Hi, We have 3 weeks in Japan from 23/12/09 to 14/1/10. We are experienced travellers in our mid 40’s who mostly enjoy the country rather than the city. The last 10 days or so will be in Hakuba skiing. We have 10 days to travel around and want to soak up the culture, food and countryside– We arrive in Tokyo;
Question 1 - Should we stay in Tokyo for Xmas or head down to Kyoto for a few days and spend it there. Any other suggestion for a good Christmas destination.
Question 2 - Any comments please on the following Itinerary.
Day 1 -3 Tokyo or Kyoto or other good Christmas destination.
Day 4 – 7 Kiso Valley; Nakatsugawa; walk from Magome to Tsumago Magome and stay; Matsumoto; Takayama
Days 8 – 10 Hire a car and tour around Noto Hanto and have New Years there.
Day 10 – 20 Hakuba
Question 3 – Anyone have the link for the courier service which will take our ski gear to our hotel in Hakuba from the airport please.

Question 1

Christmas day is not a special day in Japan. Everyone is working both on the 24th and the 25th, unlike the 23rd - the Emperor's birthday - which is a bank holiday day. For this reason, there is no special good place to spend Christmas in Japan... except perhaps in places where there are many foreigners. I spent a Christmas in Hakuba, and this was real fun. But between Tokyo and Kyoto, there is no significant difference...


Question 2

Keep in mind that in winter, there is lot of snow in Kisoji. Walking between Magome to Tsumago might not be that interesting in that season, even if visiting those towns is probably well-worth. Same goes for Noto Hanto, in winter, the visits might be rather limited.


Question 3

Kuroneko is what you are looking for. They have offices in every airport.

link : www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp

sanji wrote (View Post): › Keep in mind that in winter, there is lot of snow in Kisoji. Walking between Magome to Tsumago might not be that interesting in that season, even if visiting those towns is probably well-worth.

There is indeed a lot of snow but I really enjoyed the walk between Magome to Tsumago : everything white, really quiet and nobody around !... meaning you have to be very careful cause it's definitely not a walk in the park.