Lay My Hat

We're planning a bucket list family holiday next year, two weeks at Easter school hols with our will be 15yr old daughter to Japan.

Anyone recommend 'must do/sees'?

I haven't been but several members of my family have, very recently, and apart from all the obvious ones like Kyoto, my daughter in law tells me Bunny Island ( if you are at all into bunnies) and she and my son both say for the scariest fun you will ever have - the Haunted hospital.

Japan will blow your mind... have fun! Kyoto is obvious, but an absolute must, and nearby Nara is pretty good, too. A trip to an Onsen (hot springs), a Japanese tradition is also a must... though beware of the rules of washing beforehand and that you don't wear anything when you're in them (and that most onsens have separate male and female baths, but not all...).

The friend I visited was based in Yamaguchi prefecture in the south of Honshu island, so we explored southern Honshu and Kyushu, but my friend also said that the northern island of Hokkaido is wonderful... I wish I'd had the time to see the monkeys chilling out in the hot springs. I would have like to have seen Mount Fuji, too.

On a more sombre note, Hiroshima (or Nagasaki) is also a must. It affected me greatly and I don't want to ever go there again, but at the same time, I'm glad I did.

Finally, all the food is amazing and very different (supermarkets were fascinating), but make sure you get the chance to experience a proper Japanese banquet... we stayed in a hotel with an onsen attached on Kyushu and were served the banquet in our room, while still wearing the required onsen dressing gowns.

It is a weird and very wonderful country with people who, while they don't speak English, go out of their way to help you... quite frankly, even if you don't see any of the well known sites, it will still be a fascinating experience. As you can tell, I'm not jealous at all...

Long time ago, and it was on expenses! Loved the place, we had a guide with us that made the trip.

FelicityA wrote:I haven't been but several members of my family have, very recently, and apart from all the obvious ones like Kyoto, my daughter in law tells me Bunny Island ( if you are at all into bunnies) and she and my son both say for the scariest fun you will ever have - the Haunted hospital.

I believe there is also a Cat Island where visitors take food for the cats.

I don't think you can really go wrong with Japan, it's SO great and a surprisingly easy country to visit. I've been three times now, each time for between 3 weeks and a month, and looking forward to more.

Even if you just planned in the most obvious things to do you would still have a wonderful time! And these are all good recommendations. But what kind of things are you interested in, why do you especially want to visit Japan, how much do you want to travel etc etc?