Japan- looking for a guide and recommendations!

We loved Japan. Check out the DK Witness guide.

Also, here is my detailed review of our 8 days in Japan prior to our cruise, that included 4 Japanese ports.
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=518503&et_cid=2531924&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

TOKYO

We arrived in Tokyo, Narita airport on October 17; eight days prior to our October 25 cruise that was more in Japan than China. The worst thing about the trip was the long flights to and from East Asia. We did have a direct flight on Delta from Atlanta to Narita. Still, 14 hours on an airplane was like a marathon, it just never seems to end. However, end it did at 3:30 PM on a Saturday. Fortunately, Japan’s wonderful infrastructure included the Narita Express, a fast train directly to Tokyo Station, with trains about every half hour. A one-way ticket was about 3000 yen or $26. The trip took less than an hour.

On the sound advice of my Son, Jack, who was in Tokyo on business a few months ago, we booked a hotel room at the Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi, which was adjacent to Tokyo Station. This allowed us to avoid the cost of a more expensive taxi. However, we had to find our hotel. I knew from a map of the station that the hotel was just north of the station. Getting there was more difficult, since the station was huge. We found the east exit and turned left, but there were so many skyscrapers in the way. We did not see the hotel. Fortunately, a young Japanese woman stopped, on her own, to help us, after a search on her smart phone gave us the proper directions. We found the Japanese people constantly seemed to be helpful during this trip.

The hotel was located on the top floors of a skyscraper, with the lobby on the 27th floor. Our room happened to be on the same floor, with a nice view of the city. Booking this hotel turned out to be a great decision, due to the location, reasonable price ($230 per night with a nice breakfast included), and very helpful staff. Another interesting feature was that both the hotels we used in Japan had vending machines that included beer. For $3 you could purchase a night cap instead of spending $10 in the hotel bar for the same beer. The hotel staff was great in assisting me in contacting our tour company to reconfirm our local tours and determine where to pick up the bus for the tours. The room we booked included a double bed, desk and chair, but was not large enough for another chair. This was not a problem, since we spend little time in our room. Our room was on the same floor as the lobby and restaurant. We had a buffet breakfast every morning with a choice of Japanese or Western food. We enjoyed the Western food, which was generally good, but the Japanese don’t cook their scrambled eggs as much as we do in the USA. Still, we had great choices with eggs, bacon, sausage, croissants, breads, yogurt, fruit, cereal and more.

We stayed there five days then went on a tour to Kyoto for two nights, returning to the hotel for one more night prior to our cruise. The staff had already placed our left luggage in our hotel room prior to our arrival from Kyoto. The staff helped us with coordinating with our tour company as well as assisting in navigating the huge Tokyo Station. Breakfast was good with a choice of Japanese or Western. I only wish they cooked the scrambled eggs a bit more. The hotel was perfect for our visit. The Narita Express took us to nearby Tokyo Station upon arrival, so we avoided an expensive taxi. Also, the hotel is near the Ginza district.

We took full day tours every day but one in Tokyo, which included a very good Japanese lunch, so in the evening, after two healthy meals, we were not terribly hungry. Therefore, we didn’t spend much on evening meals. One night we had pizza in an Italian restaurant on the third floor of the building that included the hotel and the other nights we ate at restaurants in Tokyo Station.

There are many to choose from and we always found very good food, without spend a lot. Japanese beer was good and we sampled Sapporo and Kurin brands.

One evening, we were comparing the English menus of two restaurants in Tokyo Station and noted “pork rectum” as one of the choices on one restaurant’s menu. We elected to eat at the other restaurant. That evening, Ginny noted this even on Facebook and my Daughter, Risa, who lived in Korea (with US Army) indicated that this dish was a delicacy in East Asia. Still, we had a laugh about this.

Several months prior to our trip, I had booked tours with Viator for our stay in Japan. We have had success with Viator in the past, especially in Asia. Viator contracts out for all its tours. All our tours were provided by JTB Sunrise Tours. All our tours were excellent, with well informed and personable guides. Each day tour included a very good Japanese lunch that exceeded our expectations every time. Our first tour was on our first full day in Tokyo, Sunday. We slept about 12 hours that night recovering from the jet lag. We had to walk to meeting point at the south end of Tokyo Station for our pickup. We were taken to a central bus terminal, where we were assigned to our tour bus for the day. This process takes about half an hour or more, since there are many tours and many buses involved.

Our first tour was the Panoramic Tokyo Day Tour - Meiji Shrine, Asakusa Temple and Tokyo Bay Cruise. The tour included the Meiji Shrine, Japan's most famous Shinto shrine, the Imperial Palace garden, and the Asakusa Kannon Temple (Senso-ji), Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple Our bus drove past the shopping areas of Nakamise Shopping Street and the Ginza district. We then took a short cruise of Tokyo Bay.

The Meiji Shrine website explains the significance of the shrine:

Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine. Shinto is called Japan's ancient original religion, and it is deeply rooted in the way of Japanese life. Shinto has no founder, no holy book, and not even the concept of religious conversion, but Shinto values for example harmony with nature and virtues such as "Magokoro (sincere heart)". In Shinto, some divinity is found as Kami (divine spirit), or it may be said that there is an unlimited number of Kami. You can see Kami in mythology, in nature, and in human beings. From ancient times, Japanese people have felt awe and gratitude towards such Kami and dedicated shrines to many of them.

This shrine is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken (their tombs are in Kyoto).

Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912 and Empress Shoken in 1914. After their demise, people wished to commemorate their virtues and to venerate them forever. So they donated 100,000 trees from all over Japan and from overseas, and they worked voluntarily to create this forest. Thus, thanks to the sincere heart of the people, this shrine was established on November 1, 1920.

The shrine was somewhat crowded, since it was Sunday, but fortunately, we saw two wedding parties that day, as well as several Shinto priests in traditional dress. It was a great way to start our tour of Tokyo. Next, we visited the Imperial Palace garden, which are on the grounds of the Emperor’s palace. The palace was on the site of Edo Castle, originally occupied by the Shogun. The restoration of the Emperor to power resulted in the Shogun vacating the palace for the Emperor. Entrance to the palace itself is only allowed one day a year and not for the general public. Entering the Palace grounds, we passed over a huge moat and then through the massive 500 year old walls in order to visit the gardens. The site itself was not that overwhelming, but it due to its historical importance, it is a must see when visiting Tokyo. Our next site was the Asakusa Kannon Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Asakusa. According to a legend, in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy,

statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built nearby for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.

Beyond the Hozomon Gate are the temple's main hall and a five storied pagoda. Destroyed in the war, the buildings were reconstructions. The Asakusa Shrine, built in the year 1649 by Tokugawa Iemitsu, stands only a few dozen meters to the left of the temple's main building.

We saw a lot of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan, and were told by guides that Japan has 127 million people, including 100 million worshiping Shinto and 100 million Buddhists. Japanese generally find not incompatibility in worships both faiths. Shinto emphasizes life, while Buddhism emphasizes the afterlife.

On our way to lunch, we passed through Ginza, as shopping district, close to Tokyo Station. The tour then took us to Tokyo Bay, were we took a short cruise, where we could see the skyline and a new shopping area called Odaiba, located on an artificial island created in the past for a fort to protect the bay from invaders. After the amazing first three sites, the cruise and visit to Odaiba was a step down. All in all, the tour was excellent and I would recommend it as an introduction to Tokyo.

The next day, we had no tour planned. We did a little shopping, looking around Tokyo Station and walked to Ginza. Going through a nice department store, we could see that the Japanese like name brand designer items, whether luggage, clothing, jewelry or whatever. The prices we saw in the stores were very high. We found a nearby post office and mailed some postcards to family. Most ATM machines in Japan are not compatible with ATM cards from the USA, except at the post office. I was so concerned about not having enough cash that I purchased $900 worth of yen and $100 worth of Hong Kong dollars before the trip. As it turned out we had about $200 worth of yen left after leaving Japan. We used a little to buy some New Taiwan dollars and exchanged the rest back to US dollars before we left for home.

On Tuesday we were on another JTB Sunrise tour, Kamakura, Yokohama and Tokyo Bay Day Trip from Tokyo. The tour included the Great Buddha of Kamakura at Kotoku-in. Kamakura's historic Hasedera Temple and Sankeien Garden in Yokohama. The huge Buddha at Kamakura dates from 1252. It was originally housed inside a temple, but a huge tsunami washed away the wooden structure sometime in the late 15th century, and the statue has sat out in nature ever since.

The Hasedera Temple was equally impressive. The site was ancient and included a large hand carved wooden statue. The official website provided an interesting history:

The Origins of Kamakura’s Hasedera Temple

According to the legend, in 721 AD the pious monk Tokudo Shonin discovered a large camphor tree in the mountain forests near the village of Hase in the Nara region. He realized the trunk of the tree was so large that it provided enough material for carving two statues of the eleven-headed Kannon. The statue he commissioned to be carved from the lower part of the truck was enshrined in Hasedera Temple near Nara; the statue from the upper half (actually the larger of the two) was thrown into the sea with a prayer that it would reappear to save the people.

Fifteen years later in 736 on the night of June 18, it washed ashore at Nagai Beach on the Miura Peninsula not far from Kamakura, sending out rays of light as it did.

The statue was then brought to Kamakura and a temple was constructed to honor it. Since time immemorial, Hasedera Temple has been known as the 4th station among the 33 holy places in the Kanto area.

We found this site to be amazing, with beautiful gardens and a nice view of the Ocean.

Our final site was the Sankeien Garden in Yokohama. These gardens were more amazing than the Hasedera Temple. The gardens were donated by a wealth beneficiary to preserve ancient buildings from around Japan. The gardens and ancient building are set in well-designed locations. It was another example of fantastic Japanese gardens that we saw on our trip. We never tired of visiting these gardens. Again, our tour included an excellent Japanese lunch.

On Wednesday, we took another JTB Sunrise tour to Nikko, north of Tokyo. Despite the wonderful sites we had seen already, Nikko proved to be our favorite day tour in Tokyo. Our tour included the amazing Toshogu Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Tamozawa Imperial Villa, and the Kirifuri Waterfall from an observation deck in Nikko Park. The official website describes the Toshogu Shrine, as follows:

The Toshogu Shrine is the main attraction of Nikko. The Shinto shrine is dedicated to the kami (spirit) of Ieyasu (d. 1616), who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, a military dynasty that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867.

To create a worthy shrine for the shogun, 15,000 craftsmen worked for two years, using 2.5 million sheets of gold leaf. The enshrinement of Ieyasu's spirit is reenacted twice each year in the Procession of the Thousand Warriors.

Unlike most Shinto shrines, characterized by minimalist architecture that blends into its surroundings, Toshogu is a riot of color, gold, and carvings, with birds and flowers, dancing maidens, and sages following one another around the buildings. Some visitors find the shrine awe-inspiring and beautiful; others are repelled by the gaudiness. In contrast to the exuberance of the shrine, Ieyasu's mausoleum itself is relatively simple and austere.

One of the most famous elements of Toshogu is the Sacred Stable,where a white imperial horse is kept (a gift of New Zealand). The stable's fame derives from the original carving depicting the three wise monkeys, "Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil." Other famous carvings at Toshogu include a sleeping cat and an odd rendering of an elephant by an artist who had apparently never seen one.

This site was the most impressive one we visited until Kyoto. It included hundreds of 400 year old cedar trees that were provided by one of the Shogun’s lords. Shogun Tokugawa was known as the first Shogun that brought peace to Japan after many years of infighting by various lords. We found Tokugawa’s footprint in several of the historical sites that we visited in Japan. Next we visited the Tamozawa Imperial Villa, which also had a nice garden. Of course, to go inside the villa, we had to remove our shoes, which we probably did 50 times during our time in Japan. The villa was interesting, but traditional Japanese homes are somewhat Spartan and simple. They are usually made of wood and paper (with all the earthquakes that made sense). Again, we had another great Japanese lunch and finished our tour at the Nikko Park to see the Kirifuri Waterfall. This required a hike along a path through the woods to a viewing platform. The falls were attractive, but not particularly awesome compared to falls we have seen elsewhere.

On Thursday we checked out of our hotel, leaving our large suitcases there for our three day trip to Nara and Kyoto. This was another Viator/JTB Sunrise tour that I purchased over the internet prior to our trip. The tour was named Kyoto and Nara 2-Day or 3-Day Rail Tour by Bullet Train from Tokyo. The tour included round trip transportation on the bullet train (Shinkansen) to Kyoto, a hotel room at the New Miyako Hotel for two nights, and a half day tour of Nara the first day, then full day tour of Kyoto the second day. The third day we were on our own. Lunch was included the first and second day, as well as breakfast every morning at the hotel. We departed on the bullet train from Tokyo at 9:50AM (a tour representative met us at the meeting point, provided us with tickets and vouchers)

NARA AND KYOTO

Both cities were former capitals of Japan (capital were the Emperor lived). Our afternoon tour of Nara followed an excellent lunch at our hotel. The bus took about one hour to arrive at Nara. Our first site was the Todaiji Temple, a huge wooden temple with a huge Buddha and several smaller statues. The temple is described, as follows:

Todaiji "Great Eastern Temple" is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple's influence on government affairs.

Todaiji's main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world's largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall's size. The massive building houses one of Japan's largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu). The 15 meters tall, seated Buddha represents Vairocana and is flanked by two Bodhisattvas.

The building was impressive, not just in size, but the included statutes and contents. Upon arriving, we passed through the nearby deer park, were hundreds of tame deer were there to greet us. Some in our group purchased food for the deer and feed them. I was satisfied to pet one or two. One problem, with all the deer walking around, we had to watch our step so we didn’t step in the deer manure.

Visiting the temple, we encountered awesome statues, many other tourists, as well as worshipers. It was Interesting that the temple included a small gift ship.

Next, we visited the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shrine was originally established in 768; however the buildings have been reconstructed several times.There were a thousand bronze lanterns as well as 2,000 stone lanterns outside the main shrine precinct and along the path leading to the shrine. Also, there was a sacred thousand year old wisteria tree. Our final stop was at Nara Nagomikan, a large building for shopping, filled with tourists.

On Friday, we had our full day tour of Kyoto, the long ancient capital of Japan. Our morning tour included Nijo Castle, the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji Temple) and Kyoto Imperial Palace. The first two sites we encountered massive crowds, including many Japanese school children, most appearing to be grammar school age. Nijo Castle was described as follows:

Nijo Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1867). His grandson Iemitsu completed the castle's palace buildings 23 years later and further expanded the castle by adding a five story castle keep.

After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened up to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are arguably the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan's feudal era, and the castle was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.

Nijo Castle can be divided into three areas: the Honmaru (main circle of defense), the Ninomaru (secondary circle of defense) and some gardens that encircle the Honmaru and Ninomaru. The entire castle grounds and the Honmaru are surrounded by stone walls and moats.

This was the first of the castles we visited in Japan. There are not many castles, in Japan compared to Europe. It was a bit refreshing to see a castle after so many temples and shrines. Little did we know that we had many more shrines and temples to see in Japan. We enjoyed seeing them all, but it reminded me of touring Europe, where visiting cathedrals is so common that it is easy to be cathedral saturated. We were definitely shrine and temple saturated after our trip. Nijo Castle was interesting with its palace, walls and grounds.

We visited Ninomaru Palace, which served as the residence and office of the shogun during his visits to Kyoto. The palace survives in its original form, and consists of multiple separate buildings that are connected with each other by corridors with so called nightingale floors. The floors were constructed so as to squeak like a nightingale, to act as an alarm that someone was approaching. This operated as a security device protecting the shogun from assassins. The garden was impressive with its well laid out stones, plants and lakes.

The Golden Pavilion was our next temple to visit. Its beauty was amazing, especially when viewed on the other side of the lake, where its reflected image is apparent. Unfortunately, hundreds of other people felt the same way and our viewing was limited to a few minutes, couple of snaps of the camera and negotiating the crowds out of the crush. Still, the small temple was most plated in gold and shined magnificently in the sun. This temple is a must see if you come to Kyoto. It is another UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Imperial Palace was not so crowded, since it can only be visited by appointment, which our tour company had arranged. We viewed the large structure from the outside as well as inside (shoes off again).

We were taken back to the hotel for lunch, which was good, then for three more shrines or temples. Kyoto has a plethora of shrines and temples, many in their original state, since the city was not damaged during WWII. Our afternoon tour included the Hejan Shrine, Sanju Sangendo Hall and Kiyomizu Temple. The Hejan Shrine was only about 100 years old and while impressive, compared to what we had seen and would see later, this shrine was not in my opinion a must see for visitors of Kyoto. The Sanju Sangendo Hall was impressive. The massive wooden hall was a Buddhist Temple including 1001 Buddhas. There was one massive Buddha stature and 1000 others. Also, there were statutes of Buddhist gods. Apparently, the faith has many gods originating from Hinduism, since Buddha was an Indian. No photos were allowed in the temple. It was amazing, but dust from the burning incense was thick. Ginny commented that the whole place needed a good dusting.The Kiyomizu Temple was our final site for the day. The temple is on the eastern side of the city next to the mountains (mountains are everywhere in Japan). The main hall has a large veranda, supported by tall pillars, that juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city. We were not allowed to go inside the temple, but the view was good and the temple complex was impressive. It was a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Our last day in Kyoto, we were on our own. There were several interesting sites we could have visited, but we chose to do the Philosopher’s Path. The Path is near several shrines or temples. It was described, as follows:

The Philosopher's Path is a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto's Higashiyama district. The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. Usually in early April these trees explode with color, making this one of the city's most popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spots.

Approximately two kilometers long, the path begins around Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) and ends in the neighborhood of Nanzenji. The path gets its name due to Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University.

We took the easy way getting there by taking a taxi to the north end of the path to the Silver Pavilion. The taxi cost about $20 and we could have taken public transportation for less, but didn’t want to bother with changing trains, etc. The Path itself was along a canal in a quiet residential district. Our first temple to visit was the Silver Pavilion, which had never had the silver applied to its exterior like the Golden Pavilion. (SORRY, can't post all)

Back in 2009 I visited Tokyo on a business related trip. Wandering the Ginza was fun as was dropping into the shops on Nakamise Street and experiencing the neighboring historic part of the Asakusa. You can get a great view of the city from up in the Tokyo Tower and the Imperial Palace grounds are beautiful and relaxing. There's good nightlife in the Roppongi.

Japan is a wonderful, fascinating, and different place. There are many rules/customs that you need to abide by. Here are the main ones:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e622.html

Also remember:

No tipping. Tipping is not a custom practiced in Japan anywhere and if you leave a tip, you might be chased down to have it returned to you. The Japanese pride themselves on good service.

Taxis: Do not touch the doors. The driver controls opening and closing the door. No tipping required.

Carry a small towel with you. The Japanese all carry a small towel for drying their hands after washing them. Disposable towels are not always found in public restrooms.

Japanese toilets--an experience.

Japanese convenient stores (7-11, Lawson, Family Mart) are not like our convenient stores. They sell fresh prepared foods that are very good as well as junk food (Japanese style.) They usually have places to sit and eat (they will heat up any food you buy and want to eat there), and usually have ATM machines that will accept foreign debit cards. (Not all ATM's in Japan do.)

Get a transport card like a Suica card. Not only can you use them on public transport, but also in convenience stores and with some vending machines.

Vending machines are amazing in Japan. They are everywhere and sell just about everything. The most common seem to sell beer, cold drinks and hot drinks all from one machine. The hot drinks are in cans and come out hot. They will have a red background in the display. Surprisingly, the coffees arent bad.

Announcements in train stations and on trains are made in Japanese and English. Expect everything to run exactly on time. On one bullet train I took, they kept apologizing for being late. We were one minute late.

Thank you! Appreciate all of these pointers and suggestions!

If you want a long read, here's a link to my very detailed trip report from my October 2019 visit:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/japan-2019-tokyo-hakone-national-park-kyoto-osaka-nagasaki

I had a GREAT time, and since it was my last trip to date, I think about it a lot, and wish my planned return to Japan in April 2020 had been able to happen.