Hello, Everyone! This coming July my friend and I will be traveling to Japan! I was hoping to know if anyone had any suggestion, of how to balance out my trip in terms of cities. I would also love to know of any hotels/capsule/airbnb location you have found to enjoy. We will be in Japan for a total of 21 days and will be landing in Osaka. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks
Side note- Yes, we are grabbing the 21 day JR Pass!
Interested in both cultural sites and food ^.^

How much is the JR pass? Can u go to Tokyo with that pass?

Around 59,000 yen ($737 CDN). The JR pass can take you throughout Japan especially Tokyo! But it is only really worth it if you're traveling to multiple cities.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html
Take a look at this link it should provide you with a general understanding of where it goes and what It cost.

So expensive!

IKR! but from what I have been reading it 100% worth it.

There is a promotion going on, from Toronto to Japan, $700ish!

Ya I just seen them.

JR Is def needed and I recommend it! It makes it really easy to travel around

Hi Walid! We made specific city guides for Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Sapporo, Okinawa. Hope they can be of help: http://www.stoneandfern.com/asia/

I will make sure to thoroughly check it out. Thanks!

You're very welcome! Feel free to message me if you have any questions

Check out Trekking with Becky. She lived and taught ESL in Japan for several years before heading to Moscow to do the same thing recently.

I am guessing they have a YouTube channel and or a blogging website? I will see if I could find it. Thanks

I hired a private tour guide for the day and she took us to old town Tokyo where we went across a river then onto beautiful gardens and a tea house. They did the traditional tea ceremony with all my children and sipped down the frothy green tea. If you're going to Osaka, are you flying into KIX airport? Better known as "Kansi, the sinking airport" is a beautiful place
to spend some time looking at the structure and design of the airport. A must is the Shikinsin (sp?) or bullet train. You could see mount Fiji on your way, but don't blink, it will go quickly by. I would imagine their are stops; however, we traveled right by it. I could go on, forgetting about the Golden Temple in Kyoto. Closer to Osaka. We went to Tokyo Disney and was very organized and clean in comparison to Shanghai's park. I can't remember the hotels we stayed at, but we needed two rooms for our family. Check how the hotel rooms are set up for beds and people per room if you have more than 2 of you. You picked the right place to go. The Japanese people are very hospitable, kind and polite and will help if you have trouble where English is needed. We did very well as so many speak English. For courtesy purposes,'it's so very nice to learn a few phrases in Japanese!! Best wishes and have a great time!

Alonso

Must try Hamazushi for conveyor belt sushi if there's a location in the city you'll be visiting!

I made a little video about my trip there' let me know if you have any questions! https://youtu.be/Ix6s6yeH_wk

Richard Chang

We stayed at this hotel and it was amazing! The dishes were beautifully prepared in front of us. The Kobe beef was delectable!!
http://www.keioplaza.com/restaurants/teppan-yaki.html

just returned from there...they have guised that are volunteering to take you around (we had a firefighter)...all we paid was his meal...he took us many places and, in the end, I asked him why is he doing this and his response was: "I want to keep up with my English" !

Where exactly can I get this service? Do I need to submit request?

http://www.tokyofreeguide.org/

If you want a day at the beach, take the train down to Wakayama prefecture and check out Shirahama. It's a great beach, and there's a cool vibe.

Always need a day to unwind! I will be sure to visit the beach! (Praying for good weather)

Etienne

Definitely visit miyajima - island off Hiroshima. It's beautiful and there's a lot to do at the top of the gondola ride. You definitely should plan to spend a day there hiking through the various sites and temples. Lots of little tourist shops too on the island.

Added to the itinerary. thanks!

Hey Walid! My dad and I recently returned from a trip to Japan, and had an unforgettable experience. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and this region called Hakone. We spend about 3 days in Tokyo and Kyoto, made 2 day trips to Osaka from Kyoto, one day trip to Hiroshima, and one day trip to Hakone. We definitely would recommend visiting Hakone among the other popular cities- a very beautiful valley region in the vicinity of Mt. Fuji. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out!

Check out owakudani, Hakone for some black eggs! Try a hot spring. Visit some temples in Kyoto. You must try the puffer fish in Osaka!