Based on what I've read here & elsewhere, here are my current plans. I'd love any ideas you've got.

Some specific extra questions:

1. I'm suddenly having knee problems for the first time ever . . . would welcome suggestions on ways to spend my time if I need to curtail walking.

2. Rainy day ideas. What would you do if it rained? Are there some of these walks that you'd do anyway? For Tokyo, I've thougt of the Edo Tokyo Museum & Takashimaya Times Square as places to go if it's really wet. For Kyoto, I know there are some covered shopping streets (e.g., Nishiki-Koji Dori). Other ideas, esp. Kyoto?

3. Gifts. I'm going to be working collegially with some folks I haven't met yet, and plan to take some small gifts. Is red tissue paper, or green tissue paper, ok for wrapping?

Itinerary:

Wed 7/16 - morning of Tu 7/22: Convention at Makuhari Messe in Chiba (east coast of Tokyo Bay).
Time permitting: dinner one night in Roppongi. In unlikely event of more free time, explore Akihabara or Ginza or Harajuku.

Tu 7/22: Take JR Keiyo line in from Chiba. Hotel is Cerulean Tower just south of Shibuya station.
QUESTION: This being the day after a national holiday (Marine Day), will the trains be jammed?
Afternoon: Harajuku/Omotesando
Late afternoon/evening: Shibuya (Tokyu Hands!)

Wed 7/23:
* Ginza line to Asakusa, including walk over to Kappabashi-dori and down to Tawaramachi station.
* Ginza line to Suehirocho station, to walk down Chuo Dori to see Akihabara. QUESTION: any shops, etc., not to miss? I'm sightseeing, not shopping.
* JR Yamanote line to Ginza.
QUESTION: if you had to pick one or two department stores to wander, which one(s)?

Th 7/24: Midmorning Shinkansen to Kyoto. QUESTION: I'll buy my ticket while I'm in Chiba; leaving from Shinagawa is easier than Tokyo Station, right?
Hotel in Kyoto is Kyoto Hotel Okura, in central Tokyo at Kawaramachi-dori and Oike-dori, at Kyoto Shiyakuho-mae station on Tozai subway line.
Afternoon: Nijo Castle.
Evening: Pontocho/Gion.

Fri 7/25: Northern part of eastern Kyoto, working north (Ginkaku-ji) to south down the Philospher's Path, and ending up at Kyoto Handicraft Center. (Following Fodor's suggestions)
Evening: Gion.

Sat 7/26: Southern part of eastern Kyoto, working south (Sanjusangendo, then Kiyomizu-dera) to north, and ending up at Kyoto Craft Center. (Again, Fodor's idea.)
Possibly shopping in central Tokyo.
Evening: Gion.

QUESTIONS on Kyoto: My plans would omit Nanzen-ji, Chion, and some other surely lovely sights in the middle part of eastern Kyoto. Bad idea? Also, does going N to S down the Philsopher's path, and S to N in the southern area make sense? (I thought it might avoid the worst crowding at Ginkaku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera.)

Sun 7/27: 4pm flight from KIX. QUESTION: JR Haruka express takes about 1:20 min; what time would you leave? Am I safe to wait to buy my ticket until I get to Kyoto?

Generally, I'm planning to use hotel-to-hotel luggage delivery service as much as possible -- likely Chiba to Tokyo and Tokyo to Kyoto.

Thanks for any ideas -- beyond those you've already given me!

Whoops, I meant Frommer's ideas for Kyoto walks, not Fodor's. I've also printed off the Kyoto walks from the JNTO website, and I have a Lonely Planet guidebook.

Hi, tahl -

> would welcome suggestions on ways to spend my time if I need to curtail walking

Sit in a lovely temple or shrine or garden - they deserve to be savored!


> What would you do if it rained?

Sit in, or walk through, a lovely temple or shrine or garden! (Do bring an umbrella or rain jacket.)

Also, there are some other worthy museums in Tokyo, including the Tokyo National Museum, the Bridgestone Museum of Art, the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, and others.


> does going N to S down the Philsopher's path, and S to N in the southern area make sense? (I thought it might avoid the worst crowding at Ginkaku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera.)

I'm not sure when these temples are most crowded. I chose to do the Philospher's path from north to south because I wanted to end up near Gion at the end of the day I spent there, and that worked for me. I also chose to do the southern part of Higashiyama from north to south because Kiyomizudera is (or at least was) open much later than most of the temples in that area. But that plan didn't work well for seeing Sanjusangendo, which I visited on a different day.

Hope that helps!

Hi again, tahl -

I just realized that I may have given some bad advice: If your knees are bothering you (and I sincerely hope they don't!), then it might be difficult for you to sit in some temples. I'm pretty sure I saw benches in Maruyama Koen in Kyoto, and at least when I was there, there was a restaurant or teahouse with chairs that overlooked that park. In Tokyo, you could take the boat ride along the Sumida River or go to Odaiba and sit with a view of the river, Rainbow Bridge, and Tokyo skyline.

Again, hope that helps. . . .

About the shinkansen ticket question. I would buy a ticket from origin to Kyoto and take the routing that JR came up with, considering that you are sending your luggage ahead. That is if it went thru Tokyo station I'd go that way. My choice would be based on schedule.

Turns out that, according to hyperdia dot com, that if you depart from Shibuya the best routing IS thru Shinagawa.

If it was raining then I would hope to find a baseball game going on in Tokyo Dome.

If it rains buy an umbrella and keep going....it is a good time to do the indoor things you have planned.

In Kyoto besides the shopping doris you can take the subway to Kyoto station and spend some time there. Or if you are touring a temple when it starts to rain they usually have a little restaurant somewhere on the grounds where you can have some hot tea and sweets while you watch the rain come down.

If you do buy an umbrella buy the bigger size. They usually sell 50-60 or 70 cm ones. Don't buy the 50 unless you are a very small person. Spend to extra yen for the 60 or preferably 70cm ones. You won't be sorry.

In Tokyo when it rains besides the museums, I like the Tokyo and Shinjuku train stations' underground areas with lots of shopping and food.

Ginza is always nice, just stay in the underground subway till you see your store exits and surface there.

Wrap the gift in red tissue.

I don't like the Akihabara area but thats just me

Two Ginza stores not to miss imho
Mitsukoshi and Matsuya.....don't forget to check out the basement food floors of these two stores!

I would leave Kyoto at a time that would get me to KIX by 13:30 or NLT 14:00 departure day if my flight were at 16:00. Enjoy!

Aloha!

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