First (probably only) trip to Japan. Arriving Tokyo April 17 - afternoon. Departing Tokyo April 28th at 5:20pm. Using FF miles for our family of 4 (parents plus boy age 14 and girl age 12). Also, trying to travel economically. Had hoped to fly open jaw, returning from Osaka to avoid backtracking to NRT, but, alas, our airline doesn't fly out of Osaka.<BR><BR>Must sees - Tokyo and Kyoto<BR>Hope to see - Takayama, Nara and Nikko.<BR>Alternates (or in addition?) - Hakone, Himeji, Kurashiki. Don't think we have time enough to consider going farther afield given that we don't really want to be staying in a different place every night and don't want to do day trips that are too long as this is too exhausting. So, given those parameters. Does this itinerary work?<BR><BR>3 nights Tokyo<BR>1 night Nikko<BR>2 nights Takayama<BR>4 nights Kyoto (day trip to Nara and back on day 4)<BR>1 night Kamakura <BR>Leave on 5:20 flight from NRT the next day<BR><BR>Big questions:<BR><BR>1. Is the train trip from Nikko to Takayama going to wipe out a whole day? Is there a better way to arrange an itinerary to fit in bot Nikko and Takayama? (love what I've read about these two)<BR><BR>2. Is Kamakura a logical place to stay the night before our afternoon flight next day? Don't really want to return to Tokyo, but don't want to stay at an airport hotel - still, don't want to risk taking a longer trip all the way from Kyoto the morning of our return flight.<BR><BR>3. Any specific JR railpass strategies that would work for this itinerary?<BR><BR>Thank you to all for sharing your knowledge and experience.<BR><BR>

Hi Leslie,<BR>As you suspect the Nikko-Takayama segment will be a long day, with at least 6 hrs spent on 4 different trains. My suggestion would be to either do Nikko as a day trip or do 2 nights Tokyo, an overnighter in Nikko, return to Tokyo and then on to Takayama.<BR><BR>Too bad you can't do an open jaw; that always works out the best for me.

My routine is a little different, I usually stay in Tokyo for just one night on arrival then do the bulk of my long distance traveling. Towards the end of my trip I return to Tokyo for a few days where I do the bulk of my shopping. That works for me because I don't have to worry about lugging things around, and I'm usually exhausted by the end of the trip and don't want to worry about travelling great distances and making connections.

Bonjour Leslie,<BR><BR>As suggested, going from Nikko to Takayama involves 1 day in trains and lots of connections. Don Buri (one of my favorite food, oyako donburi, mmmm) suggested one of the best plans: go fisrt to Kyoto, do your sightseeing from there, then come back to Tokyo for the last leg of your trip, visiting Takayama on the way.<BR><BR>Alternatively, going back to Narita airport directly from Kyoto is no big deal: 3 hours on the Shinkansen, one easy change to the Narita express in Tokyo station, total time about 5 hours. <BR><BR>From Kamakura, you will still have to change train in Tokyo (about 3 hours total).<BR><BR>Himeji is a full daytrip from Kyoto, so are Kurashiki and Nara. <BR><BR>A last word of advice. Don't plan too tightly, you never know what special event might take place that you'll hate yourself for having missed because of an unchangeable schedule.

Here's another idea to throw in the pot: On your way back stay in Yokohama which is a short distance away from Kamakura by train. Stay at a hotel serviced by the Airport Limousine Bus or a hotel near the Yokohama City Air Terminal where you can catch the ALB. While the ALB is not cheap it is very convenient, esp if you have a lot of luggage.

This is great advice. I think I'll work on the direct connect from Narita to Kyoto on day of arrival or after one night in Tokyo, as suggested. Also, will probably turn Nikko into a day trip only or would it be reasonable to travel from Nikko to Narita to arrive by 3:00 pm for our return flight home at 5:20pm? Notice that our return flight is Monday, April 28th, and we may be dealing with rush hour crowds or the opening of Golden Week (sorry that's when the kids have spring break next year).<BR><BR>The reason I try to plan things out pretty well is that with a family of 4 and desire to predict our budget, I really want to have all my accomodations reservations secured. I think we can be somewhat flexible on day trips with 4 nights each in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Nikko to Narita is at least a 3 hr trip; don't know what effect Golden Week would have though. Intl travel was down this year but it might recover next year.<BR><BR>BTW, you can check out your train connection and travel times at www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/ <BR><BR>I also like to make my trip arrangements far in advance and sometimes spend weeks doing it.<BR><BR>

Michael - thanks so much for the link. That's just what I had been searching for!<BR><BR>I know that international travel is down but had heard that the Japanese are traveling more domestically as a result. All my reading says to avoid Golden Week, described as April 29th - May 5th as the Japanese themselves are on holiday and things get really booked up. I'm not sure if the April 29th start date changes from year to year or is set. Also, I don't know if the holiday rush begins a day or so early as it does with so many US holidays.<BR><BR>A question about the 7 day JR Rail Pass:<BR>Do you know how the days are counted? For example, if I activate it today then is today counted as day one? I fear I may need an 8 day pass! Trying to avoid buying 14 day passes for this family of 4! They are very expensive relative to European rail passes. Generally its more economical for us to rent a car rather than go by rail but it seems driving in Japan is ill-advised.

Leslie,<BR><BR>regarding Golden Week, the rush will certainly start on the weekend before, so it may be relatively calmer on the 28th, but Nikko will be filled to capacity and finding a hotel there might prove difficult, many Japanese booking them months in advance. <BR><BR>You might therefore have to spend the last night in Tokyo or nearby. If you've used the railpass by then, you can store your luggage in a station, use the morning for the last shopping and take a train to Narita (one of the most convenient line is the Keisei Skyliner http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetud...esse/index.htm - their Ueno station has plenty luggage storage space).<BR><BR>You're right, driving in Japan is a real nightmare, especially on the routes you're planning. <BR><BR>If you activate the 7 days railpass today, it does indeed count as day 1. That's one reason I usually plan like this:<BR><BR>Day 1 - Skyliner to Ueno, spend 1 night in Tokyo<BR>Day 2 - 5 Kyoto and daytrips in the area<BR>Day 6 leave Kyoto for longer excursion (Takayama for example),<BR>Day 7 leave Takayama to Tokyo, use RP on Yamanote (loop line) and other JR lines inside Tokyo.<BR>Spend rest of stay in Tokyo and various daytrips with train lines not covered by JR RP. <BR><BR><BR>

After taking a look at the calendar (which is what I should have done sooner), I'm pretty sure that the Golden Week rush will begin on the 26th. I would therefore try to make it back to Tokyo no later than friday the 25th, and stay put within the Tokyo area on those two days. Hopefully the train to Narita will not be crowded on the 28th since everyone should be at their destination by then.<BR>But as Florence mentioned, it is likely that Nikko will be booked solid on that weekend; also, innkeepers usually raise rates to astronomical levels during GW. <BR>With careful planning the 7 day railpass should be fine; I often use them even though my trips are usually 10 days in length. Just make sure you can use them on the days you're riding the shinkansen.<BR>

My, this is such helpful information, can't thank you enough (ironic that my daughter wants to go to Switzerland. I guess we'll have to patronize Florence's beautiful, country next time we can afford it!).<BR><BR>Florence - are you saying that you spend your first night in the Ueno area and just leave most of your luggage in the Ueno station lockers? That makes sense. I've noted the skyliner info. Will spend our last three nights again in Tokyo. That will get us back to Tokyo by the 25th as Michael advises. Hoping to stay in Asakusa for those nights. May still try the day trip to Nikko as that time but not an overnight.

Returning to Tokyo for the last three days is a good idea. Your 7 railpass will have expired by then but you won't need it. If you're staying in Asakusa, the subway will be more convenient to use, and if you do decide to go to Nikko, Tobu provides direct service from Asakusa.<BR>You can get either a one day pass or a metro card for the subway, either will save you the trouble of purchasing a ticket each time you use the subway. See www.tokyometro.go.jp/e/index.html<BR>

Thank you Don. That's now our plan. I think I'll book the first night upon arrival in Ueno. Can you tell me how to pronounce "Ueno?"

Leslie,<BR><BR>Let me know whenever you decide to visit Switzerland, I'll try to help you make it affordable . <BR><BR>"Florence - are you saying that you spend your first night in the Ueno area and just leave most of your luggage in the Ueno station lockers? That makes sense."<BR><BR>That's one of the solutions I use if I can't fly direct to Osaka. Just make sure you leave your luggage in Keisei-Ueno station, not the main JR station (the lockers in Keisei are just left from the platforms exit, those in the main are much smaller and less convenient to get at). From JR Ueno, Tokyo station is only 3 stations on the Yamanote line. You can book your seats on the Shinkansen inside Ueno JR station, and even have your railpass activated there, thus avoiding you the wait inside Narita airport. <BR><BR>You can stay either around Ueno (Katsutaro ryokan, for example, 10 min on foot from Keisei) or in Asakusa (10 minutes by subway Ginza line)

re leslie's last question:<BR><BR>ooh-EH-noh.<BR><BR>jpnese will also understand if u pronounce it ooh-WEH-noh.<BR>