Where to see shows? Where to drink and dance? Where to buy records? Where to eat? Where to sleep? Where to see historic sites? Where to see nature?
Drop your recommendations here!

Some suggestions for off the beaten path destinations:

Tokyo:

  • Mount Takao: it’s a small mountain on the edge of Tokyo. It’s a good way to experience a little nature in the city, plus getting to the top, which offers good views of Mt Fuji, involves taking a chair lift and walking through a couple of temples/shines.
  • Enoshima: a hilly island SW of Tokyo that has cool caves and shrines and lighthouse that you can go up to get good views of the city/Mt Fuji. But the real treat is the ride out there. If you go through Ofuna, you can stop at a really incredible temple and then take a hanging monorail into Enoshima (this was one of the top experiences in my life).

Kyoto:

  • Philosophers Path: a low-key walk along a canal on the edge of Kyoto that’ll take you by a handful of shrines (you can also trek up into the mountains to see a pretty cool waterfall, but it’s steep as hell). Cherry trees line the canal, so depending on what time of year you go, you might be walking under a canopy of pink blossoms. But I’d recommend it even if the trees aren’t in bloom.

    sixbigboys thanks! These all look amazing. I’m definitely wanting to spend some time in both Tokyo and Kyoto.

      Disk Union for records. Heaps of stores round Tokyo especially Shinjuku. I dig the 2nd hand store there, spent way too much money last trip
      Get a map from the store with all the locations.
      Nat Records http://natrecords.shop-pro.jp/
      Nice shop in Shinjuku, cool punk selection.
      BASE records in Koenji was another store I went to, highly recommended.

      I haven't been back to Osaka for a while but you gotta hit up Time Bomb Records, massive collection, a total punk rock wet dream. It's close to a lot of other stores.

      I have lived in Japan since 1997, but mostly in Hiroshima, so am not an expert in the major metropolitan areas but am open to answering any general questions etc. And definitely hit me up if you make it to Hiroshima - best known for the atomic bomb (now Peace Park), Miyajima Shrine, oysters, okonomiyaki...

      • Glad to hear the Philosophers' Path is still not so well known. I haven't walked it for ages but remember it being really nice. In general, cherry blossom season is a great time to visit Japan especially if you like drinking from mid-day under beautifully blossoming cherry trees. It will bring out the philosopher in you, the poet and much more...

      • Time Bomb has moved recently, not far but it's out of Ame-mura. That area used to be filled with record shops (including a Tower which got away with selling Horizontal Action!) but they are mostly gone. There was a good but very small HC punk shop there pre-Covid...
        For Osaka in general, check out Osaka.com and especially stuff by Matt Kaufman
        https://www.osaka.com/thingstodo/undiscovered-osaka-things-to-do-in-osaka-in-february/

      Oh and in Kyoto check out Pop Pizza run by ex-Radio Beats, MOTO etc. I'm going for the first time in a few weeks...
      https://www.facebook.com/PopPizzaKyoto

        Sukebe_GG thanks for all this! My main reason for asking is I’m planning a trip there soon. It looks like it’s really easy to get around via train, so Hiroshima is definitely an option.

        I had the privilege of trying okonomiyaki at one of the few places that serves it at a restaurant in Chicago, and it was incredible. Would love to try the Hiroshima-style

          Sukebe_GG where do I remember you from? was it terminal boredom or somewhere else? discogs?

              connie v TB and still friended on FB I think - Greg L. I even joined your "fan club" one year! 😘

                  Sukebe_GG oh yea were are friends on FB! youre a legend! love ya man, good to see ya. anyway can i sleep in you bathroom in japan or what?

                      connie v
                      Of course! Everyone is welcome to sleep in our tub!

                      Kevin E
                      Forget to mention his name: Dan McNellie, and that he runs the excellent Secret Mission Records.
                      NOT the crazy dude in Radio Beats who got all into yoga!

                          23 days later

                          heading to japan around christmas/new years with my gf to escape family & NYE shite! should be between tokyo & kyoto and working on some onsen stops and the like.. only for two weeks so kinda squeezed for time. any winter and punk recs would be sick, but looks like the thread's well covered already..

                          also hoping to line up a wrestling show or a gig if the planets align?? any ideas on that would be mad.. NJPW or local wrestling, any kinda punk/hardcore/experimental stuff.. is there a good place to look for that kinda thing?

                          Sushi Dai is the best meal I've ever had

                          Bath houses are a very pleasant experience.

                          As far as live gigs, these are good for Osaka
                          https://x.com/LmeOsaka
                          https://x.com/osakapunk_gig

                          Check out this for Tokyo
                          https://www.instagram.com/japangigs/
                          This one is way more broad
                          https://www.tokyogigguide.com/en/
                          so better to check individual clubs like the one our own Ayapapa works at
                          https://www.heavysick.co.jp/club/
                          She can definitely chime in with more, but there are these long-running venues:
                          http://www.shimokitazawa-loft.com/live/index.html
                          https://www.loft-prj.co.jp/schedule/shelter
                          https://redcloth.sputniklab.com/

                          An outdoor onsen with free-flowing sake in winter is heavenly!

                            have a drink and play records with fifi at the poor cow in shimokitazawa

                            Thank you so much everyone! Can’t want to check out shows and onsen. I’ll be there in November and early December, so perfect time for sake and a soak.

                            Does anyone here speak Japanese? I am trying to learn enough to be conversational by the time I get there.

                              Sukebe_GG thanks heaps sukebe! these look sick.. much much appreciated. pretty much gonna pickle from the outside in onsen water and pickle from the inside with sake for two weeks, hopefully that refreshes life's ailments..

                                filthqueen666 少し日本語を知っています。[I know a little!]

                                I’ve been going to classes and studying on my own for about a year now just as hobby. I really enjoy it, but it’s quite a time commitment and I’m still much better at reading it than speaking/understanding someone speaking it at this point. Learning a little before you go will definitely help you enjoy things more, but it’s not essential to get around, especially in Tokyo or Kyoto.

                                You can teach yourself hiragana and katakana through Tofugu, which you’ll need to ultimately learn kanji:
                                https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-hiragana/
                                https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-katakana/

                                Katakana is basically the character set they use for loan words, so learning that more or less will let you read English in code. A lot of bar menus are written in katakana, so you’ll see stuff like マティーニ　(“ma-tei-ni”/martini) or ビール (“bii-ru”/beer). We were in a basement bar with no cell service at one point, so no one could use google translate, and I got to swoop in and act as translator…despite barely knowing any grammar. It felt awesome!

                                Anyway, holler if you want any recommendations for what to prioritize or good learning resources!

                                    I was lucky to be living here while studying but try as much as you can to immerse yourself even if not in Japan: watch Doraemon cartoons to start to get your ears attuned. Move on to Sanae, Crayon Shinchan, etc. as you progress. Keep it on the background while making dinner or doing other stuff.
                                    If you do start on kanji - write them out numerous times to start, at least the first few hundred basic ones. I would also watch the Tuesday night enka music show because the songs are slow and the lyrics pretty basic themes - love and seasons! The harder kanji has furigana and you might just find yourself mastering a classic or two...

                                    (the title (Soemon-cho Blues) is just the name of a neighborhood in Osaka)

                                      This one also fits in the "why havnt this been reissued yet" thread....

                                      I've really been enjoying this record by Miharu Koshi. Guess i would call it "art pop" or whatever. Not unlike YMO. Reccomendations for anything similar would be great.

                                      sixbigboys that’s all such good advice! Thank you!
                                      In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, I want to get out to the mountains, so I figured it would be useful just like you described. Also, it’s really rewarding. I’ve never really committed to learning a new language before but I feel like I unlocked a new way to challenge myself cognitively.

                                        2 months later

                                        This might be a dumb question.

                                        Last night I was talking to Geros from Japan, using a translation app. We started talking about "dark wave" and I asked "if you had a dark wave band, what would you call it?" But the question didn't seem to come across. I asked it a few different ways, hoping to get some weird band name for an imaginary project, but they didn't know what I was talking about.

                                        Is there anything lost in translation here? Like do Japanese people "name" bands, or is there any sort of subjunctive mood issues that would prevent this hypothetical from crossing the language barrier?

                                          Nathan Loud
                                          The subjunctive shouldn't be a problem but maybe it just needed a little more clarification like, "imagine if you had a dark wave band..." I don't know if I have necessarily played the band naming game with Japanese but there shouldn't be any impediment to it, especially given the wild names some bands have. Would really love to know or figure out what "Assfort" is supposed to mean...
                                          btw, "The Geros" is a perfect fit for their KBD mutant punk, as besides the Germs and Zeros proximities, "gero" means vomit! I wanted to name a garage punk band "Los Dorobos", dorobo is thief in Japanese, and Japanese has the same vowel sounds as Spanish.

                                            Touring Japan in early June, second time going but will have more free time this go around. Anymore recommendations for cool shit, especially in Shinjuku I would love to hear it.

                                            Hey friends, have returned to ask for mooooore help like the sponge of a person that I am...

                                            My girlfriend and I are headed to Japan from Dec 20 - Jan 5, mostly to have an excuse to not be at family christmas stuff haha; my partner has been a few times and speaks a decent amount of Japanese, but everything is new to me so I'm struggling to be of much use with planning the trip and I feel a bit hopeless -- we're running into a few uncertainties around the transport system during the holiday period and was wondering if you had any tips? (I suppose I'm directing this in part at @Sukebe_GG; hello!)

                                            We're arriving in Tokyo, heading to Kyoto on the shinkansen all of which looks relatively straightforward so far, but were then planning to head into less well-trod regions to visit a couple cool onsen... in and around Koyasan, Wakayama, Yunomine. We just had the tip that some of the buses in these areas (Tanabe & Hongu bus?) may not run during the holiday season (we were planning that part of the trip for Dec 25 - Jan 1), but can't find reliable info on what the holiday timetables might be (don't wanna get stuck at a train station in a snow storm!)

                                            We're asking around for some help trying to figure this out, and thought maybe this thread could be helpful for anyone who has travelled at that time of year? Thanks so much for the help and let me know if i can ever return the favour with anything!

                                            also re: pre-booking Shinkensen.. so many third party websites and not sure what to trust.. from quick online research it looks like https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php might be the best hub to pre-book a train? have you guys had any experience with this kinda prebooking so far in advance? we don't wanna get stuck, but it does seem like most people book close to the date of travel... (thank uuuu again)

                                            Herro! As far as the year-end holiday season, things really do shutdown heavy. There should be at least some public transportation running but maybe some extremely rural buses do not. It should all be scheduled in advance, so try contacting the bus company or whatever directly, or inquiring at the onsen you want to stay at.
                                            That Smart-Ex site is the official site AFAIK and we always use it. I heard a while back some people had trouble registering their foreign credit cards but I have to imagine that has been resolved.

                                            Many many years ago I got stuck for a few days because all the ATMs were completely closed over New Years. 24-hour 7-11 ATMs didn't start until the mid 2000's and bank ATMs still have early closing hours.

                                              Transcribing an interview with The Geros. Angel, the singer/guitar player, also DJs idol music, which I had never heard of. He loves this song and it makes me love The Geros even more:

                                                Never seen this before but you can cross your eyes like a Magic Eye poster and watch The Candies in 3D.

                                                Now just imagine if this technology was used on a Green Screen RockerTM.

                                                Nathan Loud Can't wait to read! The Geros made a big impression on me. Such a brilliant and funny lot.