My son and I will be leaving for Japan on June 5th. We return home on June 21st. I am trying to do my final organizing thoughts/ planning now. I am hoping you experienced Japan travelers can guide me through my last minute questions. We arrive at Narita Terminal 1 (Continental Airplines) at 2:20 pm on the 6th. Can you give me an estimate on how long it might take to go through customs, get some cash from the ATM machine, exchange JR vouchers into tickets and make reservations, and get tickets to take Keisei Skyliner into Ueno Keisei station? A couple of hours? Less time? Should we also get the KeiseiSkyliner & Metro Pass combo tickets? Here is what I have established for our stay:
Day , City, Place to Stay, Possible day activities
Sunday June 5- depart Houston 10:50 am
Monday June 6- arrive Tokyo Narita 2:20 pm;Annex Katsutaro Ryokan
Tuesday June 7- Tokyo Annex Katsutaro Ryokan; bike tour
Wednesday June 8- Tokyo Annex Katsutaro Ryokan
Thursday June 9- Tokyo Annex Katsutaro Ryokan; day trip Nikko
Friday June 10- Tokyo Annex Katsutaro Ryokan; day trip Kamakura
Saturday June 11- Tokyo Annex Katsutaro Ryokan; day trip Hakone
Sunday June 12- Tokyo Annex Katsutaro Ryokan; possible baseball game?
Monday June 13- Tokyo to Hiroshima/Miyajima; Miyajima Morinoyado
Tuesday June 14- Miyajima to Kyoto;B & B Juno
Wednesday June 15- Kyoto B & B Juno
Thursday June 16- Kyoto B & B Juno; day trip Nara
Friday June 17- Kyoto B & B Juno
Saturday June 18- Kyoto B & B Juno
Sunday June 19- Kyoto to Koyasan; Ryokan Shojoshin-in temple
Monday June 20- Koyasan-Narita Crowne Plaza ANA Narita
Tuesday June 21- depart Tokyo Narita 3:55 pm; arrive Houston 1:50 pm

We have a 14-day JR pass. We won't need it the last day in Narita because the hotel will provide transportation to the airport. Should we therefore activiate it on June 7th? Our day trips are all flexible. Thanks for your help!

I just re-checked the Annex Katsutaro Ryokan website. It says it is only a 7 minute walk from the Keisei Nippori Station.

I recommend another night/day for Hiroshima and Miyajima. They are both lovely and you hardly give them 12 hours with the travel before and after. If possible, cut a day from Tokyo and give Hiroshima/Miyajima a bit more time.

Our schedule is firmed up already. I do plan on us leaving Tokyo on the early train and hopefully arriving by 11:30 in Hiroshima. We plan to leave later the next afternoon (4-ish) to go to Kyoto. I am planning to see the Hiroshima sights the first day then head over to Miyajima to spend the night and get up to see the island before heading back to Kyoto the next day. I realize the time is short, but we will have to make do with that.

You are arriving at a busy time. You can tell how long you will be when you see the line at immigrations. If there are long lines then wait time is about 40-50 minutes. If little or no line then 10-20 minutes.

Cash from the ATM will only take a minute.

The JR passes and reservations will take you 10 to 15 minutes with no line....longer if there is one. Then you would have to get to the Keisei counter and buy tickets there so all in all, worst case scenario, a little under 2 hours should cover it.

Yes get the Skyliner/Metro Pass deal.

Aloha!