Unfortunately I have to go in August (04) due to school and holiday trips. Approx Dates Aug 8-18. Might be off by 1 or 2 days.

I have been 2x before to visit my family while they were stationed at Atsugi.

Now they are at Yokosuka (sp)....they are living off base and have a view of the Tokyo Harbor.

Other than Tokyo sites....what is accessible from that area? Is Kyoto doable? I don't mind paying for a hotel a few nights as necessary but would prefer to keep it reasonable and work out of Yokosuka.

We are young and can handle getting back late at night!

I enjoyed my visit to Yokohama--Chinatown! Doll Museum. But doubt my husband will appreciate dolls! I was there for the kewpie doll exhibit.

Maybe an old shogun castle and temple or two.

Kyoto is 3 hours away from Tokyo eki via the Hikari shinkansen. Arriving in Kyoto at 9:12 AM, you could tour for a day and be back in Yokosuka that night.

Will you be getting one of the JR passes?

I would get a pass if they cover all of the areas we want to see!

The one I saw online made it seem like Kyoto wasn't covered on the same one as Tokyo.

I am glad it is only 3 hrs to Kyoto! It would be a long day but we can handle it.

Your stay in Japan will overlap OBON holiday. Expect crowd on West-bound travel from 12th through 15th, and East-bound travel from 16th through 18th.

If you are planning to go to Kyoto, you must stay on 16th to see DAIMONJI-YAKI, beginning from around 8pm to 8:30pm.

continued from my previous post. Best place to be is near Ginkaku-ji temple, or west bank of Kamogawa-river between Kitaoji street and Imadegawa street. Have fun.

The pass you saw is the JR East Pass. You would need the JR Pass for Kyoto. The JR Pass covers the entire country.

You'll need to add in the time to get from home to the rail station in Yokosuka, and travel time to Tokyo, transfer time at Tokyo station.

And some wait time. Figure 1.5 hours from home to the shinkansen? Then visiting Kyoto would take 9 hours of travelling.

You can pick up the shinkansen at Shin-Yokohama station, which may be closer than going all the way to Tokyo. I'm not sure how long it will take you to get there from Yokosuka, but probably not more than 45 minutes or so. The shinkansen btwn Shin-Yokohama and Kyoto is 2 hrs 25 minutes. Doing Kyoto in one day and traveling from Yokosuka sounds exhausting! Lodging in Kyoto will be at least $65 per person for a hotel, lots more if you want deluxe accomodations. I am going this weekend and staying at a little ryokan, Murikamiya, which is very cheap ($35/person)but looks nice and clean. I'll let you know how it was after my visit. Personally, I would stay overnight...there is so much to see and it seems a shame to rush out if you're able to spend at least one night!

i think we could handle spending 1 night in Kyoto

What is this DAIMONJI-YAKI you speak of Seahopper??

DAIMONJI-YAKI is a festival in Kyoto, having its origin more than 1000 years ago. Between 8pm and 8:30pm of August 16, on five mountains around Kyoto, they put fire on torches to be seen from a distance as figures and characters expressing some meaning in buddhism. When I was living in Kyoto, I used to watch that. I'll put a link to a website - although which is in Japanese, you'll see photos.
http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/kp/koto/gozan/dai.html