Help Planning Japan itineary
 

Hi Planning a trip to Japan for this April 2016 and have so far booked hotels for the following itinerary:

Day One: Arrive Tokyo 3:00 PM
Day Two: Tokyo
Day Three: Tokyo
Day Four: Tokyo
Day Five: Tokyo ( 5 nights in Tokyo)
Day Six: ???????? What should we do here????????
Day Seven : Kyoto
Day Eight: Kyoto
Day Nine: Kyoto (3 nights in Kyoto)
Day Ten: Get back to Tokyo for flight home at 5:00 PM

It is our first trip to Japan and wanted to see Tokyo and Kyoto the most, we have the one night on day six and had planned on perhaps spending the night in the Hokkaido area but when I search out ideal 10 Day trips to Japan that suggestion never comes up.

Please help! We are at a loss what to do on the sixth night. Our hotels in Tokyo and Kyoto are now fully booked to extending those portions is not an option.

Any suggestions are greatly welcome. Also please suggest if you think a 2 week JR pass is advisable for this trip? I am unsure if a two week pass would be worth it?

Thanks so much!

First of all, it's a good plan for a first visit to Japan :)

On day six you could try booking a ryokan+onsen experience! Ryokan is the traditional japanese hotel and onsen are the hot springs. It could be in the area of Tokyo or outside it. I can highly recommend this one: http://www.takaragawa.com/english.html
It takes some time to arrive but it's absolutely worth it, plus if you're a couple you'll enjoy bathing together. If you leave Tokyo in the morning you'll arrive in the afternoon there, spend the afternoon in warm water relaxing after some intense days in Tokyo and charging yourselves before heading to Kyoto. You'll spend the night (dinner and breakfast are included) and then you can go back to Tokyo and head to Kyoto.

You can always try to find one inside Tokyo to avoid the trip. Check the options here: http://www.japanican.com/en/hotel/li...FYkh0wodzJAGwg

Hokkaido will take up so much time for one day only.

2 weeks Japan Rail Pass not worth it. You won't pay off the amount with this travel plan. It's not really handy for Kyoto as the most useful routes are opperated by private railway companies, although you can use it to go visit Fushimi Inari. Inside Kyoto you can rent a bicycle and walk :)
I'd say 1 week Japan Rail Pass it's enough, on your 2 first days in Tokyo you could plan your visits by making use of the subway instead of the Yamanote line and buy one day passes for the subway, it's not expensive. Check it here: http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/index.html

I hope this helps and enjoy the cherry blossoms!

I'd suggest spending the night in Hakone on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. It's a great place to try a ryokan/onsen hotel as Mayith suggests above, as well as see the iconic Mt Fuji and some of the countryside. Here is a link with more info:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html

Unless you have something specific you are trying to see in 5 nights in Tokyo, I think most Fodorites would agree that you might want to take one of your nights from Tokyo and move it to Kyoto, if you can, depending on what you would like to see in each city. Have a great trip!

Vixer, for day 6 did you perhaps mean Hakone? That would make sense as a one day stop between Tokyo and Kyoto while Hokkaido would not.

Japan isn't that dang small - it's not like Rhode Island. You can't get to Hokkaido from Tokyo and back to Kyoto in 24 hours without internal flights, which will be a tremendous bother.

You can get a one-week pass, set it up to handle your last days in Japan, and take the train to Matsumoto. Wander about its Castle then hop the train from Matsumoto to Kyoto (change for the shinkansen at Nagoya) on your day 7.

Before your JR pass is active, use a Suica card - they're usable on both the JR lines and Tokyo Metro.

Yes! I meant Hakone! LOL, sorry!

Thanks everyone, great suggestions. We are spending 5 nights in Tokyo because we are coming from the East Coast of Canada and figured we will be jet lagged and don't want to push it to much the first few days.

I think BigRuss and Mayith's suggestion regarding the JR pass and do a one week only starting Day 4 till the end to cover off the cost of Tokyo- Hakone or Ryokan elsewhere?-Kyoto-Tokyo.

I am going to look at this some more, if anyone has any further suggestion, thank you in advance.

FYI, you will want to buy a 2-day Hakone free pass which will cover all your transportation from the JR Odawara station throughout the park that is not covered in the JR Pass. Here is a link with more info:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html

First and foremost, I'm sure it will be a wonderful trip no matter what you decide. Just a few thoughts:

When thinking of how to balance time in Tokyo vs. time in Kyoto, many of us veer heavily toward Kyoto, and many of us think Kyoto and Nara, together, easily worth at least 6 full days on even a first visit to Japan. So one option would be to add your "free" time to Kyoto. And another, more radical idea, would be to just go ahead and shift time from Tokyo to Kyoto, even if you have already paid for your hotel in Tokyo. Google "sunk cost" before deciding.

If you are only visiting Tokyo and Kyoto, I agree with others that a 2-week JR pass would not be your best option, but it really depends on your final itinerary. Check hyperdia.com to get the price of your tickets (be sure to add the costs of both the train and the seat) and then compare the totals to the price of the pass.

<<And another, more radical idea, would be to just go ahead and shift time from Tokyo to Kyoto, even if you have already paid for your hotel in Tokyo. Google "sunk cost" before deciding.>>

The OP said the Kyoto hotel is fully booked so no extensions. But I agree Kyoto > Tokyo.

To the OP: your statement contains at least two latent ambiguities.

<b>First</b>, by "fully booked" do you mean that YOU have booked the nights or the hotels have no availability for the preceding or succeeding nights?

<b>Second</b>, does "fully booked" mean that you have paid for these hotels AND that such payments are not refundable?

@ BigRuss -- good questions!

Hi Big Russ,

I mean the hotels we are booked in for Tokyo and Kyoto are full for that 6th night so that takes away the possibility of extending the night in Tokyo or adding an extra night in Kyoto. And yes, we have paid in full so will lose if we do not stay as planned.

What I am considering is that we use that extra night in Kyoto, everyone here seems to thing Kyoto is the place to be. We would stay in one hotel for the first night in Kyoto and then change hotels for the final three nights in Kyoto. Giving us 5 nights Tokyo and Four nights Kyotot. What do you think of this?

Our hotel for our final three nights is the Westin Miyako Kyoto which is out of the city so perhaps this might be a good plan? We could find a place in the city center for the first night?

Does anyone have any Kyoto hotel suggestions?

Thanks again everyone, GREAT Feedback.

OK, now we're clearer.

Well, if you over-egged the pudding on Tokyo, you can certainly take day trips to Nikko and Hakone to satiate any wanderlust. Tobu (a business conglomerate with its own railway) runs a special for Nikko trips. Odakyu does the same for Hakone, although for Hakone I'd probably ditch the special Odakyu trains from Shinjuku and take a shinkansen to Odawara (37 minutes v. about 70+ for the fastest Odakyu trains) and change to any private Odakyu trains from there.

For the missing day 6, if you're thinking of Kyoto then get a hotel that is convenient to some area you'd want to see but that your location at that Westin (curious choice) would dissuade you from visiting.

If you're thinking of not-Kyoto, I'd stick with the Matsumoto suggestion.

If it were me in this situation, I would book the extra night in a different part of Kyoto, as per BigRuss' suggestion. Two possible options are Arashiyama, which is out of the way from the center, but worth a visit; or for more convenience, a hotel near the Tokyo Station, which will give you easy access to sights to the south and west of the Westin.

The Hotel Granvia is a good option, right at Kyoto Station. Note that Kyoto has a lot of ryokans, so you could also use this night to check the ryokan experience off your list, if that is something that interests you.

<<a hotel near the Tokyo Station>>

Er, that's Tokyo as in the scrambled form of Kyoto . . .

;-)

And I'd thought of Arashiyama too because it's nice and getting there from your Westin would be a bit of a haul across the city.

Thanks, BussRig...I'm writing in anagrams today!

Many Thanks Russ(s)

Urgh....what to do. So its either one night Hakone or one night Kyoto....decisions, decisions.... or... as per Big Russ' suggestions.. one night Matsumoto. Will sleep on it...

Thanks again everyone.

Or, as another option, stay in Nara.

I take it that you are unwilling to leave Tokyo a day early?

On our first trip we deliberately split our 5 nights in Kyoto to 3 in one location, 2 in another. worked very well for us.

When in April? Fly home from which Tokyo airport?

Day Six: somewhere not Kyoto and not Tokyo

Otherwise, your itinerary (still good) is all big city.

Hakone is the best idea, I think. Stay in a traditional ryokan (or not), have a kaiseki dinner, soak in an onsen. See some of the natural beauty of Japan, weather permitting.

Matsumoto is a much smaller city and has an easy to reach gem of a castle and more. You won't have a castle on your itin unless you count Nijo-jo as one or day trip to Himeji. And it is off the well-beaten path.

Takaragawa looks like a great place to stay. The location in northern Gunma-ken is not on the route.

Nara for that night is a good idea.

A night in Magome or Tsumago and walk the Nakasendo.

We Fly into and out of Haneda.

After looking at all the options we have decided on our original plan of overnights in Hakone on Night 6 as we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Kyoto is just so full at this time of year, every hotel we choose is sold out. I am afraid I was not thinking about how popular Kyoto is during the Cherry Blossom Season.

If anyone has any suggestions on Ryokans in Hakone, or suggestions for Hakone in general I would like to hear them. Our plan is to get up early and get to Hakone as early in the day as possible, spend the night and then make our way to Kyoto after breakfast.

Try booking.com -- you can specify "ryokan"

Or try japaneseguesthouses.com

Hi Vixer,

Yes, Kyoto will be extremely crowded during the Cherry blossom season. Just be mentally prepared for the crowds and I think you'll enjoy the beauty of the whole area.

Regarding hotels in Hakone, there are plenty of good options around the area. Personally, I stayed at the Maille Coeur Shougetsu. It's kind of a French and Japanese fusion ryokan that provides excellent service and a convenient location. The dinner that is superb too, one of the best dinners throughout my whole trip. If don't mind something not fully Japanese, then I'd highly recommend it.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...ecture_Ka.html
^ Check out some of the reviews of the hotel.

Enjoy your trip!

Thank you Everyone!

Spend Less time in Tokyo, maximum in Kyoto and try to visit Hiroshima and Miyajima, one night each. Miyajima was the highlight of a recent one month trip..please don't miss it. Kyoto and Arashiyama are so much more interesting than a few days ... Have a great trip

If day 6 is Hakone then a 7-day JR Pass makes sense. Use the pass to get to Odawara (gateway to Hakone area).

For Odawara to Kyoto you can use this timetable: http://tinyurl.com/hf5tleg and choose a Hikari shinkansen (2 hours) and not a Kodama shinkansen (3 hours). I'd get reserved seats for this leg in advance.

On day 10, take the shinkansen to Shinagawa and pay the ¥410 to take the Keikyu train to Haneda airport.

If day 6 was Kyoto or Nara then a discount shinkansen package would beat the JR Pass especially when flying from Haneda.

If you want economy, the e-voucher from Japanican will get you Tokyo-Kyoto return cheapest. If you add Hiroshima (or somewhere like Nagano/Kanazawa/Takayama) then a 7-day rail pass would be ok.

Hotels in Kyoto can be hard to get and while the Granvia Kyoto is nice, it is actually expensive for what it is and the last couple of years hard to get decent rooms. Kyoto will be busy, but not as over-blown as some people predict - it is a good sized city and there are lots of places to visit.

>>If day 6 was Kyoto or Nara then a discount shinkansen package would beat the JR Pass especially when flying from Haneda.

The e-voucher could still save some money.

The "shinkansen package", referred to as "the e-voucher from Japanican" by PatrickHarnett requires you to board at Tokyo or Shinagawa stations. Yesterday, I considered that to be a deal-breaker. I got a confirmation e-mail from Japanican this morning that said that boarding the shinkansen at Odawara with one of those tickets is not permitted. No stopovers.

Here is the package: http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/list/?kw=E-Voucher

You can use any shinkansen, including Nozzomi. Seating is unreserved and can't be upgraded.

The e-voucher costs ¥21,600

Odawara to Shinagawa is ¥1,320 and around 75 minutes on a regular JR train.

The cost to get to Odawara depends on where you depart Tokyo. For example, it would be ¥880 from Shinjuku on an Odakyu regular train or ¥1,490 from Shibuya on JR.

So you really could save ¥5,000 per person if you use the e-voucher instead of a JR Pass and are willing to go from Odawara to Shinagawa to board the shinkansen to Kyoto.

You really don't have enough time in Kyoto to do a day trip from there. Nara is only around ¥1300 return from Kyoto. But Himeji would be ¥10,000 return on the shinkansen.

Yes, the discount shinkansen tickets are restrictive, that is why they are cheap. It wasn't clear if you were joining the network at Osawara or backtracking (briefly) to Tokyo - depends on how tight funds are and if you have the time. (like many things, it is a trade-off).

You may well find Hakone equally sold out -- it's a prime spring beauty spot. Then again, there are many, many ryokan there, so worth a hunt. I used booking.com to hold a backup, but was eventually able to secure a room in Hakone Ginyu for our splurge of the trip.