Japan - NipponStays (Page 5)

A three-storey pagoda and temple hall standing above red maples, with a city spread out below

Japan

Autumn Leaves in Japan: 2 Months, North to South

Japan's autumn is not a month. It is a nine-week wave from Hokkaido in September to Kyushu in December — and where each region lands.

A mountain lake ringed with red and orange trees under low cloud

Japan

Nikko vs Kinugawa: Which One to Sleep In

Okunikko turns in mid-October, Kinugawa in early November — two to three weeks apart. Which to sleep in, and why the Irohazaka means going on a weekday.

Mount Fuji seen across a lake, framed by red maple branches

Japan

Hakone vs Kawaguchiko for Autumn and Mt Fuji

Do you want to look at Mt Fuji, or be inside the colour? One has a fallback when the mountain hides and the other does not — which decides the booking.

A fast mountain stream running past mossy boulders beneath yellow leaves

Japan

Oirase vs Lake Towada: Where to Base Yourself

This is an October trip, not a November one — northern Tohoku turns a month before Kyoto. The gorge is a walk, the lake is a view, and buses decide both.

A still pond reflecting red and orange trees under a clear sky

Japan

Karuizawa vs Kusatsu: Highland or Hot Spring

One is on the shinkansen and one is not — and that decides the trip length before the scenery does. Both turn weeks before Tokyo, at 1,000 m and 1,200 m.

A hillside of beech trees in yellow, orange and green

Japan

Zao vs Naruko: Two Ways to Do Autumn Onsen

Zao's colour descends the mountain over two to three weeks; Naruko Gorge peaks in about ten days. With fixed dates, that is the whole decision.

A bowl of Asahikawa soy-sauce ramen with two slices of chashu, bamboo shoots and a sheet of nori, on a wooden counter

Japan

Asahikawa vs Sapporo as a Winter Base: The Airport Decides It

Asahikawa Airport publishes 99%+ on-time rates; New Chitose cancels 2-5% of winter flights. That gap is the only part of this comparison that is about winter.

Japan

Twin vs Hollywood Twin vs Double in Japanese Hotels: Read the Widths

A Japanese double is 140cm — narrower than a US queen. A Hollywood twin is about 200cm, wider than a US king, and priced as a twin. The labels do not map.

Japan

Is an Airport Hotel Worth It Before an Early Haneda Flight?

Trains to Haneda start around 05:00, so an early flight means a night taxi. Add that to a city hotel and the airport hotel costs about the same, with the sleep.

The illuminated facade of the Minamiza kabuki theatre at Shijo-Ohashi in Kyoto at night, with buses passing in front

Japan

Kawaramachi vs Kyoto Station: Price the Convenience at One Taxi Fare

A taxi between them is about ¥1,780, and you make that trip twice. Station trips are fixed; dinner trips scale with nights. The arithmetic settles it.

A large yellow spotted pumpkin sculpture on a concrete pier, with the Seto Inland Sea and distant islands behind it

Japan

Takamatsu vs Okayama for a Setouchi Art Trip: The Ferry and the Udon

Takamatsu Port is beside the station and Kagawa's udon counters open at 07:00 — which cannot be day-tripped. Okayama is the Shinkansen city. How to pick.

A wooden barrel bath in a private guest room

Japan

Onsen Ryokan Private Bath vs Shared Grand Bath: What You Are Really Buying

The in-room bath buys timing, not a better soak. The grand bath is usually the better bath. And kashikiri solves the same problem for a fraction of the premium.