Thanks to all the Fodorites for their excellent advice and suggestions, our trip last week to Kyoto was a success!

If I can offer anyone suggestions in turn, please do not hesitate to ask.

Forgive me for the length of the missive-

Part I.

We chose to fly JAL out of Honolulu as it was most convenient and our experiences with american airlines, particularly Continental to Newark, left a lot to be desired.

Although the planes may be a bit dated, and I was one of just a few "haoles" onboard, there was nothing we could complain about in terms of meals and service. No, we didn't have to pay extra for pillows, blankets, headsets, snacks, drinks or even the two foot long sword my grand-daughter purchased to bring home. We tend to fly Korean or JAL out of Honolulu and we have never been disappointed.

Thanks to HAWAIIAN TRAVELER, we arrived at 9:30AM for a 12:30 AM flight which was a godsend considering my husband forgot his backpack and I had to drive back to the north shore to pick it up and make it back in time to check in!

We arrived promptly at 4:30 PM next day and were met at the exit of immigration by MK limousine service, which we opted to reserve online at the cost of 3300 yen per person. Well worth the cost considering with the Japanese train systems, we found it's often a long walk up and down stairs between stations.

The ride from KIX to Kyoto is about an hour and a half. The driver stops half way for a "rest" break where there are bathrooms and snack machines. (Be sure and get lots of 100, 50, 20 yen coins for the machines.)

We were checked into the Hyatt in no time.

We knew the Hyatt was a little off the beaten track, (you need a bus or taxi to get to the station) but we were ever grateful for the peace and quiet the hotel provided when we
returned from a busy day. The bus stop is right in front of the hotel, but we found for the four of us, a cab was about the same cost. (a one day bus pass is 500yen)

A little note about the rooms-

As mentioned in an earlier post, the bathroom set-up leaves little privacy which may present a problem for non-related roomies- my teenage grandchildren had to make arrangements for each to vacate the room prior to each using the shower-
but the rooms were clean, spacious, and well-outfitted (Except for coffee! They do provide tea and an electric tea kettle.)

The concierge and front desk staff went out of their way to be helpful
and informative which we sincerely appreciated.

Since we were all bushed and it was late, we opted to have our first meal in the hotel.

Wow, we live in Hawaii so we know things are expensive, but we found the restaurant quite pricey. My husband and grandson ordered the least expensive (about $70USD) of the tasting menus which was presented beautifully and was of good quality, and which they enjoyed, but still left feeling hungry. My grand-daughter ordered a la carte, one item of which was an order of ikura (fish eggs wrapped in sea weed.) which was priced somewhere around $20.00.

When the plate arrived, one ikura sat in the middle! We all looked at each other in surprise. All I worried about was that we were all going to go hungry- or bankrupt- for the week. (more on the food later)

After a good nights rest, we rose for breakfast at 6:30 for an early start. (The temple bells of Sanjusangen-do ring at 5 AM.) We opted to prepay the breakfast with our rooms with the Hyatt AWAKEN package. An american breakfast was excellent and included eggs, waffles, cereal, fruit juices, pastries, cheese, bacon and sausage, an great way to start every day. (One suggestion is that they perhaps vary the menu a bit)

DAY I.

We were picked up at the Hyatt for an 8:30 AM morning tour that we had pre-booked online with Sunrise tours.

Our guide was a pert english-speaking Japanese woman who was informative, but spoke so quickly, you needed to really concentrate on what she was saying.

In a RUSHED morning, we saw the shoguns' villa, the imperial palace, the Golden pavillion with the final stop at the Kyoto handicraft center- a seven floor souvenir shop.

We stayed for the buffet lunch provided for all day Sunrise tours and priced at 1500 yen for others, which was edible.

The tour director was kind enough to let us board the bus to get to Kyoto station, otherwise morning tours end right there at the handicraft center leaving you to find your own way back.

At the Kyoto station, we tried to get our 4 day JR Sanyo pass cards but were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, nowhere in the literature does it tell you that you can only exchange your vouchers for the passes at either Osaka or Shin-Osaka JR desks.

But we spent the afternoon marveling at the station itself with its 10th and 11th floor restaurants and food courts and nose bleed escalators, and stores, stores stores!

A small note about Kyoto itself. this is a big city, like NYC, with high-rises and neighborhoods. What distinguishes it as being unique is that tucked away on every street amongst the stores and shops are little treasures of temples. There is no central core, like Nara, (more on that later) that contains all the special buildings. For sightseeing, it's suggested that you devide the city into quadrants, choose what you wish to see and concentrate on that quadrant for a day.

Back to the hotel in the afternoon for a short rest.

We really wanted some "local" food, and didn't want to return to the station area. The concierge recommended a Japanese restaurant that from the brochure we knew was too upscale for our tastes, but the doorman had a great suggestion- a small restaurant a short stroll from the hotel called Marzan.
Through the ubiquitous curtains and into a dark hole, we found a welcome heaven. Great food in a friendly atmosphere, mostly locals, at reasonable prices. We finally didn't leave the table hungry! (and we went back again)

After a great meal with our tummys full, our day ended.

Part 2 tomorrow.

Day 2. Against everyones advice on the board, we decided to squeeze Himeji and Hiroshima into our short trip.

We breakfasted early, cabbed to the station and caught the 7:45 AM train to Shin-Osaka where finally we were able to exchange our vouchers for the Sanyo passes.

Caught the first train we could to Himeji arriving there about 9:30AM. Took the red shuttle up to the entrance. The castle was the highlight of the trip for our two teenage grandchildren. They truly enjoyed every step up to the top. Be forewarned, it is a long walk up to the castle with many steps to climb. That said, the place is truly breathtaking! We spent longer than I planned as everyone was enjoying it so much, but were able to hike back to the station, (we couldn't find the shuttle going back) which was a flat walk along a wide pedestrian sidewalk lined with shops and restaurants.

We were able to catch the train to
Hiroshima without any problem and upon arriving took the streetcar to the Peace Park where we walked about. We spent a lot of time in the museum. My husband felt the displays were somewhat dated. I did not find it so. Both of the kids seemed to appreciate the history.

Since it was now late afternoon, and we were all tired we decided to forgo the trip onto Muriyama island.

Once at the station, we found out that by just paying extra to our Sanyo pass, (2500 yen for four) we could get a direct train back to Kyoto rather than have to stop in Osaka.

For those using Kyoto as their home base, I would not encourage the purchase of the 4 day Sanyo pass.

Arrival back in the Kyoto station at about 8 PM with dinner in one of the many Japanese restaurants at THE CUBE, and a taxi back to the hotel.

DAY 3.

We had been running since our feet hit the ground at KIX and so we planned a more leisurely day seeing Kyoto. In addition, although the weather had been perfect for our first two days,by day 3, it had begun to rain heavily. Still the temperatures were in the low 70's. Also, the last few days of our trip were marred by pollution somewhat similar to that of Beijing. I don't know if this was an unusual weather phenomenon or not.

We purchased one day bus passes at 500 yen from the concierge desk at the Hyatt and strolled over to our first stop- Sanjusangen temple, which houses the 1001 wooden statues of Kannon.

A walk down the street to the Mc Donalds and from there back up the street to the Kyoto National Museum where we spent several hours enjoying the exhibitions.

From there, a very disappointing trip to the Kyoto zoo which is so outdated, my only wish was for all the animals to escape! The saddest was the female elephant which the sign proudly proclaimed had been a resident since 1970. Imagine pacing alone for the last 30 + years. Someone needs to inform the people of Kyoto that cages went out with the rotary dial.

Our kids have been raised on Japanese food, so sashimi and sushi are favorites, so a trip back to Kyoto station for another meal ended the evening.

Day 4.

Early rising to again taxi to the station, catching the early morning train to Nara.

Upon exiting the station turnstiles, we stopped at the TI desk where an elderly Japanese lady encouraged us to use a YMCA guide. I had never heard of them before someone on the board mentioned them, but what a wonderful way to really see Nara.

In addition, we had so many questions about things we saw and Japan in general, we were grateful to finally find someone able to answer us. And that someone was a Mr. Hiro Masutani, a retired bank employee, who volunteers his time as an English Goodwill Guide.([email protected] or http://www.geocities.com/egg_nara/

We spent all day viewing the temples and grounds of Nara. It was truly what we had thought Kyoto would be. The kids enjoyed feeding the many deer, and although the place was mobbed with school children and tourists, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, made even more so by our goodwill guide.

He walked us to the station where we caught the 3:15 train back to Kyoto, and ended the evening with one last stop at our favorite local restaurant.

Day 5.

We had arranged to reserve one room since our flight back wasn't until 10PM and we weren't scheduled to be picked up by MK limo until 5:45PM.

After a later breakfast than usual, we again obtained bus passes and made our way to Ginkaku-ji, which is supposed to be one of Kyotos' most breathtaking temples.

Unfortunately, no one told us the silver pavillion was undergoing renovation, so all we saw was a shroud covered skeleton. The gardens were lovely and we were luckily early enough that the crowds hadn't arrived.

The kids enjoyed souvenir shopping along the narrow streets.

Taking the bus back, we stopped in the Gion area where we walked about. There were so many more temples to see, but we were all"templed out." We walked all the way back to the Hyatt enjoying the atmosphere.

MK arrived promptly and we were at KIX in plenty of time for our flight back and a last japanese dinner in their food court.

Northshoreauntie, you say your trip to Kyoto was a success, but your report gives me the impression of many disappointments--inconvenient accommodations, expensive or barely edible food, a menu that was repetitive, lousy zoo, temple being repaired, unnecessary rail pass--and you spent most of your short time either outside Kyoto or in transit. I'm glad you liked your trip, but feel that you missed a lot, mostly because of not heeding advice available on this forum.

Welcome home auntie. Thanks for taking the time to do a report. Its always a delight to see Japan from the eyes of another. Sounds like you learned a bit about travel in Japan.Was it all you thought it would be?

Walking from Himeji-jo to the train station, did you notice the ornate man hole covers on the streets? In fact, in all parts of Japan that I have been to, cities large and small, have the most ornate covers I have ever seen.

Happy to see you took advantage of the free guide service in Nara. Always one of my regrets.

Too bad you didn't have a few more days this time around to make it a little less stressful(rushed) but maybe if you go again in the future.....

Aloha!

great report and thanks for sharing....were the shrimp trucks awaiting your return to the n. shore?

I regret that Willjane felt my comments were about our trip to Kyoto were negative. I certainly never meant to infer that was so.

To Hawaiian traveler, the manhole covers all over Japan were a work of art. Too bad we can't do that here in Hawaii!

And no, to Willjame, I don't think we missed a whole lot. As to taking the forum advice, I certainly followed all suggestions offered, but you fail to note that we were traveling with two teens. Our focus in a short time, was to give them an over-view. As to the zoo, we've lived all over the world and always visit zoos wherever we may be. Most visitors without kids would probably not take the time from temple visiting to visit the zoo, but we did and the kyoto zoo just was a disappointment.

The shrimp trucks are doing a bang up business this weekend, (as are the ambulance squads)- surf's up to 18 foot and this whole place is really rocking. Neighbors report two hours on Sunday to get from Haleiwa, through Lanis and to Sunset!

Great report