I'm planning the itinerary for my first trip to Japan in November, and I thought I'd ask some questions of the forum experts to help me along in the process.

I'm just spending one week in the country on this inaugural trip. I'm flying from LAX-NRT on 11/8, so I'll be arriving late afternoon on 11/9. I'm generally an independent traveler, and I like saving money by taking public transit from airports to city centers, but in the instance of NRT-Tokyo, I was thinking the best way to go operating under a combination of post-flight fatigue and Japanese culture shock will be taking an Airport Limousine bus directly to the hotel nearest the place I'm considering staying. How does this sound?

I don't plan to spend much time in my hotel, and I'm traveling solo, so a relatively cheap place by a JR Yamanote station is my primary consideration right now. A friend recommended the Toyoko Inn chain, but they don't allow reservations until two months prior to one's stay. I note that there is one near the Shinagawa JR station. I'm sure the room will be tiny, but I'm only 5'6" and 140 lbs., plus I only pack one small roller bag and a small camera bag when I travel, so I think I'll be okay in a single (which look to be only around ¥70). As a non-smoker, the most crucial issue will be landing a non-smoking room.

For the sake of convenience, I plan to purchase a Tokyo Free Kippu card on each of the two full days I'll be sightseeing so that I can utilize the JR and subway lines without having to constantly search for fare money. Is it easy to simply purchase them from a ticket agent? I'd like to avoid those intimidating-looking ticket vending machines if at all possible (I've seen photos of them posted by people on Flickr, and those images make my eyes bleed).

On the Monday (11/10), I plan to visit Meiji Shrine in the late morning, followed by a walk down Omotesando. There are a number of lunch possibilities in that area, too. And then in the afternoon, I would head to Asakusa to visit Senso-ji and explore that neighborhood before grabbing dinner and perhaps exploring a bit of Shinjuku in the evening.

On Tuesday (11/11), I want to indulge my passion for museums, so I'll spend the morning in Ueno at the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Western Art, after which I'd explore the park a bit and then get some lunch. With the remainder of the afternoon, I would hop down to visit the Imperial Palace East Gardens.

On Wednesday (11/12), I'll be heading to Kyoto on the shinkansen. I don't plan on buying a JR pass here in the U.S., as I'm flying to Hong Kong, so I wouldn't be traveling enough to warrant the cost of a pass. Given that, what is the easiest way to purchase a one way fare? Is it possible to order the ticket online, or is it necessary to purchase them at Tokyo Station as soon as I get to town?

I had my eye on the ANA Hotel Kyoto, but rooms aren't available directly thru the website for the dates I'm in town; however, I notice they are available via various places like Expedia and Hotels.com. Or I could stay at a Toyoko Inn, since there is one conveniently located near the connecting station for Kyoto's two subway lines. (The main appeal of the ANA is the free shuttle they run from Kyoto Station to the hotel.)

I'll probably spend most of Wednesday just settling in. On Thursday (11/13), I'll head over to Eastern Kyoto and stroll the Philosopher's Walk and the attendant temples and shrines. The sheer volume of them seems to suggest that this will take up much of the day (I'm also an amateur photographer, so composing images along the way will use up some time, too). And then a post-dinner evening stroll through Gion seems to be in order.

Has anybody taken a guided tour from Sunshine Tours? I note that they have a full-day Kyoto & Nara trip. It sounds rushed, so I'm debating just getting to the Golden Pavilion on my own, as well as making my way on the train to Nara independently as well. I'm assuming once I find the ticket office in Kyoto Station for the Kintetsu line that purchasing a ticket will be mostly a no-brainer? Maybe I'll just wait and see how things play out. If kanji script and the language barrier hasn't been the death of me by then, I'll visit independently.

On Saturday (11/15), I'll spend the day in the area of Higashiyama-ku (Kiyomizu-dera, etc.).

My flight from KIX to Hong Kong on Sunday (11/16), is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Cathay Pacific. Reading up on public transit, it seems like a good idea for me to purchase a train ticket to the airport when I first get into Kyoto Station my first day to avoid problems. Suggestions on how early I would want to be at the airport on a Sunday morning for the flight?

Thanks for bearing with me through this long post. I want to post a separate one for restaurant ideas. Although I've researched those pretty thoroughly as well, since I'm a vegetarian, and the going will be rather rough (hence my plan to eat at non-Japanese restaurants).

'Just a quick note: we found the people at the JR ticket stations to be very helpful. Places like Kyoto that have large numbers of foreign tourists should be able to help people who do not speak Japanese.

Some of the smaller but touristed towns may not have equally capable English-speakers. Hwoever, you may get a surprise. While the JR people in Nara were not that fluent, the Nara Tourist Information Office right in the station have EXTREMELY helpful people. I donlt know if it helped that they were not that busy when we asked, but one of them came with us to the JR counter to help book tickets. I would not count on this level of help when they are busy, but we were impressed.

I should also mention: we had an excellent experience with a volunteer guide at Nara. You need to book a day in advance at the tourism office, or you may be able to find the relevant website. But if we returned to Japan for future travel, we would try hard to go this route in any city we visited. (We also booked for-pay guides in other cities, and I must say that the quality was not THAT different when touring he historic sites.) However, it is nice to offer a donation to their organization -- they will absolutely not accept a personal tip.

In Kyoto, I'd still do the Johnny the Hillwalker tour. He has his own insight that is wonderful.

We did a few trains in Japan, and wanted to reserve tickets on our major long-distance legs. We were able to make these reservations when we got to Japan. I recommend that the first place where you have a major tourist center (e.g. Tokyo, Kyoto, etc.), if you know your schedule, you can purchase reserved tickets in advance.

Caveat: we were not on as much of a budget as you seem to be. I can only refer to arrangements for reserving tickets in first class.

Limo bus from Narita: They do not go to most business or budget hotels. You can still take them and get off at a hotel near your hotel and walk or taxi to your hotel. Alternatives include Narita Express and Keisei Skyliner. NEX has a ticket special from Narita that includes a Suica and gives you a savings of a bit on the two. http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/tim...xt_narita.html will show you the hotels the buses stop at as well as the schedule.

Every Sunrise tour that I have looked at for itinerary and price has been an exceptionally poor value. It is not hard to get around Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara on your own.

In Tokyo, many lines are not JR, so the JR Free Kippu may not be best...depends on where you want to go. Suica or Pasmo enable you to ride all lines including JR with one card so may be more practical and convenient.

Toyoko Inn Shinagawa is typically sold out to members before reservations open to the general public, but worth a try anyway. Keep in mind that unlike many other destinations, the best rates for most hotels in Japan are found online, directly with the hotels, and in Japanese language. Asiarooms.com is a terrible source for Japan hotels...every single hotel I have ever checked for price on asiarooms.com is much, much higher, sometimes triple price, there than booking directly with the hotel (though often Japanese only). This is especially true for business and budget hotels.

Train tickets are purchased at any station or agent up to 30 days prior to the trip. Many trains you can choose reserved seat or non reserved seat. Reserved seats are preferable, and don't cost much more (average ¥500).

From Kyoto to KIX, you can take train, limo bus from some hotels, and MK Skygate taxi service from anywhere to KIX for ¥3500 per person. http://www.mk-group.co.jp/english/shuttle/

At KIX, if you are flying economy, lines for check in are usually long. Check in counters open between 2 and 3 hours before the flight (check with your airline to be sure), but allow plenty of time for the long lines, especially if your airline has more than one flight outbound at similar time.

KimJapan above gives the right advice.

You can also try and look at the Tokyu chain of hotel in particular the Tokyu Inns. They are similar to the Toyoko chain. Joining their Comfort Membership online will get you a discounted price.

http://www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/en/index.html

I also agree with the limo bus ride into Tokyo and taxi if you have to to your final destination.

Aloha!

If you like museums and are going to Ueno, then note that the treasures from Horyuji (oldest temple in Nara) are housed in a beautiful new(ish) museum there. I also enjoyed the Shitamachi museum, which is nearby.

The Keisei line goes from Narita to Ueno for less than half the cost of the Narita Express (that's for the Skyliner, the regular trains are cheaper still and not much slower) so you could consider staying in Ueno. I've done that and found it convenient, but cannot recommend a particular hotel (I was making a stopover on my way back from Australia and booked a generic business hotel on arrival at the airport). The train station is vast and rather tricky to negotiate (but that's true for any of the big stations in Tokyo).

I like someotherguys reco of the Keisei Skyliner if your coming into Ueno from Narita. Cheaper and a lot less crowd at Ueno station

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2027.html

a couple of other observations:

You would be better off buying a suica card for 2500 yen than the two Kippu cards and you can use them in more places....see here for explanation:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_002.html

They are real easy to buy from a machine(just press the green English button). If you are already going to purchase the Kippu you might as well buy the suica imho

Do the Sensoji, Akasuka, the Ueno things on the same day so you can avoid crisscrossing the city and maximize your short time there. Put Shinjuku into the day you are doing the west side of Tokyo or maybe with the Imperial Palace.

Train tickets and reservations can be made at any JR station ticket window. See here for lots of helpful information on train travel in Japan

http://www.japanrail.com/

See here for Tokyo metro information and subway maps

http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/index.html

and useful transport websites to and in kyoto

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html

and info on how to use a Kyoto city bus

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2015.html

Aloha!

Sounds good for the bus. You can take it to the Shinagawa Prince and walk from there, if you stay at the Toyoko Inn.

The APA Kyoto Gion hotel is a well located budget hotel.

Adding to excellent tips above:

- Limousine Bus is a public transportation. Pro: no need to schlep the luggage, Con: may not go to your hotel, service frequencies may drop in the late pm/evenings.

The seats are comfortable, I haven't had trouble with traffic jam (believe they're equipped with radio to avoid congestion spots). Services to TCAT/Shinagawa area/ANA are fairly frequent.

- Tokyu Inn: just make sure you check the room size. I'm usually very weary of anything under 25m2. Also most of these hotels have inventively compact bathrooms!

- Tokyo: if you enjoy Japanese arts, I recommend Ohta Museum (small private collection near Harajuku) and Edo Museum (very good interactive displays about medieval to modern Tokyo).

- Bullet train: you can book the train to Kyoto on any JR stations. No need to go all the way to Tokyo station. Note it's a big terminal--it took me close to 15min the first time to figure out where the correct platform is, thugh signage is good.

- Kyoto: this is a kind of town where you want to savour the walk rather than go from temples to temples in a group tour just ticking the boxes. Though attractions are fairly spread out, so you'll need to check the map and plan in advance. I think Golden Temple looks more stunning in the afternoon sun, while famous temples (like Ryuanji) are best visited first thing in the morning before the tour group crowds.

- KIX/CX: I also flew out on 10am CX from KIX. You can book the express train (Haruka) at the same time you book the bullet train. I ordered a taxi from the hotel the night before. Again it helps to familiarize yourself or get there 10min early to find the platform. Also, you should be able to check in on-line for Cathay flights.

- Vegetarian: are you a vegan or do lacto-ovo? Kyoto has several vegan, temple-style restaurants. Can't remember the name but tried the one near Kyoto station. Just be careful about things like yogurt (aside from plain/natural ones) that often has gelatine in it, salad dressing with chicken/shellfish extract, or bread that has shortening (could be animal-derived). You can always get a triangle rice ball with seaweed or plum filling at convenience stores.

Thanks, all, for your speedy and generous feedback!

KimJapan, yes, the Kyoto & Nara tour definitely seemes poor value for money. I’ve decided to just spend a nice, lesiurely day in Nara instead; I’ll take either the Kintetsu or JR line over and back. I’ve been reading the Cultural Guides series by John H. and Phyllis G. Martin (originially published in the ‘90s), and so I may just follow a couple of their interesting walking tours.

The Suica/Pasmo options sound perfect for me; even if I don’t break even on them as far as usage, I’m happy to pay for the convenience they offer. I’m actually a big public transit person, so I’m looking forward to riding the trains and subways.

W9London, thanks for the tips on the train out to KIX from Kyoto. Looking on the Japan Railways site, I notice there’s one departing Kyoto Station at 5:46 a.m. (alas, no sleeping in on my last day in Japan, ha!), arriving KIX at 7:11 a.m. That’ll give me plenty of time to check-in and get to the gate, as well as making a mental transition from Japan to Hong Kong. Because of the early hour I’ll need to be at the station in Kyoto, I’ll do as you did, and arrange for a taxi the night before. And when I first arrive from Tokyo, I’ll try to familiarize myself with the more important areas of the station so when I arrive on Sunday for the airport train, I’ll know just where to go.

Oh, and I’m vegetarian. So dairy is fine. (In fact, pizzas have typically been my mainstay on many a trip.

HawaiianTraveler, thanks for the tip about the Tokyu chain. I’ll definitely consider them too.

mrwunrfl, thanks for the info on the APA Kyoto Gion hotel, I’ll also consider that when I book my hotel.