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Don’t miss Hiroshima and Nagasaki.....
Spent a year there and enjoyed the shxt out of it. Very polite people, trains were spotless and I never saw any crime but was told if there is..you’ll see cops pretty quick. Course that was back in 84... Things change!!
Been living in Japan for a year now, an hour north of Tokyo. My wife (or 42 years) is Japanese.
I spent 3 years in Japan when I was in the Navy back in the 80s. Can’t say enough good things about the country. Safe, great public transportation, clean.
The people are very cordial. They treat foreigners very well. The Korean and rich Chinese way out number the foreigners from the West. The Japanese love Americans. In urban areas you’ll find maybe 5 to 10% of the people can speak a little English. Many have spent a couple years in the USA because their job took them there.
As you tour the magnificent Tokyo and ride its clean and efficient trains, see its beautiful urban architecture, bridges, skyscrapers subways: think about the fact that Tokyo was essentially burned to the ground at the end of the war.
Private enterprise is alive and well here. But so is urban planning and government coordination. Earthquakes, tsunamis, torrential rains, and flooding. These natural disasters are the challenges that the Japanese people needed to overcome.
So I think 10 days is way more time than you need to see the tourist spots. Yes, visit a castle, a temple, shrine. We just got back from Kyoto and a curious thing is you can rent kimonos and walk around the town and take pictures of you and your hubby. These days there are way more foreigners wearing kimonos than actual Japanese on the streets doing so.
My advice is to pay homage to the tourist areas, but also get out on your own to do your own exploring — and mostly looking around at the shops and trying different food.
People think of Japan as the land of sushi — and that’s true — but you can find all sorts of great food here. It’s a great country to eat beef and other meat which is served mostly in thin slices or served as a Korean-style barbecue.
Try the fruit (strawberries) and pickled vegetables which abound, not to mention all the splendid bakery items you can buy. The Japanese style is to tickle your taste buds, not overwhelm them with desserts that have too much sugar.
Sip the sake and wine, but also try the non-alcohol beer which is very tasty and will give you a better night’s sleep.
So these are a few thoughts. Good luck.