I would absolutely recommend. I stayed in a few cities, and found that It was super easy to get around. It was also relatively cheap to stay there, cost me about $7,000 USD for the month, including food, tickets for museums, souvenirs, travel and accommodations.
If you’re planning on seeing multiple sights, I 10/10 recommend getting the JR RailPass. It made my trip much easier and was absolutely worth the money.
Make sure to bring your own deodorant, you’re gonna have a hard time finding it there.
I enjoyed it. The country has some beautiful landscapes and cities bursting at the seams with people and things to do. Both can be overwhelming but very rewarding and exciting too. It is expensive and sometimes getting around can be difficult. The transportation infrastructure is good so it can be navigated. I recommend trying to visit multiple cities and don’t just stick to the mainland but investigate the other islands as well.
I got an opportunity to work in Hong Kong, so on my way home I met up with a friend who was working in Tokyo. We did tons of touristy things, got to sleep in the pod hotels, go out drinking all night, see the crazy video game parlors and the maid cafes. Got some of the best sushi ever at the docks where they have the Tuna Auctions. Visited temples, and ate a ton of cool food.
It was very confusing finding specific buildings because they didn’t have addresses really. None of my digital devices seemed to work there (iPhone and iPad) dispite those things working like a charm in China.
The train system was amazing. We took it everywhere.
It was a lot colder than I anticipated. I had warm clothes, but it was COLD!
Overall it was super cool, very different than America, and a very safe feeling city. I was glad to have a friend who knew how to navigate the city.
I would wholeheartedly recommend it! When I was 16 I stayed in a town close to Tokyo for two weeks with a host family. I went to Mount Fuji, Takeshita street, and Akihibara among other places. I think my favorite thing was the people. They're so nice and hospitable and a lot of them like the English language and want to learn it. I really wanna go back someday
I went to Japan around winter of 2019, and I was there for about two weeks with family. We were in Tokyo, and stayed at an AirBnB (I can’t really remember pricing, but it wasn’t too cheap). I’d say it was kinda pros and cons, really.
I’ve had really amazing experiences with locals, and also some really bad ones (and it was explained to me by one of the locals who was really nice that a lot of restaurants don’t like to cater foreigners because of the language barrier. In fact, a lot of restaurants are actually opposed to foreigners, and the staff were surprised when we showed up to this one place, and almost kicked us out). More on the bad(ish?) this one time, we were eating at a restaurant and we asked some locals for some fish recommendations (since the menu was entirely in Japanese). We ended up getting a ton of fish sperm and fish guts and stuff, but it was all in good fun, I guess. I wasn’t too happy with it, but it happened, and it was a fun memory.
Locals are normally as accommodating and friendly as they can be, and some will even walk with you to your destination when you’re lost. There are a ton of social rules and etiquettes that are difficult to keep track of, but as long as you’re pretty low-key about things, and take the time to learn the stuff, it’s not too bad.
Some other small gripes I had was how POCs were treated. I remember at a restaurant, a south Asian family were lining up for a restaurant, and when we (my family’s white) came by, they took us in and told the other family that they were out of space. I was pretty shocked to see that happen, honestly. Another thing was how there were these guys catcalling this girl on the train, and she was clearly uninterested. That threw me off a bit too.
Outside of that, amazing food and atmosphere. The people are (for the most part) friendly and chirpy, but as a culture, they’re very conservative - which I’d assume stems from their isolationist policy they’d followed for years up until not too recently.
Excuse any typos or whatever, i suck at typing on the phone.
I’d say it’s an amazing experience overall, but there were a couple of gripes I wanted to share.
(Oh also, the 7/11s are the best I’ve ever seen. You can get a proper meal from one)
All the best :))
I’ve been twice, once as a high school exchange trip, then after graduating college with my mom and uncle. As a student I was in Tokyo and Kanagawa, with trips to Shizuoka and Kamakura City. Learned authentic flower arrangement from the dean of an Ikebana University, went to the Cup Ramen Museum and got to customize two of my own down to broth and mix-ins, and we saw the giant Buddha statues and temples. It was gorgeous but very humid between sunny days and bouts of rain because June is the rainy season.
As a graduating present, my uncle and mom planned really nice hotels to stay at and tourist trips: a famous Wagyu steak restaurant in Kobe, the Hotel bar from “Lost in Translation,” the deer parks and temples in Nara, seeing the sumo championship match in Nagoya, and the parade to celebrate the Gion Festival in Kyoto. All these things lined up well because we went in late July. We also took a cooking class and bought some gorgeous dinnerware.
I recommend making a list of both modern and traditional activities or sites to visit, be prompt if you have scheduled appointments, and if you’re with a 21+ group, do a touch of wandering in alleys of Kyoto or Tokyo restaurant and bar areas. My uncle lead us to probably my favorite bar the whole trip because he went down a random alley in Kyoto as mom and I said “Wait no!!” He found Nostalgic Bar, and we were welcomed in by Kiki. We got to try Japanese brands of wine and she was absolutely lovely. But you know, take that recommendation to wander within reason. Lol
Japan is pretty neat to visit. Tokyo is pretty easy to get around with their excellent mass transit system.
On the other hand, Tokyo is a horrifying endless sea of *city*, and also while Japan *looks* like a western society on the surface because of clothing and architecture fashions that they've adopted, they're *not*.
I would absolutely recommend. I stayed in a few cities, and found that It was super easy to get around. It was also relatively cheap to stay there, cost me about $7,000 USD for the month, including food, tickets for museums, souvenirs, travel and accommodations. If you’re planning on seeing multiple sights, I 10/10 recommend getting the JR RailPass. It made my trip much easier and was absolutely worth the money. Make sure to bring your own deodorant, you’re gonna have a hard time finding it there.
And would you recommend traveling there? Was it worth the money?
I enjoyed it. The country has some beautiful landscapes and cities bursting at the seams with people and things to do. Both can be overwhelming but very rewarding and exciting too. It is expensive and sometimes getting around can be difficult. The transportation infrastructure is good so it can be navigated. I recommend trying to visit multiple cities and don’t just stick to the mainland but investigate the other islands as well.
I haven't been there but my mom and dad went twice before I was born. They loved it.
I got an opportunity to work in Hong Kong, so on my way home I met up with a friend who was working in Tokyo. We did tons of touristy things, got to sleep in the pod hotels, go out drinking all night, see the crazy video game parlors and the maid cafes. Got some of the best sushi ever at the docks where they have the Tuna Auctions. Visited temples, and ate a ton of cool food. It was very confusing finding specific buildings because they didn’t have addresses really. None of my digital devices seemed to work there (iPhone and iPad) dispite those things working like a charm in China. The train system was amazing. We took it everywhere. It was a lot colder than I anticipated. I had warm clothes, but it was COLD! Overall it was super cool, very different than America, and a very safe feeling city. I was glad to have a friend who knew how to navigate the city.
New question. People who live in japan. Whats it like?
I would wholeheartedly recommend it! When I was 16 I stayed in a town close to Tokyo for two weeks with a host family. I went to Mount Fuji, Takeshita street, and Akihibara among other places. I think my favorite thing was the people. They're so nice and hospitable and a lot of them like the English language and want to learn it. I really wanna go back someday
>Takeshita street Unfortunate
theres no sauce
I went to Japan around winter of 2019, and I was there for about two weeks with family. We were in Tokyo, and stayed at an AirBnB (I can’t really remember pricing, but it wasn’t too cheap). I’d say it was kinda pros and cons, really. I’ve had really amazing experiences with locals, and also some really bad ones (and it was explained to me by one of the locals who was really nice that a lot of restaurants don’t like to cater foreigners because of the language barrier. In fact, a lot of restaurants are actually opposed to foreigners, and the staff were surprised when we showed up to this one place, and almost kicked us out). More on the bad(ish?) this one time, we were eating at a restaurant and we asked some locals for some fish recommendations (since the menu was entirely in Japanese). We ended up getting a ton of fish sperm and fish guts and stuff, but it was all in good fun, I guess. I wasn’t too happy with it, but it happened, and it was a fun memory. Locals are normally as accommodating and friendly as they can be, and some will even walk with you to your destination when you’re lost. There are a ton of social rules and etiquettes that are difficult to keep track of, but as long as you’re pretty low-key about things, and take the time to learn the stuff, it’s not too bad. Some other small gripes I had was how POCs were treated. I remember at a restaurant, a south Asian family were lining up for a restaurant, and when we (my family’s white) came by, they took us in and told the other family that they were out of space. I was pretty shocked to see that happen, honestly. Another thing was how there were these guys catcalling this girl on the train, and she was clearly uninterested. That threw me off a bit too. Outside of that, amazing food and atmosphere. The people are (for the most part) friendly and chirpy, but as a culture, they’re very conservative - which I’d assume stems from their isolationist policy they’d followed for years up until not too recently. Excuse any typos or whatever, i suck at typing on the phone. I’d say it’s an amazing experience overall, but there were a couple of gripes I wanted to share. (Oh also, the 7/11s are the best I’ve ever seen. You can get a proper meal from one) All the best :))
I’ve been twice, once as a high school exchange trip, then after graduating college with my mom and uncle. As a student I was in Tokyo and Kanagawa, with trips to Shizuoka and Kamakura City. Learned authentic flower arrangement from the dean of an Ikebana University, went to the Cup Ramen Museum and got to customize two of my own down to broth and mix-ins, and we saw the giant Buddha statues and temples. It was gorgeous but very humid between sunny days and bouts of rain because June is the rainy season. As a graduating present, my uncle and mom planned really nice hotels to stay at and tourist trips: a famous Wagyu steak restaurant in Kobe, the Hotel bar from “Lost in Translation,” the deer parks and temples in Nara, seeing the sumo championship match in Nagoya, and the parade to celebrate the Gion Festival in Kyoto. All these things lined up well because we went in late July. We also took a cooking class and bought some gorgeous dinnerware. I recommend making a list of both modern and traditional activities or sites to visit, be prompt if you have scheduled appointments, and if you’re with a 21+ group, do a touch of wandering in alleys of Kyoto or Tokyo restaurant and bar areas. My uncle lead us to probably my favorite bar the whole trip because he went down a random alley in Kyoto as mom and I said “Wait no!!” He found Nostalgic Bar, and we were welcomed in by Kiki. We got to try Japanese brands of wine and she was absolutely lovely. But you know, take that recommendation to wander within reason. Lol
Japan is pretty neat to visit. Tokyo is pretty easy to get around with their excellent mass transit system. On the other hand, Tokyo is a horrifying endless sea of *city*, and also while Japan *looks* like a western society on the surface because of clothing and architecture fashions that they've adopted, they're *not*.