Who to book tour of Japan with?

NullZer0

Hey,

I've been looking into a holiday in Japan for a few months now. I've had no trouble finding out about destinations and things to see.

Finding a tour operator / package deal that I can book from Ireland is a big problem though. Can anyone recommend one?

I'm mainly interested in the countryside, temples, monuments etc... for Photography. But I'd also like to see Tokyo.

Think may be a big too much trying to fit it into 7 days?

bringitdown

You can buy a JR Rail Pass before you travel and do it yourself perhaps.

However with 7 days I'd have the following wee 'warning'... Tokyo is huge, do not underestimate it. Not only that it is packed full of fun.

From a photographers / tourist POV I'd highlight:

• Harajuku - girls in Anime cosplay costumes, dancing rockers with crazy hair, live bands etc. Nearby Temples and giant Tori.
• Shinjuku and Shibuya - great glittering night shots of Tokyo neon, streams of people.
• Asakusa / Ueno - Sensoji temple and pagoda, pachinko parlours, old and new blended.
• Grand Palace - great gardens, walls, moats, etc surrounded by the biggest urban area in the world
• Tokyo Central - Shinkansen snake thru glass towers, some great architecture.
• Tsukiji Fish Market - frenetic tuna auctions, and plenty of other things to see

Hit Roppongi / Shinjuku / Shibuya for nightlife.

I spent 4 days there and still only managed to see a small amount. There is always something unexpected there!

Then took a Bullet train to Kyoto a great mix of Temples and Zen Gardens and the odd Geisha.

Country side looks amazing but with little time, its hard to squeeze much in unless you forget about exploring Tokyo.

Lols2008

Hi,

We went on a trip to Japan through GAP Adventures. While we did their Japan Express tour, they do run a Japan Photography tour. We booked them through Trailfinders. We found our GAP tour really brilliant!

Japan is great, there's so much to do and see!

NullZer0

bringitdown wrote: »

You can buy a JR Rail Pass before you travel and do it yourself perhaps.

However with 7 days I'd have the following wee 'warning'... Tokyo is huge, do not underestimate it. Not only that it is packed full of fun.

From a photographers / tourist POV I'd highlight:

• Harajuku - girls in Anime cosplay costumes, dancing rockers with crazy hair, live bands etc. Nearby Temples and giant Tori.
• Shinjuku and Shibuya - great glittering night shots of Tokyo neon, streams of people.
• Asakusa / Ueno - Sensoji temple and pagoda, pachinko parlours, old and new blended.
• Grand Palace - great gardens, walls, moats, etc surrounded by the biggest urban area in the world
• Tokyo Central - Shinkansen snake thru glass towers, some great architecture.
• Tsukiji Fish Market - frenetic tuna auctions, and plenty of other things to see

Hit Roppongi / Shinjuku / Shibuya for nightlife.

I spent 4 days there and still only managed to see a small amount. There is always something unexpected there!

Then took a Bullet train to Kyoto a great mix of Temples and Zen Gardens and the odd Geisha.

Country side looks amazing but with little time, its hard to squeeze much in unless you forget about exploring Tokyo.

Sounds pretty cool!

How safe is it? - both during the day and at night?

bringitdown

Safe as houses, never felt threatened. There are a couple of seedy places around Roppongi but Japan is generally no problem.

NullZer0

Lols2008 wrote: »

Hi,

We went on a trip to Japan through GAP Adventures. While we did their Japan Express tour, they do run a Japan Photography tour. We booked them through Trailfinders. We found our GAP tour really brilliant!

Japan is great, there's so much to do and see!

I'll check them out! - thanks

bringitdown wrote: »

Safe as houses, never felt threatened. There are a couple of seedy places around Roppongi but Japan is generally no problem.

Sounds good so far! Been wanting to go for a long long time!

tampopo

The Sunday times had ads in the back of one of their magazines a while back. I haven't seen or noticed it recently though. There was a package deal you're looking for, offered.