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Tokyo & Kyoto in September

  • 26-07-2016 7:49pm
    #1
    Hazys
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,510 ✭✭✭


    Hi All,

    I'm travelling to Asia for 2 weeks, 1 week in China and Japan for 6 nights/5 days in September. My wife is Chinese so we have the China trip all sorted at the moment. Japan not so much, i know very little about Japan other than i really wanted to go there, so i'm looking for some help.

    The rough plan at the moment is:
    • Thursday - Fly into Tokyo (NRT) at 5pm
    • Friday - Tokyo Sightseeing
    • Saturday - Tokyo Sightseeing
    • Sunday - Train to Kyoto
    • Monday - Kyoto Sightseeing
    • Tuesday - Train to Tokyo
    • Wednesday - Fly out of Tokyo (NRT) at 6pm

    Some basic questions I hope you can answer:
    1. Where would you recommend as best area(s) to stay in Tokyo?
    2. Considering our time constraints are we splitting our time well between Tokyo and Kyoto?
    3. I presume the train from Tokyo to Kyoto is as simple as just booking it?
    4. Where would you recommend as best area(s) to stay in Kyoto?

    Thanks in advance!


Comments

  • #2
    Atavan-Halen
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 15,183 Mod ✭✭✭✭Atavan-Halen


    For some sightseeing in Tokyo on a limited time budget I'd probably say staying around asakusa might be a good bet. It's beside subway lines if you want to go out a bit further and there's enough to to see and do around there to fill a day or two. If you're travelling to Kyoto remember it's a 3 hour trip on the Shinkansen from Tokyo so allow for that time. You might be better off getting a rail pas instead of just a ticket.

    http://www.insidekyoto.com/japan-rail-pass-is-it-worth-it

    As for staying in Kyoto, when I was there I stayed in hotel urban Kyoto. It's a bit out from the city centre ( although only 15 mins on a train) but within walking distance to the fushimi Inari shrine which you could do in the morning and then go into the city in the evening.


  • #3
    shindig-jp
    Registered Users Posts: 386 ✭✭shindig-jp


    The best area in Tokyo would be next or as near as to the Shinkansen Station as you are traveling on to Kyoto. The 2 shinkansen terminals in Tokyo are at "Tokyo" and "Shinagawa" stations.


    The regular one way fare from Tokyo to Kyoto is 13,080 yen by non-reserved seat on any train, around 13,500 yen by reserved seat on Hikari or Kodama trains and around 14,000 yen by reserved seat on a Nozomi train. A 7-day Japan Rail Pass costs about the same as regular round trip tickets.


    I don't know the best area to stay in Kyoto but as you are spending about the same time in both cities I would plumb for staying near your landing station there to make the return to NRT as smooth


  • #4
    Hazys
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,510 ✭✭✭Hazys


    Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

    It looks like the 7 day pass although expensive is the best option, as it supposedly provides transport from Narita to Tokyo too.

    For arriving into Narita on the Thursday, i'm thinking of staying in Shinjuku close to what appears to be the main train station. Do you guys know if the 7 day pass provides transport directly from Narita to Shinjuku or does it drop us in Central Tokyo and we have to get subway/cab to Shinjuku? This image says that there is a Narita Express Train to Shinjuku, i'm wondering if that is covered by the 7 day pass:

    where-to-stay-in-tokyo-first-time1.jpg

    Then for getting the train to Kyoto, i presume i'll have to get the subway to the Tokyo Shinkansen Station as the train doesn't stop in Shinjuku. Is it far from Shinjuku? Also can you book a certain time on the train or do you just turn up with the pass and hope there are seats free? We're traveling to Kyoto on Sunday so i presume thats a busy day to travel.

    For Kyoto, it seems relatively small and i booked a hotel 10 mins drive north of the train station.

    On the way back from Kyoto for the last night, like you said I think its a good idea to stay in Central/East Tokyo so we can get easy transport back to the Narita airport. What would be the best area in-between where the Kyoto train drops us off and transport to Narita?


    Sorry there are bunch of questions in between those paragraphs.


  • #5
    Konata
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    Shinjuku is a great place to stay and would've been my recommendation. I lived in the area as well as stayed there as a tourist and the convenience is hard to beat. Shinjuku St is mental but it's one of the best hubs in Tokyo for getting to most tourist destinations.

    The Narita Express will go all the way to Shinjuku and is covered by your rail pass. Takes about 90 mins from memory.

    Yes, you need to get to Tokyo St. to get the shinkansen. Use the Chuo Rapid Line (the reddish one; the yellow is the Chuo local line) from Shinjuku St - takes just under 15 mins to Tokyo St. It's also covered by the rail pass since it's a JR line. Since you'll have a valid pass the whole time you're in Tokyo try and stick to the JR lines as then you won't be paying again for transport. Some destinations are only reachable using private lines though such as Asakusa for Sensoji and the Sky Tree.

    Yes, you can just turn up and get on the shinkansen if you want. If you're doing that you can only sit in the unreserved carriages - these will be marked on the platform. It's free to make a reservation with your JR pass though if you're dead set on a particular time train or worried about not having a seat. You can make the reservations when you're exchanging your pass or later at any JR counter - the ones in the airport, Shinjuku St and Tokyo St will have English speakers.

    The absolute best area to stay between Kyoto and Narita would be around Tokyo ST since that's where the shinkansen will leave you and the Narita Express also departs from there. It's a pricey area though so mightn't be suitable dependent on your budget.


  • #6
    Atavan-Halen
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 15,183 Mod ✭✭✭✭Atavan-Halen


    If you're looking at shinjiku I stayed in the new city hotel. Japanese size rooms (small!) but clean and they have a free shuttle bus to the station.

    http://www.newcityhotel.co.jp/en/


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  • #7
    Hazys
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,510 ✭✭✭Hazys


    Great thanks. I booked a hotel a 5 min walk from Tokyo Station so I think logistics wise I'm all sorted for the trip...so now I can just look up some cool stuff that we may want to do.


  • #8
    Prenderb
    Registered Users Posts: 1,560 ✭✭✭Prenderb


    I sound like a fly in the ointment, but on a 6 night or 5 day itinerary, I wonder would you be as well to "do" either Kyoto or Tokyo more thoroughly on its own? Tokyo is not a city you'll see in 2 days... if you could stretch a day or two extra onto your itinerary it would be awesome.

    Other than that, I'd agree Asakusa and Shinjuku are both pretty handy places to stay. The metro around Tokyo makes most places easy to visit.

    Kyoto is a wonderful city. We stayed in the Hearton Hotel and found it to be good value and a fairly good location (IIRC it's 2 metro stops up from train station in Kyoto).

    Railpass is expensive but will cover most JR routes for you, for around the same price as the return Shinkansen to Kyoto. I would recommend a reservation for tickets, given you're trying to maximise your time in both cities.

    BUT it won't cover N'ex (Narita express), at least on your arrival, because it's complicated. You buy a voucher for the railpass, then you have to bring the voucher to one of the major JR stations to exchange it for the actual railpass. AFAIK you can't do this at Narita - at least you couldn't when we travelled there a couple of years ago. It took about an hour of queuing and processing for us to get the pass exchanged in a central Tokyo station.

    This website explains it: http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/

    Look into Railpass now! There's a local agent for the voucher at http://www.awlt.com/ireland/jrpass/jr_pass.php


  • #9
    Hazys
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,510 ✭✭✭Hazys


    Atavan-Halen wrote: »
    If you're looking at shinjiku I stayed in the new city hotel. Japanese size rooms (small!) but clean and they have a free shuttle bus to the station.

    http://www.newcityhotel.co.jp/en/

    We already booked our hotels as my wife needed to have her itinerary filed out when applying for her Tourist visa but all the hotels we booked are cancel-able. So we are going to take a deeper look at hotels at the weekend in case we want to up/downgrade, so i'll check that link out.

    We are booked into the Granbell Hotel in Shinjiku. We are booked into a 161 square foot room, i'm presuming that is typical in Tokyo or is there better value out there?


  • #10
    Hazys
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,510 ✭✭✭Hazys


    Prenderb wrote: »
    I sound like a fly in the ointment, but on a 6 night or 5 day itinerary, I wonder would you be as well to "do" either Kyoto or Tokyo more thoroughly on its own? Tokyo is not a city you'll see in 2 days... if you could stretch a day or two extra onto your itinerary it would be awesome.

    Other than that, I'd agree Asakusa and Shinjuku are both pretty handy places to stay. The metro around Tokyo makes most places easy to visit.

    Kyoto is a wonderful city. We stayed in the Hearton Hotel and found it to be good value and a fairly good location (IIRC it's 2 metro stops up from train station in Kyoto).

    Railpass is expensive but will cover most JR routes for you, for around the same price as the return Shinkansen to Kyoto. I would recommend a reservation for tickets, given you're trying to maximise your time in both cities.

    BUT it won't cover N'ex (Narita express), at least on your arrival, because it's complicated. You buy a voucher for the railpass, then you have to bring the voucher to one of the major JR stations to exchange it for the actual railpass. AFAIK you can't do this at Narita - at least you couldn't when we travelled there a couple of years ago. It took about an hour of queuing and processing for us to get the pass exchanged in a central Tokyo station.

    This website explains it: http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/

    Look into Railpass now! There's a local agent for the voucher at http://www.awlt.com/ireland/jrpass/jr_pass.php

    Yeah that's a little worry alright because its a 2 week trip visiting 4 cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Kyoto so there will be a lot of travelling in between these 2 weeks (not to mention the jet lag). We're flying Boston to Beijing, train to Shanghai, fly to Tokyo, Train to Kyoto, Train to Tokyo, fly to Beijing, Fly back to Boston :pac:

    So we're trying to minimize the amount of inefficiency in the travelling, by have it planned out as much as we can beforehand.

    In terms of being a tourist, I'm not as bothered about seeing the tourist sights than I am having a good time in a new place while experiencing a different culture so timewise it think its a decent amount of time in each place but i agree the travelling might take a toll. Kyoto is the only place that we could skip.

    The only things i really want to do are the Great Wall and the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku lol, everything else i'll take it as it comes.


  • #11
    Konata
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    You can get your rail pass at Narita as long as you land during the ticket office opening hours of course.


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  • #12
    carlo5
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭carlo5


    Hazys wrote: »
    Hi All,

    The rough plan at the moment is:
    • Thursday - Fly into Tokyo (NRT) at 5pm
    • Friday - Tokyo Sightseeing
    • Saturday - Tokyo Sightseeing
    • Sunday - Train to Kyoto
    • Monday - Kyoto Sightseeing
    • Tuesday - Train to Tokyo
    • Wednesday - Fly out of Tokyo (NRT) at 6pm

    Actually Tokyo to Kyoto takes only 3 hours by bullet train, so you might do more sightseeing and activities than you think.

    These might help you:

    http://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-3-day-itinerary/
    https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/3-days-tokyo-itinerary
    https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/7-days-japan-itinerary


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