I'm sure it is possible to spend a month in Kyoto and not see it all. Our Goodwill Guide in Kanazawa said he had been to Kyoto 50 times and has not seen everything he would like to see.

From my perspective 6 full days in Kyoto was enough for this trip. By the last day of our 21 days in Japan I had lost my energy and enthusiasm for sightseeing, and was looking forward to returning home. I am glad I planned the itinerary the way I did. We saw and experienced a lot of wonderful things in our 3 weeks in Japan. I am glad I allowed enough time at each place of interest to spend quality time there and not rush through. However, despite this, by the 21 day, I was ready to go home.

Enjoyed your report, Shelley--lots of good detail. I'm just back from a 4-week trip to Japan and found that by about day 29 I was also ready to go home. Yet on a previous trip (around the world) I traveled for 4 months and only was "ready" toward the very end. In some sense perhaps one doesn't let down until the last few days, no matter how long the trip is.

I'm still amazed (and envious) of your energy levels (especially in Kyoto!) -- well done.

Also appreciate the work that has gone into your TR. You asked plenty of questions before your trip, got lots of answers, and you repaid the community with some great stories and info. Not all the answer-seekers appreciate that balance.

April- Glad you enjoyed my TR.

Don-Thank you for your kind words and recognition of how much time has gone into this TR (and I still have 2 more days in Kyoto to write about). I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is unfortunate that there are some "answer-seekers" who ask pages of questions to make their own trip successful, but never come back to post a TR or tips to make someone elses trip successful. As for me, I am happy to give back to this forum in appreciation of all the great advice that has been given to me.

Shelley, how much snow?

Bob

About 8 inches of light, powdery snow. The temperature never went above 24 degrees here, so it was all snow, (no mixed precipatation).

shelleyk-I enjoyed your trip report very much. I have been very remiss of even starting one of my own--work has been awfully crazy since I get back. Perhaps I can start over the holidays.

I had some very similar, general experiece to yours. Miyajima was a highlight. I was glad I chose to stay overnight in a ryokan there, as it allowed quality time with the serenity and beauty of the island after the day trippers left. I also much enjoyed Matsumoto, primarily for the castle, as well as the wonderful sulfur rotenburo at my ryokan. And I completely agree about the breathtaking fall colors of the Eikan-do gardens. When I returned home, I immediately blew up 6 of my best photos into 16x20s for framing in my master bathroom, which is Japanese-themed. That was one of them.

just booked Dubai to warm up... great pricing on emerites from 3/10-5/15 direct from boston.. book by 12/22 using special tab on emerites site for boston

Bob-Where are you going, and when? I saw those great rates on Emirates a few days ago, but it's too early for me to book for my Jan. trip. They only have dates posted through Nov.

MinnBeef-What a great idea to hang those photos in your Japanese themed bathroom. I think a a Toto toilet would also go well in a Japanese themed bathroom. Don't you miss those heated toilet seats in this cold weather? I'll be looking for your TR, as I'd like to compare your impressions of Japan with mine. We are definitely on the same page for Matsumoto, Miyajima, and Eikan-do.

Is your report finished shelleyk? I thought you had a few more days in Kyoto....

Hi kja-You are correct. I do have 2 more days to post, but that will have to wait until the end of next week as I am off to visit grandchildren for the next several days. Best wishes to all my Fodorite "friends" for a happy and peaceful holiday.

we are going just to Dubai for 6 days... special fares end tomorrow I believe... we are going in march

I'm debating about flying Emirates to Sri Lanka in Feb. I don't know if I can get hotel bookings at this late stage, but the fare sure does look enticing. I'm sure you'll have a great time in Dubai. I hear there is lots of good shopping there. Did you see that they have a specially priced hotel package for Dubai, but you have to book it at the same time as your airfare?

Shelly, thanks for the wonderful trip report. I really enjoyed it.

Bob, I recommend a visit to Meydan Race Course. It is amazing. The biggest race in the world, the Dubai World Cup ($10M), will be held there on March 29. It is also open on March 1, 8, and 13 in the evenings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O9DxKCdT-w

Thanks mrw-Glad you are enjoying my TR. Now that the holidays are over, it's time to continue with my last 2 days in Kyoto.

Since we had only 2 days left in Kyoto, and we wanted to use the better of the 2 to go to Nara,, we checked the weather forecast several times before making the decision as to which day to go. When checking the forcast both the night before and the day of our perspective trip, the prediction was for sunny and mild weather in Nara. Since we had carried umbrellas around with us for the previous 3 days without seeing a drop of rain, and based on the forcast, we decided to leave the umbrellas in the hotel. We walked to Kyoto station, bought our train tickets from the machines (easy to do) and embarked on our 40 minute journey to Nara. About 30 minutes into our train ride I saw raindrops on the window. By the time we arrived in Nara it was raining hard. So much for relying on forcasts.

Our first task was to find a shop that sold umbrellas. We tried one store next to the station with no luck. As my DH and I were standing outside this shop discussing where we might be able to buy an umbrella, a Japanese man came over to us and pointed to the tourist bureau which was a few doors away. We thought he meant that we should ask the people in the TB where to buy an umbrella. We thanked him, went to the TB, and asked the lady behind the counter where we could buy an umbrella. She went into the back room and came out with 2 big, clear plastic umbrellas, not to sell us, but to lend us for the day. We did not have to produce any ID. The only information she asked us for was what country we were from. She asked that we return the umbrellas before the office closed at 5:30. Can you see that happening in any other country?

So umbrelllas in hand, which were definitely needed in the heavy rain, we set off for our first stop , Todai-ji Temple, to see the Great Buddha. Before reaching the temple we made several stops.

First, a Goodwill Guide stopped us to give us a short lecture on Nara in general and a pagoda we were passing. Next we stopped at a Tourist Bureau office to warm up, where they had a chair set up where you could experience what it would feel like to be in a 5.9 and a 6.7 earthquake. Both earthquakes were simulated as if you were sitting in an older building without stabilization, and in a newer building built with earthquake stabilization. Without a doubt, I could tell the difference. We thought the experience was interesting and informative. So if you would like to experience the feeling of being in an earthquake without actually being in one, stop off at this TB office which is located on the main street on the way to the temple.

Aside from the earthquake setup, the TB offered hot tea from dispensers, which was appreciated on this cool and rainy day, and the volunteer behind the counter who was demonstrating origami gave me several pieces to give to my grandchildren. All in all, this was a worthwhile, though time consuming, stop for us.

By now it was 12:30, the weather had cleared, the deer were out walking among the people in the street and we were back on track to see Daibutsu-den, the Hall of the Great Buddha. On approaching the hall I was struck by its great size. Once inside I was struck by the impressive size of the Buddha. It was truly an awesome site, and one of the most memorable in Nara, IMO. We spent some time viewing the Buddha from different angles and taking photos, and then left for a short walk to Kasuga Taisha.

The paths leading to the shrine are lined with 2000 stone lanterns, and make for good photos. I was disappointed in the visit to the shrine itself because after paying our $5pp admission we found that the main building was under closed and being reconstructed, and the other smaller buildings could not be entered. We spent about 15 or 20 minutes taking photos of small children dressed in traditional garb who were brought to the shrine by their parents. Very cute, but our experience at this shrine does not rate a star in my guidebook. I know others will disagree.

By now it was 4PM, and the main museums in Nara were closed, so we walked through a peaceful forest to Nara Park, and then to the train station. We returned our umbrellas and took the train back to Kyoto station. After a delicious dinner at Tonkatsu Wako at the station, we walked back to the Citadines, trying to decide what to do on our final day in Kyoto.

Enjoyed your report thoroughly as it reminds of our trips to Japan.
Your umbrella story also reminded me of my experience. One day as we were walking in Nara, the day was nice and sunny and suddenly it began pouring.
So, decided to go into a nearby tiny restaurant to eat whatever was available to pass time and wait for the rain to stop. Well, we ate a nice lunch very leisurely and to our amazement the rain did not stop. It was a continuous pour.
Not sure what to do as this street was a small one and the restaurant staff did not speak much English.
As we stood up and were thinking of what to do, the kind waitress came out with 2 beautiful umbrellas and handed them to us.
We tried to explain we are tourists and will leave the town next day and dont know how we can return these umbrellas. I was going to ask them to write their address so maybe the hotel staff could return.
But the waitress explained that we can take the umbrellas and just drop them at another store or even the hotel and not to worry.
The umbrella will be used by other people.
Later we found that this sort of gesture is very common in Japan. People are trustworthy, helpful and so polite.
We have never experienced such generosity or thoughtfulness anywhere else in the world.
Another Japan and umbrella story--did you notice there are these nice racks to place wet umbrellas outside public places and even stores. And no one walks away with your nice umbrella.
Lastly, many places also offer long plastic bags to put in wet umbrellas.
Oh, just love my memories of Japan--such a lovely country and such great people.
Hope many Fodorites will travel to Japan and enjoy the culture.

Thank you for your kind words ileen. I'm glad it brought back happy memories of your trip. I think it's experiences such as those exemplified in both of our umbrella stories that make for wonderful memories as much as (if not more than) the sites we see.

.... "And no one walks away with your nice umbrella."
Wait for Sue_xx_yy to remind you of her umbrella story in Kyoto. Just a reality check : -)

It is true that while traveling in Japan we did not have to worry about storing luggage in the back of the train or being pick-pocketed on the street.

Reading54-I remember reading some TRs that indicated that leaving your umbrella in those racks doe not always have a happy ending, but I think that is the exception, not the rule. I'll let Sue and others fill in the details of their "umbrella stories" for the sake of balance, and as you say as a "reality check".

shelleyk, I loved your umbrella story at the Nara tourist bureau. I'm just amazed at the prevalence of kindness that many of use experience in Japan, whether your umbrella story, my teenage gals leaving me one of their towels to dry off my feet at the little hot water pool in Miyanoshita, or the gal at my Matsumoto ryokan who sent a special van back to the train station just for me, as my train would arrive 10 minutes after their van was scheduled to leave. No where else can I imagine these kindnesses to perfect strangers happening so frequently.