Help for Japan
 

Hi there,

I'll be travelling to Japan for the first time in September and I need some advice from you guys.
I'll be staying mainly in Tokyo. However there's a possibility of going on a 3 day tour to Kyoto and Nara. This tour looks interesting, but I have some questions.
My flight back to the US is from Tokyo. What is the best way to get to Narita airport from Kyoto? Train? I have my flight around 3pm and I can only leave Kyoto in the morning, around 8 am. Did any of you guys ever did this? Could you help me out here?
Also, I find this tour to be kind of expensive (around $550), but includes train from Tokyo to Kyoto, 2 nights at the hotel and 2 lunchs. For those of you more experienced in Japan, is this price reasonable or too expensive? Would it be better to explore on my own? This is what I usually do, but in Japan I'm afraid the language will be a big problem.
Thank you in advance for your advice.

Hard to tell whether the $550 would be worth it. Depends on the hotel. Is that the price for 1 person in 1 room or is it ppdo? Can you give us a link to a webpage that describes the package? That might be easier to evaluate. You are describing it as a one-way train ride to kyoto, 2-nights hotel, 2 lunches and that is it.

The language is not going to be a problem. The signs in the train stations are in Japanese and English and Tokyo/Kyoto is the main well beaten foreign tourist path in Japan. How long will you be in Tokyo?

Train would be the way to go. You can get from Kyoto station to Narita airport in 3.5 to 4 hours.

Thanks for the reply.
Here's the link:
http://act.jtb.co.jp/itd/isag2004_info.htm

The 4 hour train ride from Kyoto to Narita is with the bullet train?

Yes, Nozomi shinkansen 8:26 AM to Tokyo connecting to Narita Express to NRT at 11:59 fare is 16630 JPY (www.hyperdia.com)

Thanks again.
So, what did you think about the tours? Are they OK? Sorry for asking, but you seem to have a lot of experience with Japan.
Also in the train ticket, why do they charge us a fare and a charge fee?

You have missed their application and payment deadline of July 20. I don't know why they don't tell you what hotel you would be at in Kyoto. I guess it would be comparable to your Shinagawa hotel. You could do just as well pricewise by doing it yourself. But the benefit of the tour is that it would be more efficient (I am assuming that they would have a tour bus for your group in Kyoto that would shuttle you between the sites and a bus to take you near to Todaiji in Nara). And you, presumably, would be with others from your conference.

Exactly, you are right about that. I am leaning to the tour so at least I'll have some company. They don't mention the hotels though, but I am assuming that they will be decent.
They are flexible about the deadline, I've e-mailed them. The easy solution for this would be to fly back to the US from Kansai airport, but it's a lot more expensive.
So, if I buy the Japan rail pass, am I allowed to travel in the shinkasen?

You can ride the Hikari shinkansens they are not as frequent as the Nozomi, but they run every half hour or so (often enough for me). Also the Hikari are slower 156 minutes Kyoto to Tokyo vs 140 minutes on a Nozomi.

You would not need a JR Pass if you took the tour. You would just buy a one-way ticket back from Kyoto.

You may have already decided on the tour but I will offer my thoughts anyway. I got back last nite from 2 weeks of independent travel in Japan.Not speaking any Japanese was rarely a problem.It is easy to take a bullet train to Kyoto,select a good hotel(the GranVia is right next to Kyoto station & is very good) English speaking JR ticket agents can get you a ticket to Nara which is quite close to Kyoto.Upon arrival anyone can point you up the hill to the park.There is also a bus that runs from the station.Travelling on your own is very easy in Japan as most of the signage is in English. Be warned that Japan is VERY expensive so I wonder what
sort of hotel this tour uses.I suspect that a first class hotel for 2 nites and a bullet train ticket would be more than the quoted price. In general I found food expensive so breakfast and dinner would add a lot to your cost.It is very easy to get around in Kyoto. The city has prepared a wonderful map that keys shrines/temples to the bus/subway system. Three days is very little time so do some planning ahead so you will know which of the hundreds of shrines & gardens you want to see.A fun thing to do in Kyoto is to attend a performance of something called "Gion Corner". This offers an introduction to the japanese arts of theatre,music,dance, etc. There are 2 performances every evening.Like most other things in Japan you must pay in cash.Japan does not recognize the credit card except for large transactions like a hotel bill.Take lots of cash or find the closest ATM right away.No matter what you decide I hope you have a good trip. All the japanese I encountered were unfailingly kind and helpful.My bias is to forget the tour and strike out on your own.