Japan itinerary- please comment
 

We are going to Japan for the first time for 6 days. Based on our reading of the tour books and this group we have come up with the following itinerary. Please advise if we are doing anything wrong. Our interests are historical places and places of natural beauty.

Day 1: Arrive in Narita in early afternoon. Go to hotel.
Day 2: Tour Tokyo. Night in Tokyo.
Day 3: Daytrip to Kamakura. Night in Tokyo.
Day 4: Bullet train to Kyoto in the morning. Tour Kyoto. Night in Kyoto.
Day 5: Tour Kyoto. Return to Tokyo in the evening. Night in Tokyo.
Day 6: Tour Tokyo. Catch evening flight from Narita.

Questions:
1. Should we skip Kamakura and go to Hakone as a daytrip instead since we'll be going to Kyoto the next day?
2. Is it possible to stay overnight in Hakone on night 3 and then proceed from Hakone to Kyoto the next day. Are the train connections from Hakone to Kyoto decent?
2. Should we skip the daytrip option from Tokyo and spend one extra night in Kyoto instead and go to Nara as a daytrip from Kyoto? Is Nara better than Kamakura?
3. Given our schedule, does it make any sense to buy JR pass or should we purchase tickets as we go along?
4. Do you need reservations on the bullet train for the journey from Tokyo to Kyoto? How early do they have to be made?
5. For the last night is it better to stay in Kyoto instead of Tokyo and make the journey to Narita from Kyoto on the last day?

1. Yes, to your question or:
You could visit both Hakone and Kamakura on a day trip. I advise doing this at the end of the trip after you have gotten familiar with riding the trains. Plus, it will make the shinkansen trip to Kyoto more fun since you can get a super express train from Tokyo (instead of the Kodama from Odawara (near Hakone)).

2. Yes. Yes, but not as good as from Tokyo. From Hakone, you get a train for Odawara then the Kodama train with many stops to Nagoya. From there you can switch to a Hikari shinkansen (the express) to Kyoto. From Tokyo, though, you can hop on a Hikari train that stops in Shin Yokohama, goes to Nagoya, then arrives at Kyoto.

2. Yes, you could. Yes.
Whereabouts in Tokyo are you staying?

3. Yes, you should get the 7 day JR Pass and use it for the Narita Express, the intercity trains, and even a couple of subway rail lines in Tokyo.

4. You should get reservations for the shinkansen and other trains, especially since the reserved seats are free with the JR Pass. You can make reservations over the web (eki-net) but that isn't really necessary. For the Kyoto - Tokyo trip, I'd get the seat reservations the night before, but it depends on when you are travelling since the rush hour trains get booked up and travel is heavier during holidays.

Day 1, arrive NRT early afternoon, make reservations for Narita Express to Tokyo station and reservations for connecting shinkansen to Kyoto. Night in Kyoto.
Day 2, Kyoto
Day 3, Nara, Kyoto
Day 4, Kyoto, night in Tokyo
Day 5, day trip to Kamakura and Hakone
Day 6, Tokyo, Narita

Dear mrwunrfl,

Thanks for taking care to answer all my questions. I think your idea of Kyoto first and then Tokyo is quite nice. However, you mention that on Day 5 I should do a daytrip to Hakone and Kamakura. Can you do both on a single day? Did you mean Hakone or Kamakura? In Tokyo, we are planning to stay in the Asakusa area. Is it a good choice? Where should we stay in Kyoto - city center or the train station?

The Odakyu Rail company operates a train from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto that is more convenient than the JR option. That is why I asked where you were staying. Other posters here can help you more than I can about lodging.

The jreast page has a link for "Fares and Charges on Shinkansen". Where you can see that the Tokaido Shinkansen (Hikari and Kodama trains) costs 13,220 yen to go from Tokyo to Kyoto. That's why the JR Pass (at about 28000) makes sense.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/index.html

Find the English language link here:
http://www.hyperdia.com
or just go here:
http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperd01.cgi
At hyperdia, keep in mind that you can't ride the Nozomi trains using the JR Pass.

The jreast.co.jp along with the japanrail.net and japanrail.com pages are linked together and give all the info about rail passes, etc.

I am suggesting visiting both Kamakura and Hakone in a day. It is a good bit of traveling and train connecting, but it can be done. Otherwise I would choose Hakone over Kamakura (unless you have some better idea for visiting Kamakura than just seeing the big Buddha). I'm suggesting those day trips later in your visit since you will have overcome your jet lag by then.

From Narita you will have to go through Tokyo station. From there, it is only two hours to Nagoya and another half hour to Kyoto.

Bonjour MissMuffet,

1. Given the fact that you have only 6 days and that you would like some "natural beauty", I advise you to skip both Hakone and Kamakura. You'll see more of it in the vicinity of Kyoto (Sagano, Ohara, see http://www.kyotoguide.com/index/index.html for suggestions and get a copy at your hotel or at the tourist office).

3. Definitely get the railpass, it's cheaper than the regular fare between Narita-Tokyo-Kyoto and return and allows you to go to most places inside Tokyo on the Yamanote (loop) and a few other JR lines. In addition, it saves you the hassle of figuring out how tickets machines work.

4. Yes. You can book your seat only minutes in advance, although the earlier the better for your peace of mind of course. If you decide to go straight to Kyoto from Narita (which I advise you to do too), take the opportunity of exchanging the railpass voucher to also book your seats.


Day 1: Arrive in Narita, night in Kyoto.
Day 2 to 4: tour Kyoto, Nara, Kyoto vicinity - book seat for train to Tokyo the next day.
Day 5: early train to Tokyo, leave luggage at hotel, tour the city
Day 6: leave luggage at Tokyo station, tour city, catch flight.

Bon voyage.