TRAVEL SURVEY: JAPAN AND ASIA. JULY 2002.

Thanks to everyone who contributed!

And the winners are...

THE FAVOURITES OF JAPAN AS ACCESSED FROM YAMAGUCHI-KEN

Number one

Mt. Aso, Kumamoto-ken

Number two

Miyajima, Hiroshima-ken
Sakurajima, Kagoshima-ken
Ebino-kogen Plateau, Kirishima National Park, Kagoshima/Miyazaki-ken

Number three

Tsuwano, Shimane-ken
Nagasaki, Nagasaki-ken
Hiroshima Peace Park, Hiroshima
Kumamoto castle, Kumamoto-ken
Daikonbo (Aso Highlands), Kumamoto-ken
Chiran, Kagoshima-ken

Number four

Kuju National Park, Oita-ken
Yufuin, Oita-ken
Matsue, Shimane-ken
Izumo Taisha, Izumo, Shimane-ken
Sanjusangendo, Kyoto
Amidaji temple, Ohirayama, Hofu, Yamaguchi-ken
Tsunoshima, Yamaguchi-ken
Crazy Cock bar, Hakata, Fukuoka-ken
The Dark Room bar, Hakata, Fukuoka-ken
Canal City, Hakata, Fukuoka-ken
Kyushu sumo basho (November), Hakata, Fukuoka-ken
Kurokawa onsen, Kumamoto-ken
Naha, Okinawa
Hedo-misaki & Oku town, Okinawa
Amerika-mura, Osaka
Kiyomizu temple, Kyoto
Takachiho gorge & traditional dance, Miyazaki/Oita ken
Satsuma Peninsula, Kagoshima-ken
Takachiho, Miyazaki-ken
Ibusuki sand baths, Kagoshima-ken

Number five

Biei, Hokkaido
Hell's Valley, Nobonbetsu, Hokkaido
Mt. Daisetsu, Hokkaido
Reshiri and Rebun Islands, Hokkaido
Yuki Matsuri (Snow/Ice Festival), Sapporo, Hokkaido
Biking and camping around Hokkaido
Sapporo, Hokkaido
Skiing in Hokkaido
Shiretoko hanto (peninsula), Hokkaido
Shuri-jo castle, Naha, Okinawa
Kurashiki, Okayama-ken
Kaimon-dake, Kagoshima-ken
hot springs, Sakurajima, Kagoshima-ken
Sunamushi onsen, Kagoshima-ken
Italian restaurant outside the station, Matsue, Shimane-ken
Oki Island, Shimane-ken
October God festival, Izumo Taisha, Izumo, Shimane-ken
Moon viewing, Matsue lake, Shimane-ken
Muroto Misaki, Kochi-ken
Ohki hama beach, near Ashizuri misaki, Kochi-ken
Matsuyama castle, Kochi-ken
Chiiori, Tokushima-ken
Kiyogahama, Abu cho, Yamaguchi-ken
Shimonoseki Kaikyo matsuri, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi-ken
Toron onsen, Akiyoshi, Yamaguchi-ken
Beaches in Kuga-cho, Oshima-gun, Yamaguchi-ken
Hofu Half-Naked Man Festival, Hofu, Yamaguchi-ken
Tottori sakyu (sand dunes), Tottori-ken
Kobe, Hyogo-ken
Nanzenji temple grounds, Kyoto
Chion-in, Kyoto
Ginza area, Kyoto
Fushimi-Inari jinja, Kyoto
Tachiarai Peace Museum, Tachiarai, Fukuoka-ken
Unzen jigoku, Shimabara, Nagasaki-ken
Nagasaki O-kunchi matsuri, Nagasaki, Nagasaki-ken
Minamata Disease Museum, Minamata, Kumamoto-ken
Group bus tour to see the evil of group bus tours, anywhere in Japan
Mt. Yufu-dake, Oita-ken
Aomori-ken
Nikko, Tochigi-ken
Hiking in Nagano alps, Nagano-ken
Kodo taiko festival, Sadoshima
Koya-san, Wakayama-ken
Ritsurini Garden, Takamatsu, Kagawa-ken
Mt. Ishitsuchi-san, Ehime-ken
Foreign food joints, Roppongi, Tokyo
Dancing and shopping joints, Shibuya, Tokyo
Night walk, Kabuki-cho, Tokyo
Yasukuni shrine, Tokyo


THE LEAST FAVOURITES OF JAPAN (disappointments)

Number one

Beppu, Oita-ken
Ogori, Yamaguchi-ken
Mori Mansion and Gardens, Hofu, Yamaguchi-ken
Universal Studios Japan, Osaka
Haus Tem Bosch, Nagasaki-ken

Number two

Takamatsu Yashimasanso Youth Hostel, Takamatsu, Kagawa-ken
Izumo, Shimane-ken
Kiyomizu temple, Kyoto
Shinnanyo, Yamaguchi-ken
Mt. Fuji
Tokyo Disneyland
Group bus tour, anywhere in Japan
Mountain forbidden for women to climb, Okayama-ken
Any where in the grey dead of winter, Japan
Anywhere your students can see you, Yamaguchi-ken


*COMMENTS REGARDING JAPAN

"I went to Kurashiki (just left of Okayama) last summer, and I found it's shopping area to be pretty neato frito. I bought several real Japanese style doodads there at a reasonable price. And I'm not a big shopping freak either.

I also went to Matsue, and found a very good and not so expensive Italian restaurant with decent wine and a reasonable amount of olive oil, just outside Matsue station. I got a set that was about 2000 yen, but it was all full of good pasta and a meat and fish platter and coffee and the wine. I suppose it's too late to tell that to the people going to Izumo, which is just up the way from Matsue."

"Chiiori, Tokushima-ken--this is a 300+ year old house owned by Alex Kerr (author of Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons) and Mason Florence (Lonely Planet Japan) see chiiori.org for details."

"Kiyogahama, Abu cho, Yamaguchi-ken-- beatiful quiet beach. popular winter surfing spot."

"Tsuwano, Shimane ken: especially at the beginning of April for the yabusame horseback archery and cherry blossom. Matsue and Izumo, Shimane ken: Matsue feels very European with its canal winding through the town. Izumo Taisha is where all the millions of kamisama of Japan gather in October - great atmosphere. Moon viewing is also incredible at that time of year over Matsue lake. Kumamoto castle, Kumamoto ken: especially at cherry blossom time. Shimonoseki Kaikyo matsuri at the beginning of May - lavish traditional (but VERY crowded) procession at the akamajinga, decorated boats and various other events and markets. Nagasaki O-kunchi matsuri in October celebrates the foreign influences, especially Chinese with big dragons and floats."

"OK, on a list of over-hyped places, I think Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studies Japan (USJ) should be there. Just like the American version, except in Japanese. Most of the stuff at USJ was the real American thing dubbed into Japanese. Lame. Tokyo -- LOTS of good things. Roppongi for the foreign food. Shibuya for dancing and shopping. Kabuki-cho for a brief walk around 11 or so at night ... not for the faint of heart. Yasukuni shrine just because there's such a fuss about it, and it's a nice, quiet, beautiful place (museum is closed till June, so I haven't seen that part). I'd recommend all of them."

"My main recommendation might seem strange at first but its something every foreigner in Japan should consider doing sometime - a Japanese Bus Tour. I recently went on an organised bus tour of Hokkaido. At the outset, the most obvious advantage to doing one of these is the cost... a four day trip including return flights (ex Fukuoka), three nights accommodation at 5 star hotels, food and guided tour cost 35,000 JPY per person with Nihon Ryoko in mid-May (obviously the cost depends on when you go... mid-May being the cheapest because not all the flowers and famous Lavender is on display... the same trip in June costs 95,000 JPY). However, what turned out to be most interesting about the whole thing was the truly fascinating insight it gave on Japanese society. My friend and I were the only two foreigners on the entire tour so it was a great opportunity for people watching - Japanese people in a group that is. Complete with a flag waving tour guide who talked incessantly for 4 days, the tour was a lesson in Japanese organisational prowess. It became clear early on that if we were to take one good thing from this tour it was going to have to be the pure entertainment value of it all. It was flabbergasting to realise that the organised bus tour is the preferential mode of travel for the majority of Japanese people. Every second stop was an omiyage super-centre, only the cheesiest atractions that must surely only be directed at the Japanese tourism market were visited and the non-stop commentary from the guide had more information about the precise length and breath of the tunnel we were travelling through at any given time than the shrines and temples that we were blurring by. There were numerous photos stops and ops. The former being pretty much obligatory in that we were herded off the bus on masse and put on a special platform in front of whatever we were visiting so that some scalper of a photographer could stand in front of us trying to flog his pictures at us. The latter of the two, the photo op. was basically a 5 minute stop at some spectacular point of beauty to snap a pic and then jump back on the bus. In fact it was at times easy to see how the price could be so cheap. There were so many people set up to flog things at us. From the moment we got on the bus at the airport, there was an omiyage sales man who spent 3 hours talking us through his colour magazine from which you could mail order omiyage and have it sent to you home. He thankfully dissappeared the same day. It is possible to view all this as the most unattractive way to viewing a new part of Japan. But hopefully you can begin to see that within the horror lies the real attraction to doing a tour of this kind once while in Japan. Because when you add this golden opportunity to study yet another fascinating phenomenon of Japanese life to the fact that you do actually get to see a huge amount of territory in a short space of time (including prolonged stops at some beautiful lakes and some trips up mountains), it is hard not to recommend it to another possible first timer. The hotels we stayed at were excellent, with their own rotemboru (sp?) and onsen and the bus itself was extremely confortable. Best of all was the last evening and night in Sapporo when we we're free to to what we wanted and eat where we liked and it was easy to hunker down inside an cosy old ramen shop and sup the most deleicious home cooked noodles I have ever tasted in my life. Will I go be going back? Absolutely. Will it be another bus tour? Absolutely not but thanks to that trip I was able to get a taste for Hokkaido at a fraction of the price I would have paid had I wanted to see the same things independantly. Next time I can cut out the crap and see the best bits that I might only have seen from a bus travelling at 80kmph. On a few other travel matters: I would highly recommend a visit to Takachiho in northern Miyazaki-ken, Kyushu. I was there over golden week and despite the tourists in their droves, I was really taken with the place. Old growth trees and tea plantations abound and a beautiful gorge with crystal clear waters awaits anyone with a thick skin (like me) who wants to take a dip under the waterfalls. I think that's about it."

"1.Oki Islands, Shimane-ken. peaceful fishing community islands with great diving and beautful waters. Great to bike around for a few days. few cars, few people. Everyone so friendly. 2. Takachiho, Miyazaki-ken. Just plain beautiful. The drive from aso to takachiho is beautiful itself. 3.Southern Miyazaki-ken. I forget the name, but the penisula down the end area. All that coast line is spectacular for Japan, and the water is so warm. 4.Ohki Hama, close to ashizuri-misaki, Kochi-ken, shikoku. The nicest beach i have been to in japan. And CLEAN, and not buildings visible (ok one or two small places WAY up on the hill, but...not like the usual). 5.Aomori-ken. ANYWHERE! 6. Hokkaido - Shiretoko hanto (peninsula) - the most wild and free place, but still a fair number of people. Good free camping and free natural onsens in the woods. Great place. 7. Hokkaido- Rishiri and Rebun islands. Very pretty in the summer when the wild flowers are out. 8. Hokkaido in general - travel the circuit by bike...its amazing. Camping the whole way and bathing in free outdoor forest onsens. Very cheep way to see it and in my opinion, the only way! (although i assume hitch hiking would be good too). 9.Koya-san in Wakayama was fun and nice too.

"I had one more place to add... i forget the EXACT name, but its the mountain in okayama that women arent allowed to climb? When i went there i felt a bit unsatisfied... i was expecting somethign really sacred and spiritual, but when you make it to the top, you find a lodge and something that looks alot like resort villa. Not the spritual site i imagined. I heard that the hikes in that area were great, and i admit, at the time, apart from the main shrine/temple/resort are, it was nice, but still... i wouldnt recomend it nessisarily to anyone. There are better places i think... plus, of course, i LOVED Koya-san in okayama. Highly recomend it as a place to just hang out. Its where i went after that place and i felt like i had found a more peaceful happy place (despite it being a typical "omiyage town", it is really nice)."


THE FAVOURITES OF ASIA

Number one

Seoul, South Korea

Number two

Pomosa Temple, Busan, South Korea
Pusan Fish Market, Busan, South Korea
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Chang Mai, Thailand
Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
Reclining Buddha, Bangkok, Thailand

Number three

Panmunjeon, South/North Korea
Hahoe Village, South Korea
Mt. Namsan, Gyeonju, South Korea
Seoraksan National Park, South Korea
Hike up behind Pomosa Temple, Busan, South Korea
Pizza Hut!, various locations, South Korea
Backpackers hotel near Anduk, Seoul, South Korea
Lava tubes, Jejudo, South Korea
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Killing Fields + S-21 prison, Pnomh Penh, Cambodia
Mekong Delta, west of Saigon/close to Cambodia's border, Vietnam
Saigon, Vietnam
Cuchi tunnels, Vietnam
Halong Bay, Northeast Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam
Patpong, Bangkok, Thailand
Sukhothai Old City, Thailand
Phanom Rung, Northeast Thailand
Overnight train through Thailand
Taruko Gorge, Taiwan
Din Tai Fong restaurant, Taipei, Taiwan
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Pangkor Island, Malaysia
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Manila, Phillipeans
Ubud, Bali
Luvina, Bali
Luang Prabang, Laos
Big Island, Hawaii (not Asia but close, anyway)
Volcano National State Park, Hawaii


THE LEAST FAVOURITES OF ASIA

Daegu, South Korea
Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand
Manila, Phillipeans
Anywhere Japanese tour bus groups show up


*COMMENTS ABOUT ASIA

"Angkor Wat, Cambodia: 'a truly magical place'."

"Pnomh Penh: Killing Fields + S-21 prison definitely leave an impression."

"Bali, especially Ubud for all the crafts, music and dance. Lovina for the dolphins."

"Thailand - I've only been to the North, but I really liked Chiang Mai."

"So here is my recommendation for a must see location. Cambodia! The land of Angkor. A good majority of JET's make the pilgrimage to Thailand and Vietnam over-looking this gem of a location. The main destination is Siem Reap. The sleepy city full of ex-pats and tourist is the gateway to the Angkor complex and Angkor Wat, the largest religous monument in the world. You can spend days looking at these marvels of carved stone temples and enjoying the some of the friendliest people in southeast Asia. Siem Reap is a $15 ride from Bangkok if you travel by land, which is an adventure in itself, or a you can fly in on Bangkok Airways which you will have to check on those prices because they change often. You can easily stay in a nice room for $10 a night, lately I have been staying at the Paris D' Angkor, rent a moto and driver for $8 a day to take you around the temple sites, and eat a broad range of foods from French to Cambodian. The visa, which you get when crossing the border by land or when you arrive at the airport, is $20 USD. The passes for the Angkor complex are as follows:
1 day - $20 USD
3days - $40 USD
1 week - $60 USD
As you can tell US dollars is the preferred, but not the national currency. However they will exchange almost anything from Thai Baht to Japanese Yen, so no worries.
Anyway that is my recommendation. Cambodia, land of some of the most beautiful people, food, temples, sunrises and sunsets. Check it out! I guarantee it is worth the trip."

"I think Manila in the Phillipines is over rated, but I don't know about the rest of the country."


THE END!