Travel Southern Europe Vs. Japan

[chargers 09]

Hi guys away for most of April and haven’t decided on a destination as of yet. Have been to Japan before and really liked it, never been to Europe.

Thoughts and experiences on both that time of the year?


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[00Stinger]

Go to the new place you have never been to

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[basashi]

Southern Europe has way better weather.

If you rent a car in Japan you can drive on the left.

You might get momentarily mistaken for a local in Southern Europe, not so much in Japan.

Its well established that soccer is a ridiculous sport but its better in Europe than Japan. Baseball and Sumo are better in Japan.

Transport is more reliable in Japan than southern Europe.

There is incredible Italian and French food in Japan, the Japanese food in Southern Europe is basically a train crash.

You are more likely to get scammed in Southern Europe.

You can blunder through with a phrasebook in Southern Europe and just add a vowel on the end of English words. Not so much in Japan.

Japan has a more intense boozing culture.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Go to the new place you have never been to

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But I’ve personally been over saturated by Europe atm so unless going behind the iron curtain, I will not proactively recommend the remainder of Europe. It’s not bad, and if you havnt been sure, go. But I’m bored of it haha

 

[00Stinger]

This
But I’ve personally been over saturated by Europe atm so unless going behind the iron curtain, I will not proactively recommend the remainder of Europe. It’s not bad, and if you havnt been sure, go. But I’m bored of it haha

yeah Europe is a bit meh for me aswell. But like you said if you havent been, you need to go at least once to experience it

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[wadistance]

Really hard question to answer there. I think you need to decide if you’re after a beach/wine/old buildings holiday where you can get an appreciation for a bit of our countries heritage

Otherwise if you’re into super cultured, efficient living with delicious traditional food, well preserved cultural traditions, ease of getting around and staying in the same timezone then japan is the answer

To be honest I’ve really undersold both places here and it’s like choosing a favourite child. Both are amazing. Go to both. Spend a month to 6 weeks in each


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[robbieando]

I would say go to the one you haven't been to before.

I was in a similar position for my holiday this coming March/April and it came down to either Europe or Japan as well and I decided to go to Japan as I haven't been before despite intending on wanting to go back to Europe when I first booked my leave. The unknown and a place I haven't been excited me more than repeating Europe again. But I will head back to Europe soon enough.

 

[Hawk Dork]

2 trips I like both

 

[Seeds]

Ive never understood the appeal of japan. I simply dont get it.

 

[wadistance]

Ive never understood the appeal of japan. I simply dont get it.

i think to be really into Japan, you need to enjoy both food and the history/culture. You're not going to find grand old european buildings and great beaches - its a weird juxtaposition between a really really hectic place, with a strong emphasis on mindfulness and peacefulness (when you go to the shrines/parks etc).

Whats good about is its not for everyone - just like every country in the world - which means not everyone is clamouring to go there! I personally will probably never set foot in Thailand, and im unlikely to ever go to the USA for that reason

 

[robbieando]

The appeal of Japan for me has always been the futuristic aspect of the country.

 

[Seeds]

The appeal of Japan for me has always been the futuristic aspect of the country.

True i like all the neon lights of tokyo and its great seeing it while you walk around. But then what do you do? The temples are ok but nothing special. Im not sushi fan. What do tourists in japan actually do for fun?

 

[wadistance]

True i like all the neon lights of tokyo and its great seeing it while you walk around. But then what do you do? The temples are ok but nothing special. Im not sushi fan. What do tourists in japan actually do for fun?

That's the thing - Japan is so much more than Sushi. Sushi is generally eaten in the coastal areas/those with good access to a fishing port - some areas its very rarely eaten.

Each region has very different food history. Hokkaido is famous for incredibly fresh seafood. Ramen and Sushi in Tokyo. Nagoya is big on Miso everything - especially on fried foods. Osaka is big for street food/yakitori.

The thrill in japan for me is exploring the cities and finding the small local haunts off main streets. It might be a 6 seat ramen bar with a michellin star. It might be a huge food hall. It might be a noodle house 3 alleyways off a main street where you wont spend more than $10aud for 3 people. I also love Japanese history and culture - so walking through the forests/tea ceremonies/visiting shrines is big for me

You also have very good snow in the winter which a lot of people go there for

 

[juss]

I have done quite a bit of travelling in the last 5 years and been to both these places.

If you want something that's unique from many other places in the world do Japan. It's a different world, from the old ruins and eras of the past to the ultra, ultra, ultra modern, and weird, like vending machines that contain anything. Amazingly friendly, polite and respectful people but you'll still be able to party hard if you want to.

Europe is Europe. Of course there are differences between countries but largely the general vibe and experiences of many places is quite similar.
It's old, it's historic, there are churches everywhere for example and football is far and away the dominant sport across all of Europe. It's tourist packed (the big tourist cities), there's a heap of beggars/scammers (the big tourist cities), it's touristy (all the places you're likely to go). I've been through about a dozen or so European countries and some of them I could have done without because they were either extremely similar to the last one, or they didn't add anything new of value. For example, although both places are great and I enjoyed both, Austria is very similar to Germany. Italian cities are quite similar to Spanish and then some French cities. Athens would be comparable to Rome except the economy is trashed and there's a lot of places that are absolute dumps now. But the old ruins and stuff is very comparable to Rome. Many of the cities around Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary are all quite similar too, different of course but not major cultural differences between them where you feel like your in a completely different place.

That being said, Europe is still fantastic and any keen traveler needs to go there eventually, it's just that it probably won't blow your mind the way Japan will.

 

[Great8]

Europe for me all day everyday. I’ve only been to Japan a couple of times and whilst I thought it was ok I still prefer Europe. After close to 30 trips to Europe aswell as a few stints living there our friends still think it’s bizarre that we head over most years still but there is always something new to see