Two weeks in Japan, what should we do?

Question

I am traveling to Japan for two weeks with my sister. We are flying into Haneda on some pretty cheap tickets I found. Just looking for ideas of good things to see in the Tokyo area or farther for a short stay. Maybe even the best areas to look for hotels and thoughts on cheap travel like rail passes and day passes. Thank you for any insight you can lend!

Update:

We have some rough ideas, but are looking to see what others say that have more knowledge to expand our pool of ideas.

Japan Australia · Accepted Answer

The must see cities in Japan are Tokyo and Kyoto. Attractions in Tokyo include the Asakusa district famous for Sensoji temple and Nakamise shopping street; Meiji Shrine; The Imperial Palace; Ginza and Harajuku. 

Read more about Tokyo here
http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-japan.html

Kyoto attractions include Kiyomizudera; Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion); Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion); Nijo Castle; and Heian Shrine.

Read more about Kyoto here
http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2011/01/picture-of-week-kinkakuji-kyoto-japan.html

Other places I highly recommend include:

Nara - ancient capital and full of history and old temples
http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/11/picture-of-week-todai-ji-nara-japan.html

Takayama - beautiful city known for its traditional architecture and crafts
http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/10/picture-of-week-takayama-gifu-japan.html

Hiroshima - beautiful city in Japan that reminds me of my home town of Melbourne in Australia with its green parks and trams
http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/12/picture-of-week-atomic-bomb-dome-in.html

If you plan to do a lot of travelling in Japan then it is worth getting the Japan Rail Pass, which allows unlimited travel on almost all JR trains, including the shinkansen (excluding the Nozomi superexpress). This pass can only be purchased outside of Japan. 

To figure out if a JR Pass would be worth it or not for you, use Hyperdia’s website http://www.hyperdia.com/ to figure out how much your planned trips might cost, and compare it to the cost of a JR Pass.

Anonymous · Answer

The JR Railpass is an absolutely wonderful, time and money saving way to get around Japan on the Shinkansen, JR local trains and buses as well as the JR ferry to Miyajima and the N'EX from Narita, as well as the MonoRail.
There are tons of things to see and do in Tokyo:
In random order:
Meiji Jingu, Kaminarimon, Kabuki-za, Sumo at Ryogukan, the Edo-Tokyo Museum at Ry ogukan, Tokyo Tower, Oedo Onsen on Odaiba Venus Fort on Odaiba, the Imperial Palace.

Outside of Tokyo:

Toshogu shrine in Nikko
Heian Jingu, SanJuuSanGenDo, Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Gion in Kyoto
Chinatown in Yokohama
Himeji castle in Himeji
the Daibutsu in Nara.
the smaller Daibutsu in Kamakura.
the Guinness Book of World Records Daibutsu(Amida) in Ushiku, Ibaraki.
Miyajima.


As far as passes is concerned, do NOT get a Suica or N'EX or Suica/N'EX card. They will try to sell you these as 'convenient'. What they do not tell you is that you might get caught inside a trainstation without enough money on it. Then you have to recharge it and you must recharge it with a minimum 1000 yen. Also, there is a 500 yen 'refundable' deposit, but when you try to do so, they will charge a 210 yen 'handling' fee. Foreigners ALWAYS lose with these types of cards.

Filipino Katana · Answer

First of all rent a hooker. Go see iwakuni in southern japan only few hours to get there . Nice place there.make friends with as many japanese as possible new Asian friends. Go to Hiroshima in southern japan also only an hour  or half an hour from iwakuni. Very sad and historical place.

? · Answer

have fun with some hot japanese girls...

? · Answer

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Two weeks in Japan, what should we do?

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