eurosurfergirl

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo, staying at Westin

Day 2: Tsukiji Fish Market,Asakusa Shrine, Ueno district, Imperial Palace, Ginza

Day 3: Harajuku to see the Meiji Jingu shrine, go to Shibuya, Go to Shinjuku (if time go to Kamakura to see the giant Buddah and gardens)

Day 4: Day trip to Kamakura or Nikko

Day 5: Train to Kyoto (Westin Miyako)

Day 6: Nijo Castle, Ryoan-ji, Kinkaku-ji (temple of the Golden Pavillion) Ginkaku-ju, Kyomizu-dera, Sanjusangen-do, wandering the Gion district

Day 7: Day trip to Nara

Day 8: Day trip to Himeji

Day 9: OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS

Day 10: Depart Kyoto back to Tokyo for flight

KimJapan

The split between Tokyo and Kyoto seems good. You have packed so much into each day, that I just don't think you'll get to everything in a way that is enjoyable. Coming in from LA (right?) don't count on your ability to hit the ground running. You may need to take it easy in the afternoon due to jetlag.

The best way to see this much in such a short time might be a tour, since much of your time may well be spend getting from place to place (figuring out transport, sitting in a taxi in traffic or walking to/from subway station to station or trying to figure out the bus system). You'll probably want to see more in Kyoto on Day 9...you could spend a week in Kyoto alone and not see everything you wanted.

dgruzew

eurosurfergirl,

we are going to japan in oct and our itenerary is similar to yours - just going to piggyback on your thread to see what responses you get.

we had alot of difficutly booking a hotel in kyoto? did you?(not sure when you are going) but my wife gets a deal at westins(starwood) through her work and in sept the westin kyoto was avail for 13200 yen in oct(when we are going) it went way up to 32000 yen!! - so we are not staying there. did you have any issues booking?

mjs

I have just a few comments. First the Westin Tokyo is lovely and well situated for most of what you want to do in Tokyo. The Hibiya subway line takes you in about 20 minutes to Tsukiji presumably in the early morning from Ebisu. The same subway line takes you to Ueno than Asakusa with a change in Ueno. You than return to the Westin with the same subway lines via the Palace and Ginza. A long day but doable as you will most likely get up early anyway from the time zone change.
The next day has you going on the Circle train line to Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjiku. I am not sure I would try making it out to Kamakura on this same day. In Kyoto you must remember that the sights are pretty scattered around a rather large city so I would give Kyoto more than one day. Nara for a day and Himeji for a half day works fine. The Westin Miyako is on the east side of Kyoto but has a good shuttle bus to the train station for your trips out of Kyoto.
Have a good trip!

Florence

Bonjour Eurosurfergirl,

"Day 2: Tsukiji Fish Market,Asakusa Shrine, Ueno district, Imperial Palace, Ginza"

Too much for a single day. There is much to see in Asakusa (the temple is the least interesting thing in the area - been rebuilt in concrete after WWII - but the shopping arcades are worth at least 1/2 day) and Ueno (big park, museums, Ameya-yokocho shopping alley), both not being close to the Imperial Palace or Ginza. If you count the time needed for transportation, meals, shopping, visits, you will end up having only time for a quick picture opportunity in front of a couple of temples and museums ;-)
I'd skip either Ueno or the imperial palace.


"Day 6: Nijo Castle, Ryoan-ji, Kinkaku-ji (temple of the Golden Pavillion) Ginkaku-ju, Kyomizu-dera, Sanjusangen-do, wandering the Gion district"

No can do (or at least not going to all those places AND visiting them) in a single day. Look at a map of the city and factor the transportation time needed ... You need at least 2 days to see and appreciate all those sites. Besides, it doesn't leave you any time for seeing a bit of the city's life itself.


Another point: you shouldn't already decide on the days you'll take your daytrips to Nara or Himeji, you never know what particular event/special opening there will be in or around Kyoto that would make you change your plans.

mrwunrfl

What day of the week is Day 1?

You must be planning to use a 7-day JR pass for days 4 thru 10.

You can move "wandering Gion" to Day 5 and see the performances at Gion Corner. (hmm, I guess you wouldn't actually be wandering if you had a specific destination!)

eurosurfergirl

Thanks everyone! Yes, I realize I won't be able to see/do everything in one day but at least those are my options. Thanks for the advice to skip someplaces and check out others instead. Day 1 arrival is on a Friday and yes, I will be using the JR Pass starting on Day 4, since I can take public transportation around Tokyo pretty cheap. So Asakusa Shrine I can skip, right? What else?

eurosurfergirl

Oops and no, I didn't have a problem booking the Westin since I am a Starwood Preferred Guest and used points for my stay. They did say they were booking up pretty fast (and I booked in August)

emd

eurosurfergirl: Gotta love those Starwood points. I have the Sheraton Yokohama booked on points and then, like you, the Westin Miyako in Kyoto. I see you also used the "use points for 4 nights and get the 5th night free without using any points" deal in Kyoto; so did I. Did you get a club room at the Westin Miyako? Did you know that or an additional 1,500 points a night you can get the club level and it comes w/breakfast and evening appetizers. The breakfast alone is worth the extra 1500 points as food is tres expensive at that hotel.

eurosurfergirl

No emd, I did not know that! I just called and they said they had no more upgrades available, oh well....when are you going?

emd

Not til March (I just booked two wks ago week when they opened up the points reservations for that hotel for March). What about the Westin Tokyo- do they have a club level? You can always get on the club level w/extra points if available- it's just that some Starwood properties are worth the upgrade and some aren't, depending on what the club is like and what they offer. They don't offer it to you on the phone unless you ask. Free breakfast is worth it. You'll know for next time...if you are like me, you are finding yourself planning the next trip while planning this one.

mrwunrfl

Oh, and what time is your flight?

Here are some alternate ideas.

Day 3: don't go to Meiji shrine (see Day 10)

Day 4: go to Kyoto

Day 8: after Himeji-jo, take JR to Nikko, stay the night

Day 9: Nikko (stay night in Tokyo or maybe even Kamakura?)

Day 10: go to Meiji Shrine before the airport. This would be a Sunday in November, I think. Weekends in November are "memorial days" where parents dress their children in fancy traditional garb and take them to Mieji Jingu (see the kawaii little girl in the top left picture at www.billk.org for an example). I visited on a Saturday and I am pretty sure the tradition is also observed on Sundays. It is nice, not spectacular, and I'm not suggesting that you modify your whole itinerary to fit it in.