gaijingirl
Well-Known Member
Hmm.. this is a little tricky. The JR East rail pass is indeed much cheaper. The north-east is where to go for tradition, hiking, nature - probably some of the most beautiful places you will ever visit. Kyoto is a good city because you can experience both high tradition and high modernity in the one place.
It's always worth remembering that Japan is an island nation and train is just one way to get around - the ferries are very comprehensive and relatively cheap. If you want to go a long distance it will also take care of your accomodation for a night (sleeping on shared tatami mat rooms on futons - lots of fun!).
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2355.html
Overnight buses/regular buses are also cheap, fast and reasonably comfortable. When I lived there that's how I travelled.
Plus, all the routes covered by shinkansen (which is pricey but amazing) are also covered by regular trains - so you can save money - but not time - by taking local lines.
You can also buy something called the Seishun Juhachi Kippu which is a rail pass but for local trains only. It's about £50 for 5 days I believe (although you'll need to check this). So if you have a whole week you could wing your way to Kyoto calling at various other places - spend a few nights there and then wing your way back up - then get the JR east ticket for going up north. Or you could just get an overnight bus to Kyoto and spend a week there and in the environs (including Osaka) and then back to Tokyo.
As for the north-east - where to start.
There's so many great places - in Iwate, the old feudal capital Hiraizumi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraizumi,_Iwate
get punted down geibikei:
Go to Osawa onsen (just one of literally thousands in Tokoku):
http://japan-geographic.tv/iwate/hanamaki-osawa0505009.jpg
I would recommend also aoni onsen in Aomori:
http://www.jandodd.com/japan/images/japan_onsen.jpg
Tsurunoyu:
http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/akita/images/tsurunoyuonsen_images/tsurunoyuonsen_toews2.jpg
tbh - there are too many amazing onsen to mention.
Climb any of the mountains... zao-san, iwate-san, hakkoda-san.. all are volcanoes and have onsen left right and centre.
Go to Matsushima near Sendai. One of the 3 most beautiful sight in Japan. I used to pretty much be able to see it from my window on a clear day on my last year there - it's definitely not my favourite site but popular with the Japanese.
To tell the truth, since I was living there, in typical Japanese style they've gotten their tourist services up to excellent standards. It is not any longer the case that it is expensive to travel to Japan (relatively speaking) and in fact is much cheaper than travelling around this country. Particularly with current exchange rates. Most places will have a youth hostel of some description and for super cheap places to stay, all major cities will have an internet/manga cafe that will offer tatami mat floor booths.
These places often also have all you can eat or drink free tea/coffee/soup/ice-cream and sometimes even rice. Often there is enough free food/drink that you won't actually need to buy anything and could very easily have your dinner and breakfast there for free. Some are better than others, so it's worth checking a few out. Some will require you to get a membership card (usually the better ones) but it's easily done and free.
They will have showers, a laundry room and also a range of meals to order very cheaply indeed. Your booth will typically have enough room for a futon, an armchair and, of course, the computer itself. Lots have extra services like oxygen bars, massage and various bizarre therapies.
You might want to consider doing a homestay if you really want to experience "real Japan" - whatever that might be?!? Camping is also popular and lots of places have log cabins which can be quite luxurious.
The love hotel is another way to spend a reasonably cheap night if you go for the bottom end of the market. (sounds seedy but it isn't). If you're male there's always the capsule hotels (there are very few for women - and mostly in Tokyo).
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