First time trip to Japan... advice needed.

Hello all,

Me and my best friend are planning to travel to Japan for 9 days from the 19th to 27th March. I am a little overwhelmed by the planning as it seems as though there%26#39;s so much to see and do! I would appreciate some recommendations and what the musts dos are for first time visitors. We are two guys under the age of 24 and are interested in Japanese culture, beautiful scenery, and technology.

Our itinerary are as follows:

Day 1 - Arrive in Osaka Kansai at 8am.

Day 2 - Osaka

Day 3 - Osaka. Depart for Kyoto in the afternoon and stay overnight.

Day 4 - Kyoto. Depart for Tokyo in late afternoon.

Day 5 - Tokyo

Day 6 - Tokyo

Day 7 - Tokyo

Day 8 - Tokyo

Day 9 - Depart from Tokyo Narita early morning

We are still unsure of what to see and do however I was wondering if it is worth us getting a Japan Rail Pass or if it would be better if we purchase a seperate Kansai Thru Pass and JR East Pass? I%26#39;m not sure what would beneft us the most. Also, what is the best way to travel from Kyoto to Tokyo?

Any advice is welcomed and much appreciated!

Thanks all

First time trip to Japan... advice needed.

JR Pass doesn%26#39;t make sense. The Kansai and JR East passes only make sense if you%26#39;re taking long day trips. Check hyperdia and do the math. It should be straightforward.

First time trip to Japan... advice needed.

I seriously doubt if you really need to spend that many days in Tokyo especially if you are coming from huge city like Dubai.

Akihabara, the once well known electronics town in Tokyo has become much smaller and more boring if you are looking palaces to see hi-tech items. Instead, that town has become heaven for disgusting pedophiles.

You should spend more time in Kansai area like Osaka and Kyoto.

Or I will strongly recommend to go around Nagano area if you are to spend that much time to spend around Tokyo. Beautiful mountains and hillside areas.

Tokyo would be the most boring part if you are coming from big city.

I can see where Goldenmango (see previous post) is coming from, saying Tokyo is not exciting. Locals often look at their own city and don%26#39;t rate any of the attractions since they are part of the everyday life there. However, for a first-time visitor, Tokyo should be fascinating. Akihabara, for example, still has a huge store (Yodobashi Akiba) and some other smaller independent shops in the sidestreets. Also, the pedophiles problem mentioned, or the poor reputation that Ikebukuro has amongst local Japanese, don%26#39;t have an impact on visitors. They will still find the area vibrant and safe to visit.

Getting back to the question, agree with Route that there really aren%26#39;t passes that will pay for themselves. You should just stick to single journey tickets.

All told, I%26#39;ve probably spent a collectively over year in Tokyo over the past 20+ years but I%26#39;ve never lived there permanently. From one standpoint I can see how it would be boring for a resident.

But, I consider San Francisco boring even though I%26#39;ve lived within 75 km of the city almost all of my life and I%26#39;ve been there hundreds of times. I go to SF to get something done, to meet someone or to pick something up. I don%26#39;t go there to visit because I really don%26#39;t like the place that much even though I acknowledge it is objectively (according to surveys) one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

But, Tokyo is a city I never get tired of. I can say almost the same thing for NYC and Chicago. I can%26#39;t say this about Los Angeles which has about the same charm to me as San Francisco.

I%26#39;m an urban explorer and really enjoy urban anthropology. That sort of thing intrigues me. Maybe it%26#39;s the few civil engineering courses I took as an undergrad or something but I like tall buildings, municipal works and big construction projects.

If you have money and time and an interest in things urban, Tokyo is a wonderful place.

I used to live in New York, and have no desire to go back and visit. I went to graduate school in Los Angeles, and find that city monotonous. But San Francisco boring? No way. I%26#39;ve lived in the San Francisco area for 25 years, and still love it.

Tokyo is actually pretty ugly, but it%26#39;s fascinating. Someone here once said the interesting thing about Tokyo was how such a big city works so well, which I agree with. I can see how a resident wouldn%26#39;t find it all that exciting, though.

But for appletime, I%26#39;d suggest one day less in Osaka, and one day more in Kyoto. In fact, you can just stay in one or the other city, and take a short train ride to the other. I based myself in the Umeda section of Osaka, and took a couple of day trips to Kyoto. Kyoto is old Japan, while Osaka is new Japan, but Osaka is also a lot like Tokyo.

While Umeda is not as exciting at night as Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori, it is an excellent base to stay. You get good access for trips to Kyoto, Nara, and Himeji.

I just used a hotel across from Shin-Osaka Station as my base. I made three day trips (Hakata/Himeji, Hiroshima, Nara) from there. I went to Umeda and Namba at night using the Midosuji Line from there. It was extremely convenient but I had a JR Pass.