LogFAQs > #985277494

Starks posted...

If you're going to Japan for the first time, you have no choice but to do the core experience and find what other excursions you can manage.

My first trip in Japan was a week in Okinawa, a week in Aomori, a few days in Iwate, and a few days in Tokyo. Kyoto didn't happen until a few visits later (and I found I didn't really care for it); I *still* have yet to spend more than 12 hours in Osaka.

It is absolutely possible to do a trip in Japan - even your first trip - without doing the Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka tourist slop.

I also disagree with characterizing it as "the core experience". The touristy areas of those cities (which, let's be honest, is where most visitors wind up if they don't know any better) is the "Disneyland" version of Japan - touristy, and kind of fake. Post 43 summed it up pretty well.

Starks posted...

And even when you come back, you're probably still basing yourself out of Tokyo because there's no point skipping it and basing in Kyoto is not ideal.

I have been to Japan close to a dozen times now, and I have only "based" myself out of Tokyo once, and even then only for one leg of the trip. And if I was looking for a "base" for central Japan, I'd be much more likely to use Nagoya or Nara (depending on where I was going) than Kyoto.

I have no idea where you're getting this idea that it's impossible to escape Tokyo's gravity, but it is both very possible and quite enjoyable to do so. I also have no idea why you're saying there's "no point" in skipping Tokyo - these days, I seldom spend more than a day in Tokyo when I visit, because I've seen all the things in the city I'm interested in seeing, so my only time in the city is spent as a layover after I arrive until I head out to wherever I'm actually vacationing that visit.