Has anyone got any good travel tips of things I should see in Japan i`m thinking of going in late spring/early summer next year, I`m a bachelor in my 30s and i`m into outdoors type stuff but still wanna see alot of tokyo and some other cities when I go

Better to go early spring than to go late spring/early summer. Late March early April you'll have the Sakura season-a National past time. After that it's the rainy season where you have a good chance of rain most days and then the hot humid summer.
As to where to go, what to see...depends on what you enjoy or what you want to experience, how long your stay will be. There are many great cultural sites only day trips from Tokyo. Hakone gets you into the mountains and is close by. Nikko, Takao are also nice getaways close to Tokyo. Yamanashi Prefecture has great mountain area's. Climbing season for Mt Fuji is from July. Kyoto, Hiroshima, etc are going to require more time and travel.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2017 06:42AM by mankosuki.

Most every city is within close proximity because of the bullet trains.

Kyoto is a must see. It's the city with the most international tourists outside of Tokyo. It's by far prettier.

Shrines are an important part of Japanese tourism. They are everywhere.

Nara is the old capitol, and is called the "deer city" because of the deer that roam freely in its downtown. Fun place to visit. They walk right up to you and will eat out of your hands if you let them.

Osaka is the techie city.

I visited a hot springs while there in Behpu. And saw a morning sunrise standing over the clouds on top of a mountain at Takachiho. They were some of the highlights of my visit there.

The men of the communities meet for the community gatherings at the bath houses. That's where they get the day's gossip and goings on while soaking in the hot tubs. They're very popular there.

Trains are the only civilized way to travel.

Notice that we have no bullet trains here.

The Acela is not a bullet train and is really slow in comparison.

How fast can a bullet train go?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen

They operate at 200MPH. They can go faster, but generally don't for safety reasons.

I second Amyjo's recommendation of Kyoto, for the OP.
Take the shinkansen from Tokyo, spend a day in Kyoto, and then be back in Tokyo for dinner. :)

I lived in Kawasaki for a year, and go back often for business...Japan is unique and wonderful and weird.
If you don't already know any Japanese, learn just a bit before you go, and the locals will love that you tried!

Wow i never would have guessed they were that fast thats impressive.

Mag-Lev trains are a lot faster than this.

Mag lev can be very fast, but it's also insanely expensive to build.

The Japanese bullet trains (Shinkansen) can go faster than 200 mph, but their speed is deliberately limited for various reasons, including the need to slow down quickly in case of an earthquake. The Japanese earthquake warning system can only provide a small advanced warning to the train if an earthquake occurs, and the train must be able to safely stop before the quake hits. A meg lev train would have the same problem, and would probably also operate at a limited speed in Japan.

The Japanese Shinkansen system was started the in the 1960s and has an excellent safety record.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen#Safety_record

Kyoto is the geisha capitol for Japan. The original textile factory for their silk dress/robes is in Kyoto & is today a museum/geisha model runway show all day long.

Down the street from there is a famous castle. We didn't have time to go in the castle because it closed at 5:00. Just walking outside on the perimeter is impressive. It does tours during the day.

There's a geisha town in downtown Kyoto that was fun to traverse. Two little girls who were sisters were posing in traditional geisha garb for their mother and lots of tourists taking their pictures. They were adorable.

So are the Japanese children seen everywhere. They are allowed more freedom there than American children because Japan is much safer than the US.

The restaurants and food is an adventure all by itself. I was in culture shock on my return to the states. Getting used to Japanese cuisine was easier and healthier than readapting on my return home.

If you see a small white female with seven kids then it might be my sister she lives there now with her husband but maybe you could smack some sense into her to get out of the cult lord knows i cant.

If your going to be getting on the shinkansen and traveling to Kyoto, Nara,Hiroshima, etc. buy a Japan Rail pass BEFORE you go. It can only be purchased outside of Japan. It's kind of a hassle, IMO, but it can save you money on train travel. It's good on all JR lines but not private lines. There are plenty of cultural sites in and around Tokyo/Yokohama area. If you just want to experience the shinkansen, take it from Tokyo to Odawara on your trip to Hakone. Depends on how much you want to travel. Have fun, enjoy.

Good suggestion.
Note that they are now being sold in Japan, though...it's officially a "trial," but will likely continue :)

http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html#bm_002

This may not fit your timeline but we go to Japan every year for japan baseball. Plenty of time to do other things. http://japanball.com

Baseball is a unique experience in Japan if your interested. Been to a few pro games but not as many as moe.
I'd like to go see the National High School Tournament someday. The kids leave it all on the field and the everyone gets behind the local entrant.
It's in late summer though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_High_School_Baseball_Championship

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BuDoKow1NgA

As long as you're that far, try China. Worked there for three years. I love the people. So quaint and innocent. The food is awesome. Been to Japan. China is better in my opinion. Less hurried. More kick back. Fantastic tea houses. Some are 300 to 500 years old. Sorry to jack your thread.