I gathered lots of ideas and information prior to going to Tokyo in April 2012 and joining the Japanese Textile Study Tour. It seemed to be a good idea to get everything together in one place. I thought I would leave the page on my blog as it might be useful to you, dear reader, and it might be helpful if I have the chance to visit Japan again.
This is a website about Fujino, where the tour was based.
I like Lonely Planet guides. They have a lot of information and seem to be aimed at my kind of travel, not to expensive but not exactly backpacking. They have online guides and a forum.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan
Websites:
http://web-japan.org/links/index.html
Here's my reading list to date:
Alan MacFarlane - Japan Through the Looking Glass
Dr Junichi Saga - Memories of Silk and Straw
Amy Katoh - Blue and White Japan
Jill Liddell - The Story of the Kimono
Norio Yamanaka - The Book of the Kimono
Alexander McKay - Scottish Samurai - The life of Thomas Blake Glover
Places I visited in 2012 and would recommend:
Amuse Museum
Blue and White
Hama rikyu onshi-teien
Koishikawa Korakuen
http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/koishikawa/index.html
Senso-ji
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Sumida River
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, 45th floor observation decks
Yanaka Cemetery
http://www.digi-promotion.com/tokyo-neighborhoods/yanaka/yanaka_tour1.html#axzz1lETSU9nx
Places I didn't manage to visit in 2012 but would still like to see:
Bijutsukan kogeikan
Bingoya
Edo-Tokyo Museum
Mitsukoshi
Park Hyatt Deli
Shitamachi Museum
Tokyo National Museum
I watched the progress of the cherry blossoms in 2012 as my visit was when they would be at their peak
http://www.jnto.go.jp/sakura/eng/index.php
It would also be wonderful to visit in Autumn and see the glorious colours of the acers:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/interests/cherry.html
