around the coast to Wakayama, the main attractions would be Ise and the Kumano shrines, which are at the south of the Kii Peninsula. Most of that coastal route is sparsely populated, with attractions quite spread out. I'm actually planning on traveling much of that route in a couple of weeks time, and so will be able to tell you much more about it after then. If you like onsen, there are a number of natural onsens in the region.

I've never been in Japan over New Year's before, and so can't really advise on how difficult it is to travel then, and what sort of things tend to close or stay open. Virtually every business, museum, or place of interest in the country will clearly advertise (on their websites, for example) whether or not they're open during the New Year's holiday though.

Hi Giora, I was mainly wanting to take in the Kumano Trail so when I said Wakayama, I was looking at the map and the whole peninsula seems to be called that - it turns out that I was probably thinking of Kii area - to be honest with you, I still don't really know what to plan - I mean someone on Fodors suggested Kyushu so may even have a look at that - but I do really want real Japan. Any ideas for a 21 day itinerary?

It's a bit confusing. The term "Kii" generally refers to Wakayama prefecture and the peninsula at the base of it, which includes some parts of Mie and Nara prefectures.

Here's a website about the Kumano trails (there are multiple trails in the mountains down there!):

http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/kumano-kodo/

It seems possible to walk many of the trails - probably including the most popular Nakahechi trail - in winter. You might have to deal with a bit of snow on the passes though.

Kyushu is lovely, but will be pretty chilly in winter, like the rest of the country. I think you need a car to get the most out of Kyushu. 21 days isn't a lot of time, you have numerous possibilities...

Hi Giora, thanks for the link, I shall have a look at it: lots of decisions!