Off-beat locations in Japan

[rachelmanija]

When I go to Japan for Worldcon with telophase, I am interested in visiting somewhere I have never been to before. I mean, in addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, where we are also going.

I have previously visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, Kamakura, Nikko, Matsumoto, Kanazawa, Osaka, Kurashiki, Hiroshima, and Koya-san.

I am particularly curious about Kyushu, especially since it looks like the shinkansen has better penetration into it than the last time I checked. Has anyone been to Kagoshima? Fukuoka? Does Nagasaki still have any old-time atmosphere, or was it rebuilt in an entirely modern manner? (I have no interest in Beppu, which sounds like Hell's own tourist trap.)

Things in which I am interested: fun cities like Tokyo. Atmospheric places like Koya-san. Old (not reconstructed) buildings. Good food. Cool and unusual places.

Things which put me off: Extreme difficulty in getting there and long travel times. Tourist traps. Places with one point of interest and nothing else to do. (I was dismayed to find at Matsumoto that once I'd finished checking out the castle, the entire town shut down at 5:00 PM.) Cold weather. (I'll be there at the beginning of September.)

Comments

[kate_nepveu]

We're strongly leaning toward Takayama as our third main stop (with day-trips from Tokyo/Yokohama & Kyoto).

http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2007/02/takayama_or_kanazawa.php

But our goals are "low-key" and "different," which may not be yours.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

I really liked Takarazuka, which is certainly less out of the way than Koya-san. It has the Tezuka Museum, and the theatre if you book ahead of time, and the whole town has this interestingly bizarre Disney-on-crack architecture in the downtown areas.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I was going to suggest the castle at Himaji, which is a convenient stop on the shinkansen running out west from Tokyo, but there's not much more to see than the castle. It is a damn fine castle, though.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Oops, forgot to mention Himeji. As you say, damn fine castle.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely recommend Ise (http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/mie/ise.html) for atmosphere of a definite and undefinable Shinto kind. The Delphi or Iona of Japan. 2-hour trip from Nagoya on a local line, so doable or not depending where you're based.

Hard to find old-not-reconstructed buildings in a country where things fall down or burn down or both on a regular basis. But the thing about Ise is that they take the shrine down and rebuild it exactly the same every twenty years: and have done so for as long as anyone remembers.

IME most towns shut down early. It's one of those Japanese things- nothing to do in the evening but drink and go to bed before midnight. Even cities don't stay open late enough, or else you can't get home after staying out late because the trains have stopped.

September is still typhoon season so prepare for wetness. You're not likely to be /cold/ anywhere in Japan at that time unless you come from Oklahoma and think a humid 80F is chilly. (Though with global warming all ordinary bets are off. It snows in CA these days.) Still, I never had to wear a jacket ever in September, and usually found it too warm for comfort.

Unfortunately Sapporo is too far

[liquid-identity.livejournal.com]

Or I'd actually recommend it. (There's also the fact that the Snow Festival is in February.) The benefit is that most of the tourism is either in summer (there's a lot of lavender plants there and when they bloom it's spectacular) and winter (for the activities.) I don't think you'd run out of things to do there, but it might be too scattered for your tastes.

[shadowsandice.livejournal.com]

5pm for Matsumoto. I'll keep that in mind.

[sarashina-nikki.livejournal.com]

Nagasaki is a pretty cool town, and somewhat pedestrian-friendly with their trolley system (not nearly as effective as a train system would be, but you take what you can get). They're really proud of their history as the international port city of Japan, and the international district is still really big. Recreated Dejima (where they quarantined the Portugese/Dutch) is a neat place to visit. I'd also recommend going up the nearby mountain around sunset or so in the cable car they run, they call it the "million dollar view" I think, or something like that. Also, you get to eat lots and lots of delicious castella in Nagasaki. However, I never got any of the "old Japan" feel from Nagasaki like you get in, say, Kyoto, although I was only in Nagasaki for a long weekend.

Also, although the travel time would be rather long, you could hop a super short plane ride/catch a ferry from Osaka to Okinawa. I spent two weeks there over my winter break and can't recommend it enough. It's a bit pedestrian-unfriendly (renting a car is highly encouraged) but extremely accessible to English speakers. Also, despite my expectations, every person I met in Okinawa was insanely kind and extremely interested in hearing my life story/giving me things for free (although that may have been because I was a young female traveling alone).

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

How long does the ferry take?

[sarashina-nikki.livejournal.com]

From Osaka it takes over a day. But the ferry system of Japan is, predictably, very extensive. So if you're going down into Kyuushuu you could catch a ferry from some place farther south too. Some basic ferry information here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2355.html