Name 5 "must"

[Tioneb]

はじめまして. わたしはベノワです. よろしくおねがいします!

I'll be in japan(1) at the end of september and I was wondering if people that already went there or lived there could name 5 "must". Might it be a museum that I must visit, a kind a food that I must taste(I know that one of peter-san's suggestion will be Moss Burger ), an activity that I must do or a Shrine/Temple that I must see. おすすめをおねがいします(Does osusume apply only to food ? [/off topic])

(1) : I'll visit Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Osaka and Kyoto but don't limit your suggestions only to these region since this topic could be helpfull for others ^_^
Benoit

[KeithH]

I would say:
Tokyo - Tsukiji fish market, Ueno Park & National Museum, Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon
Kyoto - Various temples
Nara - Great Budda and Deer park
One of the castles - Himeji, Osaka, etc

[Bueller_007]

Listing only five things is impossible...

Musts:
1. Nature: The Northern Alps, Shiretoko Peninsula, Yakushima, Sakurajima
2. Temples: Kyoto, Nara, Nikko, Koya-san
3. Hot springs: Kurokawa Onsen
4. Cities: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sapporo
5. Other: Sumo, fresh sushi

[Outkast]

I haven't been there, but taking a ferry out to see the Naruto whirlpools on Shikoku island would be pretty cool too.

[Tioneb]

Thanks guys for the suggestions, keep 'em comming ^_^

Listing only five things is impossible...

Then list 5 must per category must-see, must-visit, must-taste, must-do

Benoit

[Belton]

Musts?

Visit an onsen. (Spaworld in Osaka is an interesting big city onsen)

Stay in traditional style (washiki) accommodation at least once. (although the novelty of futon soon wears off)

Never ever go to MacDonalds or Starbucks or KFC etc. Be brave and wander into local eateries.

Speak Japanese!

Collect Stamps. (you find rubber stamps at a lot of temples shrines museums and train stations. It makes for a cheap and unique souvenir )

Go off the beaten track. It feels more adventurous when you don't hear other English (American Canadian Australian) voices everywhere.

Thats more than 5.

If you're going to Kyoto and Osaka take a day trip to Nara it's about 30minutes away by train and you can visit most of the main sites on foot from the train station in a single day. Get up early and avoid the school parties.

For buildings --
Todaiji Nara,
a little shrine in Kyoto Jisyu Jinja. The love God's shrine.
Himeji Castle (better than Osaka, I think)
were among my favourites.

/edit
and visit a hyaku en shop.
/

Good Luck -- you'll have a great time.

[Alan]

I went in April.

My five favourites:

1. Himeji Castle, Himeji (The reason I went )
2. Todaiji, Nara (The shrine with all the lanterns is good too)
3. Nijo Castle, Kyoto (great nightingale floor)
4. Any of the temples/shrines in Kyoto
4.5 National Museum, Toyko
4.75 Kabuki in Tokyo (superb)
4.85 Edo-Tokyo Muesum, Tokyo (historical town models)
5. Shinjuku garden, Tokyo (when you need some greenery)
5.1 A trip round the Hakone circuit was fun too.

Ok, I cheated a bit. 5 is not enough. And I still want to go to Nikko & Matsumoto castle, and maybe hiroshima and...

[lucasburns]

OK, if you are coming to Osaka, then I recommend these 5 (I assume you will already be doing/know about the main tourist attractions (ie castle)). Keep in mind that Osaka isn't really very good for tourists. It is famous for its food and nightlife. There is also Universal Studios Japan too....

1 go anywhere outside of the city area and jsut walk around until you find an okonomiyaki shop (flags out the front with お好み焼き). Preferably run by an obachan. The food will be great and you will have to try some Japanese. Beware that if you do this you will hear Osakan dialect which may scare you off trying. Persevere. If you don't want to do this, definitely go to a street vendor and eat takoyaki or okonomiyaki.

2　If you are wanting a quiet day by the time you reach Osaka, buy yourself a bento lunch from somewhere (convenience stores or somewhere else) and take the train to Minoh. There you will find Minoh koen (minoh park). There is a very easy hike up a mountain to a waterfall, where you can sit and eat lunch and take in the lush green surroundings. About 20 minutes from Hankyu Umeda station.

3 Go people watching in Shinsaibashi. Especially at night. There are heaps of bars/restaurants in this area and finding somewhere should be easy.

4a If you are in Osaka at the start of October (maybe around the 10th) - don't miss the Midosuji Parade. It is 3 kms long, has 10,000+ participents and over 1,000,000 people watch it!!!! It was worth it to see the hoards of women running the entire length of the parade in their high heels following the float that had the hottest male celebrity of the time.

4b If you aren't in Osaka for the parade, then I recommend perhaps going to a temple (but you may not want to if you are already going to Kyoto - you WILL get sick of temples). Shitennoji temple is old, but is nat all that impressive. It is still and active temple, and also has a traditional Japanese formal garden that should be nice in September. You can have some matcha in the tea room there and just look out of the teahouse (with tatami flooring and nice serene views) at the garden.

5 Osaka Aquarium (actually is really good, although I didn't originally plan on going there). There is also one of the world's largest ferris wheels there. But only go up if it is a clear day...

6 Bonus suggestion - If you want clubs/bars etc, then Shinsaibashi or Umeda are good. You will find quiet bars everywhere in Osaka, but these places are a little more lively.

If you want to see a nice castle, then defnitely go to Himeji. It only takes about 60-90 mins from Osaka and even quicker if you ahve a travel pass that allows you to go by shinkansen (I wouldn't waste the money on a shinkansen ticket to go specifically from Osaka to Himeji). In Kyoto, I definitely reccomend Nijo castle. I think the inside is better then Himeji, as there are some displays of manequins that give you an idea of what the people did in the castle. But Himeji is definitely impressive.

OH - and one helpful piece of advice I can give is to get yourself the Lonely Planet phrasebook. You probably won't use any of the phrases in it (you cna't have a conversation if you ahve to look up every sentence) but it does have a good food list. It will help when you have no idea what something is. The book itself is good to start some conversations (the Japanese people will kill themselves laughing at the translations)