JAPAN: RESOURCES GUIDE
About Japan:
Japan is a country that seamlessly blends its ancient traditions with modern-day technology, making it a truly unique and fascinating destination. With its stunning landscapes, vibrant cities, and rich cultural heritage, there's something here for everyone.
One of the top destinations in Japan is the vibrant city of Tokyo, with its bustling streets, incredible shopping, and world-renowned cuisine. But there's much more to explore in this amazing country - from the historic city of Kyoto, with its beautiful temples and traditional teahouses, to the natural beauty of Hokkaido and the Japanese Alps.
Japan is also known for its ancient history and important historical sites. The ancient capital of Nara is home to some of the country's most important temples, including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Todai-ji - a Buddhist temple complex that houses the world's largest bronze statue of Buddha. Another must-visit site is the city of Hiroshima, which is home to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum - a moving tribute to the victims of the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city during World War II.
But Japan's ancient history extends far beyond the modern era, with fascinating archaeological sites and ruins dating back to the Jomon period, over 10,000 years ago. One such site is the Sannai-Maruyama site in Aomori, which is believed to have been a prehistoric settlement. Visitors can explore the remains of ancient pit dwellings and see artifacts that offer a glimpse into the lives of Japan's earliest inhabitants.
Foodies will also find plenty to enjoy in Japan, with its incredible array of traditional dishes and delicacies, including sushi, ramen, and tempura. And with its many natural hot springs and scenic hiking trails, Japan is the perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts, offering endless opportunities for relaxation and adventure.
With its stunning natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and ancient history, Japan is an amazing destination that should be on every traveler's bucket list. So why not book your trip today and experience all the wonders that this incredible country has to offer?
*Check out the Ryokan Guides in the LODGING section for a unique and authentic Japanese lodging experience!
Welcome to Adventure Fares' Resources and Information Guide. These guides are compiled to provide a great "starting place" for planning. Here, we try to help you with the 4 big planning goals for any destination: Where to Stay / Where to Eat / What to See and Do / How to Budget. We even try to include some great itinerary links. Have fun planning your travel adventure! These resource pages are always being updated. If you would like to see a country / city / place not already in our resource guides, please email your requests or suggestions to: [email protected]
BUDGET RESOURCES:
We typically go to Budget Your Trip to research budgeting! We highly recommend their website. They do a fantastic job of compiling data from thousands of travelers around the world! This data is so useful for anyone who’s wanting to make the most of their travel budget. If you sign up and enter your own expenses - you contribute to the data and also get to access their fantastic planning tools - with charts, maps, graphs, and tables of your trip finances. Bookmark their site, and go there for a lot more in-depth budgeting research: BudgetYourTrip.com
With this chart, we just wanted to give you an idea of how your budget might look compared to a few familiar places here in the U.S
Rentals / Hotels / B&B Lists
Finding the perfect accommodation can make or break a trip. That's why we compile so many lodging lists - to help you find reliable and affordable recommendations for AirBNBs, VRBOs, boutique hotels, and B&Bs. These lists should give you a great starting place, and hopefully make that trip even better!
RYOKANS
If you're planning a trip to Japan, consider immersing yourself in the country's traditional culture by staying in a ryokan. With their serene ambiance and warm hospitality, ryokans offer an authentic experience that is hard to find in other types of accommodations.
AIRBNB Resources:
airbnb.com - It has become a very popular resource for travelers. We try to limit our lists to rentals in great locations, with good pricing, and great views when we find them. We use AirBNB a lot. ALWAYS double-check reviews and avoid "new" listings most of the time. Be sure to double check for air conditioning in the summer, and feel free to reach out to the owner for tips / questions!
VRBO Resources:
vrbo.com - VRBO is another great one to use. Sometimes you find rentals here you won't see on AirBNB - its always great to have more options, especially during peak seasons when rentals book up fast. Always double-check reviews and avoid "new" listings when possible. The VRBO system won't let us filter neighborhoods as well as some others, so always double check location after finding a good property.
Ryokan / Onsen Resources:
A Beginners’ Guide to Staying in Ryokans - this will tell you everything you need to know about Ryokans; great starting place
Guide to some of the better Ryokan’s in Japan - Just what it says it is
JapaneseGuestHouses.com - this is a good one with several cities not listed in our guide
Bed and Breakfast Resources:
Booking.com - this is often our “go-to” for this category. We find their customer reviews to be very reliable!
bedandbreakfast.guide (B&B Guide) - this one screens out the worst-reviewed places, so their lists are pretty reliable.
bnbfinder.com - this one is promising, but they don’t have near as many listings as the others here. We hope they grow!
Boutique Hotels Resources:
BoutiqueHotel.me - this one is usually our favorite. However, their list will only provide you with hotels who allow booking through booking.com - so some great hotels won’t be on their lists.
MrandMrsSmith.com - This is fantastic and inspirational resource for finding places to stay around the world. Much of their focus is on premiere hotels (and not what we would call “budget” finds), but it can be a fantastic place to search. It’s fun to just click on their “Inspiration” tab and find some new places around the world.
TheHotelGuru.com - This site also links to booking.com, and can be a complimentary resource.
GreatSmallHotels.com - Another resource the books through booking.com, this one tends to go a little more upscale, especially in large European cities.
Some More Interesting Lodging Guides:
gounusual.com - Great Resource for those trying to find unique places to stay: Castles, igloos, boats, more!
eruoglamping.com - Just what it sounds like - a resource of upscale camping places in Europe:
goglamping.net - GoGlamping / More upscale camping experiences - UK and Europe
NOTE: No matter what form of lodging you book, we recommend you always confirm your booking one last time a week to 10 days ahead of your travel.
Restaurants / Dining Lists
Choosing dining options can be confusing and intimidating. We've compiled these lists to help you start planning some memorable meals. Lists are organized by city and include some of the best and most affordable dining destinations in each city/area. Every adventure deserves some great meals!
TripAdvisor Dining Lists:
TripAdvisor.com - We recommend using TripAdvisor’s dining directories whenever you find yourself needing good food in a place with which you’re unfamiliar. They have a huge volume of reviews, great genre help, and mapping.
Michelin Guide - Dining Lists:
Michelin Guide - For respected and relevant reviews of restaurants around the world, Michelin has been the Iconic dining guide since the 1800s. If you find a 1 star near you, book it. If you find a 2 star, you’re in for a treat. If you find a 3 star - make a travel detour if you need to and get there!
Wanderlog Dining Lists:
Wanderlog.com - Wanderlog is an interesting site - compiling lots of travel planning possibilities. Their trip-planning features are worth checking out, but we’ve come to really like their restaurant lists. They’re just a little pickier than TripAdvisor, but not as exclusive as Michelin. They’re worth checking out in most towns.
When trying to get a nicer restaurant into your travel plans, we recommend making reservations at least a couple of weeks ahead of time. Some of the Michelin star restaurants might even require more advance (varies).
Things to See and Do Lists
Finding what to see and do is always a travel priority. We've compiled lists/links from the world's most credible sources to help you find the best adventures for your destination. These lists will help you find the most popular attractions (and some hidden gems) for your travel adventures.
Things to See and Do Resources:
These are a few resources we trust. They will give you some great places to start. Rank your priorities (and your travel friends' priorities), see what works for your schedule, and plan an amazing travel adventure. *Don't try to cram too much in - it's those "unplanned" moments that often product the best adventures.
FodorsTravel.com - In our experience, Fodor’s is the best overall place to start when planning a trip. Once you search and find their guide to a city - they break the guide down into Sights, Nightlife, Shopping, Performing Arts, and Sports and Acitivities. There’s not tons of inspiration here, but good, reliable information. There are ads, but they do a good job of keeping the content credible. They also have a great “Map View” feature for the different sections so you can always check to see what’s close. Their Hotels and Restaurants guides are also pretty good.
RickSteves.com - Rick Steves has been an awesome resource for budget travelers for decades, and his content just keeps getting better. His reviews are reliable, his itineraries are fantastic, and his reputation for credibility is great. We check out his information on any destination we're thinking about visiting.
AtlasObscura.com - This is our favorite guide source! We don’t know how the team at Atlas Obscura finds so many cool, interesting, and odd things to see around the world - but they do it. It’s easy to find those top few things to do in any location, but these guys go beyond - and get you some off-the-beaten path adventures.
TripAdvisor - Trip Advisor is pretty commercial in nature, but they have really high traffic - so it's easy to see what's popular pretty much anywhere in the world. That can be helpful for planning what to see, and sometimes what to avoid. It's one of our go-to resources for seeing what might be in the town ahead on a road trip.
Wanderlog.com - Wanderlog is an interesting site - compiling lots of travel planning possibilities. Their trip-planning features are worth checking out, and we really like their “THINGS TO DO” lists. They’re pretty much ranked from most popular to least - so its a great place to figure out a priority list of things to see.
GetYourGuide.com - We really like this one! Get your guide is becoming a great source for planning as well as inspiration for travel adventures. Even if you aren’t looking for things to do on your trip, it’s a good place to get new trip ideas and browse exciting things to do. They have some "decent" pricing on local activities - worth considering for booking.
Nomadicmatt.com - Matt travels as much as any blogger / content creator we follow. He's a good writer, a good planner, and delivers entertaining content. We certainly recommend you check out his travel guides. If he's been somewhere, he shares great stuff!
OTHERS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
The Crazy Tourist - This is a travel resource that covers destinations all over the world. Just type the name of a country or city in their search section, and they have good
CultureTrip.com - This one is pretty commercial (lots of ads), but its also pretty reliable. They’ve been a travel industry leader for a long time, so there are enough reviews on things to know if you’re making good decisions. We always check out the Culture Trip guide for any location we’re planning on visiting.
Itineraries to Get You Started
Building an itinerary for your travel adventure can be a daunting task. Here are a few resources to help you get started without all the "noise" associated with online research. These are sample itineraries from travel pros who are credible, reliable, and know the places they're writing about. Itineraries are made to be broken, but hopefully these will start you out on the right path.
If you're planning a trip to Japan, there's so much to see and do that it can be overwhelming to know where to start. To help you plan your itinerary, here's a comprehensive checklist of must-see destinations and off-the-beaten-path gems to explore. Below our checklist, you'll find several sample itineraries we recommend.
DON’T MISS:
- Visit Tokyo, Japan's bustling capital city, and explore its many neighborhoods, including Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Akihabara.
- Explore Kyoto, Japan's cultural capital, and visit its many temples and shrines, including Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari Taisha, and Kinkaku-ji.
- Take a trip to Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain and a UNESCO World Heritage site, and hike its trails or take in the stunning views from its surrounding lakes.
- Visit Hiroshima, a city known for its tragic history and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which commemorates the victims of the atomic bombing in 1945.
- Go on a food tour and try some of Japan's famous dishes, including sushi, ramen, and tempura.
IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME:
- Visit the island of Hokkaido, known for its beautiful landscapes, hot springs, and winter sports.
- Take a trip to the ancient capital of Nara, and visit the famous Todai-ji temple, home to the world's largest bronze statue of Buddha.
- Explore the island of Okinawa, located in the south of Japan, and enjoy its beautiful beaches, tropical climate, and unique culture.
- Visit the city of Osaka, known for its food culture, including its famous street food and the Dotonbori neighborhood.
- Take a trip to the Japanese Alps, and explore the beautiful landscapes of Kamikochi, Takayama, and the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
- Visit the town of Takachiho, located in the Miyazaki Prefecture and known for its beautiful gorge and Shinto shrines.
- Explore the Iya Valley, located on the island of Shikoku, and known for its beautiful scenery, traditional Japanese architecture, and hiking trails.
- Take a trip to the island of Yakushima, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to one of the oldest and most beautiful forests in the world.
- Visit the city of Kanazawa, located on the west coast of Japan and known for its traditional crafts, beautiful gardens, and historic districts.
- Explore the Oki Islands, a group of islands located in the Sea of Japan and known for their beautiful beaches, hiking trails, and unique culture.
ITINERARIES FOR JAPAN:
Itineraries can be tough to build, but the process can also be really fun to research. We read hundreds of these a month - and are always looking for better ones for our resource guides. Here are a few we found that might be helpful to get you started. Some of these are from favorite sources, and few we just found for this country. Start planning that adventure!
2 Weeks in Japan Itinerary: Complete Guide for First-Timers / The Invisible Tourist
The Best Japan Itinerary for First-Timers / Wanderlust Crew
7-day Itinerary in Hungary: Visit the Biggest Cities and Hidden Gems / Daily News Hungary
The Perfect Japan Itinerary: 10-14 Days / Savored Journeys
3 Incredible Japan Itineraries / Travel + Leisure
60 Itineraries for Japan: 5 Days to 16 Days / kimkim
MORE RESOURCES:
12 Best Hikes in Japan / Hand Luggage Only
Best 10 Trails and Hikes in Japan / AllTrails
Best Mountain Biking Trails in Japan / AllTrails
Most Spectacular Festivals in Japan / Timeout
30 Japanese Dishes You Need to Try at Least Once
Complete Japan Fishing Guide / Fishing Booker
*photos from pixabay.com, pexels.com, unsplash.com and Darrell Potts
EMAIL Us - We Want to Hear From You!
We believe that the best travel advice comes from those who have experienced it firsthand. That's why we're inviting our members to share their travel tips, and recommendations with us. Whether it's a hidden gem of a restaurant, a must-see attraction, or an off-the-beaten-path adventure, we want to hear about it. Your contributions are helping us build a new database of "Member Suggestions." Email us when you get a chance - links, maps, and reviews all help! Email us at [email protected]
These resource pages have been fun to work on! We hope they keep getting better. Are we missing something? Are we missing one of your favorite travel resources? Please email me - I'd love to learn anything that can help make travel adventures even better! Darrell Potts.
