Will hopefully have nine nights/10 days in Japan in late March. I have to fly into and out of Tokyo (using miles). Right now I was thinking we'd spend day 1 in tokyo, then go to kyoto for a few days, then back to tokyo. Any recommendations on how to split up this time or to visit an additional place? I figured maybe doing day trips from Kyoto would be best? We live in Manhattan, so are not that excited by big cities but being my first trip to Japan, would certainly like to spend some time in Tokyo.

Do you already have your air tickets? If not can you fly in to Narita and fly back home through KIX/Osaka?

If you can make change you can spend the first 3 nights in Tokyo and 6 in Kyoto and leave via KIX.

If you cannot change your air tix I would do 2 nights Tokyo then 6 nights Kyoto with the last night somewhere near Tokyo so you can get to your flight in time on the tenth day.

See these sites for ideas on what to do:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/index.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/

Aloha!

Unfortunately we are taking AA and using miles and from JFK we can only go to NRT. AA codeshares to Osaka but since we are using the lowest level of miles we can't get that flight. I was thinking of looking into one way flights within Japan. Otherwise we were going to spend the first night or two in Tokyo, then go to Kyoto, then back to Tokyo. Hotels in Kyoto are booked already (the westin is completely unavailable in later march) so the dates might depend on when we can get a hotel in Kyoto (probably mid week).

What do you think of doing one night in Hakone, inbetween Tokyo and Kyoto? Is it worth the stop?

Hakone is very doable but with your limited time, Kyoto and Tokyo offer enough to take up all your time. If you want to visit Hakone just get on the right train that stops at Odawara between Kyoto and Tokyo.

If you need a cheap flight connection between Haneda and Itami on your arrival day you can purchase a Oneworld Yokoso pass which is cheaper than regular flights, see here for explanation:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

Here is some info on travel to and from Hakone and what to do while there

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5206.html

Aloha!

Thanks for all the advice! The sunrise tours day tour to Hakone/Mt. Fuji might fit the bill, or I was considering shipping our luggage to Kyoto and maybe spending a night in a ryokan in Hakone and going to Kyoto the next day. We have put rooms at the Granvia on hold; I would prefer to stay in old kyoto or closer to Gion but availability isn't good for late March. It might be a good idea to fly back to Tokyo and not get the JR pass (only take the train one way) but if we wind up staying at the Granvia the train is certainly convenient!

While the air fare using One World pass is cheaper at face value for Itami-Haneda, is the difference big enough to go thru a hassle of traveling from Kyoto-Itami, then going thru a usual check-in hassle, taking a cattle class flight to Haneda, then traveling from Haneda to wherever you are staying in Tokyo?

JR Pass (7 days) becomes more economical if you take a round trip to Kyoto and piggy back at least one Narita Express leg. To do this, do arrival Narita Express plus Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo on the JR pass then pay the Tokyo-NRT on your own.

With this method, you can take most JR trains at no additional cost to do day trips from Kyoto such as Hiroshima, etc.

I have stayed at Granvia mostly because I took lots of day trips by JR train from Kyoto. While it is not in old Kyoto, there are frequent bus and metro connections between the old Kyoto and the Kyoto station. Granvia was especially convenient for taking the first Hikari train to Hiroshima to enable a day trip to Miyajima and the Hiroshima Peace Park.

Hi

My wife and I went to Japan a couple of years back and we checked out Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima etc. Here is myy trip report with pictures and links http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm . I hope that you can find some useful info there to start with

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Thanks for the link. I see you took the Sunrise tour and seemed to like it. We're torn between taking the tour vs. going out to Hakone on our own. Some people feel the tour is rushed, but I know if we do not take the tour we can not drive up to the 5th station. Also if we have the Japan rail pass already it seems silly to pay extra.

Any recommendations on areas of Tokyo to stay in? I have been told the Cerulean in Shibuya is nice, but I am a bit concerned that the area is too busy and like Times Square in New York (which I avoid). We would prefer to be in a convenient part of town that is less touristy, not as many chain restaurants etc. I am also hesitant to stay in Shinjuku.

I have stayed at the Granvia in Kyoto and really like the hotel and it's location.

Don't take the cheapest rooms they have as they are very small. Opt for the next level of room up and you will be happy. They offer a discount to holders of a JR rail pass.

The area around Kyoto station and the station itself is a sight to behold. There are nearly 100 restaurants and food stands to eat in the buildings that house the hotel and station.

The are also over 300 shops including a 10 story Isetan Store and the over 200 shops in the Portal underground mall alone.

The cities main taxi stand is fronting the hotel with a holding line for over 80 taxis at once(I counted one night)and the main bus terminal is right in front of the station. This is a blessing as all the buses you will catch in Kyoto begin and end their routes right here.

The cities main Post Office is right across the street and has a 24 hr ATM machine which means access to a machine which will take foreign credit and access cards.

If you day trip to Himeji, Nara, etc. this is the place to stay as the train station is downstairs.

The "old" section of Kyoto that you mention is only 2 subway stops away or a 650 yen taxi ride at night from the center of the Gion district. The subway stop is right downstairs of the hotel in the train station.

The Shibuya section of Tokyo does remind me of Times Square in NYC now that you mention it. Even I would not opt to stay there.

There is a Times Square Tokyo in Shinjuku which doesn't remind me at all of the aforementioned.

Some here on this forum like the Ebisu area of Tokyo for a nice peaceful yet happening neighborhood to stay in. The Westin Hotel there comes to mind.

I would take the Spacia train from Shinjuku to Hakone and spend one night in a Ryokan there. I would do it on my own without a tour....but thats just me

Hope this helps!

Aloha!

Oh and my recommendation for the One World Pass was meant for the first arrival day if you opt to go all the way to Kyoto.

You could possibly get a flight NRT/ITM or at least a HND/ITM. Depends on the time of your arrival. Don't know what nickn meant.

I would travel via the train on all other days.

Aloha!

Yes, get a 7-day pass. Yes, stay at a ryokan in Hakone.

Here is an itinerary.
1) take a limo bus to a hotel in Shinagawa.
2) activate your JR Pass and take the shinkansen to Kyoto
3) Kyoto
4) Kyoto
5) Himeji & Hiroshima (overnight in Hiroshima or come back to Kyoto same day.)
6) Kyoto
7) Nara
8) Shinkansen back to Odawara. JR Pass expires. Take the local public transport around the Fuji-Hakone National Park. Stay the night in Hakone.
9) Take the Odakyu Rail Romance Car to Shinjuku. Spend the night in Shinjuku
10) Limo bus to airport.

Options:
a) Get your JR Pass activated at Narita Airport station and go straight to Kyoto.
b) Drop a Kyoto day or a side-trip to spend some time in Tokyo.

Kia Ora! from Christchurch.

Thanks again for the help. Unfortunately the granvia is pretty booked up and not offering the JR pass holder rate while we are there. We put a reservation on hold via hotels .com. We are going the last week of March, which seems to be very popular! Right now our itinerary is:
21st- arrive in Narita, spend night in tokyo
22nd- tokyo (maybe daytrip outside)
23-tokyo
24- shinkansen to kyoto
24-29- kyoto- probably a day trip to Nara and somewhere else...Kobe? A small town? Don't want to go to Hiroshima.
29th- train back to Tokyo, night in Tokyo
30th- back to New York

We put the granvia on hold for 5 nights and might drop a night, but wanted to make sure we had the reservation. Right now the 29th there is booked up, so it was a good call. The one issue we had with Ryokans is that neither of us eat ANY seafood/fish whatsoever, and were concerned that the meals served would consist of fish.
Any suggestions for Ryokans in Hakone- pref less than $300 a night?

Regarding Tokyo hotels, the westin looks beautiful but is not cheap and I read Ebisu is far from things and the Westin is a big far from the station. Maybe Asakusa? Since we have to be in Tokyo at two separate times, I think for the one night stay we might go for something in Shibuya for the experience. I've been too busy scrambling to find a Kyoto hotel that we haven't really researched Tokyo yet!

Neighborhood is important to us. On our last trip (Spain & Morocco) we were somewhat unahppy staying in a very poorly located hotel in Madrid (booked the night before we left via priceline- the trip was very very last minute). In Barcelona our hotel was in the center of a great area, and that made all the difference. I am very interested in exploring different neighborhoods in tokyo to get a feel for the culture, architecture, lifestyle, etc. Not really too interested seeing in shrines/temples in Tokyo as we will be in Kyoto.

Here is the Granvia's website. They have rooms available during your stay. See if these prices are better booking directly. I used the html version for simplicity

http://www.granviakyoto.com/

http://tinyurl.com/yv2z27

Shinjuku may fit your needs for modern architecture. We stay at the Century Hyatt there. The Keio Plaza and Hilton also get high marks in the area. It's my favorite place to stay in Tokyo many love other places. Hope some will chime in.

Aloha!

In addition to Nara an easy day trip would be to Himeji to see the magnificent castle.

We were there in March 2007 and the cherry blossoms bloomed! Amazing...we had about the same amount of time. I think we spent 3 nights in Tokyo; we had one day to tour on our own and another with a private guide (I highly recommend that). Then we took the bullet train to Hiroshima and spent two nights there. On to Miyajima and one night in a ryokan; a wonderful experience and I recommend it but I will confess I was relieved it was only one night....other posters are obviously more sophisticated than we are, but sleeping on a futon on a tatami mat and feasting on a dinner with a gazillion dishes most of which we didn't recognize, was something that we were happy was for only one night (that's an honest confession). Then we took the train to Kyoto, stopping in Himeji along the way. We also had a tour guide in Kyoto. We were very happy with our trip and our experiences...I do kind of wish we had fit in a trip up Mt. Fuji, but that's my only regret. I had great difficulty adjusting to jet lag and therefore was limited in my daily stamina.

Thanks for the honesty about ryokans. I think we are going to pass staying at one, partially because of the food issue- neither of us eat fish. Still trying to decide if I should have 4 nights Tokyo/5 Kyoto or 5 Tokyo/4 Kyoto. One day will definitely be in Hakone, probably one in Nara (or a day trip from Kyoto)

Hi, tansmets -

As an alternative to a ryokan, you might consider a one-night temple stay in Koya-san. The meals there are strictly vegetarian - and wonderful!

Enjoy!

We stayed at a guest house in Kyoto. Not as nice (I thought it was great) as a true ryokan. However it was a lot cheaper and food was not included.
If you have 3 or more people, you can rent the cottage out back, so you have your own little place.

What was the name of your guest house? How much did you pay? Would you recommend?

Bookmarking - thanks so much for all this info. We will be going (maybe not until 2009) to visit a friend in Tokyo and will stay with her for several days, then perhaps visit Kyoto and Hakone...I'm just starting to investigate all this!