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Travel Forum / Destinations / Asia / March 2004Next Trip to Japan
This will be our fourth trip in as many years and we intend to see what's to be seen north of Tokyo. We were thinking of heading up the east coast through Sendai, then across and down the coast of the inland sea. Or thereabouts. Any suggestions for fun places to visit or hang in the northern areas?  SignatureFirst they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy. -- Gail Collins > We were thinking of heading up the east coast through Sendai, then > across and down the coast of the inland sea. Or thereabouts. > > Any suggestions for fun places to visit or hang in the northern areas? Matsushima, on the coast just north of Sendai, is very scenic with lots of little islands in the bay. The Inland Sea lies between Honshu and Shikoku, so maybe you mean the Japan Sea? If you are travelling back down along the Japan Sea coast, Kanazawa is an interesting city worth seeing. The castle and gardens there are probably the biggest attraction. SignatureDave Fossett Saitama, Japan > > We were thinking of heading up the east coast through Sendai, then > > across and down the coast of the inland sea. Or thereabouts. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > an interesting city worth seeing. The castle and gardens there are probably > the biggest attraction. Don't miss the Ninja Temple in Kanazawa. Quoting Gerry <222ggg@spam.really.sucks> regarding Next Trip to Japan in a message dated Fri, 27 Feb 2004 18:33:01 -0800: >This will be our fourth trip in as many years and we intend to see >what's to be seen north of Tokyo. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Any suggestions for fun places to visit or hang in the northern areas? Well, this may not be "fun" from your perspective but it was from mine. I went all the way north to Aomori last year on the Hiyate Shinkansen (you have/had to change to a local train at Hachihone). The coastline between Hachihone and Aomori was gorgeous. Aomori is very much a "city" in many respects but a very interesting one. Two major attractions include the "Nebuta Matsuri" festival in early August, and the Sannai Maruyama site. And depending on what time of year you go (ie. if you go in August or threabouts), it's a great way to beat the heat/mugginess of Tokyo. I steped off the train and it was 10 deg. cooler than Tokyo - what a relief! __________________________________ Regards, Arnold. (E-mail address altered, to prevent spamming. :-| Remove all asterisks and the *hates*spam* to get true address.) Quoting mag3 <mag3*hates*spam*@newsguy.com> regarding Re: Next Trip to Japan in a message dated Sat, 28 Feb 2004 08:26:42 -0500: >Quoting Gerry <222ggg@spam.really.sucks> regarding Next Trip to Japan in a >message dated Fri, 27 Feb 2004 18:33:01 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >Well, this may not be "fun" from your perspective but it was from mine. I >went all the way north to Aomori last year on the Hiyate Shinkansen (you Pardon: "Hayate Shinkansen" Typo. :-) >have/had to change to a local train at Hachihone). The coastline between >Hachihone and Aomori was gorgeous. Aomori is very much a "city" in many [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >(E-mail address altered, to prevent spamming. :-| > Remove all asterisks and the *hates*spam* to get true address.) __________________________________ Regards, Arnold. (E-mail address altered, to prevent spamming. :-| Remove all asterisks and the *hates*spam* to get true address.) > The coastline between Hachihone and Aomori was gorgeous. Aomori is > very much a "city" in many respects but a very interesting one. Two [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > to beat the heat/mugginess of Tokyo. I steped off the train and it > was 10 deg. cooler than Tokyo - what a relief! Both Matsushima and Kanazawa sound good. Do Does Aomore. Duly noted. We are going in the middle two weeks of May, but for business reasons it now seems that June might be easier. Is the weather oppressive in June? Or better to say, overall which mont will be better overall in the country; mid-May or mid-June? SignatureFirst they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy. -- Gail Collins Quoting Gerry <222ggg@spam.really.sucks> regarding Re: Next Trip to Japan in a message dated Sat, 28 Feb 2004 08:12:07 -0800: >We are going in the middle two weeks of May, but for business reasons >it now seems that June might be easier. > >Is the weather oppressive in June? Or better to say, overall which >mont will be better overall in the country; mid-May or mid-June? I've never been there in June, but let's put it this way. Tokyo's latitude is about 50 miles or so south of Raleigh, North Carolina. So that's the kind of weather you'd be expecting. In the middle of May, you might be catching the tail end of the spring Thunderstorms. If it's mid-June, I'd imagine it's already starting to get oppressive. But Aomori should be really nice. __________________________________ Regards, Arnold. (E-mail address altered, to prevent spamming. :-| Remove all asterisks and the *hates*spam* to get true address.) > > The coastline between Hachihone and Aomori was gorgeous. Aomori is > > very much a "city" in many respects but a very interesting one. Two [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Is the weather oppressive in June? Or better to say, overall which > mont will be better overall in the country; mid-May or mid-June? Mid May will be better than Mid June, but that far north you shouldn't have as many problems with the rain as further south/West; June is the official rainy season, so bear that in mind. Still, I found the 'rainy season' to be no worse than regular spring rains in Japan and my native Tennessee. I've been to both Sendai and Matsushima and enjoyed both, though in Sendai I really didn't do much in the way of 'touristy' things. The beaches around Sendai were decent, but because of the tsunami barriers (I assume that's what they were) they weren't all that pretty; a short distance from shore were these huge concrete contraptions. What's your 'plan of attack'? I've always wanted to head out of Narita over to the eastern shore and head up that way. There are supposed to be some nice small villages that few tourists (and few Japanese) see. I added up the travel times once and the time from Narita to Tokyo, then up north by Shinkansen wasn't that much faster than going over to the coast and up. But I'm a wanderer by nature so what's 'relative' to me is a bit different than some! John W. > I've been to both Sendai and Matsushima and enjoyed both, though in > Sendai I really didn't do much in the way of 'touristy' things. The [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > the coast and up. But I'm a wanderer by nature so what's 'relative' to > me is a bit different than some! We don't really have a plan of attack yet. We usually fly LA to Osaka, turn our clocks around for a couple of days and then head off. If we were to do that I think we'd probably pickup some sites in the western Honshu sites we haven't been to, then up past Tokyo up the Eastern Coast. Then, the theory was that there was some train running across to the Sea of Japan which we would take before heading SW back down that coast. But sheesh I barely even have a map in hand at this point. Can you narrow down the smaller villages you heard about to a specific area? We've never rented a car (nor driven on the left) before, but over the past week few weeks I've been reading Booth's Road to Sata and the areas he travels really can only be seen via car--though admittedly it's most is not an idyllic wander. It does sound a bit less traveled though... SignatureFirst they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy. -- Gail Collins > > I've been to both Sendai and Matsushima and enjoyed both, though in > > Sendai I really didn't do much in the way of 'touristy' things. The [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > to the Sea of Japan which we would take before heading SW back down > that coast. Why not go from Kansai to the Japan sea and then head up that way? Or, if you haven't done it, take the train up from Nagoya. But a lot also depends on time. Both of those options will add to your trip. > But sheesh I barely even have a map in hand at this point. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > it's most is not an idyllic wander. It does sound a bit less traveled > though... I never got it narrowed down to specifics. What prompted me to think about this is all the talk about how Narita isn't all that bad of a town, combined with some folks that I know who went over to the Chiba coast and enjoyed it. So I planned on either taking a train or car over and just driving until I found something I like. If there's nothing worth seeing, no real harm since it's not that out of the way for a trip up north (had some inlaws in Ibaraki). I think driving in Japan (and on the left in general) isn't that hard at all. Just have to think a bit more than usual, particuarly when you return home; the only time I accidently drove on the 'wrong' side was when I came from Japan to the US and got too comfy with my driving and found myself heading the wrong way! John W. > > We don't really have a plan of attack yet. We usually fly LA to Osaka, > > turn our clocks around for a couple of days and then head off. If we [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > if you haven't done it, take the train up from Nagoya. But a lot also > depends on time. Both of those options will add to your trip. Might be feasible. But going from Osaka to the Matsue took the better part of a day--no Shinkansen going form Inland Sea to Sea of Japan there. We did Nagoya to Matsumoto, the slow boat up the Kiso Valley, too once. Either route more less torches a day. I was just thinking that going up the east coast would get us somewhere (anywhere) quicker. > > But sheesh I barely even have a map in hand at this point. > > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Japan to the US and got too comfy with my driving and found myself > heading the wrong way! That's much scarier indeed. Do you know if car rental is generally as convenient and inexpensive as the US? If we could wander aimlessly up any coast and then ditch the car in a major city it sounds like it would be a lot of fun for just the reasons you mention--stopping if you find something neat without having to deal with a crowd. SignatureFirst they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy. -- Gail Collins For some ideas, look at this itinerary: http://www.adventures-abroad.com/tours/html/QJP.htm. It's a terrific itinerary. BTW, I'm not affiliated with Adventures Abroad. I just like the region. It should particularly appeal to people who have seen the more popular sites in Japan and want to see a part of the country that is less known and visited. Harlan ----- Soft adventure tours at http://softadventure.net/tours.htm | This will be our fourth trip in as many years and we intend to see | what's to be seen north of Tokyo. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] | care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy. | -- Gail Collins > For some ideas, look at this itinerary: > http://www.adventures-abroad.com/tours/html/QJP.htm It's a terrific > itinerary. BTW, I'm not affiliated with Adventures Abroad. I just like the > region. It should particularly appeal to people who have seen the more > popular sites in Japan and want to see a part of the country that is less > known and visited. Cool. There's got to be SOMEthing worthwhile there, though probably too much of it for such a whirlwind run... If you're found of it yourself, which places would you be most inclined to spend three days. We've generally concluded that everywhere we go it's a lot easier if we intend to stay three days and at least 2 if not 3 nights. SignatureFirst they gerrymander us into one-party fiefs. Then they tell us they only care about the swing districts. Then they complain about voter apathy. -- Gail Collins |
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