Korean Job Discussion Forums

[shostahoosier]

I'm spending 11 days in Central/Western Japan for vacation and I was wondering if anyone had any advice.

Here are my current plans:

Fri-Sat.: Seoul to Nagoya
Sun-Mon.: Kyoto
Tue: Nara
Wed: Kobe
Thur:Himeji
Fri-Sat:Osaka
Sun: Okayama
Mon: Osaka to Seoul

Has anyone been to Okayama? Its a little out of the way and I could easily leave it off my list.

Also, am I spending too much time in any of these places? Should I combine any of these day trips into one day?

I also have the option of adding a 12th day (leaving a day early) but Japan is so expensive I dont know if I want to spend the money being there another day. I feel like I have too much time for just Kansai region, but not enough for Tokyo AND Osaka.

[nukeday]

Hi. I don't think Kobe warrants a full day. Hop in there in the morning, look around (you prolly wont be as interested in the european style houses as the japanese), get some kobe beef for lunch, then go back to osaka or something.

himeji probably shouldn't be all day either (only one site, the castle), but it is a little far, so...you know, maybe you could combine kobe and himeji into one day (kobe's on the way there), just get up early that day.

i've never been to okayama, but you're in kansai and there is a lot to see. i would leave it off the list and dedicate another day to sightseeing in kyoto (best shrine in japan, imo, is fushimi inari). if you really want a "further afield" trip, i might recommend mount koya (koya-san). i did an overnight temple stay there, it was pretty nice.

i'd also only spend a day and a half "sightseeing" in osaka. but you should get your hotel there and base yourself there I think. Osaka's much more interesting, and attractive, at night than during the day. full day: namba (including shinsekai and den den town - try to take the street car too for the hell of it if you can find it, it's ancient and run down, good stuff). half day: umeda. the aquarium is great too but that's not everyone's cup of tea.

spend one night in kyoto around the river hitting up the bars (the reggae bar is the best), spend the rest of your evenings in namba, osaka.



have fun. and no don't even think about trying to add tokyo into your itinerary! you'll get enough of the "big city japan" vibe from osaka, so don't sweat it. yes, you're spending 11 days in kansai, but you should really look at it as spending 11 days in several cities that happen to be near each other.

[shostahoosier]

Thanks that helps a lot.

Yes I agree about Tokyo. I wasnt making plans to go, I just mentioned that I felt like I had to cram a lot of Kansai in because Osaka alone wouldnt be enough probably.

Are hostels/hotels/ryokans in Japan expensive? I'm thinking about leaving a day earlier...but I may just want to relax here in Korea on that day off too.

[highdials5]

Stay in Kyoto 3 nights.

Do Himeji/Nara as day trips.

Forget about Okayama.

Hostels: http://kshouse.jp/index_e.html

Have fun.

[nukeday]

hotels in the dobutsuenmae area of osaka are cheap (it's "japan's largest ghetto" - scoff), like in the 5000 yen range.

capsule hotels are i think 3000 yen a night

you can also sleep at internet cafes (private cubicle), largest chain is Popeye media center for 1000 yen. They all have showers.

Depends on how much comfort you like but you won't end up on the street.

By the way, Kansai is hotter and more humid than Seoul in the summer, so be prepared for that.

[ciccone_youth]

I always recommend this hostel in Osaka:
http://www.osaka-guesthouse.com/en/index.html

Perfect location and cheap.

Kyoto:
http://www.guesthouse-kyoto.com/locations.jsp

or J hoppers
http://kyoto.j-hoppers.com/

As for Okayama, you can skip it and spend an extra day in Osaka or Kyoto instead. Or go to Hiroshima!

I live next to Okayama, and there's nothing too interesting except the castle and the garden. Depends what you're into. But I live on Shikoku island and go to Okayama on a monthly basis to be on the mainland, but I don't particularly like it. Osaka is the bomb, and Kyoto is just so beautiful.

I blog a lot about my area in Japan, if you're interested:
http://www.vivianlostinseoul.blogspot.com/

[TECO]

[ciccone_youth]

[ciccone_youth]

[Enigma]

I lived in Okayama for 2 years and really liked it there, but it depends on what you want to see. Okayama Castle is nice and the big garden is okay. There's also a really nice bike route you can do called the Kibi Plains. You can rent a bike and ride past some old temples and nice rice fields. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a really nice trip. It's probably about 20 kilometres long and it's great if you want to see some of rural Japan.
I definitely think Himeji Castle is worth a trip, and I'd also spend a day seeing Hiroshima/Miyajima.
I'd also give a Kobe a miss. There's a few things there, but I'd spend my limited time elsewhere.
I don't think you mentioned when you're going, but I'd suggest looking into going to Shiraishi Island near Kasaoka, Okayama if you just want to relax at a nice little beach for a day or two.

[highdials5]

[ciccone_youth]

[TECO]

[ciccone_youth]

[shostahoosier]

thanks everyone for your help.

My plan is to make 3 trips to Japan: Far Western, Western/Central, and Eastern.

Hiroshima is too far west for my plans this time and its sounding like Okayama may be a little out the way too. Maybe I'll visit the latter when I do Western Japan...though it's closer to Osaka than Fukuoka and may not be doable then.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I do have one more question regarding the JR West rail passes.

The JR-West Kansai rail pass is noticeably cheaper than the JR-West Sanyo pass. I assume this is because the Kansai pass doesnt cover Shinkansen trains.

Is buying the Kansai pass a waste of money if I can only use the regular trains?