Japan for the first time!
 

Hi everyone....
I have the opportunity to go to Japan for work at the beginning of November. I'm very excited as this is my first trip there - first trip to Asia, really! But, I am a little nervous since I don't speak any Japanese. I will be in Tokyo for work - arriving on Sunday and then working until at least Thursday. Our intention right now is to return Friday. However, I am considering staying through the weekend and coming back Monday, with the intention of going to Kyoto. My question is... how easy/safe is it for a single woman who speaks no Japanese to travel around the country? I am very comfortable traveling in Europe and Latin America by myself, but am a little apprehensive about this for some reason. :-) Thanks for your input.

Definitely stay for a few extra days!

On my first trip to Japan - Tokyo - I knew two words in Japanese - thank you, arigatou and excuse me, sumimasen. Those were enough ;-)

As a woman traveling alone, Japan is very safe. Also, if you are going to be in Tokyo and Kyoto there is English signage.

Most restaurants have plastic food so you can point to what you want, or there are pictures on the menu.

Of the four cities we visited in Japan, Kyoto was our favorite.

You'll have no problem at all. The signs in subway and train stations are in both English and Japanese, and there are other types of signage in English in both Tokyo and Kyoto. Plus a lot of Japanese and native English speakers and other tourists who will help you if you get in a bind. Stop by the Tourist Info Center desk at Kyoto station and get maps, ask them questions, and you'll be on your way.

I would not pass up the opportunity for three extra days in Japan, esp. if someone else was paying to get me there and back!

I would make reservations NOW for a hotel in Kyoto for early Nov. Since the trip is so soon and you have only a short period to plan and have never been there and have to work the first part of the week, my advice would be to get a hotel where they speak English (and it would be great if there is a concierge, if you afford that type of hotel) and can help you out w/your questions and plans for the Kyoto time.

If you need any other help planning, ask away.

p.s. Can Mara and I come? We'll work for free...

Sounds good to me, emd!

Also if you are going from Tokyo to Kyoto and back a Japan Rail pass may work for you...

You definitely need to get your room asap....

Please try to stay over the weekend. We were in Tokyo last Dec. and have tickets to fly there the week of Thanksgiving. Japan is a wonderful place and please take the extra few days to see more of it. You will not regret it. I think the maple leaves will be in full color while you are there. Try to go to a garden and just enjoy!

It's easy. It's safer than Europe or Latin America.

Fall colors would be north of Tokyo, I believe. Maybe at elevation, too.

Thanks to everyone for replying to my message! My work has finalized then dates and based on your encouragement and the encouragement of two friends here at home who both travelled to Japan alone, I'm taking the plunge!

So, tentative itinerary...

Arrive in Tokyo on 11/11
Tokyo 11/11 - 11/16 for work.
My coworkers like to have fun and have been there before, so I'm outsourcing this portion of the trip to them. :-)
They're planning to leave on 11/17. I'm going to Kyoto!

Kyoto 11/17-11/20
I plan on taking the train from Tokyo to Kyoto. Based on what I've read here, it doesn't seem like the Japan express ticket would work for me. Let me know if that's not a good assumption.

I'm already trying to reserve a room at the Granvia hotel through AsiaRooms.com. This just seemed the most convenient for me, and it seems to have good reviews on this board. Plus, since work is paying for airfare and hotels in Tokyo, I'm ok with spending a little here. I'm waiting for them to confirm the reservation, so let me know of other potential rooms, just in case they are booked. (Everything seems to be booked in Kyoto!)

I plan to return to Tokyo on Monday night, since my flight is around 1 pm on Tuesday out of Norita. I'll probably try to book at the same hotel as I get through work, but we'll see what the cost for that is before making a final decision!

Please provide any other advice you have! I'm really excited about my first Asian trip! Thanks1

You're right, you won't benefit from the JR Pass if you are only going RT to Kyoto. And if you don't have the pass, you can use the faster Nozomi trains btwn Tokyo and Kyoto.

Granvia is supposedly very nice, and you'll be right at the train station so you'll have food and shopping right there, and you can catch a cab (they are MUCH CHEAPER in Kyoto than Tokyo, you can use cabs in Kyoto without sticker shock) or bus or subway right there. If for soem reason you can't stay there, we can advise on other hotels but I think that is a good choice for a 1st trip with just a weekend- you won't worry about getting to your hotel on Fri night or back to the station on Monday.

Am I understanding that you will leave Tokyo on Fri after work and go to Kyoto t stay Fri night, then have Sat and Sun and Mon. there until you have to leave to head back to Tokyo for Mon. night stay? That is a great amt. of time for a 1st trip to Kyoto. You won't be bored!

and btw, I am very envious. Work that takes you to Japan where you can tack on a few days. Some folks are very lucky.

By "Japan express ticket" I think you mean the JR Pass. If so, then you are correct, you wouldn't really need one just to go to Kyoto and back to Tokyo.

If you are planning to go to Nara AND use the Narita Express to get to the airport then a JR Pass might save you 3000 yen. But you can just buy the Tokyo-Kyoto return tickets and take a limo bus to the airport straight from your hotel.

Am assuming that your Tokyo transport costs before the 20th are covered as a business expense. I would skip the JR Pass and just get Nozomi shinkansen tickets.

Japan is very safe and honest. I once left a bag full of shopping in the toilets of a busy dept store in Tokyo & forgot about it for 10 mins. When I ran back no-one had even touched it and it was right where I left it. If you leave your wallet in a taxi or train, you will get it back (providing it is not picked up by a foreigner!).

I hope you have secured a room at the Granvia with Asiarooms as I checked a few sites - Nippon travel agency (where I booked my room), Rakuten & the hotel itself & they all showed full. It seems to be full from 16-28 Nov which is the best time to see the autumn colours. It also seems that most of the Kyoto hotels are fully booked - if you do a search on some of the websites - there is no availability. I only found 2 inns (probably not very nice given the cheap price) in Kyoto & no ryokans (I could be wrong but I don't think most medium-high end ryokans accept 1 person anyway - usually min 2 per room as the fewer the people, the more expensive it is as they have to have a minimum cost to cover). Maybe your best bet is to stay in Osaka and take the short trip(under 1 hour) to Kyoto? But I think even there some of the better hotels are not showing availability. I'm sure someone else in the forum will provide you with more info & suggestions.

EMD - There are times (like this one!) where I can't believe I actually have this job. They have been good to me, so I'm grateful!

I did mean the JR Pass - not easy to post from memory.

I'm not having any luck at all finding a hotel for Kyoto. Everything seems booked! I need to purchase my plane ticket in the next day or so, so I'd like to have something planned before I do that. Any suggestions?

yes, and the Granvia's own website shows no availability for your Nov. dates.

Let us know is asiarooms doesn't come up with something. Sounds like it could be rough staying in Kyoto those dates at this point.

I did hear back from Asiarooms. They Granvia is booked and they say they are not able to find something comparable. Would I be better off calling them directly and trying to do this over the phone? I have only been looking at hotels, but I'm willing to explore other options and would consider staying outside of Kyoto if the "commute" in was easy.

Can you change your flights so you depart from Kansai (KIX) or even Nagoya (NGO). Both of these have nonstops to SFO (on United) and other US cities. Saves the time and cost of getting back to Narita. If you have to use Narita and will have already explored Tokyo, consider staying in Narita city the night before your flight. It's an interesting temple town.

If Granvia's website is saying they are full, I doubt you'll get anywhere on the phone w/them. Hyatt, Okura, New Miyako, and Westin Miyako are all sold out Nov. 17-20 also. You'll need to start looking around pronto at other Kyoto options, and you might very well be too late for this popular autumn leaf weekend.


Commute from Osaka to Kyoto is easy, btwn 45 min to one hr for regular limited express train that runs very frequently, and there is also a "JR special rapid train" btwn the two cities that takes only 28 min but runs less frequently. Cost is 540 yen on either. If you have to go that route, it would be best to stay somewhere in walking distance to the train station in Osaka; others here can advise you on that. Be aware there are two train stations in Osaka, the shinkansen station and the regular other JR station. From looking at Hyperdia.com (the online train schedule), it looks like there are also JR Kyoto trains (40 min., also 540 yen) from Shin-osaka station to Kyoto also, but my guess is that they are run more frequently at the regular JR Osaka station.

Others who have stayed in Osaka for trips to Kyoto (Ihave not done so) will chime in to help you, I'm sure.

Good luck. Do not let this discourage you from going to Kyoto. This is just a minor nuisance that you can easily overcome- your trip will be great once you get your accomodations worked out.

My two daughters aged 23 and 19 travelled through Japan in August. The youngest spent 4 days in Kyoto alone and found it very safe. Having just returned from visiting our eldest daughter who remains in Japan , I would agree so have no concerns in that respect. BUT don't give up on staying in Kyoto. Look at Tour Club and its sister place Budget Inn. We stayed in the Budget Inn and the value and standard of accomodation were good. The feel is of a hostel but we had a room for two with our own bathroom and proper matresses not futons. One daughter stayed at the Tour Club and the other on a later visit in the Budget Inn also. They are very prompt at answering emails. see www.kyotojp.com

Flying back from Osaka was a great suggestion.

The JR Kyoto line from Osaka station goes via Shin Osaka station to Kyoto. Same trains.

thanks for that clarification, mrw. So clbtx1 could stay close to either station, Osaka or Shin-Osaka. Do you know any hotels very close to either one? I know KimJapan has posted on hotels right by those stations in the past.

I see that there is also a Granvia hotel connected to the Osaka JR station, but I checked online and they are completely booked up the night of Nov. 18, Sat.

Thank you everyone so much for your help! Researching for Japan is completely new to me and you have been very helpful.

Since my work is paying for the airfare, I'm reluctant to change what they're paying for. They are paying for me to go to Tokyo for work, not for me to go to Kyoto for fun! :-)

I sent an email to Japanese Guesthouses to see what their availability was. I was a little nervous about the idea of a Ryokan, but after reading their website, it really seems like a wonderful way to enhance your trip to Japan. Plus, most of the places that takes single people do speak English - bonus!

I'm also looking at places in Osaka as a back up and there seem to be a lot of affordable options there, even at the brand name hotels.

If I do end up staying in Osaka, would I then need the JR Pass?

KimJapan likes the Osaka Hilton which I am almost certain is across from JR Osaka station. There are lots of options in Osaka including ones that are near non-JR stations of rail systems that go to Kyoto.

If you were commuting between Osaka and Kyoto then a JR Pass would be good. You would be about breaking even, maybe saving some yen. Thing is that you would be able to take the 3 or 4 minute JR local to Shin Osaka and then catch a shinkansen to Kyoto. The shinkansen takes only around 17 minutes, IIRC. So you would get a better product for about the same price. The JR Pass also gives you the option of staying in Kobe. Shin Kobe is not far from Kyoto by shinkansen.

Fall colors would be at their peak in Kyoto around Nov 18.

I do understand your reluctance to get an open-jaw ticket, but I will just mention the following. Employers usually don't mind an employee getting a ticket like that. Especially when the ticket cost is the same or less (or even a little more). They are paying you to go to Tokyo and that is what you would be doing. And they have to pay to bring you home. Your side-trip would not interfere with your work. Some companies have explicit policies regarding personal side-trips like that.

It will be very tough at this point in time to get a good hotel in Kyoto for the weekend. Your best hope might be JTB.

The Osaka Hilton does have rooms available for your dates, it is directly across the street from Osaka station. We have stayed there and visited Kyoto from there before, and it isn't bad. There are trains every few minutes that go to Kyoto station...just be careful you don't get on a local as it will take an hour or more to make the trip...spend the bit extra on the ticket and take a limited express or any train to shin Osaka then change to a shinkansen.

Your options in Kyoto city for the weekend may be limited to business class hotels, which are not bad...the rooms are small and often smokey smelling, bathroom is tiny, breakfast is expensive and lousy (read go out for breakfast), and there is no service other than room cleaning. For a place to sleep, they are ok, for a vacation, they are a poor choice I think. But they are an option.

Osaka itself is not without interest. There's a park with Gassho houses
http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/osaka.htm (saves a trip to Shirakawago) and several other destinations. It's also convenient for getting to Nara (older and, in my opinion, more pleasant than Kyoto). Check out the guides under Kinki at the jnto website:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/index.html

JTB= Japan Travel Bureau.

http://www.jtbusa.com/enhome/

Hi all... I heard back from Japanese guest houses and they were able to find a room for me at Ryokan Karatachi. It's a single room, but no private bath or toilet. I also have a room on hold at the Granvia Osaka, but I'm not overly thrilled by it as the reviews aren't so good. I'm inclined to take the Ryokan, since it's exactly where I want to be, without needing to travel back and forth a lot. Are any of you familiar with this place? Thanks again for the wonderful advice you've provided!

clbtx1, have you seen the reviews online? It is apparently small (5 rms) and friendly. Here is one from Lonely Planet:

http://tinyurl.com/y8rt9m

If you look at the guest photos on the japanguesthouse website, there is a nice one of the dinner, and also one of the sleeping futons. The futons don't look very thick. That would be the only issue for me, whether I could sleep on them or not. I am a "picky sleeper" though.

I don't know the ryokan but I know the area where it is (Fushimi). It is a bit south of Kyoto proper, about 4 stops and 10 min. by train from Kyoto station on the JR line (one of the few places in Kyoto on the JR line). I loved the Fushimi Inari area. Aside from the famous fox shrine there (which you must see being that close, it is the one with the thousands of red tori gates lined up going up a hillside; you walk under the gates) I liked the area between the train station and the shrine. There are several nice little sushi and udon restaurants there with freidnly owners. It has a very friendly "neighborhood" feel to it, much more quiet and slow than most of the rest of Kyoto. You will be very close to the sake warehouse area of Kyoto, which will be just a stop or two past your stop on the JR train. I really wanted to go to the sake warehouse area after Fushimi Inari Shrine, but just didn't make it.

Judith Clancy has a great section on the Fushimi area and the sake warehouse area in her book (my favorite for Kyoto) called "Exlporing Kyoto: On Foot in the Ancient Capital." Great walking tours in that book, with a lot of insight into the culture, history, architecture. legends and myths of Kyoto. Since you are staying in that area, I recommend checking out her book. It is available on Amazon. It has a great photo of Fushimi Inari shrine on the front of it.

Not only is the Fushima Inari Taisha one of the most interesting sights in Kyoto, but a few stops further south on the same train line is Uji, location of the Byodo-in, one of the most famous and most beautiful buildings in Japan. There are other interesting places in Uji, too, and it's full of historical associations. A bit further on the same line and you get to Nara, which I consider at least as interesting as Kyoto (it was the previous capital). So I suggest exploiting the location of your ryokan and visiting some of these sights as well as the ones in Kyoto itself.

And then south of Nara is Horyu-ji

Hi again everyone. I've been making progress on the details of my trip. So, I'll be staying at the Cerulean Tower hotel in Tokyo, which is near our office, and apparently, near the Shibuya train station.

It looks like i will need to work half a day on Friday, so would want to take an afternoon train to Kyoto. I'm staying at the Ryokan Karatachi in Kyoto.

With everything there is to see, I want to maximize my time in Kyoto, so I want to take a late train back to Tokyo on Monday evening. I'll be staying at the Cerulean Tower again for the one night and then fly home on Tuesday.

EMD - when you say the Ryokan is south of Kyoto proper, is it like being in Brooklyn versus Manhattan proper, or is it further than that?

I'm trying to figure out the train tickets now and I don't know if I need to factor this into my decision of what kind of rail pass to buy.

Thanks again.

It is just a few stops southeast of Kyoto station, 10 min on the train, not far at all. Look at this map. Kyoto station is the little box in the middle with the train lines running thru it. Fushimi area is to the right and down from that station. It is about as far southeast as the Golden Pavillion (Ginkaku-ji) is northeast from Kyoto station.

http://tinyurl.com/yjxgtv

It is a good lcoation, and I would stay there in a minute. Actually, I now have your ryokan bookmarked and would consider staying there in the future.

Stay there- it is definitely better than staying in Osaka and commuting to Kyoto each day IMO. It is an cool neighborhood.

Since you could use the JR line to get to Kyoto station each day you are there (and then bus or subway or walk or cab to other spots in Kyoto you'll be going to from Kyoto Station) you might think it is a closer call re getting the JR pass. But actually, not having the JR pass gives you the option to use Nozomi shinaknsen btwn Tokyo and Kyoto, and that increases your options re numbers and timing of trains to get you back to Tokyo on Monday evening, 11/20. If you have the JR pass, you are going to need to take a HIkari shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo at about 4 pm in the afternoon in order to get to Tokyo at a decent time to check into your hotel for the last night, at least that is what I found I had to do last April, due to the timing of the shinkansens I could take w/the JR pass. I would opt for being able to take a later Nozomi train that last day from Kyoto to Tokyo.

The JR trips a few stops from Fushimi to Kyoto station and back each day won't cost that much. There is also a subway line that runs from Kyoto station to Fushimi.

For some reason I can't get hyperdia.com to give me times for the Nov. 20 JR trains from Kyoto station to Tokyo. I'll find my paper schedule and give you an idea of later Nozomi trains you could take (or can someone else help her by getting the info from hyperdia? For some reason it is telling me it doesn't recognize Kyoto or Kyoto station as a start point).

There are two Hikari trains from Kyoto to Tokyo every hour. The depart on the hour and at ~35 minutes after the hour. The trip taks ~ 2 hours 45 minutes. The last one is at 20:39. The last Nozomi is at 21:32.

hyperdia says that the train from Fushimi to Kyoto is a Kintetsu train, so the JR Pass would not be useful. The only way a JR Pass would be useful for this trip would be if you also used it to take the Narita Express to the airport.

oh, I'm sorry, my trip last April form Kyoto to Tokyo was different as I needed to get from Kyoto to Tokyo and then get the Narita express that same evenign to get to the Narita area to stay in a hotel there for departure the next a.m. You are staying in Tokyo that night, so it is different.

I got the info on Hyperdia; you can take either a 6 pm Hikari (#382) and get to Tokyo at 8:43, or 6:15 Nozomi (#146) from Kyoto and get to Tokyo at 8:33 on Nov. 20. There are other, and later, trains such as: #386 Hikari (8 pm-10:43 pm) or Nozomi #156 (8:15 pm-10:36)

With your daily trips to Kyoto station from Fushimi, it is getting closer to being a wash re getting the JR pass. It is only 200 yen to go from Kyoto station to Fushimi (10 min), so that is 400 yen RT each day. Do that 3 days, 1200 yen. RT shinkansen Tokyo to Kyoto and back is about 26500 (Hikari) to 27000 yen (Nozomi). With your 3 RT trips from Fushimi to Kyoto station = 27700 yen to 28200 yen.

7 day JR pass is 28300 yen. But you lose the Nozomi train options.

mrw, there is both a JR train (the JR Nara line) and a Kinetsu train from Kyoto to Fushimi. I took the JR line to get to Fushimi.

See here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html

Oh I see, thanks. Need to use Inari station at hyperdia not Fushimi(Kyoto) or Fushimiinari. Only 140 yen each way.

oh, so it is a bit chepaer on the JR line going from Kyoto station to Fushimi and back (140 yen) than it is the same route on the Kinetsu line (200 yen). (Don't forget to put that in the budget Kyoto book!)


Bottom line, for me, I would not get the JR pass. I'd want the additional Nozomi options on the shinkansen btwn Tokyo and Kyoto.

clbtxi, here is a cool thing you might be interested in. It is a sake museum in an old sake warehouse right where you'll be staying in Fushimi.

http://tinyurl.com/yyexsk

and here is something i had bookmarked in my fushimi folder, a good idea for souveniers from Fushimi.

http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/preview/21.html

You're going to like this area.

pictures of Fushimi Inari shrine

http://tinyurl.com/y726sk

Are you getting excited yet? I am, and I am not even going.