10-14 days in Japan in October - Ideas on where to go/see

[FlyboyAl]

I'm planning to take my wife to Japan late Sept/Early October, for about 10-14 days. It is to be a HOLIDAY where we will enjoy being tourists doing touristy things!
I was there about 10 years ago and was not too enthralled with Tokyo (just another big city), but loved Kyoto, and enjoyed Osaka.
I do not want to spend the whole trip travelling all over Japan in 10 days! So my thoughts are to fly into Osaka and stay maybe 4 days then take the (bullet) train to Kyoto and stay there 6-10 or so days.
I can remember a lot of the places I saw in Kyoto, but I also remember wishing I had more time there to see more of it.
I'm trying to figure which airports to fly into/out of as the memory of the last trip is a bit blurry, plus it was an organised trip by a supplier, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to detail.
I'm looking for ideas/input on the best way of doing this. I will be booking through QF for the flights, then I'm looking for ideas on hotels.
Any feedback greatly appreciated

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Hi..We spent 9 nights in Japan last October (Jetstar special fare)...stayed at the

Swissotel Nankai Osaka for the first 4 nights and wondered around Osaka - loved it caught the bullet train to Hiroshima for the day - visited Miyajima Island and on another day to Kyoto - in hindsight should have spent a few more days in Kyoto and or Hiroshima. Also caught the bullett train to Tokyo for a few nights and from memory we stayed at the Hotel Monterey Ginza, very close to the metro. All in all a great trip and much cheaper for eating/shopping etc than we expected

 

[eastwest101]

Nagoya and Nagoya Castle is pretty good as well - easy 10min bus trip from JR Central Station in Nagoya to the castle.

 

[smit0847]

G'day.

I had 2.5 weeks in Japan in July 2010. Absolutely loved it. Flew into KIX and out of NRT (JQ 2-4-1 ridiculously fares - I've paid more for flights to CNS!). I personally LOVED Osaka - one of my favourite cities I have been to. Because few intl airlines fly into Osaka there are very few tourists (we were the only non-Japanese people at the central train station and my blonde hair attracted plenty of interest). I found it very manageable, and enough activities for 3 - 4 days. Its also the food capital of Japan and I thought the food was excellent. If the challenge of seeing no tourists all day and having to eat in restaurants with out any English spoken (or any English menus) excited you, explore Osaka.

I was disappointed in Kyoto compared to Osaka. It seemed very touristy, fake and expensive. The 'old town' where the tourists wander aimlessly around looking for Geisha to photograph is done up like a movie set - spotlessly clean and as a result looks very, very fake.

Did a night on Miyajima Island. It's expensive to stay over but worth it if you are sick of the crowds and noise of the cities because it is deserted at night and very nice to wander around in silence.

There's plenty to do in Tokyo but it was a bit big for me. Regularly took 3 or 4 trains to get anywhere and although theyre extremely efficient its endless walks through ticket gates and up and down stairs. It gets tiring. I imagine your wife would enjoy the shopping around Harajuku (I spend 3 full days there shopping). If she wants $$$ designer stuff stick to the main, wide roads, if she wants quirky, cheaper, very Japanese things explore the quieter side streets of Harajuku. It is RIDICULOUSLY packed on weekends but during the week is fine.

Go to a baseball game for something different - they take it very, very seriously. I didnt really understand exactly what was going on as it was all in Japanese but the atmosphere was really fun.

Dont investigate capsule hotels as they are segregated by sex and I doubt your wife would want to try it by herself (you need to be able to speak some Japanese to check in anyway).

Tokyo Disney was one of the highlights for me (Im 28) - if you're into that go, if you're not dont. Do NOT go on a weekend.

It is such a weird, weird country of contrasts - so crowded yet so organised, so sophisticated yet so cringe-worthy, so modern yet so historic, so cheap (alcohol and clothes) yet so ridiculously expensive (accom and taxis), so polite yet so racist. I loved it for its weirdness - its not somewhere you go to relax (South East Asia is for that) but it was very enjoyable.

Good luck!

 

[Andyc]

One of the fondest memories of Japan a few years ago was renting bikes and exploring Koyto. While their public transport is absolutely amazing, there aren't too many big cities I'd feel safe (let alone enjoy) exploring on a bike, so was well worth it.

 

[Andyc]

Also, if you do happen to find yourself departing from NRT along the way, my preferred lounge is actually the open air observation deck! After several trips through NRT I have still never been in an actual airline lounge there.

 

[jukebox333]

Hi..We spent 9 nights in Japan last October (Jetstar special fare)...stayed at the

*snip* caught the bullet train to Hiroshima for the day - visited Miyajima Island and on another day to Kyoto - in hindsight should have spent a few more days in Kyoto and or Hiroshima. *snip*

Well worth a detour by train to Hiroshima, to see Miyajima and the Atomic Bomb memorial. I went a few years back - was very self conscious being a westerner there, but at the same time, very glad I did - taking a few hours and walking around the original Ground Zero makes you understand a lot better than any photos ever will just how big the scale of the destruction was.

Miyajima is very easy to get to by public transport - change from the bullet to a suburban train at Hiroshima. Trains are punctual to the minute, even miles out from the major cities! A great country to visit - and a real shame that the Tsunami/Fukashima incident will have put so many people off visiting.

Osaka at night time inspired Blade Runner - some great soba noodle and seafood places down near the canal at Dotombori. We stayed at the Granvia hotel, right above the railway station, which made it very easy to get around.

 

[drron]

And just to add a little more confusion 12 months ago we stayed in Kobe and Nagoya.loved both but Kobe is so close to Osaka and Osaka wins unless you have been many times before.Nagoya though was great.Something for everyone.A link to my TR of the trip.Kobe starts at post 24 and Nagoya at post 36.
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....nyc-new-england-japan-31425.html?daysprune=-1