First trip to Japan Six Full Days
 

My husband is working in Yokohama Wed February 17th Thurs 18th. We will arrive late eve Sun 14th and can fly into anywhere from LAX to spend Mon 15th, Tues 16th. We can move onto another city on Friday the 19th and also fly out of there back to LAX on Sunday the 21st. Understanding it is winter, so some of the experiences will be limited, we prefer to spend time in a more traditional environment. Kyoto has been recommended? I would love to learn about Geishas, etc and see a few temples. I assume our hotel in Yokohama will be more corporate/sterile, so I would love to stay in something more authentic in Kyoto (budget is not a concern) The only thing that would lend itself to a Tokyo visit would be our interest in viewing eccentric Japanese architecture and interior design/furniture stores (maybe? but not a necessity) We would greatly appreciate your input. Understandably this is a short amount of time and we will return within the next year or two so agree with other posts that it may not make sense to travel to too many cities this first time to Japan. Thank you ahead of time!

If it was me - and it isn't - I'd spend all available time in Kyoto. And I'd let the husband go to work in Yokohama while I stayed in Kyoto.

thanks kathie! i like your thinking, but this is a global partner meeting including spouses for the two days :( thankfully my husband is open to let me make decisions on the rest of the days

I agree with Kathie, except that I would make it 4 nights in Kyoto and 2 nights in Nara. They are close enough that you can day trip from Kyoto to Nara, but I thought there was more than enough to see in / around Nara to justify 2 full days there, and I liked seeing it after day-trippers left.


With "only" 6 days, you will not be able to see all the temples or shrines for which Kyoto and Nara are known, so do some research so you can prioritize your time there. The single best source of information on traveling in Japan is, to my knowledge, japan-guide. Its only major limitation, IME, is that it seriously underestimates the amount of time it takes to visit various parts of Kyoto. (I took about twice as long as it suggested, and I was NOT proceeding at a leisurely pace!)
http://www.japan-guide.com

I wouldn't count on seeing true geisha. You can probably see some maiko (apprentice geisha) perform at Gion Corner in Kyoto -- it is touristy, but then, you are a tourist!
http://www.kyoto-gioncorner.com/global/en.html

For "authentic" lodging, look for ryokan -- you can specify that as a search parameter on booking.com, but if price is not a major factor, then your better option might be to search japaneseguesthouses.com
Note, however, that many ryokan will expect you to be in you room by 4 p.m. or so for your dinner, so you actually might want to spend only 1 or at most 2 nights in a ryokan.

Hope that helps!

If budget is not a concern, look at the options for Kyoto with The Ryokan Collection, they have top places.

14th - overnight Yokohama
15th - onsen ryokan in Hakone
16th - back to Yokohama
17th - work
18th - work then go to Kyoto that night, if your commitment in Yokohama is over early enough
19th - Kyoto
20th - Kyoto
21st - fly home from Osaka (KIX-SFO-LAX on United, e.g.)

From LAX fly nonstop into Tokyo Haneda arriving early AM or into Tokyo Narita in afternoon.

wow thank you so much for all your help! we have traveled to many countries but never asia and it seems daunting to say the least. i greatly appreciate all your efforts! if you ever come to laguna beach feel free to reach out to me so i can repay you with info :)