7 Days in Tokyo without a Rail Pass
 

I'm having some doubts with our itinerary due to the cost of the seven day railpass $417 AUD per person. If we were just to stay in Tokyo, would there be enough to do and see, and would be end up spending the same amount anyway if we did day trips to nikko, hakone etc. We fly in late on Saturday 6 June and depart on the evening of Saturday 13 June. We were thinking three days Kyoto, four days Tokyo. We need to really think about cost, but I don't want to ruin the holiday. All input very greatfully received. Thanks, Lissa

You could spend a week in either of these place easily and only scratch the surface of all they have to offer.
I've been to Kyoto twice for two weeks at a stretch and still haven't seen everything (including the outlying areas.)

Go to this webpage:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/index.html

and look under the Kanto header. There are links to practical travel guides which give info about travel costs and options. There is one guide for Hakone & Kamakura and another one for Nikko. Also one for Yokohama. You could make overnight or longer trips to Nikko and or Hakone. Day trip to Kamakura. You can probably find some less expensive lodging in those places, too.

Certainly there is plenty in/near Tokyo to fill the 6 days you have.

While there is plenty to do in Tokyo, I think that the value of spending 3-4 days in Kyoto vastly outweighs the cost of getting there. Toyko and Kyoto are enormously different experiences -- one is the modern and technological uber-city, the other a glimpse into traditional culture of Japan.

It is true that transportation is expensive in Japan. Still, especially if it's your first trip, I think you would do yourself a disservice to skimp on the transportation budget and miss out on Kyoto.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm really torn on this one. As this is my first visit to Japan I don't want to come away with only the experience of the 'uber city'. We love the idea of the traditional Japan. Are there any opinions here on hiring a car? with GPS?

At the moment we are thinking if we just stay in Tokyo with an overnight trip to Nikko as I have heard so many positive thoughts on it, especially in contrast to Tokyo.

Any opinions on this would be gratefully received. Thanks, Lissa

Hi! I have a similar question, but opposite of Lissa's. Ill be staying in Kyoto for a convention and would want to travel to Tokyo for one or two days. Should I get the more expensive railpass which covers the shinkansen from kyoto to tokyo or i can just get the kansai jr pass then take the midnight bus to tokyo. Your advise would be much appreciated!

I'm planning my first trip to Japan also. I've read and heard so many things about how much people love Kyoto, I can't imagine missing it. That's just my opinion - I haven't actually been yet! But maybe a trip to Nikko will work well for you as an alternate plan, I believe it is more rural and traditional also.

> Are there any opinions here on hiring a car? with GPS?

Of course. Look at http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/main

Toocoo is a good site, in fact I am using them this fall, but I personally wouldn't hire a car in the Tokyo-Kyoto corridor. Way too much traffic,tolls, fees, parking fees, Japanese signage, and more tolls,etc. for me to handle.

The train or bus(if you need more budget travel) are available, reliable and the way to go imho.

Use this site to check your train fares on the JR trains if interested in travel to Kyoto or elswhere

www.hyperdia.com

Use this site to get some information regarding the Hakone Free Pass. You can use this pass for transport to and from Tokyo to Hakone and your transport within the Hakone area.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html

There are also transport deals to Nikko from Tokyo that do not require the 7 day JR Pass. See here for those details. (You should check the whole Japan Guide site thoroughly if you haven't already as it contains multitudes of vital information you will need on your trip to Japan)

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_002.html

QueenPrincess,
Where else do you want to go besides Tokyo? The Kansai Pass is no good to Tokyo. If you let us know you itinerary, we will assess your need for a pass or not

Aloha!

Lissa, staying over in Nikko is a great idea. You could also overnight in Hakone in a traditional ryokan. Or day trip. I think that getting a car is a bad idea, considering that your itin is in/near Tokyo. If you think getting a car to drive to Kyoto then you need to find out more about what ht was referring to: "Way too much ...". That is from a person (ht) who has rented cars in Japan. Driving might not be much cheaper and it would be more hassle in those areas. I tend to support other people's ideas on their travels in Japan and didn't choose the words "bad idea" casually! (Note: I've not yet rented a car in Japan) Consider the multitude of mass transit options in/near to/from Tokyo - it is there for good reasons.

QueenPrincess,
if you were to take the train to Kyoto then you would not need the JR Pass. You would just get regular tickets or you could get a rail/hotel package from the likes of JTB (but read the conditions closely). Taking a bus would be cheaper, but the shinkansen is really the way to go.

You don't need a Kansai Area Pass to get around Kyoto and might not need it if you wanted to venture beyond Kyoto (Himeji? Osaka? Nara?). It depends on your regional itinerary.

Hi, we've decided no car, and two nights in Nikko. Just really having trouble deciding on a place to stay. Thanks, Lissa