5 Interesting Places In Japan To Visit On A Short Trip

So, you are heading to Japan for a visit. Excellent! Whether this is your first trip to Japan or you have been there before, it is likely that there is much you have not seen of this great and (to many Westerners) mysterious country.

A trip that will only last a day or two - such when you are just passing through Japan on your way to another destination - will probably not allow you enough time to see very much. In that case, do your best to make a couple of day trips near the place you are staying.

However, if you plan to be in Japan for at least 5-10 days and will have time on your hands, you are probably trying to figure out how to best spend your short time there. Fortunately, there are many great things to see in Japan. While your guidebook is no doubt packed with hundreds of things to see and do, you obviously will not be able to see even a fraction of them on such a short trip. Still, you will want to make the best of your time in Japan.

If you are going to Japan for a short trip, you are likely interested in narrowing your choices down to the most interesting places to visit. Here are 5 such places to consider visiting during your trip:

1. Visit Kyoto and Nara:

The majority of visitors to Japan fly into and out of Narita Airport in Eastern Japan, which is essentially Tokyo and its surrounding cities. However, many tourists also fly into and out of Osaka, the third-largest city in Japan. While Osaka is an impressive place to see in and of itself, if you only have a few days in the area, it is recommended that you visit the nearby cities of Kyoto and Nara.

Both Kyoto and Nara are treasures of Japan's past full of temples, shrines and other traditional structures. When you visit certain special areas in both of these cities, you will be transported back through time to old Japan. Both cities are definitely worth a day trip from Osaka.

2. See Mt. Fuji:

You have probably heard of Mt. Fuji, but did you know that it is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 meters (12,388 ft.)? Its symmetrical and conical shape is symbolic of Japan and can be seen from Tokyo (just to the East) on a clear day. If you are visiting Mt. Fuji from Eastern Japan (the Tokyo area), you can visit this famous mountain by train, bus, car or taxi. You can take a bus to the 5th station starting on July 1 through August 27. About 200,000 people climb this mountain each year.

3. Check out Kamakura:

Kamakura is a former de facto capital of Japan Today it is a city of about 175,000 people situated not far from Tokyo. It features a beach and several very old historical Buddhist temples that are very much worth visiting.

4. Go see Yokohama Bay:

The city of Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan. It lies along Tokyo bay, just south of Tokyo. The bay surrounding this prominent Japanese port city is a lot of fun to explore. Also, be sure to check out the very large Chinatown area and Yokohama Marine Tower, the tallest inland lighthouse in the world.

5. Ride the shinkansen or bullet train:

Your visit to Japan would not be complete without a ride on the bullet train, or shinkansen. There are actually several different train routes around the country. One of the most popular is the Tokaido shinkansen, which connects the cities of Tokyo and Osaka.

Check out these 5 must-see places to visit and things to do during your next trip to Japan.

Find out more interesting insights related to travel to and within Japan at: Japan Dispatch Travel Blog.

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Japan's Low Travel Season - 3 Inexpensive Times To Visit Japan

If you are someone who has the time and means to visit Japan, count yourself lucky. Many people spend years or decades thinking about a trip to Japan but never have the opportunity to actually make a visit.

A great way to save money on a trip to Japan is to time your visit so that you are traveling during Japan's low travel season. There are certain times of the year when it is cheaper to visit Japan. And not only that, but if you go to Japan during the low travel season you will be able to enjoy less crowded airports, train stations, inns and hotels.

The low travel season in Japan is mainly determined by those times of the year when few or no major holidays are planned - and when Japanese kids are in school.

To help you better understand Japan's low travel season, here are 3 inexpensive times to visit Japan:

1. September-November:

Many of Japan's biggest festivals happen during the months of July and August. However, come September, October and November, there are fewer things going on in terms of festivals and holidays. And, children are in school, which makes it impossible for most Japanese families to do domestic travel. Therefore, airfare should be cheaper during this time of year. As a bonus, you will also experience less travel congestion.

2. February-March:

Japan's New Year celebration makes late December/early January a more expensive and crowded time of the year to travel. Avoid this time, if possible (unless you want to participate in those celebrations!). However, just after this time of the year - during the months of February and March - travel to/from and within Japan becomes less expensive.

3. Fly Mid-Week And Book 2-3 Months In Advance:

Regardless of which time of year you plan to visit Japan, take the following two tips into account in order to reduce your airfare costs: a. plan to fly mid-week, b. book your air tickets at least 2-3 months in advance.

When look for the low travel season in Japan, consider going during these 3 least-expensive times to travel to Japan.

Traveling to Japan for pleasure or business? Make the most of your trip with tips and recommendations from: Best Times To Visit Japan.

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An Issue For President Obama's First Visit to China - China's Worry About Japan's Military

China and other Asian nations are beginning to assess how the recent election victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will alter Japanese defense policies.

Beijing is hoping for a reversal or at least a slowdown of Japan's efforts in recent years to build up its defenses against the growing military power of China, especially any joint defense efforts with the United States.

Asian security issues are expected to be high on President Obama's agenda when he visits China in November. China and other Asian nations are beginning to assess how the recent election victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will alter Japanese defense policies.

Beijing is hoping for a reversal or at least a slowdown of Japan's efforts in recent years to build up its defenses against the growing military power of China, especially any joint defense efforts with the United States.

Asian security issues are expected to be high on President Obama's agenda when he visits China in November.

The DPJ's landslide victory Aug. 30 prompted calls among leaders for an "equal U.S.-Japan relationship." But it may be weeks before it is clear what such an equal relationship will mean.

Japan's conservative newspaper Sankei Shimbun has called for continuity "based on the alliance." The more moderate Yomiuri Shimbun thinks the DPJ, in calling for an alliance of equals, is "simply clinging to an abstract idea that lacks specific policies" and it warned the DPJ to "avoid words and actions that could weaken the alliance."

Japan's liberal newspaper Asahi Shimbun has forecast that the new policy will be revealed in two weeks when new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama attends the U.N. General Assembly and Group of 20 summit this month. Asahi also wants "reassurance to the Japanese people and the international community." No one seems to know whether the DPJ really wants to renegotiate the Pentagon plans for Japan to fund the transfer of most U.S. military forces from Okinawa to Guam in the next few years.

Japan's neighboring countries are also worried about major changes by the DPJ in its defense strategy. Hong Kong's center-left Sing Tao Daily warns that if Japan "wants to ride this recovery train, its diplomacy has to tilt more toward China."

Beijing's Youth Daily says Mr. Hatoyama's stated intention not to visit the World War II Yasukuni shrine, a controversial symbol for many Asian countries, has been taken by China as a "positive signal."

South Korean media are concerned about the DPJ approach to China, and to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. South Korea's leftist Hankyoreh Shinmun describes Japan's past "insistence on bringing up citizen abduction issues that are not directly related to the agenda" as having a "deleterious effect" on the talks and now welcomes Mr. Hatoyama's openness to possible dialogue with Pyongyang.

China's state-run Global Times warns that Japan should avoid seeing itself as "the big boss in Asia."

Taiwanese commentators worry that closer relations with China could lead it to concede to possible requests from Beijing to push Taiwan out of the U.S.-Japan security relationship.

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo argues for continuity because the U.S.-Japan alliance has been "an axis of Northeast Asian security alongside the U.S.-Korea alliance.

Why does China's media seem so alarmed about the Japanese military? Judging from Chinese comments, there are seven major developments over the past few years that Beijing is seeking to cancel or stall.

* Japan's army divisions deployed in western and southern areas closer to China have been left largely intact despite cuts in the north. In 2002, the 700-strong Western Army Infantry Regiment charged with amphibious operations was formed in Nagasaki prefecture and a brigade based in Okinawa. It doubled its maneuver elements and added more than 850 personnel. The F-4 air-defense squadron on Okinawa was upgraded to a squadron of F-15s. Japan discussed deploying ground forces and jet fighters on small islands located about halfway between Okinawa and Taiwan.

* The 2005-09 Mid-Term Defense Program established the Central Readiness Force (CRF). The CRF brings many of Japan's mobile and special units under a single command reporting directly to the defense chief. CRF units include Japan's Helicopter Brigade, Airborne Brigade, Special Operations Group (established 2004) and Chemical Defense Unit, which could play a role in against any hypothetical Chinese seizure of the Senkaku Islands.

* Between 1998 and 2003, the Maritime Self-Defense Forces commissioned three 14,700-ton Osumi-class ships, designated as landing ships. Four times as large as any previous Japanese landing ship, the Osumi can accommodate two large hovercraft.

From 2010 to 2014, two large helicopter carriers are to be built, in this case designated as a destroyer but resembling small aircraft carriers. At 20,000 tons when fully loaded, they will be able to handle AV-8s Harriers or some versions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

* Contingency plans for operations against China have been generated for the first time, and training has been adjusted accordingly. In November 2004, the Defense Agency compiled plans for counteroffensive operations in the event China seized the disputed Senkaku Islands east of Taiwan, according to BBC reporting from Tokyo.

* The Japanese media have reported that these plans call for dispatching troops, warplanes, destroyers and submarines. During the first phases, sea- and air-reconnaissance craft would provide intelligence. Finally, units of the Western Army Infantry Regiment (Nagasaki), designated as Japan's amphibious assault force, would retake the captured islands.

* In February 2006, a Yamasaki exercise, a biannual joint Japan-U.S. Army command-post exercise, focused for the first time on a counteroffensive scenario against enemy forces occupying one or more small southwestern islands, according to Sankei newspaper.

* In June 2007, eight Japanese F-2s fighter-bombers deployed to Guam and conducted the aircraft's first-ever live-bomb runs. It was only the third time that any Japanese fighter aircraft had conducted bombing runs in the organization's 60-year history.

The shift in political power in Tokyo, when combined with China's continuing lack of transparency in its military buildup, deserves close attention in the weeks and months ahead. Prior to Mr. Obama's trip to China, the United States will need to examine carefully what changes the new DPJ has in mind for China.

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