I have a few questions about various legs of travel within Japan.
1. I will be staying in Hakone for a couple of days before heading to Kyoto. On the day of departure, I'm not sure if I'll want to spend the first half of the day in Hakone and take an afternoon train to Kyoto or if I'll want to head out on a morning train. I'd like to have the possibility of making the decision once I've spent some time in Hakone. The two options I'm looking at are Hikari trains leaving Odawara at about 10am and about 2pm.
13:00-13:28 Kyoto to Osaka (JR Kyoto Line Special Rapid For Himeji Via Kosei Line)
Osaka walk to Nishi Umeda
13:37 Nishi Umeda to Namba (Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line For Suminoekoen)
Walk to Nankai Namba
14:00 Limited Express Koya No.7 (For Gokurakubashi)
15:19 arrive Gokurakubashi (bus to town)
1. I will be staying in Hakone for a couple of days before heading to Kyoto. On the day of departure, I'm not sure if I'll want to spend the first half of the day in Hakone and take an afternoon train to Kyoto or if I'll want to head out on a morning train. I'd like to have the possibility of making the decision once I've spent some time in Hakone. The two options I'm looking at are Hikari trains leaving Odawara at about 10am and about 2pm.
- How booked up do the Hikari trains tend to get on weekdays in mid-November? Am I better off buying a ticket for the train I think I'm more likely to take and then changing it at the station day-of if I want to make a switch? Or am I better not buying a ticket in advance and just buying it at the station shortly before departure.
- I have a Chase Visa that is not working with SmartEx. What are the best alternative sites to use to book shinkansen tickets?
- I can only find a phone number for the temple, no email. I'm hesitant to call because I speak no Japanese and all of the info I see online says that the temple staff/monks speak limited English.
- In Kyoto I'm staying at Hotel Mume, on the recommendation of several Fodorites. I had planned to ask the staff there to call the temple once I arrived at the hotel. Would it be presumptuous of me to forward them my confirmation email now and ask them to call the temple? (I know this hotel has great service, but don't want to come off as a difficult guest by asking them to do tasks for me before they've even met me.)
13:00-13:28 Kyoto to Osaka (JR Kyoto Line Special Rapid For Himeji Via Kosei Line)
Osaka walk to Nishi Umeda
13:37 Nishi Umeda to Namba (Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line For Suminoekoen)
Walk to Nankai Namba
14:00 Limited Express Koya No.7 (For Gokurakubashi)
15:19 arrive Gokurakubashi (bus to town)
- Does this itinerary realistically give me enough time to get from place to place without knowing exactly where I'm going? I will have been navigating Japanese stations for a couple of weeks by this point, but the Osaka stations will all be unfamiliar to me.
- If I buy the Koyasan World Heritage ticket online ahead of time, would I then just need to buy a separate ticket for the Kyoto-Osaka train and use an IC card for any Osaka subway transfers? Can you use the world heritage digital ticket directly or does it have to be exchanged for a paper ticket at the station?
<In Kyoto I'm staying at Hotel Mume, on the recommendation of several Fodorites. I had planned to ask the staff there to call the temple once I arrived at the hotel. Would it be presumptuous of me to forward them my confirmation email now and ask them to call the temple? (I know this hotel has great service, but don't want to come off as a difficult guest by asking them to do tasks for me before they've even met me.)>>
Not at all. If there is one thing I can reassure you about, it’s their customer service. It is second to none. And this wouldn’t be a problem for them so don’t stress and ask them to confirm the reservation for you.
I will leave the transportation questions to others who’ve traveled more extensively in Japan.
Not at all. If there is one thing I can reassure you about, it’s their customer service. It is second to none. And this wouldn’t be a problem for them so don’t stress and ask them to confirm the reservation for you.
I will leave the transportation questions to others who’ve traveled more extensively in Japan.
Am not surprised by progol's reply about asking Mume. There might be a Koyasan organization (like a TIC) that could help.
[One thing about asking Japanese a question amuses me. That is that if the reply is "that would be difficult" then that means "no".]
For the Koyasan trip the only schedule you have to pay attention to is departure time from the Nankai stations in Osaka (IIRC there are two). The transit (subway or train, JR or other) getting to/near a Nankai station is frequent. Decide on which Nankai station or train (limited express or local) that you want and then you can navigate to get there in time. I just noticed your plan would be the 2PM l'ex. Am just saying you probably have other options to get to it than what jorudan gave you but that result is a good one depending on how fast you walk.
On your day of travel, you can expect the reserved seats on the Hikari train from Odawara heading west to have been sold out to pax boarding before you in Tokyo, Shinagawa, and Shin Yokohama. That was my experience in November 2001, when there were far fewer tourists, though at that time tourists with JR passes would have had to use the Hikari when traveling from Tokyo, etc. Now that tourists are more likely to be using the more frequent Nozomi trains from Tokyo getting seat res from Odawara might be less of an issue (as you know, Nozomi don't stop at Odawara).
IDK about using non-reserved cars on the Hikari. My GUESS is that the 2PM train would more likely than the 10 AM frain to have available seats in a non-reserved car. That guess is based on knowing that you used to be able to get discount tickets but had to travel in early afternoon.
Gotta go for now. But have to mention that the train you will take is operated by JR Central and will arrive at a JR West station. Check here: The Shinkansen Tour (FLEX JAPAN) | Central Japan Railway Company (jr-central.co.jp)
I think JR West might sell you the reserved seat.
[One thing about asking Japanese a question amuses me. That is that if the reply is "that would be difficult" then that means "no".]
For the Koyasan trip the only schedule you have to pay attention to is departure time from the Nankai stations in Osaka (IIRC there are two). The transit (subway or train, JR or other) getting to/near a Nankai station is frequent. Decide on which Nankai station or train (limited express or local) that you want and then you can navigate to get there in time. I just noticed your plan would be the 2PM l'ex. Am just saying you probably have other options to get to it than what jorudan gave you but that result is a good one depending on how fast you walk.
On your day of travel, you can expect the reserved seats on the Hikari train from Odawara heading west to have been sold out to pax boarding before you in Tokyo, Shinagawa, and Shin Yokohama. That was my experience in November 2001, when there were far fewer tourists, though at that time tourists with JR passes would have had to use the Hikari when traveling from Tokyo, etc. Now that tourists are more likely to be using the more frequent Nozomi trains from Tokyo getting seat res from Odawara might be less of an issue (as you know, Nozomi don't stop at Odawara).
IDK about using non-reserved cars on the Hikari. My GUESS is that the 2PM train would more likely than the 10 AM frain to have available seats in a non-reserved car. That guess is based on knowing that you used to be able to get discount tickets but had to travel in early afternoon.
Gotta go for now. But have to mention that the train you will take is operated by JR Central and will arrive at a JR West station. Check here: The Shinkansen Tour (FLEX JAPAN) | Central Japan Railway Company (jr-central.co.jp)
I think JR West might sell you the reserved seat.
Based on my experience with the staff at Hotel Mume, they would be disappointed if you *didn't* ask them to call the temple in advance for you. They'll definitely accommodate any request you have...
Thank you for all of the great advice!
Thanks for the encouragement progol and magritten! Hotel Mume was able to confirm my temple stay reservation, and mrwunrfl 's advice to work backward from Namba-Nankai station has made getting to Koyasan much more clear.
I'm pretty decided on booking an earlier shinkansen ticket from Odawara to Kyoto. If I really want to make last minute changes, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But now that I'm planning on an extra half-day in Kyoto I have to decide if I'm going to leave that time open to just wander or try to fit in another site. Bishamon-do looks really tempting...or maybe I move Eikando and Nanzen-ji from Friday to Tuesday and visit Bishamon-do on Friday, when the more popular sites in Higashiyama will be busier. So many options!
I had Komyo-in and Sennyu-ji penciled as good less-popular temples to visit on a Sunday afternoon, but now I'm thinking I might leave that time open for wandering and shopping. I'll leave that decision to the day-of, but does anyone have any experience with or opinions about these temples?
Thanks for the encouragement progol and magritten! Hotel Mume was able to confirm my temple stay reservation, and mrwunrfl 's advice to work backward from Namba-Nankai station has made getting to Koyasan much more clear.
I'm pretty decided on booking an earlier shinkansen ticket from Odawara to Kyoto. If I really want to make last minute changes, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But now that I'm planning on an extra half-day in Kyoto I have to decide if I'm going to leave that time open to just wander or try to fit in another site. Bishamon-do looks really tempting...or maybe I move Eikando and Nanzen-ji from Friday to Tuesday and visit Bishamon-do on Friday, when the more popular sites in Higashiyama will be busier. So many options!
I had Komyo-in and Sennyu-ji penciled as good less-popular temples to visit on a Sunday afternoon, but now I'm thinking I might leave that time open for wandering and shopping. I'll leave that decision to the day-of, but does anyone have any experience with or opinions about these temples?
