TRAVEL TO JAPAN

[Jasper Sharp]

Good luck Lorenzo,

I just got back from my first 2 weeks in Japan in October, and I must say it
was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. The people are
absolutely wonderful and despite the language barriers everyone did their
utmost to help me, even when I never asked for their assistance.
So, taking each of your questions in turn:

> I'll travell alone, do you thing I'll feel in any way alone there?

If you go to Youth Hostels you will never feel alone with regards to other
tourists. I bumped into a guy who lived 5 minutes down the road from me in
Peckham, South London whilst on the top of a mountain in Hakone. However,
the Youth Hostels in Tokyo are more ?institutional? than others I stayed
in so I didn?t really mix with other people there/
As for mixing with the Japanese, I was lucky I had a few friends, but
generally they tend to ignore you unless you talk to them. I was surprised
by the apparent lack of other ?gaijin? in Tokyo, but those I did meet did
come up and talk to me. If you are looking for nightlife, you?ll meet a lot
of people in the bars in the Roppongi district of Tokyo.

>Whar others places apart from Tokio should I visit?

Kyoto! This was far better for me than Tokyo, which though awe-inspiring,
was a little too chaotic for me after a few days. Kyoto is far more sedate
and aside from the hundreds of Buddhist temples which you can visit, there
is also the Toei Film studios, Eiga Mura
(http://www.toei-group.co.jp/eigamura/), which none of the guide books I saw
thought worthy of mentioning (and it is very hard to find and a little
expensive). The address is 10 Higashi-Hachigaoka-cho, Uzumasa, Ukyo-ku,
Kyoto 616-8586.
I also went to Kanazawa, which doesn?t attract many European tourists but
it does feature the old Higashiyama Geisha District and also one of the most
beautiful gardens in Japan (though it rained the entire 2 days I was there).
Also, it is very famous for its seafood.
And finally, if you want to see some countryside, go to Hakone where there
are a lot of hot springs. You need to take the train to Odagawa and take a
bus up to the Youth Hostel, a fairly complicated process, but you could
probably spend a few days there just walking around the mountains, which I
would imagine look absolutely gorgeous if covered in snow.

>Recomendations about hotels and any other subject about it?

Very expensive! I stuck with Youth Hostels, which were still not cheap,
averaging 3000 Yen a night.
In Tokyo I used: the Yoyogi Youth Hostel, though I haven?t got the address
on me at the moment, but there is also Tokyo International Hostel (18F,
Central Plaza, 1-1- Kagurakashi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0823 Japan. Tel:
03-3235-1107). Both are near Shinjuku which seems to be the best area to
hang around in terms of it being close by to lots of other places.
I also did a couple of nights in a capsule hotel, though I?m not sure I?d
recommend it!
In Kyoto I was at: Tojian Guesthouse (075 691 7017) - 10 mins away from
Kyoto Central Station, near the Tojian temple, though it is quite trivky to
find. This was the nicest Youth Hostel I have ever stayed in (along with the
one in Tadoussac in Northern Quebec). It was cheap (2000 Yen) and very
friendly, with a good mixture of Japanese, and Japanese, mainly students. I
had a lovely time here.
For all Youth Hostels you will need an Internation Youth Hostel Card (get it
free in your own country; it doesn?t cost anything) and you will need to
book in advance.  

>Best shop to buy DVD? 

Loads of places all round Tokyo, but generally most Japanese films have no
English subtitles (? though I advise you to pick up LOVE/JUICE if you can,
because this one does and it is a beautiful film)  and most of these shops
are full of sub-standard Hollywood product which you can get everywhere else
in the world, such is the current state of ?globalism? 

> Best place to watch Ozu's cinema?

There seemed to be a lot of cinemas in Tokyo which show all-night
retrospectives on the Saturday night. There is a magazine called PIA which
should help you find out where, but you?ll need to find someone to read it
for you! I am very annoyed that I missed a TERAYAMA Shuji retrospective on
my first day due to jetlag, and a MASAMURA Yasuo all-nighter occurred the
day after I left Tokyo!

Any further questions, don?t hesitate to ask.



-----Original Message-----
From: Kinejapan [mailto:donovan.1 at osu.edu]
Sent: 05 January 2001 17:14
To: kinejapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
Cc: donovan.1 at osu.edu
Subject: TRAVEL TO JAPAN




Subject: TRAVEL TO JAPAN
To: owner-KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
Sender: Lorenzo.Torres at quierotv.com
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 16:35:27 +0100



     Dear kinejapaners: at the end of this month I'll have one free week
and I'm wondering about travelling to Japan for my first timer. It will be
only 9 days so, I need your help and have some questions:

     - Is January a good month to travel there?
     - I'll travell alone, do you thing I'll feel in any way alone there?
     - Whar others places apart from Tokio should I visit?
     - Any good web to arrange my travel?
     - Recomendations about hotels and any other subject about it?
     - Best shop to buy DVD? And library?
     - Best place to watch Ozu's cinema?


     Thanks in advance and  Happy New Year.


     Lorenzo J. Torres
     Madrid, Spain.