Planning a trip to Japan

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Some people have asked me what they should do when they visit Japan, and I have spent most of the past few days deciding what I will be seeing while I am here. Here are some notes and photos (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) that might help you with your planning. Before I get into specific places, a few general notes:

As much as Japan has many wonderful temples and shrines, you may start to think they are not so wonderful after all if you see many of them over a short amount of time. Therefore I suggest not trying to see even all of the "good" ones that you will be near. Conversely, even if you don't think you are interested in temples, shrines, castles, gardens etc, you should probably visit one of each while in Japan.
Travelling inside Japan is expensive, and even if you get a rail pass, unless you are staying for exactly 7 or 14 days I suggest flying in and out of different airports (e.g. in to Tokyo and out of Osaka).
There are probably some Japanese cultural things you know a little about that you want to spend some time learning more about too - e.g. sumo, anime, tea ceremonies, onsen (hot springs), car manufacturing, ninjas etc.
If you haven't decided yet when you want to visit, this site* will tell you when general events (cherry blossoms, typhoon season etc) occur, or you may want to time your visit to see one of the larger festivals. Even if you don't come during a big festival, there may well be a smaller festival on while you are here.
Visiting Japan is probably more about the experiences than the sights than many other countries. I've previously mentioned that eating can often be an adventure. Accommodation can be too with the capsule hotels, love hotels, ryokan, farmhouses, Buddhist temple stays, manga/internet cafes (yes if is possible to sleep in them overnight) etc. Even interacting with the overly polite Japanese people is an experience, from the schoolgirls who want to practice their English to the free tour guides at many attractions.

Sumo ©

Capsule Hotel ©

Tokyo (2+ days)
Tokyo has many interesting and varied suburbs to explore such as Akihabara (electronics), Asakusa (old Tokyo), Ginza (upmarket shops), Harajuku (cosplay), Shibuya (youth culture), Shinjuku (busiest station). Other attractions are the Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea (which I have recently discovered is considered by some the best theme park in the world) plus it's fair share of museums, gardens and shrines.

DisneySea ©

Harajuku Girls ©

Kyoto (2+ days)

You'll almost certainly want a few days here as well. Sparred from air raids during WWII, many of the best buildings in the country are here. Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion), Nijo Castle, Kiyomizudera (temple), Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion, which has nothing to do with silver), Fushimi Inari Shrine (long pathways through thousands of torii gates) and lots of others they I'm not going to bother to list.

Fushimi Inari Shrine ©

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion) ©

Day trips from Tokyo or Kyoto (0-6 days)

If you only have about a week in Japan, you may end up spending most of your time in Tokyo and Kyoto. There are a few highly recommended places accessible as day trips from either Tokyo or Kyoto that will not add much extra travel time and will allow you to experience a bit of the country side. The best ones from Tokyo are:

Nikko - lavish shrine and a national park
Kamakura - seaside resort with a "great buddha" and many temples (especially if you can't visit Kyoto)
Mt Fuji - see it up close or climb it (usually done overnight in the summer)

Mt Fuji ©

Buddha at Kamakura ©

The best ones from Kyoto are:

Nara - Japan's first permanent capital containing many old and important temples
Himeji - probably Japan's best castle, but unfortunately under major construction until 2014 so possibly not worth going to now.
Mt Koya - Buddhist temple on a mountain where you can stay overnight
Osaka - Japan's second most important city

Mt Koya ©

Himeji Castle - doesn't look like this in 2013 due to construction ©

If you have an extra few days, consider one of these two alternatives:

Hiroshima

Hiroshima is famous for the Peace Park. Nearby is Miyajima, the location of the "floating" torii. On the way from Kyoto to Hiroshima, you could stop at Okayama to see one of the three best landscape gardens, Naoshima, an island with a lot of modern art, Himeji, and Osaka (discussed as a day trips from Kyoto).

Miyajima ("floating" torii) ©

Korakuen garden at Okayama ©

Japan Alps

If you are in Japan during the warmer months, you can hike in the Alps or traverse the alpine route (requires seven different types of transport). If you are in Japan between mid-April and mid-June, you can walk through the snow corridor. Nearby is Kanazawa with another one of the three best landscape gardens, Shirakawa-go, famous for distinctive farmhouses, Takayama, a well preserved Japanese town, Matsumoto with what is probably Japan's second best castle, and Yamanouchi, where we saw the snow monkeys.

Shirakawa-go farmhouse accommodation ©

Snow corridor on the alpine route ©

If you've run out of time in Japan, feel free to stop reading now...

Either end of Japan
Both Hokkaido, the large norther island, and Okinawa, consisting of many tropical islands and the associated reefs and beaches, contain many fewer people and much more nature than the rest of Japan.

Hokkaido is popular for winter sports, the Sapporo snow festival, and summer hiking particularly in Daisetsuzan National Park. Shiretoko National Park in the very north east has lakes, waterfalls and, in winter, drift ice. In July, Furano is covered in lavenders.

Lavenders ©

Drift ice ©

The two most likely places in Okinawa you are likely to go would be the main island or the Yaeyama Islands. You can only get between these by flying. Note that if you are a foreign visitor, you can get an air pass which gives you ~$100 flat cost flights which is a good deal for getting down here (residents pay ~$250). The main island is, unsurprisingly, the most developed. It has a well regarded aquarium, many US military and the usual castles, gardens and shrines. A short ferry ride away are the more tranquil islands, including the Kerama islands and Kume. Yaeyama Islands is at the very south near Taiwan (no transport to Taiwan unfortunately). As well as the expected beaches, snorkeling and diving, Iriomote Island is covered in jungle and rivers that can be kayaked.

For completeness, I'll also mention a couple of other places I'm planning to visit.

Dewa Sanzan in Northern Honshu for the hiking, mountains and shrines.
Kyshu: Nagasaki, some volcanoes you can hike near (depending on how active they are at the time), sand bathing, and Takachiho Gorge.