is 3 months too long for a visit?

i want to go to japan in 12 months. i will stay with a friend in kyoto for between 3-6 weeks. i also want to travel a bit around japan, but im wondering just what would i do for that long? would you recommend working/volunteering instead of aimlessly seeing the sights and tasting the food?
ive looked into teaching english, but im not so sure about it. mainly because i want to stay in kyoto for at least a month, and then go traveling with my friend. i wouldnt mind doing some volunteering (environmental or nature rather than caring), but there really doesnt seem to be much available apart from english teaching. although if i did work/volunteer i would be willing to stay la lot onger than 3 months.
if i told a future employer at a job interview that i went around japan for 3 months, would he wonder why i didnt teach english or something?
(im also quite sure that i will be volunteering in ghana coaching basketball in 2008, so i would quite like to have a long holiday in japan, even sitting on my arse relaxing for quite a few days.)
basically all im asking is; "when travelling through a country visiting places, what do you actually do?"


Edit: just to let you know, my trade is illustration/design/photography. i could get a decent portfolio together from keeping creative while in japan. but i imagine it would be very difficult to get any work in these areas

a bit vague i know. any input would be appriciated. thanks:122:

I agree that 2 or 3 months or travelling around Japan is much too much, except if you are a travel writer or want to update your guidebook. For example, in one of my trips, it took me only 10 days to see Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Beppu, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Okayama, Onomichi, Tomonoura, Takamatsu, Kotohira and Matsuyama (i.e. a "best of" Kyushu, Chugoku and Shikoku). You can see than Kansai in a week, and the Kanto in another week. One week for Tohoku and Hokkaido should be enough if you don't plan to do trekking, camping, skiing or other outdoor activities. Now you could spend two weeks walking in the mountains, but that's not what typical tourists do (and you'll need some special preparations).Add maybe a few days in Okinawa or in the Chubu region.

Altogether, I'd say that one to one and a half month is enough to see most of Japan without wasting time. But I also don't know anybody who has done it all in once, as it would be pretty tiring and expensive (esp. transportation). It would probably be more enjoyable to travel for 1 or 2 weeks then stay in one place and meet people, work or learn Japanese for the rest of the time.

drumbeat said:

ive looked into teaching english, but im not so sure about it. mainly because i want to stay in kyoto for at least a month, and then go traveling with my friend. i wouldnt mind doing some volunteering (environmental or nature rather than caring), but there really doesnt seem to be much available apart from english teaching. although if i did work/volunteer i would be willing to stay la lot onger than 3 months.

Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong ,but some companies hire no one other than whose mother tongue is English.

I'm sorry for my ignorance about the flag of Mr. drumbeat. above does not count.

I saw a decent amount of Honshu in about a month's time. I'd say two months tops would be all that's necessary if you just want to see the country, but 6 weeks is probably more like it. It depends on how long you want to stay in each area you visit. Staying creative is a good idea; make use of your new surroundings to beef up your portfolio, but don't have any illusions about working in Japan, especially not with the visitor's visa status. Mention any plans to work to an immigration official and you might find yourself turned back at the gates.

You are not going to find work without a proper visa, so enjoy your touring about. If you want to make contacts for future job prospects, by all means do so. Just don't tell immigration/customs that's what you're going to do, or they'll kick you back on the next plane home.

I disagree with the others that say your proposed amount of time is too long. Heck, I've lived in Japan for 8 years and still haven't seen it all! The hitch in your plans is money. Can you honestly afford housing and transportation fees for that long? Both are expensive.

What interests you (or doesn't) about Japan? Maybe we can help advise you if we knew where you were coming from in that sense. I vacationed solo for 3 weeks on Honshu and Shikoku. Saw 21 cities in 23 days, although I could have easily spent more time in most places.

i wouldnt mind doing some volunteering (environmental or nature rather than caring), but there really doesnt seem to be much available apart from english teaching.

Click to expand...

Have you looked into WWOOF?

if i told a future employer at a job interview that i went around japan for 3 months, would he wonder why i didnt teach english or something?

Click to expand...

The first question would be, "Why were you going around Japan? Vacation? Oh, that's nice." Unless you can bring some EXPERIENCE to the interview (whether work experience, living experience, or studying experience), they won't consider vacations as much of anything.

basically all im asking is; "when travelling through a country visiting places, what do you actually do?"

Click to expand...

Sightsee, take pictures, keep a journal, meet people. Working as a tourist is illegal anyway.

thanks for all the views. it does help:122:
don't worry about me working illegally, because im not planning that. i will decide well before i go if i will be teaching or not, and get the necessary visas. i have looked into wwoof, but i have now ruled out any working that isnt english teaching.

What interests you (or doesn't) about Japan? Maybe we can help advise you if we knew where you were coming from in that sense. I vacationed solo for 3 weeks on Honshu and Shikoku. Saw 21 cities in 23 days, although I could have easily spent more time in most places.

Click to expand...

if i were to just treat it just as a holiday, i want to spead at least 3 weeks at my friends house near kyoto. this would also save me a lot of money as i won't be paying for hotels. depending on how much time he can get off work and how much i can do there, i may want to stay longer. after that i would then use various rail passes and travel a bit.

regarding what i want to see and do in japan;
- explore osaka/kobe/kyoto/nara area
- visit tokyo
- mt fuji
- himeji castle
- see some football matches
- possibly watch sumo (or some type of martial arts event)
- rent car and or bicycle to explore country area
- see the ocean. ports and fishing villages or something.
- take home some professional quality photos of cityscapes, landscapes and general walking around the cities.
- the main reason for going is to live at my friends house and meet his family/friends. do what he does for a while. he may be able to come traveling with me for a short time, but not for too long.

i dont need to travel all over japan. i would rather not see 21 cities in 23 days, 4/5 would do. i like to spend longer in each place and take thing relatively slow.
this could all be possible without going all over the country, right??
i have no plans (yet) to travel away from honshu, maybe even staying within the central kansai, chibu and kanto regions.

basically, i would stay for as long as i could before i ran out of money. (i may be traveling to japan by train [london-moscow-vladivostok-fushiki-kyoto], and buy a plane ticket for the return.)
i suppose 2 months would be enough. any longer would be spent at my friends house.

any more opinions? thanks

Are you sure your friend(s) want to put you up for 3 weeks? There's a thing called "overstaying your welcome."

yeah he wants me to stay for a while. show me the sights of kansai. he spent over four weeks at mine when he was studying here for a year, including christmas week. roast dinner, grandparents, presents, the lot!

ill probably split the time i spend there up a bit anyway. i wouldnt overstay my welcome.