For those who have travelled as a tourist to Japan... (1 Viewer)

[Ridgeback]

And been to both Hiroshima and Kanazawa, which would you recommend if you could only spend two days in one? My girlfriend and I are going to Japan in October for two weeks and have our itinerary planned out but are trying to choose between one of these two. I would love to hit both, but it's just not going to happen.

Any insight? I appreciate the feedback as we're really on the fence.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

We did not visit Kanazawa, but Hiroshima was a profound experience. A must IMO.

We took the train from Osaka to Hiroshima and stopped in Himeji to visit the castle there, also a must see.

 

[TripItUp]

We were there for 2.5 weeks...took trains everywhere. We visited the following:

- Tokyo
- Nagano - rural city where the snow monkeys are
- Kyoto - great restaurants, old japan streets
- Osaka - epic outdoor tech mall
- Matsumoto - cool castle
- Nara - really cool temple
- Kanazawa - well preserved city with historic districts
- Takayama - rural mountain town, like a Japanese Aspen

I would probably not go to Nagano unless its the winter and you want to see the snow monkeys. Every other city was pretty cool.

 

[higgins]

I’ve been twice (each ~ 1.5-2 weeks). Been to Hiroshima both times but never Kanazawa — PM me if you’re looking for advice on other topics/destinations.

 

[Kumerica]

Lived in Japan for a few years a decade+ ago. Never made it to Kanazawa—I’d heard great things about the gardens, but it was always somewhat out of the way for me (I was in the Kansai region). That said, Hiroshima is an exceptional and profound visit. Plus, with Hiroshima you’re within easy train rides to Kobe, Himeji, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Yoshino, Awaji island, etc. So my reco would be for Hiroshima of the two.

 

[Ridgeback]

Thanks for everyone's feedback so far. I'd still welcome others to share too. We're no leaning towards cutting Osaka down to two days and only spending one day in Hakone so we can make both Hiroshima and Kanazawa.

 

[TripItUp]

two days in osaka is plenty IMHO

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

We spent 3 weeks in Japan a few years ago.

We stayed in Hiroshima, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Koyasan, Niseko and Sapporo. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions about our experiences if you're visiting any of these places. We loved our time in all of them.

 

[Random]

We're heading there next week. Have 6 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto. 14 day rail pass. Would like to spend a day climbing Fuji, but it seems like a logistical nightmare to get there early enough to summit and return during daylight hours. Train doesn't leave Tokyo until 7am, putting us there at 930am or so. Maybe we'll get lucky and score a hut when we get there. Also trying to plan out how to through hike part of the Nakasendo Trail on our way to Kyoto. Aside from that just normal touristy stuff.

 

[PIK95]

Do American dudes typically do well with Japanese women over there? On an unrelated note, is prostitution legal in Japan. My buddy always said he wanted to go and was obsessed with all that. I heard it is very clean everywhere, but I get easily frustrated when I can't speak the the language. I doubt I ever go. Italy was tough for me communicating. Anyway, random thoughts.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Do American dudes typically do well with Japanese women over there? On an unrelated note, is prostitution legal in Japan. My buddy always said he wanted to go and was obsessed with all that. I heard it is very clean everywhere, but I get easily frustrated when I can't speak the the language. I doubt I ever go. Italy was tough for me communicating. Anyway, random thoughts.

Japanese women love Caucasian guys, especially if you’re from Hawaii

 

[Terminalxylem]

We spent 3 weeks in Japan a few years ago.

We stayed in Hiroshima, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Koyasan, Niseko and Sapporo. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions about our experiences if you're visiting any of these places. We loved our time in all of them.

If you like skiing, Niseko is super awesome. Went for the first time in January, and intend on going back every year, if I can.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

We spent 3 weeks in Japan a few years ago.

We stayed in Hiroshima, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Koyasan, Niseko and Sapporo. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions about our experiences if you're visiting any of these places. We loved our time in all of them.

If you like skiing, Niseko is super awesome. Went for the first time in January, and intend on going back every year, if I can.

We were there in August so no skiing but some gorgeous hiking.

My BIL was teaching at an international school in Sapporo at the time and he skied at Niseko many times over the 4 years he lived on Hokkaido.