Hi guys... I am going to Kumamoto from 20th Jan till 13th Feb for some short-term education program. This will be my first time travelling to a country with 4 seasons, so this will be first experience with winter. So just want to ask a few things here.

1. I see the weather reports saying the winter now is not so 'winter-ish' with higher temperatures and less snow. So what kind of winter wear should I bring along? Thermals? Windbreaker? Winter jackets? How about shoes? Normal shoes will do? Or do I need special winter shoes / boots?

2. I will have 3 weekends (basically just 2D 1N for each planned location) there which I plan to visit around. As I will be in Kumamoto, most likely my plans will be only around Kyushu. Any recommended places? My planned places to visit are:

Weekend 1
Kumamoto - Kumamoto Castle, Suizenji Garden, Mt Aso

Weekend 2
Fukuoka - Dazaifu Temangu shrine
Otherwise, no plans yet - maybe just tour around Fukuoka city

Weekend 3
Undecided - Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Takachiho, Beppu/Yufuin
Any recommendations?

Note : Actually the place I wanted to visit most is Kyoto, but looking at the distance, cost and time frame, it doesn't look feasible. Well, if I manage to get more days off, maybe I can consider, but is it a good idea? My aim is to visit the World Heritage Sites in Kyoto.

3. I do not want to exchange to much cash here, so I just wanted to know if I can withdraw cash from ATMs in Japan. I read that the machines in 7-11 are able to do that. Just want to confirm though.

Thanks to those who read my long post. Really excited and also nervous for this as I will be living for 3 weeks in Japan.

This post has been edited by nicodemus88: Jan 5 2016, 11:53 PM

Thanks RegentCid!

Wow, that's good to hear! Haha...

I saw you are a frequent visitor of Japan and have been around the country a lot. Any recommendations for Kyushu? How does my plans look like?

Hi forumers...

I will be in Kumamoto for 3 weeks, so am thibking of ways to get data for my phone. Which one would be a better choice? Mobile WiFi router or prepaid SIM?

And any telco suggestions? Sakura mobile looks pretty ok to me though..