jlaughs

mrwunrfl, I guess I was typing my post while you where submitting yours. So, maybe my thought of going directly to Nara from Tokyo would be best after all. I think even if we stop to drop off our carry-on at our hotel, it would be okay as we have reservations at Granvia and I understand that this is right in/next to Kyoto Station.

emd, there are two things on my list that would definitely be in the evening - Gion Corner & Togetsu-kyo Bridge to see the cormorant fishing. I'm trying to find out information about the tour boats available to see the fishing rather than just watch from the bridge. And, I'd like to try to get to the area a little earlier to be able to look around a bit before the fishing. The only other item that I thought might work for the evening is to walk along the Path of Philosophy. I realize that the shops along the sidestreets will probably be closed, but I was thinking that this would just be a relaxing, contemplative walk. Do I have the wrong idea about the path?

Thanks,
Judy

emd

There are also decent maps on the web- like try this one- it doesn't look like much at first glance but move your mouse around on the picture and a little arrow icon on lower left corner will arise. You can then use the little icon on the bottom right to enlarge the map on your screen and move around to view different areas on the map.

http://www.qci.jst.go.jp/eqis03/kyoto/kyoto-map.jpg

I have this map on paper (I got it in Kyoto) and it is good.

emd

Also, this JNTO map online has temples and shrines grouped together by area so you can see which ones could be seen close together:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/spn/kyoto/...ing/index.html

I am finding some good maps like these just by doing a simple google search for "kyoto map"...

jlaughs

emd,

Yes, thank you for the map suggestions. I was typing my reply right after your Fushimi Inari post and I didn't see the others until after I'd posted my message. I was actually going to check the JNTO website today because I just read in one of my guidebooks this morning that JNTO has a Kyoto walking map. I have two Japan guidebooks - Fodors and Lonely Planet as well as a Time Out Tokyo guide.

Thanks!

jlaughs

emd,

LOL! You're giving me great info faster than I can thank you!! Thanks for the links!

Judy

emd

ok- I start my planning w/maps. No way I could plan and decide on where to go and what to do on any given day without the maps. Planning is too abstract without maps first, at least for me.

jlaughs

Hmmm...I guess we all have our own way. I usually read and just jot down places that sound interesting. Then, I look at a map to see what is feasible and how to work it out. So, I'm aware that some of the things on my list may ultimately not work out because of location, but they seemed doable from what I've read so far.

emd

With a city that is really spread out like Kyoto, I think a map is a prerequiste to being able to group the places you want to go, as you are trying to do.

Also, don't forget that cabs are not expensive in Kyoto like they are in Tokyo. You can get from one "group" of places to another by cab much quicker )unless it is raning) than taking the subway (and many times having to switch lines) or buses. No one told me this before I went to Kyoto and I thought the cabs were expensive like Tokyo, so I walked and bused and subwayed more than I would have, had I realized you can jump in a cab and go across town for $15.

emd

Oh, sorry I didn't realize it was night fishing. On the Path at night, I am not sure it is well-lit at all; I don's recall seeing lights, and if it is like some other areas of Kyoto (eg. Higashiyama) it could get really dark at night. It is more a daytime activity I think. I don't think you'd be able to see anything at night.

jlaughs

emd,

I agree that I absolutely need a map now to be able to come up with a "game plan" of what to see when and with what. That's good to know about the taxis. This will certainly provide more time and flexibility than relying only on buses, subway and walking.

Thanks,
Judy

jlaughs

emd,

Just to clarify -- I checked the estimated time of sunset in Kyoto in August and it says 7p. My thought was that we could walk in the evening (6-ish?) when it would not be as hot as midday, but would still be light enough to stroll. Does this sound reasonable? Or is the path not even worth it without being able to stop in the shops?

Thanks,
Judy

emd

JUdy, I am getting a sense of how you might travel, your style, and I think you can perhaps fit your Kyoto things in in 4 to 4 1/2 days and get to Nara or Himeji (not sure you can get to both?) although I do not know specifically about Sanjusanangen and Adashino N. and the fishing bridge, as I have not been to those or seen them on a map.

I think previous posters were concerned about three things- heat (and my understanding is that you will need to rest and get inside some btwn. places), length of time at each place, and not giving yourself time to explore a bit and find the jewels that coudl become special for you but that you might not even realize are there now or realize how special they might be til you come upon them.

I loved HImeji and found it very relaxing. I have avoided going to Nara as it is alot of temples, nice temples, but temples, and there are so many great temples in Kyoto.

I noticed you do not have any of the lesser known temples down for Kyoto. My all time favorite temple is one that is not frequented by tourists - we were almost alone there and it was so wonderful (in northeastern part of HIgashiyama). I will say you are hitting the high tourist spots (Nijo, Imperial Palace, Ginkakuji, Kinkiakuji, etc.)- great places but lots of tourists. You might try to put in one lesser known temple or just give yourself time to explore an area like HIgashiyama where you might just fall in love with a lesser known and lesser visited temple or a street. I think that is what is so specail about Kyoto, but you must give time to allow it to happen.

emd

Another case in point:

On this last trip I walked the little back streets behind out htoel each morning as my dauighter slept. One of those mornings, a heard this miraculous noise, and it kept getting louder and louder. I walked out of the little antique shop I was in and there, coming right down the lane, were 5 buddhist monks, chanting, w/their straw hats on. I wanted them go all the way down the street and listened as their chanting dinned. It was an incredibly special moment.

jlaughs

Eileen,

My traveling "style" is really kinda schizophrenic. I tend to do a LOT of planning beforehand - almost to the point of being obsessive/compulsive, but then my attitude while traveling is much more relaxed. I guess I just like to know about things BEFORE I go so that I don't find out about it after I return and realize that I could have easily included it in my itinerary had I only known. Once there though, I don't have much problem making other decisions based on the knowledge I have and how we feel at any given time. I really do feel that everything is an experience while you travel, whether it's working out the way you planned or not.

That said, I do plan each trip as if I will never be at that location again as I probably never will. As a single mom on a secretary's salary with two kids in college in a year, this may be my last "big" trip for quite awhile. I would love to be able to have the time to just "kick back" and just experience the experience, but my desire to see the sites usually wins out. But, I also don't want to just run through sites just to be able to say that I've been there, so I try to strike some kind of balance.

jlaughs

emd, I haven't gone back to either of your trip reports to double-check, but I could have sworn that you've been to Sanjusangendo. Maybe I'm getting trip reports mixed up, but I thought I read about it in your report and that's what got me interested in it. It's where there are a 1000 Kannon statues.

emd

No, I know where I have been, and as I said, I have not been there.

jlaughs

Sorry. I wasn't doubting that you know where you've been. I just thought I'd read it in your report. Didn't mean to offend you.

mrwunrfl

lol, I thought that I should have said "unless you are staying at the Granvia in Kyoto" when talking about the efficiency of going to Nara. I didn't realize you were staying there.

jlaughs

In rereading everyone's feedback, I also went back and reread my original post. I just realized that one of the places I have listed (Adashino Nembutsu) is actually somewhere that I had put on a secondary list of places to see/things to do because, although it sounds interesting, I don't think we'll be able to see it because of its location. It's on the outer edge of the Arashiyama map on the JNTO website.

emd

Frankly, if I say clearly that I have not been to a place, and then you post that you "swear" that I've been there, and that you feel a need to "go back and double check" my trip reports to see, it seems to me that you are saying that you doubt that I know where I have been at least, or at worst that I am being dishonest. If I say I haven't been there, I don't know why you would say that you could swear that I have. So yes, you were doubting that I know where I have been, as that was exactly what you said, and you mentioned going back to double check my trip reports on it.

My Mother (bless her heart) has Alzheimer's. I do not (at least not yet, thank you God).