Montrealer

Hi,
I think I may be in a little trouble - my husband and I are travelling to Korea and Japan with our fourteen month-old son and we have planned very little. The first leg of our trip is entirely organized by my husband's parents, so no worries there. However, between October l6-20th, we land on our own in Osaka. We're pretty seasoned and oindependent travellers, but just haven't planned ahead this time with our little one. I was thinking of Kyoto as a good intro to Japan, with a short trip to the countryside for two days somewhere in there, away from the hustle and bustle before we fly home. The biggest concern at this point is with accomodations - I know this is such a popular time of year to travel and have accepted that I can't hope for the moon. Where to stay in Kyoto and the surrounding countryside on around $200/night?
Any advice would be so welcome.
Thanks very much,
Esther

mrwunrfl

The Westin Miyako in Kyoto has twin rooms for 18,100 for October 16 for 3 nights. That's $155 including tax and svc charge.

mrwunrfl

It's available for 4 nights starting the 16th. Good cancellation policy too: cancel before 4 pm hotel time on 15-Oct-2006.

emd

That is an INCREDIBLE rate for that hotel! I would grab it now!

emd

Just be aware that twin means two small twin sized beds for those nights.

Montrealer

Thank-you so much, mrwunrfl, you are wunerfl!
I know poeple here have had rave reviews about the Hyatt. It looks like its about 24,900$ per night there- any thoughts?
Also, it looks like our trip just got a little more complicated as my in-laws changed our group's flights so that we land in Tokyo, not Osaka.
So, here are my thoughts for an itinerary:
October 16th - One day in Tokyo
October 17th & 18th - Kyoto
19th - One night in a rural area, in a reasonable priced Ronkyan (ok somewhat reasonable!!!)
20th - Make our way back to Osaka and stay there overnight for our flight back to San Francisco at 1 pm the next day.

Is this insane with a baby? Any ideas on change of itinerary, where to stay the night in Tokyo, or a Ryonkan would be most welcome.
Thanks again to all.

mrwunrfl

You said returning "back to" Osaka. Did you mean Tokyo?

I'm sure the Hyatt is nice. There are many other choices. That rate at the Westin is a real bargain. The beds are single beds, not small single beds exactly, just would not be a double-double. In any case, you can get 4 nights at the westin (room is for the price of three nights at the hyatt.

mrwunrfl

For the 17th at the Westin you can get a standard room (22.2 sqm) with one double bed for 14,500, or a queen superior (26.4 sqm) for 16,200.

Add 5400 to have breakfast for two included: 19,900 or 21,600.

I'm not trying to sell u a room at the Westin, I am just surprised at these rates.

mrwunrfl

Ok, at hyatt dot com I see that there is a 24,300 rate for a standard king (28 sqm). It is a prepaid rate. The flexible rate, cancel by 2PM day before arrival is 27000 for a standard king.

I am surprised but the "room details" at hyatt dot com says that taxes are not included with either of those rates, e.g.

27000 JPY Total Per Room
Additional Charges:
5.000 Percent tax
10.000 Percent JPY service charge

That's 31,050 with tax and svc chg, if their website is correct.

Montrealer

Oooh, mrwnrfl, thanks for the fine print warning! The Westin looks like our best bet. KNow of a good Ryonkan we could do for one night outside of Kyoto or Tokyo?

mrwunrfl

You are saving enough with the Westin vs the Hyatt that you could go all out and stay at the Hiragiya or other top Kyoto ryokan. Your total cost would be in budget. www.japaneseguesthouses.com will give you some options in the Kyoto area or in Hakone (outside of Tokyo). There is something of a price advantage in staying outside of Kyoto, or Hakone, perhaps. And you could find a nice traditional ryokan at an onsen. But you have to weigh traveling to those places vs just taking a short taxi ride in Kyoto to get from hotel to ryokan.

mrwunrfl

btw, it could be an error on their webpage about the taxes, so if you really are interested in the Hyatt you could call (it is standard practice for a Japanese hotel to quote rates that include taxes (I learned this from KimJapan), so you could ask them to make certain that their webpage is not in error.

emd

There was a GREAT trip report here a few months ago by a mom and dad who took their baby, I think a year old or so, to Japan. Full of practical advice. I'll see if I can find it and send it to the top of the posts for you.

emd

Actually their baby was 6 motnsh odl but it will still help you- it is called "Trip Report- babckpacking japan w/baby" and I am sending it to the top for you right now.