My boyfriend and I will be in Tokyo Aug 2 (arriving from NYC at 1:45pm) until the morning of Saturday Aug 8 (when we fly to Seoul). I have almost everything planned but have a couple remaining questions...

-The friend we are visiting suggested she could book us a tour for a day trip via bullet train to Kyoto. Another friend of hers did this when she visited and loved it. Considering the short time we have in Tokyo (and the fact we will be arriving from NYC), and that we plan/hope to spend a solid half day in Kamakura, are we best leaving Kyoto for another trip?

-How early do you need to arrive at the Kabuki-za theater to ensure you get tickets for a single act? I see on the website that, for June for example, tickets for the third act of the evening show go on sale at 7pm and the act starts at 7:19pm. What time would you advise one arrive for this? What are the chances you would NOT get tickets? Are shows every day of the week?

-We would really like to experience sumo wrestling while in Japan. I understand that there will be no tournaments during this time, but I read something about being able to watch practices. Can anyone give me more information on how to do this, how to set it up, if we need to make arrangements ahead of time, etc. The more specific information the better! (sports recommendations also welcome for Thailand -- kickboxing matches perhaps?)

-How much time would you budget to spend in Odaiba? (no including visits to museums -- unless highly recommended -- we're not big museum people)

I searched and saw that you have a very busy itinerary for your complete Asian trip. So imo I would not do Kyoto as a day trip - save that for another time - it definitely needs more than one day. I would do Kamakura which actually can take a full day if you visit a number of the temples and shrines.

I went to an afternoon one-act at Kabuki-za and got there in time to wait for standing room only which was okay for a 45 minute act. There were already people on line for the next one act so I would guess you need to be there a good one hour or more in advance but really don't know for sure.

Don't know anything about sumo or Odaiba...

Enjoy your Asian trip!

I too would omit Kyoto, and leave it for another trip.

In Odaiba, it really depends on what you'd like to see, a half day should be ample, if you want to see the Fuji Building (including a visit to the observation deck if the weather permits), Tokyo Big Sight, etc.

Allow more time if you want to shop, at Decks, Little HK, Venus.

It is best to visit during the week, Odaiba can be quite crowded over the weekends.

Sorry, I can't help with the other questions.

Sumo tournaments are held during odd-numbered months only: January, March, May, July, September, November. Tokyo has tournaments in January, May and September. March, July and November are in three other cities (I don't know what order, two of the cities are Osaka and Fukuoka). I think someone else posted asking about sumo and a responder discussed the sumo stables. Look for that thread.

For Kabuki-za, I'd advise going at six o'clock to line up for the single act tickets. That's when we went. By all means do it! It's an experience you'll really enjoy.

1/2 day in Odaiba is about right.

Nagoya is the other city that the sumo basho is held in. See here for sumo information and about visiting a sumo stable:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2080.html

http://hisexperience.jp/culturalactivities/sumo.html

http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.html

Aloha!