help deciding what to do in Japan?

[aimeekitty]

Ok, for those of you who have gone to Japan before, can you give me ideas/suggestions on what I should do this time? Stuff that you really really enjoyed doing?



Things I really enjoyed last time I went to Japan:
Kiyomizudera Temple (Kyoto)
Seeing a random geisha performance with a random bean throwing festival at Yasaka Shrine Kyoto
Tenshi No Sato (Kyoto - doll stuff)
Okadaya Fabric store
Takarazuka City
Closet Child
Gothic & Lolita shopping in general
Kiddie Land
Harajuku shopping

Other things I really like and would like recommendations for more of:
Themed Restaurants and Cafes
Really awesome Chicken Curry
Really awesome Desert places
gardens and temples in general
fabric stores with stuff you cant get in the USA



Still need help finding custom shoe places!

Comments

[little-teacup.livejournal.com]

Go do karaoke, if you have people with you! It's a lot of fun!

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

yeah, I know. :) but I just figured I'd mention it was something I enjoyed, so that people could suggest other things I might like

[kyubikitsy.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't know too much about Honshu as I spent most of my time on Kyushu. However, I suggest eatting at a Hokahoka-tei at least once while you're there. For take-out food, it's so yummy and super affordable~!

Places I highly suggest in Kyoto:
Fushimi-Inari Shrine - have on good walking shoes - it can be quite a hike.
Ryoanji - large zen rock garden to meditate at. There's a famous 5-yen-shaped washing well with a powerful zen saying on it. It's close to Kinkakuji.

[slai.livejournal.com]

Hi Aimee,

Well, I haven't been to Japan in decades, but if I were to go, I would hit the cel shops and the Ghibli Museum. I have no idea how far off the Ghibli Museum is, but it looks like a lot of fun (and indulge on all your Totoro wants)!

[biscuitbear.livejournal.com]

Things I enjoyed :

Going down a river in Kyoto in a low, open boat for an hour or two, getting a little wet, the scenery was incredible. Arrival point was Arashiyama, I forgot where the starting point was but I can ask my husband.

Floating lantern festival in Arashiyama, and watching the kanji fires on the hills near Kyoyo, but that's in the summer onmy.

Chion-in, my favorite temple in Kyoto, with the nightingale floors.

A temple in Kamakura, I forgot the name again, my husband would know, it has a fantastic bamboo wood with great atmosphere.

Mikimoto pearls in Toba.

Driving on the beach for some miles on Nagisa driveway, but it's too out of the way I think, between Nagoya and Kanazawa.

Lacquer in Wajima and fabric in Kanazawa, but then again it's far.

Skywalk in Yokohama at dusk - walking under a bridge - that was great. And dinner in Chinatown.

Walking around Nara.

Kabuki in Ginza.

Bunraku shows.

Make your own washi or make your own soba places.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see a Bunraku play! but I heard they dont do them very often and they are hard to get into?

what's washi? :)

We saw one of the castles last time with nightengale floors and that was really neat!

What did you like about Chion-in, was it just really pretty?

I guess the floating lantern festival is only in the summer huh? I'm going to Japan in March (mid march)

[biscuitbear.livejournal.com]

I went to see Bunraku when I was a student so I don't remember well how we got the tickets, but I don't think it was that hard.
I also love koto concerts. And taiko (drums) but that would be more in the summer as well.
Washi is paper, there are some places were you can make and decorate a sheet yourself.
I like about Chion-in the wooden corridors linking the buildings to each other, and the atmosphere. Walking without shoes on wooden floors!
Yes, the floating thing was only in the summer. It was so pretty, all the little lights floating on the river.

[hoshikage.livejournal.com]

Kyoto is chock full of awesome stuff, especially temples and shrines. (Kiyomizudera was one of my favorites too!) Not too far away by train is also Himeji Castle, the white castle featured in many a historical drama.

If you can get farther afield, to Kanazawa (it might not be possible but I thought I'd mention it for the record), there is not only the super-awesome Ninja Temple (not its real name (Myoryuji), but everybody calls it that because it's chock full of secret passages and hidden staircases and such), but the remains of Kanazawa Castle and the truly AMAZING garden associated with it. My husband and I spent most of a day just wandering around the garden. ^_^

[utenatai.livejournal.com]

I'd agree- if you can get to Kanazawa, Ninja-Dera is worth the trip.

Also, if you're going to be in Kyoto and haven't seen Nijo Jo yet, I would go see that. Nijo is the castle with the infamous "nightingale floors" that were designed to make noise in order to thwart assassination attempts. When someone first told me I thought "Oh boy, floors that squeak," but the sound really does have this amazingly delicate bird-like quality to it.

Another thing I've really enjoyed is taking a hike around Fushimi Inari, which makes a nice day trip from Kyoto. The main shrine is near the station, and has all the little requisite shops and such. From there you can follow the paths that go up into the hills, which are lined with row upon row of red torri- you've probably seen picture like this- the entire mountain is covered in these things. As you go along there are thousands of small shrines to Inari lining the path. It is an amazing hike.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

^_^ we were lucky enough to go to Nijo Jo last time, it was really neat. ^_^

I definitely would like to go to Fushimi Inari if we can. It seems really beautiful.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

We enjoyed the Museum of Ramen in Yokohama. Best ramen I ever tasted. And, you can make your own custom instant ramen!

[withinity.livejournal.com]

My favourite dessert place in Japan is the Milky Way Cafe in Ikebukuro. It has a star theme that is very cute, and the desserts are amazing! My favourite comes set in a dish with dry ice, and includes ice cream, star-shaped cookies, star-shaped jellies, mini cakes and I forget what all else.

Otherwise, I only know places in Kansai, but...

I definitely recommend going to Nara, which is near Osaka and Kyoto. It has a big shrine, a temple with one of the largest wooden buddhas ever, and a park full of deer. It's especially nice because you can just get off at the train station and walk to the beautiful sites, you don't need to take buses as in Kyoto. It's also more quaint and picturesque generally, a smaller town. I would actually recommend sightseeing in Nara over Kyoto.

If you have time in Kansai, I also highly recommend a daytrip or overnight stay in Koyasan. It's a temple village at the top of a mountain, so you take a bizarre slanted train up the mountain to get to it. There are some beautiful temples, a museum and a famous cemetary. It's really beautiful and misty there. It's a famous religious site and is still very much in use as such, so you can hear chanting and see flocks of students from the monestary school in their robes. I haven't spent the night there, but apparently there are many wonderful ryokan and the temple food is really famous. And despite being remote, it is cheap and easy to get to from Osaka, so I imagine elsewhere in Kansai as well.

In Kyoto and Nagoya there are also periodic flea markets that have loads of inexpensive kimono. Nothing *really* old, but some nice fabrics, and prices are about ¥1,500 and up for a kimono.

Osaka has the best aquarium in Japan, if you like aquariums at all, I highly recommend it. There is also a nearby ferris wheel and a modern art gallery by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

That's all I can think of right now. ^-^

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

actually we went to the Milky Way Cafe twice last time! LOL! I really really like it. :) I'd love to find more places like that.

Aquariums aren't really my thing, but the temples, etc that you mentioned sound interesting! I think would be up to my friends whether they are willing to go that far out or not. we're going to have a busy trip as it is.

[aitreni.livejournal.com]

For themed restaurants, maybe Christon Cafe? There are a couple in Tokyo. (Shinjuku, Shibuya)
http://www.ug-gu.co.jp/restaurant/shop/christon.htm
http://club.nokia.co.jp/tokyoq/weekly_updates/tqoole/christon.html

As for fabric stores, I think Okadaya might be the best general-purpose one in all Japan. (^^;) Okadaya is expensive, but they've got all kinds of things nobody else has. But actually there's a whole fabric district in Tokyo, called Nippori. It's on the Yamanote line near Ueno. There are dozens of fabric/notions shops there all crowded together. They close earlier than other stores in Japan, and by 6:00 it's dead there.

I haven't really been to temples and gardens... ^^; The big Buddha at Kamakura was impressive. It's a bit outside Tokyo. You can take local trains to get there. It takes long enough that it's best to set aside a whole day for it. I think there are other historical things in the area, and quite a bit of tourist-town shopping.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

hrm... do you have an address for this mighty fabric land called Nippori? It's just I see all these ads in the GL bibles and I'm all "OMG I WANT TO BUY FABRIC IN JAPAN!" Okadaya had a lot of rad stuff, but I didn't see as many "neat asian prints" as I would have liked (they had lots of kimono fabric, but not as much cotton prints as I would have liked) and also, while they had a lot of EGL lace, I still wanted MOOOORE! :)

hahaha. that christon cafe is just wrong.XD

[lovemeeko.livejournal.com]

Nippori is basically the Tokyo equivalent of the Garment District in downtown LA. You get off at Nippori (???) station in Tokyo and walk a block to a street lined with just fabric shops (goes on for blocks). If you really want to go, I could get info from Yas when we went, just don't go on the weekend or early in the morning because it'll be dead there.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

do you think it's worth going to ?

[lovemeeko.livejournal.com]

Not really. You can find most of the same stuff in LA, except if you want something like a specific licensed print (sanrio characters and/or popular kid animes). Okadaya is certainly the best fabric store to go to for Loli trims and such~~ They really cater to it. (I still have my black crown lace trim and card suit ribbon) Ahh heh heh~

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

what I"d really like to try to find are some asian print cottons that places here just dont really have. It's hard to explain what I'm looking for, but I see doll costumers on YJA make stuff out of it frequently. I would buy a ton of it and make random dresses and life would be wonderful!

[lovemeeko.livejournal.com]

Nippori would have a lot of asian print fabrics~~~ Cotton, silk, probably everything.

[aboutallmydolls.livejournal.com]

For some cotton print fabrics used by doll costumers on YJA I like two places:

1) Yuzawaya - the Kichijoji one is in the station building

2) Kinkado by Hands in Ikebukuro (Seibu side of station, east side)

Kinkado has lots of awful junque & cheap jewelry/hair things with good doll possibilities. Lots of good yarn at Kinkado. Yuzawaya has craft stuff, toys and tons of stuff!

Both cheaper than Okadaya and have different things, some stuff the same, ofc. Can be good remnants at Kinkado.

Found the fabric with dolls on it at Yuzawaya last time, many colorways and variations. Many fabrics from there recognizable as input for doll clothes makers. Many price ranges too. Yuzawaya! my fav store

[elhermano.livejournal.com]

Also- Choco-cro.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

which is? :)

[utenatai.livejournal.com]

Ack, sorry, that was me. There is a choco-cro in Harajuku right across from the station. They have, hands down, the BEST chocolate croissants ever.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

oooo, I wonder if it would be easy for me to find? :)

[tacohime.livejournal.com]

Having been to Japan exactly zero times, if I had the chance to go tomorrow, I'd want to go check out the Sakura Taisen cafe, plus find the Robo*Chris and Emily Temple Cute stores. I also found a link to the Grand Bazaar Lolita which seems neat.

Then, of course, there is Takuya Angel....

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

wow, I'd almost forgotten about takuya angel!! OMG I have to go there!! and Emily Temple Cute (even though NOTHING will fit me!)

you know we're going to the ST cafe. that's a given. :)

robo chris sounds like a good idea too!

Clothes don't fit? No problem!

[tacohime.livejournal.com]

Do what I do when I go into a store that has things I like but nothing that will fit around my girth-y figure: get accessories! Scarves, socks, purses, and hair stuff fit anyone! >:D

Robo*Chris seems like heaven. Someday, someday I will breathe in its air...

[fatwetdog.livejournal.com]

There's a place in Kyoto called Aizen Kobo. (Tanizaki named it. ^_^) It's the best place for real old-style indigo dying. The owners are really nice and will give little tours, and they have a ton of fabric that does not exist elsewhere in the world. It is really expensive, but absolutely worth it if you are a fan of textiles. (Actually... there's a little book called Old Kyoto. You probably have it... but it has some *excellent* suggestions for places to go to see/buy Japanese textiles and antique kimono. The kimono shops are of course very expensive, but are wonderful for looking through and touching things. I bought some tiny scraps of indigo fabric from the Edo period! ^_^)
Now that I think of it... that book is really a must have if you don't have it. The tea vendor in Teramachi in Kyoto is wonderful. He'll set you up with everything you need for tea, and if you ask him about something to do with tea he will talk to you for like a thousand years. He's that into what he does. There is also a man down the street from him who has a tiny little space where he sells woodblock prints.

Here is the link... oh, weird. There's a new edition out. I haven't seen this one, but I'm glad it is out since some of the places in the old edition had ceased to exist by the time I found them.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4770029942/sr=1-1/qid=1139372065/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9465845-5290212?%5Fencoding=UTF8

I tend to prefer smaller temples. There are some of the best of them on the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto. Wear comfy shoes if you decide to walk it. ^_^
One of the best places I went to was the shrine across from the gardens at Kanazawa. There are so few people visiting that when we looked at it a maiko came running out and dragged us in to give us a tour. Then she called out a guy to lead us in bowing to the temple, and then they gave us little ringy charms as presents just because they were excited to see people.

OMGF! I almost forgot Tsubomi! Best. Dessert. Ever. It is a little store and if you like Wagashi it is the best place in the world. (Japanese candies). I have their address since I've been carrying their card with me for two years now.
http://tsubomi.kanazawa.jp

Oh! I've also got the one for aizenkobo:
http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/aizen/

The lonely planet guide to Japan will send you to some places like the Kyoto Center for Traditional Crafts or something like that. This is a cruel joke. Don't go unless you *really* need polyester kimono and refridgerator magnets.

[fatwetdog.livejournal.com]

Oh right... and the Curry Museum in Yokohama! It's SOOOO cool! ^_^ (And has that "really awesome chicken curry" you were asking about.) ^_^ You almost can't miss it. Just look for a Japanese person in a sari and they'll hand you a flier and a pack of tissues that will lead you right to the museum.

[fatwetdog.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah... and I forgot to suggest Yasukuni Jinja. @_@ Not kidding. It is a serious head trip, but a very (can't think of appropriate adjective) experience. Outside is a perfectly normal, beautiful shrine. They even have an outdoor Noh stage. For the full experience you must see the museum. And it's close to Jinbocho.

[hoshikage.livejournal.com]

Oops. Another comment because I somehow forgot the cooler things that are actually closer to Tokyo, and thus potentially easier to get to! Firstly, in the slightly farther afield department (but nowhere near as far as Kanazawa) is Nikko, home to fabulous temples and shrines (which are all right next to each other, making them all really easy to visit on a short trip). Toshogu Shrine is particularly wonderful; every inch of it is decorated with the most amazing carving work.

And then there is Tokyo DisneySea, which has all the ambiance and attention to detail of Disneyland, but is an entirely different park. It features such things as a volcano (with ride in it of course) that actually spews smoke, flames, and fireworks when appropriate, and a nighttime water show called BravisSEAmo which I personally think blows Fantasmic away (and I just adored Fantasmic, too).

BTW, I do have pictures of this stuff I've been babbling about, so let me know if you'd like some. I'd be happy to put them online if it'd be helpful at all. :)

[lovemeeko.livejournal.com]

-Tokyo Disney Sea - Someone suggested Tokyo Disney Sea already, but I'll double suggest it. It was certainly different from any other Disney theme park. You must ride on their version of the 'monorail', it's soooo sweeeet. Yas and I are planning to go to Disneyland Tokyo for our trip early next year.

- Puroland - Heck ya.

- Ramen Museum in Yokohama - I soooo want to go back there. Be sure to go with an empty stomach!!!!

- Nakano - I forget the name, but it's this mall where the Mandarake HQ is located. Floor upon floor of Mandarake shops!!! They have everything!!!

- COMIKET - Everyone should go atleast once in their life time~~~ And if you don't want to cosplay, go shopping!

- Sake Bar - Yummy food/snacks and fun drinks!!! Go with a lot of people~~~~ Most good sake bars are in Akihabara. Although since Yas is completely anti-alcohol, I won't be much help in the location department.


Hmm, all the themed restaurants we went too (Alice and Vampire) were both in Ginza/Shinjuku and were difficult to find. So unless you are with someone who knows Japanese, it may be best to not bother. There are a few maid cafes in Akihabara~~~ Full on outfits and everything~~ Even matching barbie dolls for sale behind the counter. ;oD

Have you been to the royal palace in Tokyo yet? I haven't been there but heard it was good~

You could also try out a Ryokan or Japanese Inn. I haven't been to one either. Yas isn't crazy about old old old Japan, that includes gardens and temples (although we are planning to go to Kyoto for a day or two next time, upon my request).

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

our apartment is in Nakano, so we'll go back there! We wont have time and it probably wont be the right time of year for Comiket (we're going in March) I would like to sometime though!

a couple people said the Ramen Musueum and the Curry Museum. *L* Maybe we should go there! fun food would be well... fun.

so the themed cafes you went to, was it worth the effort? or was it just "eh"?

what's puroland? :)

[lovemeeko.livejournal.com]

The Vampire and Alice cafes were alright~~~ The decorating was awesome, but the food was only OKAY and waaaaay overpriced. There was a minimum order too~~~ (one drink and one meal, I think???) Just that alone was costly. ;o\ Both cafes didn't seem like a place "Lolis" would go to because they were both packed with office workers out to drink, eat, and be loud.

I think the maid cafes in Akihabara are more worth it~ The food is good and cheap, plus all the waitresses are in cute maid outfits. The only people who frequent those places are clearly otaku, but it's okay (because you don't feel out of place). ;oD

Puroland

[lovemeeko.livejournal.com]

Puroland is the land of Hello Kitty and all that is Sanrio. It's a 'kiddy' theme park, but adults can enjoy it too~~~ The overall place is small, but it's packed with shows, rides, and shops. The enclosed theme park is about 30 minutes outside of Tokyo, much closer then the Tokyo Disneyland resort. The largest sanrio shop is located there~~~ I must ohave spent atleast an hour just in the store.

You can even meet Hello Kitty at her home!!! (a la Mickey Mouse) ;oD Sadly, I didn't get to meet *Hello Kitty* because we ran out of time. Ha ha ha~

[huongstar.livejournal.com]

I probably should have asked this before I visited this last time. So many suggestions and I can't really think of adding anything else except that you should visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. I loved that place!

[huongstar.livejournal.com]

My friend reihime is the queen of restaurants in the area so maybe you could pop on her journal for a recommendation. :D

[jeni-chan.livejournal.com]

Sorry if it's been suggested before--I didn't take the time to read everything everyone else wrote! :blush:--but if you can get into one of the Johnny Hillwalker tours, I consider that one of the highlights of my two years living in Japan. You get to see a lot of neat things--it's a very cool tour and I made all my friends/family who were visiting go on it.

"If you fancy a more personal tour, the English-speaking Johnny Hillwalker (otherwise known as Hiroka Hajime) takes small groups on a slow amble through southern Kyoto from Higashi-Hongan-ji to Kiyomizu-dera (March-Nov Mon, Wed & Fri; ¥2000 per person; tel 075/622-6803 or tel 090/1890-0096)."

[ashbet]

This month's issue of "Lucky" magazine has a "where to shop in Tokyo" section, FYI!

-- A <3<3