Pat
Do you know about the luggage transporting services that are very common in Japan?? Maybe you can have most of your luggage transported directly to NRT? Sorry I am not more familiar with this - hopefully someone else will chime in.....

The baggage delivery service is the way to go. I was staying at the Westin in Kyoto and was able to send a good sized bag from there to Nagoya airport for around $30. When I got to Nagoaya airport several days later they located my bag and brought it out, wrapped in platic, in just a couple of minutes. The counter where I picked up the bag was maybe 50 feet from the airline checkin counter. It is similar at Narita airport, but on a larger scale.

The baggage delivery service is safe, reliable, and a real bargain.

We need to find you a place near the port (near Osaka-ko subway station, I think) where you can ship from. Maybe you could get a taxi to Osaka station and ship from there. You could find out what it would cost to be picked up by an MK taxi van and taken to Kyoto. The staff at your Kyoto hotel can then handle the baggage shipment.

Your hotel can call ahead to JR Kyoto station to arrange for an attendant to assist with navigating the station and boarding the train. Kyoto station is very modern and it is a hugely important station so I think that you will get the best that JR has to offer.

Maybe a Goodwill Guide can help.

One thing for certain: you won't be sitting on the floor on a train in Japan.

I should have said that you "wouldn't" be sitting on the floor, since it is far from certain that you would be on a train.

That's puzzling about not being able to book the flight yet.

Your suggestions for Baggage delivery sound very appealing. If WE could send our bags from the Cruise port to Narita, our options would then be many!.

Anyone know if that is available? I have looked a little bit with Google, but nothing specific to cruise port came up.---will look again.---

You all are a wealth of information.
thanx again--pat

drzx2: Another person on here w/screen name of "cwn" did this "cruise to Osaka port and need to get luggage service to send luggage somewhere" deal that you need info on. I will find her posting and sedn it to the top for hyou. By the time you chekc back here, if you don't see a post titled, "Takkyubin service near Osaka Crusie Port?" towards the top of the posts for today, then put "cwn" in the search box above and her posts will come up and you'll see it. according to her there is no luggage delivery service avaiable at the Osaka crusie port area, but she took a taxi to Osaka train Station from the crisue port and was able to send her luggage from Osaka station to whereever she was going in Japan.
Good luck w/this- it is doable for you I think.

Oh dear- I screwed up. I just reread cwn's post and she just says there is no luggage delivery service at the cruise port. But there is good info and advice in that post about how you mikght be abel to find luggage delivery once you get to the port....I hope it is helpful.

Thank you, emd.....that was the discussion I was remembering when I posted last night

Based on my observations while living here, the Japanese train stations are very handicapped-friendly. I have seen many occasions where an escalator that normally goes up was reversed so that a person in a wheelchair - with 1-3 JR-uniformed assistants handling everything - was using it to go down. And this on a normal subway during the morning commute! If you can manage the luggage situation, there is no reason that you & your husband shouldn't be able to take the train if you'd like.

Seriously, I have traveled by myself with 5 suitcases from Narita to my apartment & between taxi drivers lifting suitcases for me & carts being available, have never had a problem.

Look into whether JR will accomodate you - I'll bet that they will. Taxis are the same - they will take your bags & drop them off with you at your hotel. You can get handicapped-enabled taxis (minivans with a motorized ramp). For taxis in Tokyo, I can give you a phone number where they speak English.

Remember, you will be viewed as a guest in this country, and as such, they will be happy to assist you in everyway that they can.

Thanks for words of encouragement. I am now seriously thinking of "getting rid" of our baggage in Osaka and using the train. next question---If I take an express type train from either Kyoto or Osaka to Tokyo, is the transfer to a Narita train in the same general area??

We are thinking of sending our bags directly to Narita---not to our hotel. Although, I guess the hotel might be "safer"?? not sure. We will probably stay at the Holiday Inn near Narita.

As a couple who have traveled many third world countries without difficulty, we are finding the high tech travel in Japan a bit daunting...

drzx2 - I don't see why you need to be so stressed about this. Japan is a very modern country, and their citizens are extremely courteous to visitors. They'd often go far beyond what you'll expect them to do for you.

Yes, it's a crowded place and some of the infrastructure does not accomodate people in wheelchair very well because of space constraints, and English fluency is suspect, but they'll take care of you there.

Just allow plenty of extra time, like going to the train stations. You shouldn't have trouble getting help.

Ship your luggage except for what you need for the two days to the airport. It will be waiting for you at the baggage counter just next to the check in counters. Nothing could be simpler. Go to the airport, pick up bags, walk them over to the check in counter and then check them.

You will be able to get help in the stations. The best way I would think would be to get to the ticket gate and not use the automatic one, but go to the manned gate and ask for help there. "Help" is understood by everyone, and when they see you with your husband in a wheelchair they will assist you. I wouldn't worry about that.

For a hotel at Narita, we've stayed at the Narita Hilton and it was very good for an inexpensive airport hotel. Rates vary between 10,000 and 30,000 yen per night, but mostly on the low end of those. You can pay the single person rate for a room for 2 if you join Hilton Honors (or are already a member)...reserve a room for one person and in the comments field enter spouse stays free. If you are Hilton Honors Gold or Platinum, you will get breakfast coupons...if not, choose a rate that includes breakfast or you will need to pay something like 2000 yen per person for it. Usually the breakfast incl. rates are better than buying breakfast.

To perhaps arrange to have your bags shipped from the port or nearby, perhaps contacting Kuroneko Yamato or Nittsu shipping companies directly and asking for their advice on how you could arrange a pickup nearby and explaining that the cruise office does not hold bags for pickup...I believe both of the these companies have US offices...I know Kuroneko does.

Yes, the transfer to the Narita Express train is in the same general area. To get to Tokyo you will take the shinkansen, the bullet train for about 2 hours 23 minutes at avg speed of around 145 miles an hour. The whole trip from Kyoto to Narita Airport would take 4 hours (or as short as 3 and a half hours, maybe as long as 4 and a half).

It is just as safe to send the bags to the airport. Much simpler than a hotel actually since they won't have to look up the address!

KimJapan is right about finding the attendants. There is always one or two JR staff at the little office/window next to the ticket turnstiles. Immediately in front of that window is a gate that you/JR staff would swing open to get access to and from the tracks.

I was thinking of this thread today as took a Hikari shinansen to Kyoto. The car was probably 3 or 4 inches from the platform. The floor of the car was 3 or 4 inches higher than the platform. Rolling a wheelchair on/off would not be easy without a ramp (it would be dangerous, actually).

I did see a guy board a train in a wheelchair. I think it was the Marunouchi Line or JR Chuo in Tokyo. There were at least two attendants. They whipped out a ramp took good care of the guy.

On the Hida LEx from Takayam to Nagoya I noticed that there were h/c seats at the front of the car on both sides. The arm of the seat could be raised so that you could scootch onto it. There was also a chain/rope that I suppose was for securing a wheelchair.

On the shinkansen tonight, the Hikari train I was on was stopped for several minutes at Maibara. During this time three shinkansen trains went by the right side of our train, headed in the other direction. Each time the first car of the other train reached our car, our car would rock to the left. The other train passed by with a whoosh for every car (say "whoosh" 16 times as fast as you can and that is about how long it takes, probably shorter). When the last car passed, our car rocked back to the right.

thank-you mrwunrfl---you have been most helpful..After much thought, we have decided to skip Kyoto on this trip, and go from the cruise ship to Itami. --hopefully with MK taxi as suggested by Kim.. The pictures of me pushing a wheelchair, pulling at least one suitcase,---if we could send ahead the others---etc---was tiring. I will plan a future trip to Kyoto with NO other encumberments. After a 6 week cruise, we will not be traveling lightly, and trains can be---hectic. The wheelchair is a transport chair, which means---I PUSH---BUT, this web-site has been fantastic with advice, and others from the ship, have also used your suggestions.

Lastly---I have spoken with JAL---and they confirmed that we cannot book our reservations now from ITM to NRT. Must wait....??? 2 months in advance only.. In the US, Southwest and Jetblue do not allow reservations any sooner than 4 months before flight day.

Thanks again you alllll---pat

Hi there!
Could anyone please give us similar expert advice on planning this our first trip to Japan:
Two of us plan to disembark a cruise ship in Osaka on Oct 14th then travel by train same morning to Kyoto, tour Kyoto and stay overnight in Kyoto then continue our journey the next morning to Tokyo with the JR Shinkansen Tokaido Nozomi train, arrive around midday, tour Tokyo, stay overnight there and use the Narita Express Train (NEX) to get to Narita for a 10.15 am flight home the following day.
Yes - it's a whirlwind, but it's the only time we have unfortunately. My questions:
1. Is there a ticket special offer which covers our total route Osaka - Narita. Kyoto to Narita trains total Yen16'500 per person..?
2. Can I buy a suitable train ticket from somewhere here in Switzerland in advance? It seems a bit confusing from my online research and we need to hit the ground running and not have to worry about ticket purchases when we are there.. We haven't booked through a travel agent as we are using Airline mileage and a cruise line direct booking to travel..
3. Any recommendations for a Tokyo hotel convenient for the Train station? We're looking at the Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi for Yen 58'000 which is hugelz expensive but just one night and very convenient (they'll meet and greet at train station)? (We have reserved the Nagomiyado TOWA ryokan in Kyoto).
4. Any must see activities for the places that we are going to? Or any comments to our itinerary?
Cheers very much ;-))
Alex

Alexc:
1) No. There might be a way to save a couple of hundred yen if you got a fare ticket from Osaka to Narita Airport because that trip is over 600 km (but even that might be restricted to one stopover and you would have two Kyoto and Tokyo).

2. No. Buying a train ticket when you get there is no big deal.

JTB does offer some packages with a one-way Nozomi shinkansen ticket and a night in a hotel that might be worthwhile.

3. You could use an airport limo bus to go directly from Tokyo hotels to Narita Airport. There are a couple of nice hotels near Tokyo station, so you could walk to the station and take the N'Ex.

Let me refine my answer to #1:

1. No.

Thanks mrwunrfl !
sound advice. Any ideas where I can get more info on the hotels around Tokyo Station?
Also we'd like to try the excellent Kobi beef - has anybody restaurant recommendations for Tokyo (or Kyoto) or should I just ask the concierge when we arrive?
Thanks again
Alex