Hello all!
We are planning a last minute trip to Japan in 3 weeks and will like to hear all your suggestions.
We will be arriving June 4 (6 am) at Tokyo and will be returning the 11( late at night).
The only thing that we have so far is a reservation at the Renaissance Tokyo Hotel Ginza Tobu from the 4 to the 7. (We are using points from Marriott) We will like to go to Kyoto (Shinkansen) and stay one night at a nice Ryokan and maybe another one at a hotel. Will also like to see Nikko and Nara. Is it too much for such a short trip?? Only the two of us travelling. THANKS TO ALL!!!
D

Where are you arriving from when you get to Japan at 6 am on the 4th? How long will you have been on the plane, and do you sleep on planes? I am just trying to figure out if you are going to be burned toast on your first day or if you will be able to have a full day in Tokyo that day. I suppose in any case you could have at least a half to 2/3 of a day on the first day until you have to retreat to the hotel and crash in the evening.

And do you leve from Narita late the night of 6/11? If so--

Then 6/4, 6/5 and 6/6 in Tokyo; 6/6 to Nikko for day trip; 6/7 head to Kyoto early in a.m., have from noon on in Kyoto that day; 6/8 Kyoto; 6/9 Nara day trip; 6/10 Kyoto; 6/11 Kyoto, half day there and head back to Tokyo/Narita late in day for departure, or go to Tokyo early in day and spend good part of day there.

I think you can do it. Fast trip but just be rested when you get there. Only glich is that early arrival and potential for jet lag due to that.

That's an 8-day, 7-night trip. You could (reluctantly) drop Nikko.

With your itinerary (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara), you are at about the break-even point with a JR Pass vs buying tickets. You should get a 7-day Pass if you will use it for one of your airport transfers and/or to (economically) keep Nikko as an option.

You could spend 3 nights in Kyoto if you return from there to Narita Airport on the 11th.

i will guess that OP is on a redeye from Bangkok (or maybe SEA)

Have fun!
We stayed at the Renaissance, it's a really nice hotel (Ours was Marriott points also.)
Be sure to walk around at night, Ginza has lots of great neon.
If you're not too tired on the second day, go to the fish market first thing. It's a short walk from the hotel. Don't bother with a cab.
There are lots of big department stores in Ginza. We ate at restaurants there a couple of times. They have several in each store, and the prices are great.
There is a coffee shop a couple of doors down from the hotel, it's called Tully's and that was my morning fix.

If you need any more ideas of where to go, I'm sure emd, mrwrnfl etc. all have favorites.

Thanks a lot for all the info. We are flying out of Europe arriving at 6.30 after an 11 hour flight!!!! at Narita.
Emd...your itinerary sounds great.
Suggestions about hotels in Kyoto and a Ryokan. About the JR pass... Is that a pass that includes all kinds of transportation (shinkanse, airport and so on). I understand Narita is far from the city, right? I am sorry if I sound like I dont have a clue...but true is a dont. Have too many things going on at the same time right now! THanks fro the info on the Reinassance. THANKS TO ALL FOR EVERYTHING.

Narita is a 90 minute ride in.

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/e/index_route.htm

Check here to find the bus and times (you're looking for Ginza/Shiodome).
After that long flight, you'll want to take the limo bus into the city. This will drop you off at the Renaissance hotel.
It looks to me like you'll be right on time to catch the earliest bus.
If you miss that bus you'll probably need to take the train in, because it's 2 hours till the next bus.
It's 3000yen per person, and well worth the price.

For info on JR pass see:

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en003.html

You will want to get a 7 day pass as mrwunrfl said. You will purchase a voucher at one of the locations listed on the website. When you get to Narita, after you go thru customs and get your luggage, you can go to the Japan Rail office at the airport terminal (there are offices at both terminals) and exchange your voucher for a 7 day rail pass. If you are going to take the train from Kyoto to Narita on departure day, the 11th, then you will want to wait til 7 days before your departure to activate your pass (so that your return from Kyoto to Narita is covered. In that case, you will tell the Japan Rail person at the airport JR office that you want to activate your pass on June 5. If you activate it on June 5, then you can use it on June 5,6,7,8,9,10,and 11 til midnight the 11th. That means that you can't use your pass on your first day in Japan, 6/4. So you woudl definitely want to pay $30 to use the airport limo bus from Narita directly to your hotel on arrival day, the 4th.

Hotels in Kyoto: You have choices, although you are traveling in just a few wks and things get booked up in Kyoto so book promptly. If you want a ryokan for one night, I can't help you w/that. But for your other nights there are good hotels in Kyoto similar to the one you are staying at in Tokyo, w/western beds and Englsih speaking staff and concierge. I have stayed in the Westin Miyako and the Okura Hotels and both were good. Okura has a preferable location for night time activity IMO as it is right on the edge of downtown shopping and dining, but Westin is right smack btwn the Path of Philosophy walking tour along the canal and Higashiyama, an old and traditional section of the city w/many lovely temples and shrines and shopping in a small area (but everything there closes down at 6 pm). You can walk on to Gion for dinner from Higashiyama.

Some people on this site stay near the train station in Kyoto, esp. if they are in Kyoto for only a short time. Granvia Hotl is inside the train station and gets good reviews. New Miyako Hotel (not to be confused w/Westin Miyako) is across from the train station.

You shoudl look immediately at hotels for Kyoto as you will be there over a weekend and it gets booked. Rates may be high since you are booking so late. If so, there are other more moderately priced hotels that people on here recommend.

the JR ticket offices at Narita both open up at 6:30 a.m.

see:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html

I'd do this exchange of voucher for JR pass on arrival day. You'll certainly have time and it will save you from having to deal w/it in Tokyo on day 2 of the trip. You can use the JR pas to get around on the Yamonate loop JR train that goes all the way around Tokyo, use it to go from Tokyo to Nikko, Tokyo to Kyoto (but not on a Nozomi shinkansen, only on Hikari and Kodama- you'll want to use Hikari shinkanasen as they are fastest and don't stop as frequently as Kodama), use it to go from Kyoto to Nara, and Kyoto to Narita (on shinkansen from kyoto to Tokyo or Shinagawa stations, then get on the Nartia express JR train from either of those stations to the airport).

Good luck. You have some things to do very quickly.

Don't forget- you MUST get your JR voucher before you leave your country for Japan! You can't buy it in Japan.

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en005.html

Great info. I will check the hotels in KYOTO ASAP. Nor sure if we should folow the suggestion about staying near the train station. Is that a nice area to walk around...?? The othe two suggestions sounds wonderful!Thanks for the info on the JR pass, will go to buy them and willa ctivate them on the 5. Also about the transfer upon arrival, the limo bus is 30, what about the train. I imagine the taxi is a million!! We will be arriving at 6.50 am, so the JR booth will be open but will check the limo for times.... You are right we dont want to be there for two hours.
Anyone on suggestion on a RYOKAN? I have found a couple on this forum.
Again many thanks.
D

The bus is probably 3000 yen ($27). The JR train is 3150 or so. There is a Keisei train for 1000.

If you are coming back to Tokyo on the 10th then activate the pass on the 4th and use it to get into Tokyo. If you are coming back to Narita on the 11th, then activate it for the 5th.

The hotel at the train station is nice. There are lots of restaraunts and shops, shopping mall, right there.

Yes, one-way is 3000 yen. Looks like the schedule has buses to Renaissance THGT at 7:15, 8:15, 9:15, 10:45.

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/e/time...n/ginza_h.html

The first three Narita Express trains to Tokyo are at 7:42, 8:10, and 8:52.

Sorry, I guess I was reading the bus schedule wrong.
If there are busses every hour, then I would vote for the bus. Your hotel is not near enough Tokyo station to walk, and you'd have to navigate to find the correct subway. The bus is a little cheaper and drops you off right at your hotel.

Follow emd's advice - activate the passes for the next day. Is the office open that early?
We waited and exchanged ours at Uneo station, but I wish we'd just taken care of it right away.

You probably won't be able to exchange yen because you're getting in so early on a Sunday. I'd get some now. Does anyone else know the hours/days for currency exchange at the airport?

The two Narita JR offices both open at 6:30 a.m. I also think it is much more convenient to take care of exchanging the voucher right away at the airport JR office.

She can use the international ATMs at Narita (one in both terminals) to get yen if she has a PLUS or CIRRUS ATM card (look on back of card to find logos).

YOua are all great. I am surfing a couple of web sites to try to book teh ryokan in Kyoto and then the hotel. After that I guess we will be pretty much set with the basic logistics. The info on the pass, the hours and teh ATM's is great. Thanks. Will check the Gran Via hotel at the train station.
Any other tips???

Dianas:
We just recently stayed at the Granvia Hotel in Kyoto. You can read about it in my recent trip report. Just checked the hotel and they have some great rates in June. Real nice hotel and you can't beat the location and services offered at this hotel. Here is the hotel link:
https://www.granvia-kyoto.co.jp/e/index.html

and also a link to my recent trip report which includes some thoughts on Kyoto and the Hotel Granvia:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...waiiantraveler

Hope this helps!
Aloha!

I found having good maps very useful. I ordered mine from a map store.
We used the regular map along with the subway/bus/rail maps provided to find our way around. We were never lost.
I also bought 2 good guide books. Everyone has different interests, so I can't tell you what to see, I can only tell you what I liked.

I really enjoyed Nijo castle, and the Kyoto Museum of Crafts (free and downstairs from another museum in the same complex as the Heian Shrine). It was the most unique and interesting museum we saw, although the Edo Tokyo Museum was a rival.

emd thought Ginkakuji was not worth the trip, but it was my husbands favorite temple. He just loved the grounds. I also loved Kiyomizo - it's one of the places I'd seen pictures of.

I brought one guide book with us (my son carried a backpack which came very handy) and we carried that and our maps with us every day.

I do suggest a back pack as there is almost nowhere to throw garbage away. It's kind of amazing since there is no garbage on the ground. We just tucked any garbage away and got rid of it when we got back to the hotel.

Thanks Aloha! I will check taht website and will check your report to see if you have any suggestions on Ryona in Kyoto. Thanks.
D

I just spoke with teh Gran Via hotel teh rate per night is 34,650 incl taxes. Is that the rate I should pay????
I have to wait alittel bit until I can talk to somebody in english at teh Yoshi-ima Ryokan.
Now, If we are going to visit Nara and Nikko do we do them as day trips from Kyoto, right?? Iwill keep on checking the other hotels....