Taking a trip to Japan!

[Uran-chama]

Hey guys!
My mom, my younger brother, and I will be taking a trip to Japan Aug 8-22 to visit my older brother. He has been there a year and a half now; he's doing the whole English teacher's assistant thing.

Anyone who's ever been to Japan or just already know some great spots to visit? My mom and I definitely are going to the Tezuka museum I'm also planning on shopping around Akihabara and we'll obviously be visiting Tokyo in general, so if anyone knows any good places/restaurants in the city please recommend me some! I was also interested in Kaiyukan aquarium. At some point in the trip we'll be staying at a beach house for a day. My brother's Japanese girlfriend rented it for us from her uncle.

So we're all pretty open to whatever, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know! I'm also going to be further researching interesting places up until we go.

[Fuzzy Pickles!]

I bet you are excited to head out there. I sure would if I ever get the opportunity.

Have you gotten the chance to talk with your brother in regards to possible places to visit in Japan (of course this assumes that calls and texts are not too expensive)?

[CommanderEVE]

Does the Tezuka museum still exist? I saw somewhere that he had been closed down. I really hope this is not true. :C

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

The museum does close for parts of the year, check their website for info, there is an English language page. If you go, take lots of pictures and post links to them here!

[DrFrag]

I've been meaning to ask the same question, Uran-chama. I'm going in October and I see the travel agent next week. Tokyo and Osaka are on my list at the moment.

Festival lists seem to be a great place to start because you can organise your travels around those schedules. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/festivals/

In Tokyo I'd like to see the city itself, Akihabara, and Pier 21 in Kodaira. Pier 21 is a video arcade I heard someone recommend in a Tetris video, which seems like a totally random thing to go and see, but I thought why not?

In Osaka there's the Tezuka Museum in the north-west (technically in Takarazuka I guess), and I'd like to see the Nara Deer Park in the east. I think the Tezuka Museum that closed was the one in Kyoto? The Osaka one is still open but it's closed on Wednesdays. I want to try out the bullet train too.

Beyond that I'm not sure what to visit. I'm told Hiroshima and Nagasaki are good if you want to travel that far down the coast, but I find the war stuff really upsetting. Kyoto sounds good because there's lots of historic things. I wouldn't mind seeing some rural stuff, cause I find old stories of feudal Japan more enthralling than the bright lights of Tokyo.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Check out the videos on the "only in Japan" youtube channel. He has showed lots of interesting places to visit. You need to visit a good onsen bath.

[AstroAllies]

Wish you have a wonderful trip there, Uran-chama.

[Uran-chama]

Thanks guys!

DrFrag, I was kinda interested in the Deer Park too! Going to a festival sounds awesome too. That had kinda slipped my mind but now I definitely want to try and go to at least one! Hope you have a great trip too! Once I get back from mine I can recommend you some places too.

I haven't really had a chance to talk to my brother much; we chat with him thru fb messenger and Skype so cost isn't a problem. I'll mention to him the few things I'm interested in so far to see if he has any other recommendations. Oh! I forgot to mention that he has a car there, so we don't always have to take a train. We're basically able to go where ever.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

But you should get yourself a train pass. The fare for tourists is a fraction of what the natives pay! (You have to get the pass BEFORE you enter the country. See a travel agent about that!)

[DrFrag]

Once I get back from mine I can recommend you some places too.

Thanks!

We'll be renting a car since I can't do a lot of walking or standing. I was a bit apprehensive about it since the population density is so high, but I had a look at Google street view and it doesn't look too bad. Major destination signs in English, everything looks nice and orderly, and I'm used to driving on the left. The only disconcerting thing is clicking forward on street view and having it switch unexpectedly to a parallel subterranean road.

Do you speak any Japanese? I'm not sure how much I'll need to learn. The only non-English speaking places I've been to are Calais and British Hong Kong, which wasn't exactly being thrown in the deep end. Australia's a bit isolated so there's not a lot of daily incentive to pick up another langage here.

You have to get the pass BEFORE you enter the country.

Yes! Great advice.