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[koreatom]

...any suggestions??

Where should I go? Ideally I'd want to travel the countryside by day and check out cities by night. I'm a big fan of aesthetic beauty... think I could accomplish this by taking a few trains around the country?

What trains should I take? What cities should I visit? Is it very expensive in Japan? Should I avoid Tokyo (if I'm from New York)?

Any other helpful tips? And is there any way to rent a car with just a plain old American driver's license??

Oh, and what is the weather like at the end of February?? I can spend up to a week there, though maybe I'll only hit it for a few days if it's very expensive...

Thanks!

[Apsara]

www.japan-guide.com and the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Japan Branch have answers to all these questions and more, plus you may see some of the same names on those forums as here

[koreatom]

Thanks... I've actually seen both those sites. I prefer to chat directly with other teachers, though. If anyone has any advice they'd care to impart, I'm all ears.

[Apsara]

I fully endorse all the advice on the Lonely Planet site, and have contributed to it myself, as has Glenski who often also posts on this site.

If you really want to see it here, then here goes- if you only have a week in Japan, then pick either the Tokyo area or the Kansai area. If Kansai, visit Kyoto and Nara- good mix of city and country there. If Tokyo, take day trips to Nikko and maybe Hakone.

Expect temps of 0 deg C to 10 deg C in Feb, colder in mountain areas like Hakone and Nikko.

I have no idea if Tokyo will suit you- being a big city some things are similar to New York, being Japan others are very different. I live in Tokyo and like it myself, I think it's well worth a visit.

[AndyH]

Good advice, Aspara.

It would be tough to have to choose between Kansai and Tokyo, as I really appreciated Kyoto and Nara, but loved living in the Tokyo area.

I'd probably opt for Kyoto-Osaka-Nara-Himeji, if I had only a week or so to experience Japan. If you can, try to visit when there aren't a lot of other tourists.

Tokyo is my favorite city in the world, but it took time to grow on me.

[Khyron]

Where are you in Korea? I used to live there. If you're around Busan, you can just take a ferry to Fukuoka. It's around 200,000 won for a return ticket and takes around 3 hours. Even if you live in around Seoul, it's super easy and cheap to get to Busan on the KTX. The ferry is a lot less hassle than taking a plane, in my opinion.

Fukuoka is in Kyushu, which is one of the nicest parts of Japan as far as I'm concerned. Nagasaki is only a few hours south. Hiroshima is also easy to get to from Fukuoka on the shinkansen(bullet train; same as the KTX). It'll probably cost you 20,000-30,000 yen for a return ticket. Hiroshima is a very nice and clean city. I spend almost a week there once and had a great time. Miyajima is also next to Hiroshima. You'll definitely want to check it out if you go there.

If you don't want to take the ferry from Busan, the other thing I'd recommend is Kyoto (for obvious reasons to many). Just fly into to Kansai airport at Osaka. Kyoto's only an hour away. As has been mentioned, Nara is also nearby. So is Kobe and Himeji. If you go there, I really recommend taking a day trip to Himeji castle. It's a very typical "Japanese" castle, and it's completely different than anything in Korea.

So there ya go, two great trip plans! Either go to Hiroshima, via ferry from Busan to Fukuoka, or go to Kyoto, via plane to Osaka. Both areas offer both tons of nightlife and countryside stuff to see by day. You'll see more aesthetic beauty wherever you go in Japan, so you don't have to worry about taking trains around to see it. You might not want to go back to Korea...

Since you're in Korea, and said you are worried about money, I don't really recommend Tokyo. There is a ton to see and do here, but it's not so different from somewhere like Seoul when you compare it with Kyoto or Hiroshima.

As far as driving goes, you're out of luck. Your American license is not good in Japan. Unlike in Korea, the police actually care if you have a valid license or not! Your only option here is to get an international license. It is possible to get that in Korea if you really feel the need.

February in central and west Japan is very similar to South Korea, perhaps slightly warmer.

Tips:
-get Japanese Yen in Korea, as foreign bank cards do not do well in Japan. You don't want to be stuck in Japan for a night with a fistful of Korean won but no way to change it into Japanese yen. I know, because I've been there!

-like in Korea, you can eat for cheap at places like 7-Eleven and Family Mart. Same with alcohol. Keep in mind that things at these places are roughly double or more than in Korea. Your $4 26oz. of vodka in Korea is $8 in Japan.

[koreatom]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I definitely was planning on taking a ferry from Busan... I keep hearing Kyoto is a great place to check out. If it's only an hour from Osaka, should I just get a ferry from Busan to Osaka? I think there's a ferry that travels that root... time isn't an issue, but money is, meaning I don't mind taking an overnight boat. What is the cheapest boat from Korea to Japan? I could have sworn I've come across a few saying they were only eight-five dollars each way... is the Busan-Fukuoka trip 200,000W for a round trip??

I'm leaning towards Osaka-Kyoto, maybe a night or two in Tokyo...

How's the public transportation there? Lots of buses taking me on countryside excursions from the cities??

[ironopolis]

The cheapest boat will probably be the overnight ferry from Pusan to Shimonoseki, which runs every day leaving at about 6pm & arriving around 8.30 the next morning in both directions. The "ferry" referred to above taking 3 hours to Fukuoka is not, strictly speaking, a ferry; it's a high-speed jetfoil, which is why it's more expensive. There's also a conventional ferry from Pusan to Fukuoka (Camellia Line), which is around the same price as the Shimonoseki ferry but not as useful, as it only runs 2 or 3 times a week.

You're right, there is a ferry to Osaka from Pusan, which leaves about 4pm and arrives just before lunchtime the next day. If you fancy going to Kyoto and Nara and money, not time, is the issue, then I suspect this ferry (Panstar is the company running it) is very likely your best bet. I believe it's not much more expensive than taking any of the sea crossings to Fukuoka. I reckon a return trip is about W240,000 or maybe less, so only a little more than going to Fukuoka, from where you'd be spending an extra W200,000 at least to get to Osaka on the train. Even the cheaper route to Shimonoseki would still leave you a sizeable train fare to fork out for the journey onwards to Kansai.

I've never used the the Pusan-Osaka ferry, but I've heard from a Korean friend living in Osaka of something called the Kansai Thru Pass, which you might want to check out. Apparently, you can pay a little extra for your Pusan-Osaka ferry ticket and get this travel pass for the Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area combined with it that gives you 3 days free travel on local trains. Sorry, I know neither any further details about this nor if the offer still applies.

Public transportation in Japan is excellent. But if you intend to be out late much, bear in mind that this applies between the hours of about 6am and 11pm, or a lot earlier out in the sticks. Basically, you'll find that, generally speaking, Japan goes to bed a lot earlier than Korea so as a result, even in the major metropolises, buses and subways tend to knock off rather disappointing early. Taxis will cost about 3 times what you'd pay for the equivalent journey in Korea.

I'd give the rentacar option a miss, if you're remotely concerned about your finances. Gas is a bit cheaper than in Korea, but renting the car in the first place is insanely expensive and then tolls and parking will make an even bigger hole in your pocket. To be honest, although I've driven in Japan a lot and enjoyed it, I'd say the roads are nowhere near as well developed and efficient as the public transport system is.

[AndyH]

When I moved to from Korea to Japan, I came via ferry from Pusan to Shimonoseki, and bought a one-week JR pass before leaving Korea.

I've never been to Fukuoka, but it has a good reputation.
If you want to go to Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto), and wish to arrive in Japan via ferry, Shimonoseki might be the preferred port of entry.

[markle]

Meant to post this earlier look into getting get a JR Rail Pass
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html
it may save you a bit if you plan on travelling any great distances.

[ironopolis]

Fukuoka?? Hmm....in the OP's case, I'd say don't bother.

I've spent most of my time in Japan in Kyushu and share the generally high opinion that seems to prevail about Fukuoka. I think a lot of this is because for people living here, it has a nice variety of restaurants & bars, decent shops and other facilities - pretty much what you'd expect for a city of its size and status. It's also one of the more aesthetically pleasing Japanese cities, being relatively unscarred by heavy industry, with a fairly attractive natural setting and generally quite neat and tidy. It also has surely one of the most conveniently situated international airports in the region.

So, yes, a nice place to visit and go shopping/eating/drinking when you live here, or perhaps when you're on a quick visa run. But, I wouldn't strongly recommend it for someone like the OP who lives elsewhere and is thinking of Japan as a holiday destination. Fukuoka is not exactly brimming with must-see/must-do's for tourists, I'm afraid. This is after all the reason why Fukuoka Tower was built - to create a symbolic tourist attraction that could adorn souvenirs, as previously they didn't have anything for this! If I was advising someone specifically visiting just northern Kyushu, then there ARE a lot of things I could suggest to do within a reachable distance of Fukuoka. But almost none of these would register on a national scale.