Ye Olde Japan Thread

[JC]

Are you traveling with anyone or going alone?

I'm going with an old buddy of mine from high school. He's graduating from college in December...

[manuel]

If you plan to visit southern Japan (Hiroshima prefecture to be precise), you could put in a little break in my town. If I have time I can show you around. One afternoon would be enough to look at the most interesting sights.

[JC]

What town do you live in?

EDIT: How long is the trip from Tokyo to, well, other notable places? By train? Car?

[manuel]

I live in a town called Onomichi. It's right between Okayama and Hiroshima.

If you use the Shinkansen you can get to Osaka or Kyoto within 2 hours.

[JC]

Nice. That's how I've been putting things into perspective, by comparing the distance (in hours) with what I'm used to in New Mexico. Seems like all of these countries -- Japan, Korea, Taiwan -- are tiny (or, at least, no bigger than my home state). For instance, Taiwan is 10 times smaller than NM. We've got 2 million people, whereas Taiwan has 22 million.

[manuel]

Japan is not very big, but long streched. If you want to go from North to South you can travel far over 1000 miles.

Try this page for train research:

http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

There you can see the time it takes.

[JC]

Hey, manuel, let me know if you hear of anything cool going on in Japan from Feb. 3 to Feb. 10...events, festivals, museum exhibits...

[manuel]

Oh, I didn't notice you posted here again.

Well, around that time is "Setsubun" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun). That's a nation-wide event.

There are bound to be regional festivities somewhere, too, but I don't know all those.

Did you get a recent guidebook already? That's what I really recommend.

[JC]

Hmm...why get a guidebook when you have a manuel?! But, really, I'll need to think about that. I'd like to do more than just gaze at structures and flora.

[ericj]

From my traveling experience, a guidebook is essential so you can find out cool places to visit, festivals & holidays, where and what to eat, good clubs/bars and local 'special' drinks, and also learn some history along the way.  I'd also recommend checking out tourist websites for each city you'll visit to get another perspective besides that offered by the guidebook.

[manuel]

eric is right.

A book helps you find interesting stuff.

What you could do is climb Mount Fuji. I want to do that some time in the future.

And be sure to visit some hot springs.

[JC]

One site says there's a high risk of avalanches this time of year. Trying to kill me?

[manuel]

*whistling*...

Never heard of avalanches, better watch the weather report beforehand. 

[JC]

I spent the day sprawled out on bookstore floors looking through guidebooks. It was fun, but I ended up not buying any. I just need to find me a few really good maps. (While sprawled, I got most excited about the possibility of visiting the DMZ...nerd?)

[nurd]

is that Demilitarized Zone?

...Department of Motor..Zehicles.