I have a bit more than a week off in the next two weeks and am located in central Honshu — what recommendations do y’all have for summer travel by train? Favorite places you’ve been? (preferably easy to access!)
Don’t tell any of your coworkers you’re headed out and about during this particular period. Although depending on your BoE, you may have to fill it out on a sheet.
What are you into? From central Honshu you can go pretty much anywhere. You’ve got some of the big cities accessible via shinkansen or you could explore some nature in the Japanese Alps. I wanna visit Takayama personally
JR East pass. Travel around Tohoku for five days
Former JET 2012-2017
If by train, and you haven’t visited the area before, do a tour of the Kansai area or the Chugoku area.
Depending on how long you want to go for, you can visit Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, and Wakayama to visit Koya-san. Though Koya-san is much better in the autumn, imo. Plenty of modern things mixed in with ancient things. I’d recommend taking the extra ride north of Kyoto city to visit Amanohashidate, one the 3 most scenic views in Japan. You really can’t go wrong with the Kansai area. Most people already know a ton about the Kansai area, so let me make a case for the Chugoku region.
If you go even further, heading out to the Chugoku region to visit Hiroshima, Shimane, and to Okayama.
Hiroshima is a really nice destination, and if you time your trip right, you can partake in the Obon lantern lighting and float it in the river near the Genbaku Dome. Just outside of the city, you can take a ferry to Itsukujima to visit Miyajima, another one of the 3 most scenic views on Japan. If you’re into soy sauce, you can get some really unique flavors and even pick up a wooden rice ladle. Makes for great omiyage or even as your own keepsake.
In Okayama, you can take a ferry to Naoshima, which is part of Kagawa Prefecture, but the island is famous for its artwork. It also has a long waiting line, at least from the Kagawa side, but I think it’s a safe bet that it’s a long wait from the Okayama side as well.
I think Shimane is famous for Izumo Taisha amongst foreigners, but there are some cool side spots to visit. Matsue Castle is a good spot and near it you can visit the home of Lafcadio Hearn, an author, who later in life adopted the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. He’s quite the interesting fellow, and I recommend people in general learn more about him and his works. Anyway, there’s some cool stuff to do in Shimane.
Or, head to my old stomping grounds in southern Chiba along the Pacific coastline to hit up the beaches and go surfing, haha.
Where ever you decide to go, have fun. Hopefully you have some cool JETs or other friends that you can travel with. Having a core group of friends to travel with helped make all of my random and not so random adventures in Japan really memorable.
Shimane! Jet from the 90’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. If you can, go to Oki, Nishinoshima!
Lake Kawaguchi (Kawaguchiko). The area is absolutely beautiful, with breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji. Its very close to Fuji-Q if you are in to rollercoasters and the like. There’s some interesting museums and sites to see. Its not super crowded, and has a very chill vibe. Being up in the mountains the temperatures aren’t as high either. Great for solo travel or with friends depending on your preference.
I studied abroad in Nagoya a few years back. Some of my favorite day trips were Tsumago-Mahome (two old Japanese towns with traditional architecture. You can hike between them or take a bus). I also really enjoyed Inuyama. It’s another spot that’s less visited by foreign tourists but it has a 16th century castle, a Showa-style shopping alley with cute food and souvenir shops, and an inari shrine. Both are well worth the trip but not overcrowded like Kyoto and Nara.
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Don’t tell any of your coworkers you’re headed out and about during this particular period. Although depending on your BoE, you may have to fill it out on a sheet.
What are you into? From central Honshu you can go pretty much anywhere. You’ve got some of the big cities accessible via shinkansen or you could explore some nature in the Japanese Alps. I wanna visit Takayama personally
JR East pass. Travel around Tohoku for five days
Former JET 2012-2017
If by train, and you haven’t visited the area before, do a tour of the Kansai area or the Chugoku area.
Depending on how long you want to go for, you can visit Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, and Wakayama to visit Koya-san. Though Koya-san is much better in the autumn, imo. Plenty of modern things mixed in with ancient things. I’d recommend taking the extra ride north of Kyoto city to visit Amanohashidate, one the 3 most scenic views in Japan. You really can’t go wrong with the Kansai area. Most people already know a ton about the Kansai area, so let me make a case for the Chugoku region.
If you go even further, heading out to the Chugoku region to visit Hiroshima, Shimane, and to Okayama.
Hiroshima is a really nice destination, and if you time your trip right, you can partake in the Obon lantern lighting and float it in the river near the Genbaku Dome. Just outside of the city, you can take a ferry to Itsukujima to visit Miyajima, another one of the 3 most scenic views on Japan. If you’re into soy sauce, you can get some really unique flavors and even pick up a wooden rice ladle. Makes for great omiyage or even as your own keepsake.
In Okayama, you can take a ferry to Naoshima, which is part of Kagawa Prefecture, but the island is famous for its artwork. It also has a long waiting line, at least from the Kagawa side, but I think it’s a safe bet that it’s a long wait from the Okayama side as well.
I think Shimane is famous for Izumo Taisha amongst foreigners, but there are some cool side spots to visit. Matsue Castle is a good spot and near it you can visit the home of Lafcadio Hearn, an author, who later in life adopted the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. He’s quite the interesting fellow, and I recommend people in general learn more about him and his works. Anyway, there’s some cool stuff to do in Shimane.
Or, head to my old stomping grounds in southern Chiba along the Pacific coastline to hit up the beaches and go surfing, haha.
Where ever you decide to go, have fun. Hopefully you have some cool JETs or other friends that you can travel with. Having a core group of friends to travel with helped make all of my random and not so random adventures in Japan really memorable.
Shimane! Jet from the 90’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. If you can, go to Oki, Nishinoshima!
Lake Kawaguchi (Kawaguchiko). The area is absolutely beautiful, with breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji. Its very close to Fuji-Q if you are in to rollercoasters and the like. There’s some interesting museums and sites to see. Its not super crowded, and has a very chill vibe. Being up in the mountains the temperatures aren’t as high either. Great for solo travel or with friends depending on your preference.
I studied abroad in Nagoya a few years back. Some of my favorite day trips were Tsumago-Mahome (two old Japanese towns with traditional architecture. You can hike between them or take a bus). I also really enjoyed Inuyama. It’s another spot that’s less visited by foreign tourists but it has a 16th century castle, a Showa-style shopping alley with cute food and souvenir shops, and an inari shrine. Both are well worth the trip but not overcrowded like Kyoto and Nara.