Planning a trip to Seoul and then Japan in April/May with 2-3 college buddies. We'll be there for a week or so.

What are some tips and tricks you found when you went to Japan? Where do you recommend? What cities to visit? Stay in one city and deep dive or go to multiple?

Go up Mt Koya (or equivalent) and stay in one of the monasteries. Was the most memorable part of my trip.

how would one stay there? do you call them? just walk up and be like "hi"?

Wo staying at a monastery sounds incredible. I recently read someone saying they stayed at a Ryokan (en.wikipedia.org)). For an authentic traditional Japanese experience, that doesn't sound half bad.

I stayed in Tokyo for two months straight once. I had a paid hotel room for the whole time, so I can't really speak to accommodation options. What I do know from that time though, is how important it is to NOT just focus on Tokyo alone. It's a crazy city, no doubt, but you'll miss out on a lot if you don't go and have a look at other places too.

Generally speaking, there's really two sides to Japan: 1. The modern, crazy, bright, neon Japan, mixed with tons of American influences. And 2. the traditional, old, simple, calm Japan.

These are so different, yet so amazing in their own ways, that focusing on only one of them would be a major loss.

The Shinkansen (en.wikipedia.org) takes you really far in absolutely no time. Even for short overnight trips during your vacation.

I've heard a lot of stuff about JR passes and stuff and it all sounds really confusing. Can't I just go to the station and buy a ticket? The way I like to travel is to stuff my head full of knowledge, but not necessarily have a predetermined schedule — less stress and more relaxing.

I'm super down with the traditional side. I want to go to the countryside and just chillax at an onsen or smth.

I'm travelling there next week. Looked into getting a prepaid JR pass; it becomes worth it if you plan on doing a distance of Tokyo → Kyoto → Tokyo. Otherwise, just wing it and buy tickets at the station.

Interesting thanks for that

Anyone have any experiential things? I'm sure we can figure out practical stuff via Google.

Really interested in cool off the beaten path things like @Cemre said about the monastery

Maid, cat, and dog cafes.
Ear wax cleaning ladies.
Sleep pods.
Akihabara.
Also check out the statue of liberty at Odaiba

I wholeheartedly second the temple stay. Shojoshinin is western friendly and right near the amazing cemetery: japaneseguesthouses.com Plus it's a great ride up to the mountain on a cable car.

Kamakura is a great day trip from Tokyo. Relaxed hiking to temples and ice cream japan-guide.com

1 week is pretty quick. Start in Tokyo to get acclimated and check out the main sites/neighborhoods (go get breakfast at the famous fish market--you can't go in anymore, but the fish is incredible). Kyoto is a must see for a day (go to the iwatayama monkey park). If you want to do Mt Koya it's easiest to go through Osaka, which is also great--more working class than the other cities and has a cool vibe and some different foods. Get some okonomiyaki!

albert — YES ear wax ladiezzzz

wow molly — those are all great! sounds lame that we cant go into the fish market anymore... after Jiro i'd love to go at 4AM.

If you're doing multiple cross-country train rides on the JR, you should order one of those 2-week passes (could be wrong about duration) BEFORE you get there, because they're only for foreigners and not sold in the country. This was what I learnt a few years ago anyway.

If it's your first visit to Japan, I'd personally recommend just spending the time in Tokyo and letting that sink in. There's enough variety there unless you're explicitly looking for that countryside or templey peace and quiet. I've done a 3-day side trip to Kyoto in the middle of a week in Tokyo (about 2.5 hours on the 2nd-fastest bullet train option) and that was a great experience in the autumn.

With only 1 week and as your first time in Japan, I recommend focusing on Tokyo and Kyoto. You'll get the hyper-modern hustle and bustle city experience juxtaposed with ancient tradition and zen.

Definitely get a 1 week JR pass before you go; it's only available outside of Japan. Start out in Tokyo for a few days and take a side trip to Nikko or Mt. Fuji (although you can't use your JR pass for this leg).

While in Kyoto you can also take a side trip out to Nara or Koyasan. I highly recommend Koyasan for the ultimate chilled-out atmosphere in the mountains. The monastary I stayed at there performs a Buddhist fire ceremony at sunrise that guests can observe. japaneseguesthouses.com

Wow, Michelle, what a coincidence. Eko-in is the spot where we stayed when we went up Koyasan :)

Book your hotel when you arrive at Kyoto, I was able to get rooms for like $30-40/night that were extremely high quality and japanese style. It's very easy to do by going to the tourist help desk once arriving in Kyoto.

While in Tokyo I would suggest visiting Tokyo Tower, Shibuya shopping district/crossing, and any ramen place called "Santouka." You have very limited chances at getting the right ramen so don't blow it! Also the conveyor belt sushi is top notch even though it is $1/ 2 pieces

Cheap/great sushi in Tokyo that isn't on a belt: Sushi Zanmai. There are outlets in Asakusa, Shibuya, the outer Tsukiji market, and elsewhere. Here's an English link I've just found: tokyocheapo.com

As for ramen, there are Santoukas in the US from what I've heard, so maybe save that for another time. I've heard good things about Gogyo: enjoyramen.blogspot.com

I recommend limiting yourself to a couple cities. It will be cheaper, and you'll see more. Tokyo definitely, and Kansai (Kyoto, Nara, Uji, Osaka) too.

Mount Koya is very close to Osaka and Nara so it makes for a good side trip.

For hotels, Toyoko Inn (toyoko-inn.com) is a great chain: it's cheap, clean, you can find one in nearly every city, you can reserve via their website, and if you stay enough nights you can even get bonus free nights.

And of course, come say hello when you come by Osaka :)

Thanks for all these tips guys!

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yea i think limiting myself to fewer locations and really doing a deep dive in them is probably best.

not-so-shamefully admitting that i'm big into manga and anime (good ones) and probably have all these images of what japan is really like — anyone had any culture shock from that perspective?

also, how do i not act like a foreigner? i'm asian, so that's step 1...

first and foremost, just be as polite as possible!

learn some basic vocabularly before you go--it will go a surprisingly long way and i found it to be much appreciated. there are some good podcasts out there to listen to on the flight over and get the basic greetings, how to order food, and perhaps most importantly, give regards to the chef. though sumimasen (excuse me/sorry) is the most useful.

always have a paper and pen on you--the way they teach english there makes reading comprehension much better than speaking, plus they're shy about their spoken english. if you need help, writing down a few words usually does the job.

at temples, just follow the lead of others. wash your hands, burn incense, make an offering.

I actually think it'll be better to mark yourself out as a foreigner, otherwise people will assume you're Japanese and just being really rude by standing in the way or staring at something the wrong way, etc.

You'll probably find most modern-day scenario manga/anime to depict city scenes quite well. The way streets and shops are laid out, criss-crossing overhead power wires, alleys, bike parking spaces, convenience stores. I quite enjoy that aspect. The one thing they don't show you in manga is just how many people you'll see wearing those surgical masks out in town. If you do want to blend in after all, get some!

Agree with Brandon. I found that locals were much more enthusiastic and helpful towards us when they realized we were foreigners.

The downside about being Asian there is that they assume you're Japanese and will continue to speak Japanese to you even after you've told them 7 times you don't speak "nihongo."

interesting re: enthusiasm towards foreigners. is that true all throughout japan, or just in tourist cities like tokyo + kyoto? i definitely want to go out into the countryside.

i think the enthusiasm goes hand in hand with how much emphasis the japanese place on manners and proper behavior. i also think it's true of every place mentioned here so far--even if not in a major city every place listed still have some tourist traffic.

clearly can't speak to the non-japanese asian dynamic, but at least you won't have the issue my friend did: he's tall, tan, blonde-ish and was getting stopped for pictures all over the place :)

Check out @JapaneseTweets on Twitter for Japanese users' tweets translated into English. I just read one that demonstrated the exotification of foreigners that goes on in their heads.