A not so cold Japanese winter.

[rbjhan]

CX's reverse herringbone is my favourite.

 

[rbjhan]

Well that's it for this report.

The next one will be a Koyo-chasing trip in Oct, I will be going to Nikko for 3 days then one week in Miyagi Prefecture. Back to Tokyo for a few days then (hopefully) taking the Sunrise Seto to Takamatsu before coming home via HKG again.
Flights all booked.
JL774 again, then UO to HongKong, VA68 back home.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[VPS]

Thanks for a great TR - interesting not the mainstream Japan

 

[rbjhan]

Thanks for a great TR - interesting not the mainstream Japan

Thanks!

By mainstream Japan I assume you meant the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka - Hiroshima route...
Well yes I've done that back in 2014/2015.
Nothing wrong with it of course, and still the best for a first time visitor.

For me personally since I go back to Japan once or twice each year I always try to discover something new. So far I've been to (Prefectures):
Hokkaido, Iwate, Akita, Chiba, Tokyo, Nagano, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Gifu, Shizuoka, Shiga, Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Oita.
Later this year I'll add Tochigi, Miyagi and Kagawa to that list

What I find fascinating about Japan is the strong sense of local pride and identity.
Whilst I think designing cartoons to represent local regions might not be everyone's cup of tea, but hey the Kumamon is cute!
Although Kyoto remains my favourite, it suffers greatly from overtourism IMHO. And more and more I like to explore small towns and countryside. Beppu, Kanazawa, Toyama, Takayama, Matsumoto, Hakodate...I'll go back in a heartbeat!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks very much for the TR, lots of lovely & interesting photos.

 

[love_the_life]

Thanks for the great TR. One question - are you a skier rbjhan ? Interested to hear as we are looking at going in December this year and tossing between somewhere in Hokkaido or maybe where you were. We don't ski, just like the cold weather,

 

[drron]

An interesting TR.We also love Japan and although we get out into the country still like Tokyo.Something new to discover all the time.
You should take the next step and start driving around.That way you really get out into smaller towns and villages.

Thanks again you brought back great memories.

 

[rbjhan]

Thanks for the great TR. One question - are you a skier rbjhan ? Interested to hear as we are looking at going in December this year and tossing between somewhere in Hokkaido or maybe where you were. We don't ski, just like the cold weather,

Skier？No, this was my first winter trip in fact.
My favourite time to visit Japan is Oct/Nov to see the lovely autumn colours.

Hokkaido in winter is something I've been wanting to do but I'm a bit hesitant as some bad weather can easily disrupt all your plans....
Just another idea for you, how about Tohoku? Places like Nyuto onsen / Ginzan onsen / Zao will be magical in winter!

Oh and I'm going Feb 2020 as well. The plan (for now at least) is something like this:
Melboure - Narita - Nagano - Myoko - Matsumoto - Okuhida onsen - Takayama - Gero - Kyoto - Taipei - Melbourne

 

[rbjhan]

An interesting TR.We also love Japan and although we get out into the country still like Tokyo.Something new to discover all the time.
You should take the next step and start driving around.That way you really get out into smaller towns and villages.

Thanks again you brought back great memories.

Thanks!

Ah I know driving offers more options but for one person I don't think it makes much sense, whether for economical or safety reasons, especially in Japan when almost all the hotels will pick you up from nearest station...
Plus I love trains planning to take the overnight train Sunrise Seto from Tokyo to Takamatsu next time.

 

[drron]

Well if you love trains then I would highly reccomend the Resort Shirakami Joyful Trains between Akita and Hirosaki or Aomori.

のってたのしい列車 ポータル＞リゾートしらかみ（橅／青池／くまげら）：JR東日本

Naturally I did a trip report.The train trip starts at post 449.

Japan.It's Bloomin marvellous.

Outside art on the ground- .. Now on Trip Advisor they recommend visiting the Entertainment street so we decided to walk there as not far- .... .. . The further you walked down the street the more bars and nocturnal "entertainment"places there were.Decided it was not a place for older couples...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Going in cherry blossom time was truly fantastic.

 

[love_the_life]

Skier？No, this was my first winter trip in fact.
My favourite time to visit Japan is Oct/Nov to see the lovely autumn colours.

Hokkaido in winter is something I've been wanting to do but I'm a bit hesitant as some bad weather can easily disrupt all your plans....
Just another idea for you, how about Tohoku? Places like Nyuto onsen / Ginzan onsen / Zao will be magical in winter!

Oh and I'm going Feb 2020 as well. The plan (for now at least) is something like this:
Melboure - Narita - Nagano - Myoko - Matsumoto - Okuhida onsen - Takayama - Gero - Kyoto - Taipei - Melbourne

We've been in November before and the leaves are wonderful; also in summer a couple of times and Feb last year to Sapporo for the Ice Festival - the cold and snow were great!!
Deciding on where to go in December is the hard part.

 

[rbjhan]

Well if you love trains then I would highly reccomend the Resort Shirakami Joyful Trains between Akita and Hirosaki or Aomori.

のってたのしい列車 ポータル＞リゾートしらかみ（橅／青池／くまげら）：JR東日本

Naturally I did a trip report.The train trip starts at post 449.

Japan.It's Bloomin marvellous.

Outside art on the ground- .. Now on Trip Advisor they recommend visiting the Entertainment street so we decided to walk there as not far- .... .. . The further you walked down the street the more bars and nocturnal "entertainment"places there were.Decided it was not a place for older couples...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Going in cherry blossom time was truly fantastic.

Ah the Gono line! Yes that is on my to do list...although the list is quite long
Visited the Shikishima Showroom in Tokyo station, maybe in 2017? Now that is something....of course not happening for me! well not until I win tattslotto or something.

Yes did Sakura once before. It's very pretty, caught the best in Takayama.


I still prefer the autumn colours though...

 

[rbjhan]

We've been in November before and the leaves are wonderful; also in summer a couple of times and Feb last year to Sapporo for the Ice Festival - the cold and snow were great!!
Deciding on where to go in December is the hard part.

Well early to mid Dec will be relatively low season but I'd be booking hotels now nonetheless.

I've never been in summer (and no plan to do so!), as mentioned in the Spain TR I can't deal with heat
But yeah winter I think it's Hokkaido, Tohoku or Chubu.

 

[rbjhan]

Found this picture of the Shikishima showroom....


I'm a bit sad they got rid of all but one (normal) overnight train...
Instead JR companies are now running these super luxury cruise trains, Seven Stars in Kyushu, Shikishima, Mizukaze...sigh

 

[love_the_life]

Found this picture of the Shikishima showroom....
View attachment 175186

I'm a bit sad they got rid of all but one (normal) overnight train...
Instead JR companies are now running these super luxury cruise trains, Seven Stars in Kyushu, Shikishima, Mizukaze...sigh

I had an email a while ago about this too.

 

[love_the_life]

Well early to mid Dec will be relatively low season but I'd be booking hotels now nonetheless.

I've never been in summer (and no plan to do so!), as mentioned in the Spain TR I can't deal with heat
But yeah winter I think it's Hokkaido, Tohoku or Chubu.

Yes trying sort hotels but the problem is where to go....
probably need to be in Tokyo over the NY as there will be better services there I think. Would aim to get back there before the actual travel rush.

 

[rbjhan]

Yes trying sort hotels but the problem is where to go....
probably need to be in Tokyo over the NY as there will be better services there I think. Would aim to get back there before the actual travel rush.

You've done Hokkaido before so why not try somewhere else?
I would pick Tohoku, well, coz I really want to see Nyuto onsen....
Which airport are you flying in and out?

 

[love_the_life]

You've done Hokkaido before so why not try somewhere else?
I would pick Tohoku, well, coz I really want to see Nyuto onsen....
Which airport are you flying in and out?

Haven't booked flights yet - will be $$ not awards so have some flexibility. Probably will be in and out of Tokyo - or in KIX and out Tokyo. Didn't spend much time in Hokkaido but sort of agree - would like somewhere else though it needs to be cold. Suspect not much snow going to be around in Dec though I suppose as long as it's cold MrLtL will be OK (he is the one who hates the heat).

 

[rbjhan]

Haven't booked flights yet - will be $$ not awards so have some flexibility. Probably will be in and out of Tokyo - or in KIX and out Tokyo. Didn't spend much time in Hokkaido but sort of agree - would like somewhere else though it needs to be cold. Suspect not much snow going to be around in Dec though I suppose as long as it's cold MrLtL will be OK (he is the one who hates the heat).

If KIX is involved I'd say Chubu. Maybe copy mine posted above
Otherwise I'll do something like Aomori, Akita, Iwate, should be reasonably cold. You can even go up to Hakodate as it's not that far.
For example land NRT/HND (I don't know where you are in AU), Shinkansen to Hakodate, then work your way down, Aomori, take the Gono line to Akita, Nyuto onsen, Kakunodate, Morioka, etc. Just some ideas!

 

[love_the_life]

If KIX is involved I'd say Chubu. Maybe copy mine posted above
Otherwise I'll do something like Aomori, Akita, Iwate, should be reasonably cold. You can even go up to Hakodate as it's not that far.
For example land NRT/HND (I don't know where you are in AU), Shinkansen to Hakodate, then work your way down, Aomori, take the Gono line to Akita, Nyuto onsen, Kakunodate, Morioka, etc. Just some ideas!

We stayed a few nights in Hakodate when we were on the way to Sappora - a lovely town though probably wouldn't go back again this time. So hard - so many places, so little time. Will only have a couple of weeks this time. We ;like to stay a few nights in each place at least.
Love Kanazawa but have been a few times. Up north maybe???
Thanks for the ideas though as gives me things to consider.