Hi Jason, I agree with Cocodrilo that Kyoto is a great city to visit - there are some really beautiful temples to see and you can do a long walk along the Philosophers Trail where you find temple after temple amongst lovely countryside. Theres also a castle well worth visiting, and the Gyon area of Kyoto, which has a lot of traditional Japanese architecture, is fascinating.
Id really recommend a trip to Nara, which is a worth a days sightseeing at least - you can get there in about an hour and half on the train from Kyoto so its easy to go there and back in a day. It has the amazing Todaiji Temple which is indescribable actually. It has a huge Buddha just inside the entrance.
In Tokyo, if you
e a bit of a techie, youll enjoy a visit to the Sony Centre, which has all the latest gadgets for you to try out. The Tokyo National Museum is well worth a visit too
Bus travel within cities like Kyoto is simple, as there are announcements in English telling you which is the next stop. In Tokyo the metro also announces stops in English and doesn take too long to become familiar with. Kyoto also has a metro network which is quite easy to navigate around.
Travel between cities is best done by train - as you only have a week its definitely worth looking in to getting a Japan rail pass, which you have to buy before you actually get to Japan - this gives you unlimited travel on the trains and on the Shinkansen (bullet train) which will take you quickly from place to place. For a week youll have to check whether or not its cheaper to get the rail pass or buy your tickets individually.
Eating - well, obviously sushi places are a must to try, hopefully youll like them. Lots of other cafes and restaurants have pictures of what they serve and several have mock-ups of the food outside the restaurant to give you a better idea of what you
e ordering. A lot of places around Tokyo and Kyoto do a lunch deal where you get a couple of courses, like soup and a sandwich and a small dessert, and its good value for money. And if you
e in to trying the fish, the sashimi in Japan is amazing. Don worry if you
e not so sure of Japanese food though, as the cities also have a lot of pizza and pasta places.
Not sure what kind of accommodation you
e looking for if youll be with your father, but if you
e looking for cheap places, I can really recommend a hostel I stayed in in Kyoto - its called the Tour Club, Im sure youll find them online, but if not they
e in Lonely Planet. I think you can get a twin room there if youd prefer not to stay in the dorms, but the dorms are fine, there are maybe 6 beds to a room and they
e spotlessly clean. The staff are really friendly and will make sake for you to try!
Hope you have fun, its a fascinating country and lovely people! 😊
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