Sign in with FacebookTop Japan hotels
Foods and Products Tokyo
29 Reviews When you go to a sushi restaurant, I was told by a Japanese friend not to dunk the rice part of sushi in the soy sauce, but just the fish (and don't let it swim!). Also, the best way to eat sushi is...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Tourist Information Center Kyoto
6 Reviews The Kyoto SGG Club,Goodwill Guide Volunteer Services of Kyoto, and the Rotary International District 2650 Club of Kyoto are giving away free maps to tourists in Kyoto. The map is in black and white...
See All 191 Favorites in Kyoto
Kansai international airport Osaka
3 Reviews While Kyoto represents the elegant past of Japan, Osaka being a modern city, offers the opposite Japanese experience. Osaka offers the hustling and bustling of a modern city; in fact it is so busy...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
Shrines & Temples Nagoya
4 Reviews The shops at Ossu-Kannon have some really great deals and some really unique stores. I found a complete kimono set for only about 10,000 yen (about $75 US). Just get off at the Kamemaezu or...
See All 31 Favorites in Nagoya
Shrines and Temples Tokyo
42 Reviews The lucky charms in Japan can usually only be obtained at the shrines. They are usually categorized by the area of your wish such as “prosperous business”, “successful study”, “well-being of family”,...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
City Districts Kyoto
3 Reviews Depending on how many days you are staying in Kyoto, map out the places you are going to see. The temples are located in different areas: 1. Higashiyama Area - The attractions around this area...
See All 191 Favorites in Kyoto
walking Osaka
4 Reviews OSAKA often seems like it has no main centre and is an overwhelming maze of small streets and alleys. Although this is true - do not be shy about walking around Osaka, to where-ever the road takes...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
Day Trip out of Tokyo Tokyo
26 Reviews On my first visit I didnt have chance to visit Disneyland. So for 2nd visit, I took my kids to Disneyland and they love it!. So many things to do there. A lot of Disney characters, show, Disney Sea,...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Pontocho Kyoto
1 Review DONT BE SHY ABOUT TAKING PEOPLES PHOTOS. In politically correct Australia, we fear taking peoples photos. So I have to do it as candidly as possible. But in Japan, Kyoto in particular - it was more...
See All 191 Favorites in Kyoto
castle Osaka
11 Reviews The extensive grounds of Osaka Castle were impressive. The next night, friends took us to the top of a 7-story building with a rooftop entrance to a huge, red ferris wheel. High over the city's...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
People and Life Tokyo
38 Reviews The Love Hotel is a Japanese institution, where harried lovers find alone time away from gossiping office colleagues or crowded multi-generational homes with paper-thin walls. To attract patrons away...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Internet Access Kyoto
2 Reviews i found a nice place where you can use free internet, for an hour at a time..its "Campus Plaza" near the Kyoto station. if you exit the station on the north side, turn left and you will end up on a...
See All 191 Favorites in Kyoto
Umeda Skybuilding Osaka
9 Reviews After a walk up at the observatory, we came down and found this little resting place just beside the building. The little "park" was bloom with some flowers and thought they were nice & pretty so took...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
Getting Around Tokyo
31 Reviews what makes police in tokyo unique is the Koban System wherein a Koban is a typically a two-storied housing with a couple of rooms with from one to more than ten police oficers. The officers in these...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
temples & shrines Osaka
4 Reviews This is one of the wooden statues found on either side of the main entrance into Shiittenoji Temple. These statues are at the entrances to all temples in Japan. They are guards placed to ward away...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
Facts and History Tokyo
18 Reviews Before japan was famous (or notorious) for it's squat toilets wherein you just squat to tke a dump or pee but nowadays japan is now popularly known for its bidets and anus washes (lavatory) and it is...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Shinsaibashi Osaka
2 Reviews ShinshaibashiFountain display in the canal at Shinshaibashi. This place is full of happenings at night and is worth a visit. The brightly lit streets cris-crossed each others like a grid. You don't...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
Managing Your Luggage Tokyo
8 Reviews At Narita International Airport, delivery service counters will send luggage to your hotel the next day or from your hotel to the airport for about ¥2,000 for bags up to 20 kilograms ....
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
zero (empty tips) Osaka
5 Reviews The two magazines pictured opposite are two of the most popular free papers in Japan. Both magazines are particularly useful for getting up to date listings of cinema, stage and live music...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
Travel Plan Examples Tokyo
6 Reviews the number one tour company in the tokyo area, the hato bus company is an icon itself in the tokyo area hence i've made a separate things to do tip for hato bus tours here in my tokyo pages. Whether...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Dotombori Osaka
2 Reviews Being at the busy and colorful streets in Dotonbori area at night is a real must. The colors of the advertising lights are bright and make the place so lively. It looks like more people like it...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
How to Survive Tokyo
7 Reviews Always Remember that ATM's in japan are mostly local! you can only withdraw from international ATM locations in Airports, Major Rail Stations, Post offices and on 7-11 stores! when in major Rail...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Sightseeing outside Osaka Osaka
1 Review Take a short ride (35 min.) by shinkansen to Himeji and go see Himeji Castle. I really enjoyed the aquarium even though I was there during the earthquake. I think the earthquake just made it more...
See All 67 Favorites in Osaka
City Overview Tokyo
32 Reviews Please note that all information written here is valid for September 2011. Due to the events of the major Earthquake roughly 200-300km north of Tokyo and the problems with the Fukushima Nuclear Power...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Theatres and Museums Tokyo
9 Reviews The Kabuki-za on Harumi-dôri at Ginza is Japan's most famous kabuki theatre. There are performances of the unique Japanses theatre art kabuki nearly every day. Because kabuki plays are very long...
See All 415 Favorites in Tokyo
Sponsored Links
Given how important trains are in the overall fabric of Japan, I would be remiss not to mention the good old Ekiben.Ekiben is a combination of eki (station) and ben (a shortening of bentou meaning roughly boxed meal).Each region has their own specialities, and ekiben are a real institution. I almost always get one if I have a longish train trip ahead.
If you are travelling on the Shinkansen between Osaka/Nagoya and Tokyo, it's worth getting a seat on the left hand side of the train headed towards Tokyo, and on the right hand side if you are travelling in the other direction.There's no guarantee as to what the weather will do, but if you get a good day, you'll have a marvellous view of Mt. Fuji.
As a woman, shopping is a luxury in Japan. All the interesting and fun stuff you can find. I was amazed the the underground shopping area in Osaka. Best time in Japan when I stayed at the lake side motel, overseeing the Mount Fuji. It was a breathtaking sight. Simply loved it !
WOW! Is all an experience!!There are two types: the western style toilets and the Asian ones.When you bet an Asian one, the right position is facing the hood, away from the door. Make sure you have nothing in your pockets because probably will run down!Toilet paper is not always provided, so carry some tissues with you – although I found interesting that in many places people gave you tissues on the streets… is a nice form of advertising and they are great at this!I was also curious because the Japanese people use different slippers provided inside toilet door. This happened to me in the Ryokan style hotel and in my friend house as well. You must remember to change your slippers when you go in & out the toilet!There is also a brand called TOTO, which is the main (I think) in Asia that made Western style toilets. This is another nice experience because these toilets are made with a...
While you may not be able to go up the famous Mt. Fuji by foot from the 5th station to the top and see the sunrise, there are many smaller mountains and easier hills for your hiking adventure.You can go mostly by car or by cable car and walk and hike to the top.There are many popular trails for city folks who want to stretch over the weekends. At the top, usually, there is a marker for you to take a picture to show to your Japanese friends that you were actually there. More important for you to remember where you went and what was the elevation there.
At Lake Hakone and many touristy lakes all over Japan, you will see "giant white swan" boats for rent.They are great for photography against the blue sky and blue lake. It is fun to relax by peddalling around the lake.Of course, there are other types of boats, rowing or just cruising ships where someone do the nagivating. Caution: Some lakes can be quite big and so maintain your distance so that you have no trouble coming back!
When in Japan, you should spend some time enjoying the beautiful Japanese gardens. There are many different garden styles but most are miniature replicas of nature for contemplation and relaxation.Usually in a typical Japanese garden, there are ponds with carp fish, small bridges or stepping stones, trees, bamboos, flowering plants and open lawn as well as man-made hills and well placed rocks with paths leading you to different part of the garden and perhaps to a traditional Japanese house for tea.Unfortunately, most gardens do charge admission fees. The good side is that often the gardens are not crowded except for the most famous ones which have the tour guide with the loud speakers and group tourists.
Japanese shrines "Jingyu" are usually Shinto in nature, more sombre and ritualistic. Japanese temples "Otera" are usually Buddhist in nature, have statues and paintings on the entrance doors. Meiji Shrine with a wooded garden and iris pond is a worthy of a visit. It is located in Shibuya near the subway station. There are giant tori gates to welcome worshippers who come in large number during the New Year and other important Japanese festivals.
For many Malaysian tourists, besides going in April to see the cherry blossoms and in autumn for the beautiful autumn leaves, the winter season is also a great time in Japan to see the snow and snow covered mountains and ice frozen lakes.For me, seeing leaveless trees covered with white snow is a sight to remember. In Malaysia, it is green leaves every day of the year and any frozen ice is only in our refrigerators.But good to wear extra T-shirt, clothes or borrow winter wear. Proper shoes with thick socks will help keep out the cold and allow you to enjoy the winter weather of Japan. So do not hesitate to come to Japan in the winter months which is school holiday times for Malaysians.Go up north of Tokyo or into the hinterland mountains from the coastal cities for best snow mountains.
Two such experiences of peoples' generosity were found when we took a few side trips with the train.Leaving Kanazawa, while we were heading to Sapporo, we opted to take the northern train along the coast. This is a slow journey, taking better part of 20 hours. At first we had seats, but gave them up for an elderly couple. Later, we found seats again, but gave them up to for another elderly couple. Eventually, we resorted to sitting on the steps between cars. Shortly there after, several people visited us, brought us papers to sit on, fruit to eat and refreshments. Many riders noticed our gestures and in kind were thanking us.Another side trip landed us in Nagasaki. After taking a long picnic lunch in a park, we continued touring the city. We soon realized that my friend had left is camera in the park, but by the time we returned it was gone. We continued on our way for a few days and...
Park Hyatt Tokyo Tokyo
7 Reviews and 328 Opinions Most memorable
Hotel Granvia Kyoto Kyoto
6 Reviews and 478 Opinions We stayed 3 nights at Kyoto Granvia Hotel from Feb. 27 to Mar 1, 2008. We paid Yen 17,600 per night,...
Dotonbori Hotel Osaka Osaka
7 Reviews and 88 Opinions I've personally stayed in this hotel twice in my previous 2 trips to Osaka. Famous for their...
Reviews and photos of Japan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Japan sightseeing.
More Cities in Japan
More Regions in Japan
Q: Toyoko Inn Club Card - I read that the price for this membership card is 1500yen. When is the expiration for this card for...
A: Generally the price of the room listed on the website should be the price of the room, at least for Japanese hotels. I can't guarantee it though. Booking.com may add...
Read 2 Replies
Sponsored Links
