Bonnie
United States
We're going to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Takayama and Kanazawa) in July. What should we do? Where should we eat? What should we not miss?
Each area in Japanhas its own beautiful views, therefore, there are quite a lot of places worth a visit. But I gonna recommend you some must-go places in my mind. I will talk about these places in aspects of “the top travel places in Japan”, “the top things to do in these areas” and “recommended activities in these places”.
What are the top travel places in Japan ?
Japan is divided into nine areas:
Kansai Kawaragi, Kanto Kobuchihama, Hokkaido, Okinawa, Kyushu, Shikoku Kawabejinnai, Chugoku-Katsuyama Station, Chubu and Tohoku while the most popular areas among foreigners are Kanto, Kansai, Hokkaido and Okinawa, which have advanced transportation, infrastructure and service.
Kanto: Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Hakone, Kamakura
Hokkaido: Sapporo, Hakodate, Otaru, Noboribetsu, Lake Tōya
The top things to do in Hokkaido:
If you love winter and snow, you shouldn’t miss Hokkaido. Delicious seafood, having bath in onsen amid snow are all special experience in Hokkaido.
Sapporo:
Hakodate:
Noboribetsu /Lake Toya:
Otaru:
The top things to do in Kanto area
Wanna to explore the modern city and countryside view of Japan? Kanto area is the top option ! Tokyo,as a metropolis , has many museums and entertainment gardens, which is a paradise for traveling with kids. Mt. Fuji and Hakone are all in this area. And if you are a fan of cartoon, Kamakura is a must-go destination.
Tokyo:
Hakone and Mt. Fuji:
Kamakura: It’s the filming location of many famous cartoons like Salmdunk.
Things to do in Kansai Area
Kyoto in Kansai Area is the cradle of Japanese culture, so if you want to feel real Japanese culture, Kyoto is the best place. Nara, once serving as a capital of Japan in old times, have many ancient temples and buildings, and lots of cute fawns.
Osaka:
Feel urban life: the night life and night view are must-experience on lists of many foreign visitors. The Universal Studio and aquariums are also happy land for families.
Kyoto:
Nara:
Nara fawns: There are over 1200 cute and wild deer in Nara. The adorable fawns always attract many visitors to play with them.
If you have enough time, you can also visit Kobe in Kobe in Kansai area.
This is all my suggestions about the great places and cool things to do in Japan. Hope you have a nice travel !
Mentioned in this answer:
There is lots to do in the places you have mentioned so if you could specify your interests, trippies could help you accordingly.
Kyoto is home to many UNESCO heritage sites and some wonderful temples, parks and gardens. My suggestion would be not to hop to all of these (although you will be highly tempted as all of them are just so amazing!) but choose wisely and focus on savouring the ones that you do choose to visit. The Kinkaku-ji is a must-visit in Kyoto for its antiquity, history and sheer opulence of structure.
Same applies to Tokyo. There is so much to see and do that one can be literally spoilt for choices. One thing that I would like to highlight though is using the subway trains for transport as they are cheap, cost effective and reliable, saves a lot of time too as they are easily accessible from a lot of places. They might look confusing in the beginning, but just persist and ask for help - it's real fun travelling with the locals and an experience in itself!
Again, my number one advice is do your research well for the places depending on your interest!
Hope this helps, and if there any questions, please follow them up on this thread, will be very glad to answer them!!
Have a great trip :)