Many Questions for 1st Japan Trip

Old Oct 19th, 2016, 09:43 AM
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Many Questions for 1st Japan Trip

I have been reading the many posts and Trip Reports here as research for our first trip to Japan. We are 60ish couple with lots of experience traveling Europe independently, but our two big Asia trips (China & India) were organized by travel agents so details like travel between cities were taken care of for us. We are flying to Tokyo on May 1 and will have 16 nights. We plan to use trains for travel between the cities. Below is a tentative itinerary and several questions. I would really appreciate getting any help you can offer!

Tokyo - 4 nights including the day we land so 3 full days for the city
Hiroshima/Miyajima – 2 nights?
Kyoto/Nara – 4 or 5 nights?
Kanazawa/Takayama – 4 nights
Nikko? – or someplace else to use for our last night before flying out of Narita

1.What guide books(s) do you take with you or how do you decide what to see/do each day? Did you use guides or take any organized tours that you would recommend? When we travel to Europe we often just show up in a city and figure it out as we go. I don’t think I can do this here but don’t necessarily want to print a daily schedule before we go. I’ve got 2 books to use for research now, this forum, and japan-guide, but I think I should probably bring something with me as well.

2. I’d like to head to Hiroshima from Tokyo in the morning but stay in Miyajima. Will the luggage services I read about be able to transport luggage to Miyajima or should we just take our bags and store them at Hiroshima station? How can I find out what kind of luggage storage is available? We will each have a 22” roller bag so not sure if those are small enough to fit into a locker. Should we plan for 1 or 2 nights in Miyajima and will we be able to see enough of Hiroshima if we don’t actually stay there?

3. We are booked at Hotel Mume for 4 nights in Kyoto (and I’m already thrilled with how helpful they are being!) but also would like to see Nara. Should we extend our stay and do this as a day trip? Or travel to Nara either before or after Kyoto and spend the night?

4. Any input on the last 5 days of our trip? Stay 2 nights each in Kanazawa and Takayama or break it out differently? Would Nikko be a good place to spend the night and then travel from there to Narita? Or would you stay one more night in Tokyo or somewhere else?

5. Did you have any difficulty sleeping on the futons in ryokans? We are both sensitive when it comes to hard beds and I’m worried enough reading about the beds in Japan much less the futons. I’d love to hear your experiences. I’m particularly interested in staying in a ryokan in Miyajima.

Any other input or advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Old Oct 19th, 2016, 03:31 PM
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A friend went to Japan three times this year, including a cruise around Hokkaido that we just went on together. She recommends a hotel chain that has budget hotels near the train stations in many cities. Perhaps this link might interest you:

https://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/

She said that if you join their Toyoko Inn Club, you get discounts and can make reservations earlier than non-members.

The hotels are in all the major cities, and even some smaller ones.
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Old Oct 19th, 2016, 06:45 PM
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Should be a great trip no matter what you choose! Here are my thoughts:

Depending on your interst, you might want at least 1 more night, if not 2, for Kyoto/Nara. Similarly, you might want at least 1 more night for Kanazawa and Takayama.

If possible, consider moving on from Tokyo the first night so that all all your time in Tokyo would is at the end of my trip – you might be tired, but you’ll be tired anyway! And FWIW, even though I’m very glad I spent a night in Nikko, I wouldn’t spend the night before an international flight that far from my departure airport. YMMV.

(1) The guidebook I found most helpful was Japan Solo, which was already out-of-date when I went. That said, I didn’t take that book with me – it’s too valuable to me! Instead, I ripped pages out of the hard-copy guidebook I found 2nd most useful – the Rough Guide.

I only used a guide once or twice, and never one that I had pre-arranged. If working with a guide is your preference, go for it – but you don’t NEED them. If you want to work with a guide, consider taking advantage of an occasional local “goodwill guide” – The Japanese National Tourism Organization coordinates free "volunteer guides who are knowledgeable and happy to guide you in return for practicing their English – which can be excellent!
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/trav…
You pay any entrance fees and his/her meal if your time with the guide includes one. Do NOT tip guides, or anyone else!

(2) I believe that Japan's excellent luggage-forwarding option allows both same-day and overnight deliver:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html
You will need to research the specific options for YOUR trip.

Info about timing, luggage size, etc., is available in the japan-guide web-site. I don’t know why you haven’t found the info you need.

(5) I did not have trouble; YMMV.
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Old Oct 19th, 2016, 11:29 PM
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Thanks kja - I appreciate your comments. You are one of the "sources" that I like to use and I think it was on a post of yours that I first found japan-guide. I've used it mostly for the itinerary portion, so I will look further to see what info they give on the luggage service - something I had never heard of before! I just wasn't sure if Miyajima was a big enough city to have the luggage forwarding available for same day. I was also going to check with my hotel/ryokan once I decide on which one and how many days. Thanks again.
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Old Oct 20th, 2016, 07:21 AM
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Kja and I are so often in agreement and that's mostly the case here too.

The only exception is that for me, I prefer at least one night in Tokyo on landing before moving on anywhere, not least because if the flight is delayed, I'm even less likely to have the wherewithal to travel onwards. That said, I find airports and flying really exhausting, so your mileage may vary. It will also depend on what time of the day your flight is due to land in to Tokyo. As to number of nights, if you've already booked your flights and are locked into 16 nights, then that's fair enough, but if you can give yourself two extra nights, I think you'd benefit from them greatly.

We only did a single night for Hiroshima and Miyajima and still adored it. We travelled from Osaka, which meant we were easily able to get to Hiroshima at the start of the day, spent a morning at the peace park, dome and museums, and then transferred to the island early to mid afternoon. That gave us the rest of the day and evening in Miyajima plus half a day the next morning, after which we took the train all the way back to Tokyo, a fairly long but very relaxing and easy shinkansen ride.

I could certainly have enjoyed a second night on Miyajima, so if you are able to, it's worthwhile. There's enough to see and do and you could stay in a traditional ryokan here if that appeals and go for a luxe one. (My recommendation for a small, traditional, family-run ryokan is Auberge Watanabe - don't let the French element of the name confuse you, it's a very Japanese ryokan. I went for the room with private en-suite bathroom with traditional cypress wood tub.

For Kyoto, I would recommend 5 nights if you can. 4 + 1 in Nara would be the minimum to really see the best of the area, there is so much in Kyoto and you certainly won't run out of wonders to see. In Nara I loved our one night in Kankaso Ryokan, very traditional, exceptionally well located and with wonderful age and character and great food.

Which reminds me, I have a bad back and hips and knees so was also worried about futons. But if you email in advance, you can request that they make your beds up with 2 or 3 futons stacked on top of each other for each of you, which will be perfectly comfortable and comparable to a regular western-style mattress. That said, there's still the challenge of getting up and down - not easy but worth the effort for the experience. I did this at most ryokans, their futons vary in depth.

If you want to do day trips from Kyoto to see Osaka, Uji, Kobe or other nearby places, then add more time.

For Takayama, we found 2 nights worked fine for us. We did that on our first visit, coincided for the Autumn festival and it was a wonderful experience.

For Kanazawa, we visited on our third trip earlier this year, we had 4 nights but actually I think 3 would have been fine. 2 would work only if you have some good touring time left on day of arrival and/ or departure. As well as the famous Kenrokuen gardens, you have various historical tea and samurai districts, an amazing food market, and various museums including a contemporary art museum. There are also other attractions according to your interests.

For most of our trips, we've divided our nights in Tokyo between landing and departure. I know most suggest lumping them all at one or other, but we prefer splitting them, not least to allow us to stay in two very different areas of Tokyo. Asakusa remains a favourite, though there are many others to experience. That's totally depending on your travel preferences though. For me I like to rest up on landing and I like to be in my departure location at least one night before.
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Old Oct 20th, 2016, 09:18 AM
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Thank you Kavey! We also get pretty tired from any amount of flying so I know I will want to stay in Tokyo when we arrive. I read your earlier post that said you broke up your Tokyo stay. We haven't done that before, but I do like the idea of staying in two different parts of Tokyo.

We already have our flights - I'm using miles to fly ANA business & first class and had to take any dates that were available. We arrive at 4:30pm so no seeing Tokyo the first day. I'm going to look further into what to see in both Takayama and Kanazawa and perhaps decide on just one of those. Takayama looks more appealing at first glance, but regardless, dropping one will free us up to add a night to Kyoto and return to Tokyo as well.

Auberge Watanabe looks lovely and I appreciate the suggestion to ask for multiple futons. We don't have a problem getting up and down - just actually sleeping on any kind of bed that is too hard. We were dreading the "hard bed syndrome" that we had heard about for China but instead found them to be very comfortable.

I really do appreciate your help in fine-tuning this!
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Old Oct 20th, 2016, 09:31 AM
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My pleasure!

I would say you won't regret dropping one of either Takayama or Kanazawa and leaving it till another trip because chances are good you'll love Japan and want to go back! Both have a lot going for them, I'd be hard pressed choosing one over the other... for us seeing Takayama on our first trip and Kanazawa on our third was perfect but I suspect the other way around would have been just as enjoyable.

If you have no problem getting up and down then asking for double or triple futons per person will do the trick. If you're booking the higher end ryokans, chances are your room would be able to sleep at least 4 people max, so there would be two spare futons in the cupboard already. In some cases, for larger rooms, there may be more than that, and of course, if you give them advance notice, they can swap some extra ones from other rooms. I only once confused a ryokan owner when asking for the double futon thing - she put them end to end to make an extra loooong bed, but in fairness to her, my husband is 6 foot 6 inches tall so that's probably what made her think of that. We quickly re-adjusted it ourselves when we got into the room. In one place, I forgot to ask but we simply took extra futons from the room cupboard and added them beneath the ones they'd already made up for us. No problem!
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Old Oct 20th, 2016, 05:19 PM
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I’m glad you’ve found my words helpful and thank your for your kind words (blushing), but there are Fodorites who know MUCH more about traveling in Japan than I!

In addition to luggage forwarding, japan-guide.com has info about the luggage lockers in train stations, their sizes, etc.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

Another ryokan to consider on Miyajima: Momiji-so. Smaller, less formal, and less expensive than many.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/momiji-so.html
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Old Oct 20th, 2016, 08:56 PM
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First you have to get to Tokyo station (Shinagawa would be another option, but let's assume Tokyo). Tokyo to Hiroshima will be about 5 hours and then another 1 to get to Miyajima, if you were able to stick to the most efficient schedule.

So you will want to leave Tokyo station at 8 or 9AM in order to get to Miyajima by 2 or 3PM. There are coin lockers at Hiroshima station and I haven't had trouble in the few times that I wanted to use one, but you never know. I am pretty sure that you won't get same day baggage deliver to Miyajima. But you send one bag on in advance, before you leave Tokyo and the other can go to Kyoto on the day you leave Tokyo. Sharing bags is the luggage strategy.

For me, solo, the rollaboard goes to Kyoto and I take a couple of days of stuff in a small backpack to Miyajima. I'd expect to not sleep well on the futon and not want a big day after that. So I might plan the night after Miyajima to be in Hiroshima on a Western bed (Sheraton or Rihga Royal). Next day some sightseeing in Hiroshima before heading to Kyoto
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Old Oct 22nd, 2016, 09:30 AM
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Thank you all - still considering the pros/cons of 1 night Hiroshima/1 Miyajima versus 2 in Miyajima. Will have to look at the train schedules and figure out what might work. Another option would be to break up the Tokyo-Miyajima travel with a spot in between and again Nara comes up as a possibility. Might see how that plays out-dropping Kanazawa does free up another day or two. I know I've got time to figure this all out and really appreciate the advice!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2016, 09:43 AM
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There's plenty to see in Nara to justify staying there for a night or two!

In case it helps in your planning, you would probably want to reach Hiroshima no later than late morning if you want to see the A-Bomb Dome, Peace Park, and Peace Museum before heading to Miyajima, and if you want to explore a bit of Miyajima, including hiking a bit of Mount Misan, you would probably want to be on Miyajima until mid-afternoon. Just a rough idea....
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Old Oct 22nd, 2016, 10:33 AM
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A night in Nara is always worthwhile. And I loved our ryokan there, here's my report. http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/01/kai...o-in-nara.html
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Old Oct 22nd, 2016, 10:48 AM
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The beginning of your trip will be during Golden Week.

In May, you could attend:
Kamogawa Odori in Kyoto
sumo tournament in Tokyo
a baseball game

Any interest in baseball? Any interest in sharing a fun time with a bunch of ordinary Japanese doing their thing? Attending a Hiroshima Carp game (for example) could satisfy either or both of those interests.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2016, 09:24 PM
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To answer your question about luggage lockers they come in all different sizes. I travel with a 22" bag and it fit comfortably. The only station where I could not find any empty lockers was Kyoto. Hiroshima had plenty which worked out very well for me since I took the JR Bus to see some sights before catching the train to Miyajima.

Saw some high school students practice baseball, one team only pitched the other team practiced batting. Next time I'll try to catch a game.

I had no problems asking for extra futons, where I stayed in Miyajima I didn't have to, it was a very thick futon. I am 76 years old and very creaky with an artificial knee so getting up was not always easy, or perhaps the word is graceful. All in all I slept 5 nights on Futons without being much worse for the wear.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2016, 10:18 PM
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The 3 sizes of luggage lockers at train station in Japan are described in the link I provided above, but note that each locker has a key box that limits its internal dimensions. Many of the larger train stations in Japan have manned luggage counters, too.

Given that there are multiple train stations in Kyoto, it might be helpful if Nywoman told us which was the one at which she found no lockers. If the main station, it must have been very busy when she was there, as there are many, many locker banks. Here's some info:
https://www.kyotostation.com/kyoto-s...ggage-storage/
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 04:45 AM
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If you are concerned about sleeping on futons, some ryokans have western style rooms. Besides Toyoko Inns, you could consider Dormy Inns, slightly more upmarket. I find both chains work well for a solo traveler, but you may find the rooms too cramped for a couple.

My first trip to Japan I spent my first night in Tokyo, near one of the train stations, and finished the trip sleeping in Asakusa. On that trip I visited Kanazawa, Matsumoto and Takayama (as well as a night in Shirakawa-go) and I would give a slight edge to Kanazawa. If you do go to Takayama don't miss the Art Nouveau museum. (Click on my name for my East Asian TR that starts in Japan.)

I travel too slowly for the JR Pass to work for me, but you may well find it useful. There are other passes for sections of the rail system - I am currently using a seven day JR West pass, which can be bought after you arrive in Japan, unlike the JR Pass.

I just spent three nights in Nara, and would certainly advocate at least one, if not two. I have found the "main" sites exceedingly crowded, so I have been very pleased that I had time to visit places that are also worth seeing but that are not on UNESCO and top ten lists. (Note that the crowds are not, in the main, western groups, but Asians and local school groups.)
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Old Oct 25th, 2016, 07:16 AM
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Baseball games in Japan are more like college football games in the US - cheerleaders, bands, coordinated fan cheers and the like - than the baseball atmosphere we have.
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 05:08 AM
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Glad to read continued reassurances about futon sleeping! And it looks like Nara will make a good additional stop for us. Will check the train info to see how to make the stop be most efficient.

Kavey - love the link to your blog. Already shared the pics with my daughter who is also going to Japan for the first time in February. Makes us both excited to try the ryokan experience. Mrwunrfl-no baseball for us-my sports interest is limited to running...I know we are beginning our trip during Golden Week but hoping by the time we leave Tokyo that crowds will begin to thin at some of the popular tourist sites.

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I gather more info, but you've all given me a really good place to begin. I prefer to get a rough itinerary (with hotels) booked early on and then re-look at things a month or so out and make changes if we need to. Looks like at least a few of the ryokans have more stringent cancellation policies so I'm trying to be a little more careful about what I'm initially booking. Really appreciate the help!
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 06:00 AM
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Sorry didn't realize that there were more stations in Kyoto. I arrived at Kyoto station and despite what appeared to be 100's of lockers none were available when I needed one. Also did not see a manned luggage counter,
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Old Oct 26th, 2016, 06:37 AM
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Note that in Nara the Kintetsu train station is closer to the sights then the JR station, however there is a loop bus that connects with the JR station and I don't know whether you can use a JR Pass on the Kintetsu lines. The Kintetsu fares are really cheap, though.

One thing I really enjoyed in Nara had nothing to do with temples, it was a sake tasting at the Harushika Sake Brewery. It's listed in the Rough Guide, and I'm pretty sure it was on the map the TI gave me. (Japanese TIs are generally very good.) My experience was greatly enhanced by conversation with the three Japanese seated with me, but the tasting is interesting anyway.

For my first trip to Japan, with pix, start here:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...-little-kyoto/
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