tjhsu

is it better to spend more time in Tokyo? or more time in Kyoto? or should I split it evenly?

all arrivals/departures dates are in the morning. does this make sense?:
Sep 3 - 6 in Tokyo (3 days, 3 nights)
Sep 6 - 10 in Kyoto (4 days, 4 nights)
Sep 10 - 13 in Kobe (3 days, 3 nights)
Sep 13 - 14 in Tokyo (1 day, 1 night)

i know this itinerary looks kinda weird but there are a few factors.
-I'm flying in/out of Tokyo
-Kobe is to visit a friend, and the dates aren't flexible.
-9/13 is to get back to Tokyo to catch my flight the next morning and watch sumo

i'm thinking of spending an extra day in Tokyo and shortening the Kyoto portion to 3 days. partly b/c i'll be getting over jetlag so i may not be totally w/it that 1st day. and partly b/c Tokyo seems so cool. thoughts?

laurieco

Personally, I would not cut any time from Kyoto. While, yes, Tokyo is very cool, Kyoto is full of history. 3 days is not enough time in Kyoto. I was there for 4 and I barely scratched the surface. If, however, you are not too interested in history and temples, and are more interested in technology and nightlife and glitz, then perhaps more time in Tokyo would suit you.

mrwunrfl

Your probably going to be arriving in Tokyo in the afternoon, maybe 3PM or 4PM, so most of your arrival day will be used up. You'll have 2 full days for Tokyo and then on to Kyoto. Probably arrive there around noon, so you'll have almost four full days there. Kyoto to Kobe is a short trip.

A 7-day JR Pass won't do you any good since the dates of the Tokyo-Tokyo travel are Sept 6-13 and that's 8 days. Tokyo- Kyoto- Kobe- Tokyo will cost about 31000. So a 7-day pass would save only about 3000 if you left Kobe on the evening of the 12th.

Roundtrip between Narita Airport and Tokyo is about 6500. Add in an amount for JR travel in Tokyo, 1500 would be plenty. So your rail costs would be 31000+ 6500+ 1500 or about 39000. The 14-day JR Pass is 45100, so you might consider getting one, esp. if you are planning sidetrips from Kobe.

alibi13

i am dealing with a similar decision. we arrive in tokyo (from jfk) on december 16 and we leave for bangkok from osaka on december 25.
the plan right now, partially because we have 2 friends living in tokyo, is to spend
december 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 in tokyo
december 21, 22, 23, 24 in kyoto
and leave from kyoto on the morning of the 25th for osaka airport
that would give us 4 full days in tokyo (we will be spent on the 16th i assume), and 4 and a half full days for kyoto. kyoto sounds really cool too.

glorialf

Personally I would spend at least 5 days in Kyoto.

mrwunrfl

tjhsu, to actually answer your question I would say that your itinerary looks good.

alibi13, I assume that you mean that you would be travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto on the 20th. In that case, you have three to three and a half days in Tokyo. The 16th is spent travelling. On the 20th, you will be checking out, going to the subway/train and taking that to a shinkansen station, transferring to the shinkansen, riding to Kyoto, making your way to transit and then going to the hotel and checking in. That's a half-day, esp. on a short December day, even if you count the shinkansen trip as recreation (which I do!).

Both of you might consider spending at least one day/night away from the big cities.