Japan (and maybe Thailand)

I%26#39;m currently just thinking of a great summer vacation and I was thinking of taking two or three weeks to see Japan and possibly Thailand in August; however, I am very ignorant of these countries, and Asia in general.

For an itinerary, I was thinking of maybe 14-16 days in Japan and spend the rest in Thailand. I%26#39;ve wanted to see Japan for a while (b/c of what I%26#39;ve seen in TV and movies, please don%26#39;t laugh!) and I would definitely want to consider some time in Tokyo and Kyoto, as well as Hiroshima. However, I have no sense of distance of these places in Japan; or how many days I should devote to each and I don%26#39;t know if I%26#39;m excluding something fabulously great (e.g. Mt. Fuji.) Or how to even get around, the famous bullet train?

As for Thailand, I definitely want to visit great beaches but I don%26#39;t know what else there is to see. A friend of mine has been telling me it%26#39;s a great for the beaches are but I think I could be missing something culturally or ecologically beautiful (other than the fabulous beaches), such as important temples or villages.

I don%26#39;t know if dividing my time up in half is fair to either country. I know I%26#39;m kind of rambling but if there is anyone willing to offer any suggestions or advice, I would be sincerely grateful!!!

Best!

Japan (and maybe Thailand)

A good site to do some research - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623.html - the site has some suggested itineraries. Also cruise through previous posts on this forum. How many days in each location is up to you.

Japan (and maybe Thailand)

if you get a Japan Rail Pass (which you must buy before you enter Japan), you can have unlimited train travel (also some ferries and buses) within the specified period of time, so zipping from one part of the country to the other is fast and convenient, as train stations are located in city centres, in comparison to airports, which are often fairly far from the city centre.

i think you could cover a decent amount of japan in two weeks, but this would leave you with only one week in thailand. there are some nice beaches down in southern thailand, thriving metropolis of bangkok and chilled-out cultural places in the north, so it%26#39;s up to you. japan too has beautiful beaches and great culture, but the two countries are quite different. thailand would be a lot cheaper than japan, btw.

if you plan to see both countries, perhaps you could fly Thai Airways and get a stopover in Bangkok; from Bangkok you can travel to many other places within the country cheaply. Then you could head onto Japan, or do the reverse.

Have fun planning your trip, and have a great time when you do leave!