I'm currently in the process of planning a trip to Japan fall of 2010, and am in the infantile stage of the planning.
It will be me and my girlfriend, we have saved $10,000 dollars (minus hotel/hostel cost, but exclude airfare as we have that covered) up until now - we will have a pretty good chunk of money to vacation with... if you could plan an ideal trip to Japan, let me know how you would do it
We will be traveling the generic tourist trail -- Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and various side paths (open to suggestions). We'll be going for around 22-30 days.
I went to Japan in 07' for a little over a month (and a homestay with a host family) but my trip was somewhat limited and was essentially a guided tour, though I was forced to make my way around and to various tourist destinations -- Kyomizu Dera, Great Buddha at Nara, Miyajima, a temple stay at Myorenji in Kyoto, etc. (All of which I plan to relive with my girlfriend)
It's been a while since I've been to Japan/spoken Japanese to a native, but I feel comfortable with communication. But to be honest, I'm pretty nervous regarding navigation. I know Hiragana and Katakana and am familiar with like 100+ kanji. (Sad, I know
) I'll be getting the 14 day JR Pass.
Anyone have any itinerary suggestions? Are there any quality, back alley, English-guided tours? Nice pubs/food destinations? Some of you make this trip annually, so if you have any good suggestions I'm open to them, but please be specific.
This itinerary may seem naive, but let me know what you think...
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Tokyo & Surrounding Areas - 5 Days
Kyoto and Surrounding Areas - 6 Days
Osaka and Kobe - 6 Days
Hiroshima - 4 Days
Back to Tokyo and Surrounding Areas - 3 Days
Hakone Hot Springs - 2 Days
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And then back to America