Japan is wonderful, and you'd be surprised at how easy it is to maneuver around with almost every important sign having English on it. And with the Japanese, a big smile plus one or two simple Japanese words for "please" and "thank you" is all you need to have the red carpet rolled out for you even with a language barrier.
The Japanese are truly wonderful people and they love Americans! You literally can't go wrong there.
That said, a closer destination you might enjoy is one of my favorites...
The San Juan Islands and the two Boeing museums in the Seattle area.
First, there is the
Seattle Museum of Flight just south of downtown Seattle that takes in all sorts of aircraft and spacecraft, whether or not it was built by William Boeing and his company; from Kitty Hawk to the Concorde and everything in between. It's an aviation geeks dream, but anyone with just a passing interest in aircraft or American history would be entertained for hours. The museum is located at the Boeing Field Airport facility just south of downtown, but Boeing has done a good job of representing the entirety of aviation instead of just Boeing products at this museum.
They also have some historic passenger planes that you can explore in addition to a Concorde, like an original 707 Air Force One, a United 727 from the swinging 60's, and the very first 747 that was used for the famous photo ops of 1969.
The Museum of Flight holds one of the largest air and space collections in the US and aims to become the foremost educational air and space museum in the world!
www.museumofflight.org
Secondly, north of Seattle about 30 minutes in the city of Everett is the incredible Boeing factory tour in an experience called the
Boeing Future Of Flight. The Boeing Future Of Flight and factory tour ties for first with the Kennedy Space Center as the most impressive factory tour I have ever taken; more impressive than the Ford factory tour in Michigan, the Mercedes factory tour in Stuttgart, and vastly more polished and professional than the disastrously bad and embarrassing official guided tours I've taken at Disney World.
The
Boeing Future Of Flight tour is a multi-part experience that starts in a techy theater, then turns into a bus tour across the sprawling Boeing factory airport and complex, and ends with a walking tour inside the absolutely massive building where they build all the widebody Boeing jetliners; the 747, 777, and 787. You walk along glassed-in catwalks with a guide who describes the manufacturing process as armies of workers build jetliners beneath you.
The Boeing complex in Everett is sprawling and massive, and the main factory building is the largest building in the world by volume. The place is huge and the experience takes several hours.
Attached to the tour experience, and as part of your ticket, there is also a Boeing museum that showcases the history of the Boeing company and Boeing products. Plus the obligatory museum restaurant and gift shop.
One of Seattle's favorite aviation attractions. Experience the Boeing Factory Tour. Great for Events.
www.boeingfutureofflight.com
I recommend doing this Boeing Future Of Flight factory tour visit
after you've visited the Museum Of Flight on the other side of town, so you can see how Boeing developed within the broader aerospace industry.
And as you are now in the northern Seattle suburbs, you are a short ferry ride from the stunning and fabulous
San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. There is a ferry terminal adjacent to the Boeing factory in Mukilteo, and a major terminal further north on I-5 in Anacortes, and the Washington State Ferry System can get you all around this incredible corner of the USA. You can camp in the woods, stay in luxury resorts or modest motels, or do airbnb in hip little island towns with good dining and shopping, etc. Hiking and boating and whale watching are all available on the various islands, or you can just sit on the beach and look at the scenery. A rental car is a must, in my opinion, as it really helps to think of this as a very picturesque road trip assisted by ferry boats.
This is a rugged coast, so don't expect to lounge on the sand. But do expect to be wowed by the scenery. And do expect to eat some of the best seafood you've ever had.
The Orca whales don't perform on cue like at Sea World, but if you're patient you're bound to spot a few.
Visit the San Juan Islands in northwest Washington State. World-class whale watching, kayaking, biking, hiking, farm-to-table dining, cozy lodgings. Pebbled beaches, stunning sunsets and deep green forests - the San Juan Islands are Inspiration for the Senses!
www.visitsanjuans.com
