gwendy87

Hi,

We are planning to go to Toyko at the end of June for a week. We would land on June 25th and then fly out July 3rd.

Would it be challenging to see Tokyo for 4 days, 1 day for DisneySea and then 2 days for Kyoto? Or should it be a 3-1-3 split? Or just skip Kyoto all together?

I'm just starting research. We like zoos, castles, want to see temples, shopping. I'm unsure if we need a day trip to see Mt. Fuji. We have an okay budget. About $1-1.5k USD for food and attractions.

Any advice would be helpful.

rachill_az

With just one week, I would choose Tokyo OR Kyoto, not both. (Unless you are able to change your flight to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka - then it might make sense to see both cities).

If you can't change your flight, and you are flying into and out of Tokyo, I would stay in Tokyo and add some day trips.

For example:

Day 1 (June 25): Arrive in Tokyo
Day 2: Full Day Tokyo - Tsukiji fish market, Imperial Palace, Asakusa and Sensoji Temple, Akihabara
Day 3: Full Day Tokyo - Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine, Garden, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo Tower
Day 4: DisneySea
Day 5: Day Trip to Kamakura
Day 6: Day trip to Nikko
Day 7: Hakone/Mt Fuji - Overnight in Ryokan
Day 8: Mt Fuji - train back to Tokyo
Day 9 (July 3): Leave Tokyo

Depending on what time you arrive in Tokyo and what time you leave, you would have more time to add some more things.

I suggested an overnight in Hakone because chances of see Mt Fuji are best in the early morning and late evening. Also, an overnight in a Ryokan would be a great experience.

Kathie

For me, Kyoto was the heart of our trip to Japan. While I wouldn't spend a week in Tokyo, I'd gladly spend a week in Kyoto.

gwendy87

We haven't booked our flights yet so we do have the option to fly to one and fly out of the other.

rachill_az

Good news - I would try to get a flight into Tokyo and out of Osaka. If you do that, you could something like this:

Day 1 (June 25): Arrive in Tokyo
Day 2: Full Day Tokyo - Tsukiji fish market, Imperial Palace, Asakusa and Sensoji Temple, Akihabara
Day 3: Full Day Tokyo - Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine, Garden, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo Tower
Day 4: DisneySea
Day 5: Early train to Kyoto - Kinkaku-ji Temple, Nijo Castle, Downtown Kyoto for shopping
Day 6: Full Day Kyoto - Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka (two preserved shopping streets), Maruyama-koen Park, Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Gion Area
Day 7: Full Day Kyoto - Arashiyama (bamboo forest and a bunch of temples!)
Day 8: Full Day Kyoto - Day trip to Nara (temples and deer petting)
Day 9 (July 3): Train to Osaka, Leave from Osaka

Let me give you a link to my trip reports for Tokyo and Kyoto. You might find the information useful in logistics planning and deciding your food and attractions!

Tokyo Trip Report: http://livelifeoutofoffice.com/2015/11/06/tokyo-japan/

Kyoto Trip Report: http://livelifeoutofoffice.com/2015/11/10/kyoto-japan/

kja

It really depends on YOUR interests, so none of us can answer your questions. I would STRONGLY encourage you to consult japan-guide.com -- a truly excellent online resource on traveling in Japan. (Just one minor complaint -- IME, it underestimates the amount of time it will take to visit places.)

If you want to try to fit both Tokyo and Kyoto into this same one-week visit, definitely fly open jaw (into one city, out of the other).

Beyond that, your call! (Like Kathie, I adored Kyoto and wish I'd had more than 6 full days in Kyoto and nearby Nara; I'm glad I saw Tokyo, and am glad I gave it only a couple of days. YMMV.)

CaliforniaLady

gwendy, it seems like you have eight hotel nights, is that correct? If so, I would spend five nights in Tokyo, and three nights in Kyoto. I am in the minority of posters here in that Kyoto is not a favorite Japanese city of mine. I think it's too big and crowded. You would then have two full days for sightseeing for Kyoto, but be sure and include some of the castles on the outskirts of town.

In Tokyo, I would schedule your days as follows:
Day trip to Mt. Fuji (we enjoyed it very much)
Boat trip to Odaiba (fun Toyota Museum and great shopping)
DisneySea
Day trip to Nikko, if time permits
Then I would fill in the rest of the time with all the other basic sites in Tokyo.

When you transfer between the two cities, do it either very early in the morning (my preference), or at the end of the day, so that you don't lose a day of sightseeing.

BigRuss

<< I am in the minority of posters here in that Kyoto is not a favorite Japanese city of mine. I think it's too big and crowded.>>

Good gosh, what would Tokyo be if Kyoto is too big and crowded?

You cannot see Kyoto and "include some of the castles on the outskirts of town" in two days, whatever those castles may be (there are a castle and a palace IN Kyoto and notable castles NEAR Kyoto but no worthwhile castles "on the outskirts" of Kyoto).

Cal-Lady's itinerary makes no sense. There is no way you can do a day trip to Mt. Fuji, a day on Odaiba, a day @ DisneySea, a day @ Nikko (which is worth the trip) and "fill in the rest of the time with all the other basic sites in Tokyo" in 5 days. That's not going to happen.

I also have no idea why you would go to Japan and use one of your limited days on the ground at a Disney property, especially a second-rate one.

CaliforniaLady

BigRuss, allow me please to clarify. Most people go to Kyoto specifically to see the temples, and I personally find the large city atmosphere and the crowds to be not as pleasant an experience as viewing temples in other cities in Japan. There are indeed temples all over Japan, and I have enjoyed viewing them more in less crowded cities. Regarding the castles, we spent a day visiting the castles just outside Kyoto, and enjoyed it very much.

Regarding Tokyo, I found it worthwhile to visit because it is a good base for day trips. We stayed five nights, and here is the itinerary we followed for the four and a half days:

day 1, arrive in the afternoon: Ginza shopping and dinner
day 2: visit sites within Tokyo
day 3: day trip to Mt. Fujii
day 4: day trip to Nikko
day 5: visit sites within Tokyo in the morning, then afternoon in Odaiba

The OP could substitute DisneySea for Nikko. Another alternative would be to eliminate Odaiba, and substitute Nikko. Most of the sites in Tokyo were destroyed in WWII, so we found the day trips more interesting than the city itself.

It was just a suggestion based on our experiences, but thanks for the challenge, BigRuss, it allowed me to explain my suggestions.

CaliforniaLady

Oops, I meant "Another alternative would be to eliminate Odaiba, and substitute DisneySea." Sorry.

mrwunrfl

>>About $1-1.5k USD for food and attractions.
Ok, so that $1500 budget excludes hotel and airfare. Does it also exclude transportation within Japan? Or will the cost of traveling to Kyoto, etc. come out of that $1500 budget?

>>We like zoos, castles, want to see temples, shopping

Castles: Himeji-jo is a World Heritage Site less than an hour southwest from Kyoto. Hikone-jo is a national treasure less than an hour north of Kyoto. By train. The castle in Kyoto, Nijo-jo, is a wonderful WHS though it is not a typical castle.

Temples: By "temples" do you specifically mean "Buddhist temples" or do you mean "temples and shrines"? Temple = Buddhist, shrine = Shinto. In Tokyo, visit Senso-ji (temple) and Meiji Jingu (shrine). Kamakura has many temples and the famous Daibutsu. Kyoto has it all. Nara, near Kyoto, has Todai-ji (temple).

I usually recommend a break between the big cities of Tokyo and Kyoto, and Fuji/Hakone is a good option, but am not sure you have the time.

BigRuss, what was it about your visit to DisneySea that makes you say it was second-rate? I haven't been there but think it might be fun simply because it is a Japanese Disney. If I was a Disney theme park fan then I would definitely go. I think Japanese baseball is second rate, but I've been to games at a half-dozen J-ball parks and loved it because I am a baseball fan - I go not for the quality of the game but for the Japanese experience.

mrwunrfl

>>loved it because I am a baseball fan
That's not quite what I wanted to say. You don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy a J-ball game.

rachill_az

<< I would spend five nights in Tokyo, and three nights in Kyoto. I am in the minority of posters here in that Kyoto is not a favorite Japanese city of mine.>>

I visited last November for the first time and I personally preferred Tokyo over Kyoto too. Before arriving I thought I'd like Kyoto better, but I wish I would have had at least one more day in Tokyo. Not that I didn't love Kyoto - both cities are must sees in my opinion. I would split my time evenly. It is possible that I liked Tokyo better since I visited there first and I was exposed to all my "first" Japan experiences in Tokyo.

I spent 4 nights and 3 days in Tokyo (with one of those days as a day trip to Kamakura) and felt like there was more to do/see/experience in Tokyo.

I spent 4 nights and 3 full days in Kyoto (with no day trips) and felt like I had seen everything I wanted to see in Kyoto.

BigRuss

<<Most people go to Kyoto specifically to see the temples, and I personally find the large city atmosphere and the crowds to be not as pleasant an experience as viewing temples in other cities in Japan.>>

Gross overgeneralization. Contrasted to Tokyo, Kyoto preserves the serenity of an "older" Japan within a large modern city.

I'm still trying to figure out what are the castles on the outskirts of Kyoto. Either I'm missing something or they don't exist.

Mrwunrfl: DisneySea has so few attractions for non-kids I wouldn't go. I didn't. Just to be clear. But looking at the website it has even less than the Tokyo Disney and the American Disneys ('land, World) and each of those caters more to hobbits. Disneys are theme parks not thrill parks (contra Six Flags or Cedar Point in Ohio). The OP was vague, but it seems the "we" refers to a couple, not a family group with halflings in tow. I've been to (at least part of) a J-ball game and it's more fun than a general American game that you have no rooting interest in because the Japanese crowds are like college football crowds with the cheering, singing, and brass bands, not American baseball crowds.

<u>To the OP</u>: What mrwunrfl is pointing to are actual castles/palaces in Kyoto (Nijo, the Imperial Palace) or easily reached from Kyoto. Himeji is the major one - it's still relatively intact (not blown to bits in WWII or destroyed in feudal times) and coming off some touch-up restoration work. It's only an hour from Kyoto if you take a shinkansen. If you take a slower train, you'll be riding a good bit. Hikone-jo is in the opposite direction from Himeji but far closer - it's only an hour away by slow train, less if you catch an express or a shinkansen and transfer for a local line.

You need to familiarize yourself with the Japanese rail system. Use www.hyperdia.com for timetable help.

CaliforniaLady

BigRuss, the castles we visited on the outskirts of Kyoto were: Katsura Imperial Villa, and Shugakuin Imperial Villa.

Regarding the merits of Kyoto, please allow others to express their opinions, and allow the OP to make her own decision. Some friendly debate can be fun, and can allow the OP to see different perspectives. Let's remember to keep it fun and light here.

Kavey

I too prefer Kyoto to Tokyo but enjoyed both. In autumn when we made both our previous visits, crowding was not huge with the exception of the little tourist-heavy areas of Gion and Higashiyama. This time, in peak sakura, it's more crowded but after a few hours we rediscovered our love for the city regardless.

To be honest, with such a short trip, the OP could easily spend the entirety in one or the other, Tokyo or Kyoto, make a few day trips, and have a cracking time.

I must admit, I wouldn't waste time on Disney with so little time in total and I do love Disney but that's just my preference.

Regarding the differences between temples and shrines, this may prove useful:http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/12/kyo...-ema-tree.html

mjs

Just a few comments. It will be quite warm in Japan at the end of June so be prepared. Disney Sea can be seen during the evening and you can get an evening pass for less than a full day cost and I think one evening would be fine.
You will not see Mt Fuji from Tokyo in June. Maybe from Hakone in the early morning or evening.

BigRuss

<<Regarding the merits of Kyoto, please allow others to express their opinions, and allow the OP to make her own decision>>

You have not been prevented from saying anything. The OP has not been prevented from making her own decision. Disagreement is discussion, not suppression. And telling people to "keep it fun and light here" is condescending - bad advice is bad advice. Suggesting a day at DisneySea (when you didn't even go) over a day in Kyoto qualifies when the OP has explicitly stated her desire to see castles and temples.

<u>To the OP:</u> Imperial villas are different from castles. Think: Japanese equivalent of ranch estate. If you want to visit any imperial villas, you need to follow the fairly strict guidelines for doing so. Access is limited. As always, japan-guide.com has details.

cmstraf

I would spend the week in Kyoto and Nara. Kyoto is amazingly beautiful but not easy and also has a lot of ugly post WWII buildings, so don't expect condensed elegance of Paris. But it's magic. We stayed in the very debated Westin, thought our room was overpriced....but I think we would go back for its location, where you can walk to Philosopher's Path and many temples.

We were jet lagged in Tokyo and in no shape to properly appreciate it. Loved Hakone. I also have voluminous trip reports on our 2008 journey.

From what I hear of June weather, I would use the word "hot" not "warm" but I live in SF Bay Area climate.

mjs

Change quite warm to hot for those from SF. Lots of perspiration plus it will be rainy season.