Places to Visit in Japan

みんな、こんばんは
In August, I am going to Japan ( it's my Second Time there)
I will Stay 5 Weeks, the First week I have to work there for my Company. The Rest of the Time I can spend in exploring Japan.
I loooove to Stay in Tokyo because a Lot of my Friends live there and it' s Never,Never,Never getting boring.
But I want to Visit Otter Cities there, like Osaka Or Kyoto, Nara and and and.
But my いちばん Dream is to Visit Okinawa... I will get the Japan Rail Pass for 21 Days, so I can Travel around without spending millions of Yen into Train Tickets.
Do you have fav. Cities Or Planes in Japan, who are a Must See there.
And what is the best Option to Visit Okinawa?

My House... hahaha

Lol, Thanks. Are you inviting me to your home?
I can bring some すし と ラメン

sushi and Lamen ? Hum...
Actually , don't like sushi, haha but lamen is okay...

Btw i am not in japan right now, you can go to my house, but just my father will be there.. hahaha

So answering your question, I really Hiroshima.. good weather, nice station train.. i don't know, but i like there...

And my family is from okinawa.. is a good place, beautiful beachs, good weather.. you can see , I don't like cold so much hahaha

And your pic is that girl who did slumdog milionarie or is it you ??? if it was you, really you seem to be that indian girl.. hahaha

I think the first place you might want to think about is Kyoto. Absolutely scenery porn place. Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, nijou-castle....literally 1000s of temples and shrines with some superb sights. And if you want *expensive* high-end food, this is also the place. Highest Michelin Star concentration per population here, with 7 3-star restaurants (Entire COUNTRY of USA has 9), this is the place to eat if you have 500 Euro to blow for 1 meal.

Nara is also scenery porn heaven, but know that you don't want to do Kyoto-Nara back-to-back even though they are relatively close. There are many many overwrapping themes (Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines) that unless you are absolutely into those, I recommend separating them apart. Maybe adding Osaka in between.

Osaka, pretty close to Kyoto also, is a street food heaven, and you'll see a giant arcaded streets with lots of local businesses, reaching its apex in Dotenbori. Some iconic scenes here.

Hokkaido and Nagano are the resort "Cool area avoiding summer heat". During the winter, those would be the premiere skiing area. Given you are going to be there in August, they'll be a good place to avoid the heat. If you wanna do some outdoor things, those are probably good bet (Especially hokkaido).

Nikko is a good area near-by Tokyo (2 hours) that has some nice scenery porn. Not as overwhelming as Kyoto or Nara, but it gets bonus of "Close to Tokyo"

Hakone is the onsen (Volcanic Hot Spring) capital of Japan. If you are into taking hot natural bath, then come out and drink some beer and eat some great food...here's the place.

Yokohama has U.S. base, and it is an interesting "fusion" place between Japanese and Western culture.

Same for Nagasaki, but this one is older. This is the only port that was open to outside during Tokugawa Shogunate, interesting influence from Dutch and Spanish between 1650-1850.

I am not sure if you are interested, but Sendai is the closest city from the Earthquake. If you are interested in what's going on on the ground right now...you might be interested to visit there.

Remember, August is Obon season. There are many festivals related to it. Check for the schedules for those locally and cities you are interested in (Especially Kyoto). Like when they do the candle-float into the river, and when they do the big bonfire into the mountain. Make sure to catch those.

Thanks for the reply. i Already decided to go to Okinawa this year. My Friends told me is to Take a flight from Haneda Or Narita Airport to Okinawa. the Price is alright, I can Book my flight on the Internet Site of jetstar. I think I want to Stay 3 Days in Okinawa... i ve Seen pictures of the Beach... It' s awesome!!!!
私 も 暑さが 好き。

I don't know where you are staying in Tokyo, but if you have a choice, Haneda is *a lot* more convenient of the two. Getting to Narita itself takes a lot more time than Haneda.

I can't tell you much about Okinawa because I myself have never been there. Probably means I *should* sometime...

Definitely pack a swimsuit or two. I am pretty sure there'll be nice beaches there (Although, as I said, I've never been there...)

Well, I Stay in Shinjuku...I will Pack Beach Clothes,too. But I Agree with you, that I always wanted to Visit Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, too.
I am interested in Japanese Culture and historical places, too. I think I am going to do all These Trips all by myself. I am so excited...

Karibou San, ほんとう、ありがとうございます。
You Took the Time to give a Great Answere to my Post. i have Already made up my mind to Visit Kyoto, Nara and Osaka. I will Order the Japan Raill Pass and I can use a Lot of transportation ways. Okinawa, I Chose to use the Airplane because it will Take me 2 Days on the Sea with the Ferry.
Festivals in August... Yes, I absolutely forgot about that. I have to Information myself, soon. Maybe my Japanese Friends can Tell me something about that,too.

You are welcome! I hope you enjoy the visit.

日光 can be done day-trip from Tokyo, if you are interested in more history stuff. You might want to look into that one.

Let me know if you have other specific questions.