From other topic, it seems Australian loves to travel to JAPAN
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/561274
Why should we go / not go to Japan?
I know someone who forgot the phone in bus in Japan, contact the hotel for help to search it (as most people have limited English there) and the phone is back the next day.
Please share your experiences here.
Only non western country that's westernized.
I see you have never been to Eastern Europe, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.
China? don't make me laugh. Korea is almost as bad as china too so don't try and mention them
?
Couldn't be more wrong.
for their pumpkins
1 week in an amazing resort in Hakuba including flights is cheaper that 2 days skiing with aggressive bogans here .Plus duty free alcohol offsets your tickets.
JAV and Hentai probably - for cultural research of course
I had the worst time in a wheelchair. Would not go back. In Kyoto, taxis refused to drive me. Slowed down seeing my walking family member hollering but drove off when they saw me. Rejected at 2 restaurants in Osaka on my first night upon seeing my wheelchair so ruined my time and made me feel too scared to eat anywhere. Navigation took 3x longer getting out from the train stations to the street. Navigating the crowds took 2x as long.
Only good thing was amazing service from station staff.
Unfortunately Japan is very unfriendly to people with special needs.
Tokyo has been working hard to make things better in time for the 2020/2021 Olympic games, but the whole country is very far behind most of the developed world.
On a broad scale I don't think this will change anytime soon as there is no pressure/laws to make buildings DDA complaint.
I've visited almost every year for decades.
Compared to the US/Europe it's relatively close and cheap to get to during Christmas holidays.
It's a great mix of massive cities with the latest high tech, stunning mountains, nature, great food, and traditional culture.
It can be reasonably priced (still not cheap) if you are happy to stay in business hotels, and really just use the hotel as place to sleep, not a place to spend the day inside.
If you're alone and want cheap, you can stay in capsule hotels or Manga cafes.
I mostly go in Winter, when there is generally not much rain. Apart from the first week in January, it's mostly off peak everywhere except ski resorts.
I find Summer, especially in Tokyo hot humid and wet, not enjoyable at all.
I always try and see somewhere different on each trip.
A weird thing that I find interesting is that Japan is dying from a lack of population growth, an ageing population, and shrinking industry as manufacturing moved overseas. These issues leave many abandoned houses and structures, also a lack of funds for ongoing maintenance of infrastructure outside of the main cities can leave some other worldly images as you travel through small towns in Japan.
For first time travellers you can easily get to the most popular places by train.
As you travel more, you add buses to your itineraries, and finally once you have seen the major places you add cars for day trips, moving to longer trips by car.
Japan is a much bigger country than most realise. One trip spending 2 weeks just driving around Kyushu still left a lot unexplored, but some great experiences like being unexpectedly snowed in while staying the night in a cowboy ranch (snow is not common in Kyushu).
The skiing in Japan is insane.