Okay, my must-sees in Japan:
If you’ve got the time (e.g. at least a 10-day to 2-week stay), I definitely recommend spending at least 2 or 3 days in Kyoto/Nara. These cities were spared being bombed during the war, so they both retain an old Japan feel. Also, they’re both former capital cities of Japan, so they’ve got really interesting old buildings, temples, shrines, and neighborhoods.
As for Tokyo, here are some places where you’re bound to get some great photos:
-Harajuku/Meiji shrine on a Sunday morning – here you can see some of the famous Harajuku girls and a very big and pretty Shinto shrine. You’ll also probably come across a wedding or wedding photos being taken at the shrine.
-Shibuya crossing/intersection has one of those typical, “500-people crossing the street at every light” scenes that epitomize Tokyo. There are also some grade A crazy Japanese teenagers there with weird make-up and clothes.
-View from Tokyo Metropolitan Gov’t building is unparalleled and FREE! I took the photo that is behind my blog's title from this building. Pretty, huh?
-You should indulge in karaoke at least once, though you’ll probably want to go again because it’s seriously addicting.
-If you can't make it to Kyoto, Kamakura is a great alternative and is day-trip from Tokyo. It has the world's oldest, seated, bronze Buddha and the whole area is a virtual temple-a-thon.
Other tips:
-Definitely invest in a good guidebook, because things are really hard to find sometimes in Tokyo.
-Plan a budget and then expect to go over it. Almost everything is expensive here, including the trains/subway (although still cheaper than London).
-If you’ve got no food restrictions, it’s actually easy to find good food that isn’t expensive. If you do have food restrictions (e.g. vegetarian), do some research beforehand because almost everything here has fish or some kind of fish seasoning or extract in it and most salespeople and waiters are not knowledgeable about what’s in the food. The handiest aide in a case like this is your own personal Japanese to do the food negotiations for you, but since that's not usually an option, your best bet is lots of research. If you're a vegetarian coming to Tokyo, contact me for some resources. I can suggest a few restaurants and ways to eat in regular restaurants.
-As long as you’re in Tokyo, you can usually find some way to communicate in English with someone (though this is still harder than you might think). Once you’re outside of Tokyo or Kyoto, it becomes a lot more difficult.
-Are you staying at a hotel in Tokyo? If so and you're staying at a major hotel, the Airport Limousine Bus probably has the hotel on one of it's routes. The bus is the easiest way to get into the city from Narita if you're not familiar with the train system in Tokyo.
-FYI, end of July to mid-September is Fuji-climbing season, so if that's your thing, you may want to look into how to go about doing that. I have no idea on the particulars and wouldn't want to put anything out there about something like climbing a frickin' mountain that I don't know about personally, so you're on your own on figuring out the logistics of this one. Just wanted to make you aware of it in case you want to include that in your trip! Oh, my only tip (via one of my classmates): bring good climbing shoes or else your toenails might fall off a few months later!
Okay, hope this has been helpful! See you around the neighborhood!
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