Want to book a holiday to Japan- what should I know?

[hullabaloo]

My DH and I both turn 40 this year. He has always wanted to go to Tokyo and so we have decided that we will book a holiday to Japan this summer.
What should we try to see? Have you any recommendations for hotels, places to visit etc? We're taking our 8 year old son who is really excited so all advice will be gratefully received!

Message withdrawn

Oh I'll avoid the airport then!!
Singapore is great and we spent a bit of time in the airport too!!
To be honest I think that's why DH wants to go . When we got married we went to Singapore on honeymoon and it wasn't his first choice (Our friend who worked for BA arranged our honeymoon using her special deals and there was a choice of 4 or 5 different places. I chose Singapore!) However he totally loved it and we couldn't believe how different everything was.
Tokyo just looks so vibrant and exciting and interesting and I really can't wait. I'm not sure where the money is coming from but I'll worry about that later!

So has anyone else got any ideas??

Anyone know of any good hotels?

Tokyo is an amazing friendly exciting place! The shopping is great and I am afraid I did little else whilst I was there as I was on a work trip but had some great meals too. Hotel wise I'd try trip advisor as the ones I have stayed in are more business hotels (like the Keio plaza or Park Hyatt) so might be a bit impersonal although this one was nice but pricey (Tokyo is very pricey!).

For shopping try Shibuya, Harajuku and shinjuku and for nights out Roppongi or the Irish pub in Harajuku is lively. As well as sushi, definately try a yakitori meal (like kebab type things of various meats etc). A friend of mine once visited the fish market there which was supposed to be amazing at 5am but I think they have banned tourists now !!

Have fun, I would recommend Tokyo to anyone given the chance to visit.

Dh and I went on honeymoon to Japan. We travelled the country on bullet trains with a company called the imaginative traveller They organise guided tours which are very laid back. They provide a guide, but you are essentially backpacking around the country. Difference is all your accomodation is booked (in traditional inns, which are fab), and your train pass is included.
Japan is an amazing country but can be very confusing if you don't speak the language. I would really recommend a guided tour.
WE had a fantastic time.
I just noticed you are taking your son... I think the company do special tours with children too but not sure if in Japan.

Oh there is a disneyland in Tokyo as well! Be prepared for everything to be in Japanese and I was surprised at how little English people spoke there considering they are so "Western".

You have to visit the yoyogi park in central Tokyo on a sunday too, its a sight to be seen.. plenty of dressed up youths!

Must dos:
travel on the bullet trains
spend at least 3 days in kyoto seeing temples/zen gardens
kyoto station
famous floating gate in miyajima
hiroshima/nagasaki (very hard going, but worth the visit)
tokoyo parks, as mentioned in last post
food - sushi, okonomyaki (pancakes), barbeque places
I'm jealous... would love to go back.

oh yes, be prepared for the lack of english. especially if you eat in smaller cafes and restaurants. but they have models of the food for you to point at to choose
it is FAB. Totally recommend going to kyoto by bullet train too.

My sister just pointed out this thread to me - I lived in Japan for 3 years and cannot recommend it highly enough! It is wonderful. If you want any specifics just ask. Are you planning to go only to Tokyo or will you travel too? If you will travel, you need to get a tourist pass for the shinkansen before you go (not available once you are already there) - a week's pass costs about the same as a normal return from Tokyo-Kyoto so well worth it. How long are you going for?
If only Tokyo, you must (!) visit the main temple in asakusa, from where you can walk to kappabashi "kitchenware alley" or take a river trip to the hamarikyu garden, which is near the fish market (so if you are energetic you can get up early, do that first, and do the trip in reverse). The government towers in Shinjuku have a free observatory from the 40th floor, which I would do in preference to the horrible tokyo tower. Nikko is a lovely day trip out, as is Kamakura (if you won't get to Kyoto, do visit Kamakura...if you'll get to Kyoto then you don't need to bother). Spend a day visiting Yoyogi park/harajuku/omotesando (if you make it a Sunday then you will see the dressed-up teenagers). Visit Shibuya just to cross the road! The Shinjuku gyoen garden is worth a visit, and while you are in Shinjuku go to Tokyo Hands (the most amazing shop!) and then to Isetan (department store) to the basement food hall and the kimono department.
Um. I might stop now...does that give you some starting points?!

From BA's website re flights-

BA flights 7 and 8 to/from Tokyo service will not operate during Summer and Winter 2009.

But BA5 and 6 still operate. If you go (and I'd love to go there as well) I would make up a proerply drawn up itinerary through a specialist travel agent (e.g trailfinders) particularly if you are going to travel around the region.

PS When you say "this summer" think carefully about when you go! May can be beautiful but June is the rainy season, July and August are indescribably revolting (hot (up to 40 deg in Tokyo), humid (up to 95%), cockroaches(everywhere)). September is nice but typhoon season. September through to May is all glorious!

We went in the middle of March - just at the beginning of sakura (cherry blossom) season. I think a couple of weeks later and it would have been perfect with all the pink on the trees.

Second the advice about trailfinders btw, they organised out trip and can't fault them. We travelled to other countries too and they had loads to organise. No problems anywhere.

Oh good to hear a few people recommend trailfinders as they were on my to do list for this week.
Unfortunately we don't have much choice about seasons. The downside of being a teacher is that although you get great holidays you have to take them when you're told! We can't go at Easter as it is my son's birthday and I wouldn't want him to miss all his family and friends and if we go in the summer it gives us time to get some cash together!
After summer I don't have another 2 week holiday till Christmas so although summer's not ideal it's probably the best time for us. Would ideally love to see it in Spring!
Can't believe how many fabulous suggestions you have come up with. I pointed them all out to my DH who was most impressed. see there's an upside to my spending so long on the computer! thanks everyone! Keep the suggestions coming!

Right...well if you really must go in the summer then you really don't want to be in Tokyo any more than you have to! (Honestly, I can't describe how enervating it is.) Put the mountains on your itinerary - the Japanese alps, Matsumoto (nice castle!) or even up to Nikko. You might want to head north a little, or even consider Hokkaido?

It's well worth getting a specialist travel company - we used Audley TRavel for a two week trip in September 2005. We did a couple of organised tours in Tokyo, one of which was to Mount Fuji. We did a day just tripping round by ourselves, to the temples and over to the island of Odaiba which was quite different. We had two nights at a Ryokan in Takayama which I thoroughly recommend - amazing food, but two nights on the floor on a futon was enough!
September was very hot, especially in Kyoto. We ate at small restaurants most of the time and chose from pictures. One tiny place near Ginza didn't have pictures, so we ordered at random. I suspect the management took pity on us since fairly safe things like gyoza turned up!
It's a strange place to visit. You will feel quite alien which in many ways is quite liberating!

I'm looking forward to the different-ness of it all. I loved Singapore for that very reason. Ans as much as I want to see Tokyo, I still want to see the more traditional side of japan as well. I definitely need to read up more and draw up a list of places we really want to see.

I wesnt to Japan maybe 20 years ago. I would recommend avoiding their summer time as its very hot , wet and on teh day I arrived it was full of flying ants ( lasted about 3 days ). When i mean full I mean mouth and ears full. I have stll not forgtton this.

However, I would recommend staying in a ryokan. I was travelling alone and fancied a one night stay in teh traditional Japanese manner rather than in a youth hostel etc. It was very very relaxing. you are barefoot and beds are low and whole experience was greeat.

life in japan though - ery expenise. Still remember that a sandwcih in a tube station cost £7 and that was 20 yrs ago.

Also in restuarants, watch out for insects ( unless that's your thing). The resutanats usually display paper/wooden versions of what's for sale in their window. When inside I was sickened by the sight of my fellow diners crunching on locusts and grasshoppers which wer offered fried nad in various sauces.

have to reiterate the comments about the weather - i arrived in japan in july - not to be recommended - humidity is unbelievable. i really really would consider the october half term or xmas if easter is a no go? sight seeing in any of the cities will be appalling in july or august. dh is asthmatic - we went in september and we still had to seek refuge in the aircon every so often so he could breath....

kyoto/nara in october - trees would be chan ging colour - would be spectacular.

top tip is to buy your shinkansen pass in advance - japan rail have details on their website...

ryokans are also highly recommended although might be difficult to navigate without a native speaker?

insects in restauarants - never ever saw that in my whole 2 years there.... generally the fact they have plastic models is v handy - if in doubt, the waiter will happily follow you outside and let you point at what you want!

Hi, dont know if you are still checking this thread but thought I would add my comments anyway. I lived there for 4 years and am now back for a hol, re: hotels we are staying in a reasonable one in Shunjuku in Tokyo called cafe hotel we are paying 9,800 yen for the night for my husband, baby and i in a japanese style room but its cheaper, 8,000 a night I think, on a week day. For travel outside tokyo google japanese inns which have a good range of places to stay at reasonable prices, def get the japan rail pass as it also allows you to travel on the trains within tokyo (JR Only). Summer can be hideous but every year is differant and some are not as bad as others its also hanabi season where you will see people dressed in beautiful summer kimonos and witness some of the most amazing fireworks ever. For flights try the japan travel centre as they seem to get the best deals, hope you have a wonderful time whenever you go.

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice. I haven't been able to check on here for a wee while - mega busy at the mo. I have spent the last couple of nights looking for a hotel in Tokyo that will take the 3 of us. Can't seem to find a family room. Do the japanese not do this? Even when we find one with a triple room it says you can't fit 3 people!! If you have stayed in a nice hotel in Tokyo with your child sharing your room could you let me know which one it was? Thanks!!

I think you will struggle to find a room to accomodate 3 people in a western style hotel. If you go on the japanese inns sight and click on tokyo, it gives you a number of options and these def take 3 people in a room. THe two I would recommend are the ones in Asakusa or Ueno depending on your budget. Ueno is the easiest to get to from the airport as the skyliner goes straight there, I cant be sure but I am guessing they will both speak a little english. This may be a bit of a culture shock for you but if you want the real japanese experience a ryokan is def the way to go. Hope this helps

I'm posting just so it's on my 'threads'. I have loads to say but am far too knackered to do so right now.

Thank you jetsetbaby. I'll look into that! It was the fact that a triple room was offered that baffled me!!
Devilwearsprimark (I do love that name!!) I shall pop back later and thanks for taking time to stop by!