izzofan

Only have 3 days in Japan as layover from Oct 23-26

I know it is quite short, but we'd like to see both briefly to get a "taste".
If we arrive from Beijing at 13:00 on Oct 23 and stay in Tokyo until Oct 25; then train to Kyoto early for a day/night and catch train directly to Narita for 15:20 flight to US, is this possible or too much??

If too much, are there areas in Tokyo that have "old" Japan feeling?

thanks for the help!

hawaiiantraveler

Most of old Tokyo was bombed away in WWII. There are places like the Imperial Palace but you can't get in to see anything. There are also places like Shinjuku Gyoen Park which dates back to the 18th century but to get a real flavor of old Japan in Tokyo I would take a short train ride to Kamakura for a day

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3115.html

Aloha!

mjs

I think this is a good way to get a bad taste of Japan by running around and seeing things but experiencing nothing. If you arrive in Narita at 1300 you will likely get to your Tokyo hotel around 1700 so you will only have a day in Tokyo. Although the train to Kyoto is quite fast it will still probably cost you at least 4 hours of your time. If you have a 1520 flight from Narita you will probably want to be at the airport at around 1300 which means you will probably have to leave Kyoto around 0800 to 0900. So you have less than a day in Kyoto. The Japanese transportation system is second to none for punctuality but there can be delays for a variety of reasons and if you have a nonrefundable fare you could miss your flight if all does not go according to plan on your last day. Could be a very expensive mistake.
The above trip is possible but not one I would do.
Stay in Tokyo. Perhaps you might want to do a day trip to Kamakura.

gard

Hi

I think I would have focused on just one of the places. Sure, you can get a taste of both but it will only cause stress in my opinion. Here is a Tokyo trip report that I made after a visit in 2005: http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm . Maybe you can find some useful info there. Get in touch if you have any questions

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

kja

Hi, izzofan -

I think the idea of visiting Kamakura from Tokyo (instead of Kyoto) makes a lot of sense. Also, while in Tokyo, you might consider visiting the Asakusa area:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3004.html

Hope that helps!