30 Days in Japan

I would like some advice on my mad mad plan to go to Japan for 28days in October and November. Im looking to explore the hotspots between Tokyo to Fukuoka areas on a budget.

Ive never gone overseas before and most likely be backpacking/staying in cheap hostels for accommodation.

Should I prebook everything ie accommodation before I leave?
Should I buy a JR railpass?
Should i just wing it and go where ever my hearts want to go?

I was a bit stupid and bought a return flight home from Seoul... so now i need to figure out how to work this out without it costing too much. I figure a day to go across by ferry and train from Busan to Seoul.

Any advice would be welcome

Thanks
Karen

JR Pass is a must!
Pre booking is a good idea because if you are going to go into small towns it will be hard to communicate.
Also it is a good idea to have an outline of what you wan to do because there is so much to see in Japan and if you don't have an idea you will be a bit disoriented and won't see as much.
Here are some sites where you can find some ideas on what to do and what to see.
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/
www.japantravel.jopin.com
www.japanrailpass.net

[ Edit: Edited on Sep 4, 2008, at 6:00 PM by trvllover ]

I definitely agree with the above post - a JR rail pass is an absolute must as it will save you so much money. Remember you need to get this before you enter Japan, and must get it validated on arrival. If you are flying into Tokyo this can be done at the office in Narita airport. You can also use the pass on the local rail network in central Tokyo which is really useful (but not on the subway).

I travelled round Japan for 2 weeks and only booked my first night's accommodation in advance - I found it fine to just turn up to places. It's probably nice to book your first night in advance so you know that you 're not going to be wandering around after a long flight looking for somewhere but for the rest of your accommodation you don't want to force yourself to stick to a rigid schedule which you can't change.

thanks guys. awesome advice

im starting to research where and what i want to see and do now....
do you think a 21day JR pass is too much? considering i probably want to base myself in Tokyo for at least a week.
yeah ive reserved some hostel dorm room for 7 nights or so in Tokyo.. not sure if i should increase or reduce it.
advice on the type of bags that would be ideal to take.. two backpacks maybe?
also i believe the weather will be quiet warm tooo - so wicking clothes is ideal right?

cheers

I think 21 days would be fine as you will need it for all of your time outside tokyo and, as I mentioned, you can use it within Tokyo too.
I would pack as light as possible - just the one backpack and a small day pack.

Not sure about the weather. I went in April and it was warmish.

I'm not quite sure whether you will be able to save a lot of money with the rail pass...it only pays off if you take shinkansen a lot!
look up the prices & train connections at http://www.hyperdia.com/ (there is an english version, button on the top, left) and do some calculations

About accomodation: How about couchsurfing.com?

well i got the lonely planet book for Japan.. and i like their suggested itineraries going from tokyo all the way to fukuoka. basically i need to end up in fukuoka anway to get to seoul and a flight back to Sydney...

i was thinking sort of something like this. not a 100% on it though...

8days and 7nights in Tokyo
a couple of daytrips out to maybe Mt Fuji, Nikko, Kamakura

stay in maybe Nagoya and visit Takayama

8days and 7nights in Kyoto
explore Osaka, Nara, Himeji

then Hiroshima

then Fukuoka, Beppu and maybe Mt Aso.

any recommendations on the time and what not would be helpful.