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Questions re: Kyoto and Hiroshima

Questions re: Kyoto and Hiroshima

Old Mar 30, 2005, 7:17 am
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Questions re: Kyoto and Hiroshima

I have 3 days to spend outside of Tokyo and was thinking of Kyoto and Hiroshima. My first question - is seeing Hiroshima a "day trip" from Kyoto (eg could I keep my hotel in Kyoto and just take the train for a day trip to see the sights in Hiroshima or is it better to stay overnight in Hiroshima)? Can anyone recommend a nice Ryokan in Kyoto? I would prefer to spend no more than $200/pp per night. The most important things to me are safe location, cleanliness, someone that speaks English at the property, and decent food. I know there are several "upscale" Ryokans - but I just can't bring myself to spend $600-$900 per night. I was thinking of doing the Ryokan for 1 night and the other nights at a hotel......possibly the Westin Miyako. Any opinions?
Last of all, where would I get a JR pass? I'm in CT (USA).

Thanks in advance!!!!
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Old Mar 30, 2005, 7:28 am
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Originally Posted by nparker99
I have 3 days to spend outside of Tokyo and was thinking of Kyoto and Hiroshima. My first question - is seeing Hiroshima a "day trip" from Kyoto (eg could I keep my hotel in Kyoto and just take the train for a day trip to see the sights in Hiroshima or is it better to stay overnight in Hiroshima)?

Last of all, where would I get a JR pass? I'm in CT (USA).
yes Hiroshima can be a day trip. Atrip report on Hiroshima and JR pass here: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=300328
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Old Mar 30, 2005, 7:55 am
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Thank you Sweet Willie!

Anyone have any thoughts on the Ryokan or Westin Miyako?
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Old Mar 30, 2005, 8:12 am
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Originally Posted by nparker99
Anyone have any thoughts on the Ryokan or Westin Miyako?
There is a thread on the Westin Miyako in the Starwood forum.

I will try to bump it up for you.
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Old Mar 30, 2005, 10:07 am
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Originally Posted by Sweet Willie
yes Hiroshima can be a day trip. Atrip report on Hiroshima and JR pass here: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=300328
Yes, it can, but it's going to be a pretty long day. Spend the night in nearby Miyajima instead, it's far more pleasant. (The famous shrine there got hit by a typhoon pretty hard last year, but it should be repaired now.)
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Old Mar 30, 2005, 2:22 pm
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Thanks mario33 and jpatokal.

Any recommendations for an overnight in Miyajima?
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Old Mar 30, 2005, 10:12 pm
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We did it as a day trip from Osaka and didn't think it was that tiring. Kyoto is only 15 minutes further by shinkansen.
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Old Mar 31, 2005, 8:09 pm
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Originally Posted by nparker99
Any recommendations for an overnight in Miyajima?
Depends on your budget. Mori-no-Yado is OK for less than Y10k/head, but you might want to consider splurging twice that for Iwaso.

See also: http://wikitravel.org/en/Miyajima
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Old Apr 1, 2005, 5:45 am
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For that itinerary, there is a great package deal

If you want to see both Kyoto and Hiroshima, I'd highly recommend sone of the packages that JTB has. The self guided tours, which include transportation and hotel are very good deals. This one sounds like it would probably be just right for you.

http://act.jtb.co.jp/itdt/scripts/su...gp=Y&t_no=C260

Includes bullet train tickets for Tokyo-Kyoto, Kyoto-Hiroshima, and Hiroshima-Tokyo as well as one night hotel in Kyoto and one night in Hiroshima.

I had some friends over to visit me in February and we booked this package and went down to both Kyoto and Hiroshima with them. It worked out pretty well, we got to see plenty in both Kyoto and Hiroshima.

Editing this to add:

One thing I forgot to mention, was that for this particular tour, the web form to book it doesn't work right for Tokyo departures - it only lists Nagoya as a departure option - they haven't fixed this on their website. As a result, I had to book the tour by phone. It appear that JTB has a fair number of offices in the US that you could book it, so you wouldn't need to make a call to Japan to book it.

http://www.jtb.co.jp/sunrisetour/

Last edited by SEA-Flyer; Apr 1, 2005 at 5:52 am
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Old Apr 1, 2005, 7:44 pm
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Help with Ryokan in Kyoto

Unfortunately I can't do the guided tours.....already purchased my 7 day japanrail pass (yesterday). Now my husband thinks it's better if we just stay in Kyoto (instead of schlepping our luggage to Hiroshima/Miyajama). We've decided to stay 2 nights at the Westin (using *wood points) and 1 night at a Ryokan. Hiiragiya wanted 27,000Y/pp for a very small room without private bath and 55,000Y/pp for a room with a private bath. As nice as this place looks, I just can't justify spending over $1,000 a night for "the experience". Call me crazy. Are there any nice Ryokans (doesn't have to be luxurious....just clean and nice) in the $400 or less a night ($200/pp) category in Kyoto? I've seen people mention the Three Sisters but have no idea what the price is or how to contact them via email).
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Old Apr 1, 2005, 7:56 pm
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Originally Posted by nparker99
Are there any nice Ryokans (doesn't have to be luxurious....just clean and nice) in the $400 or less a night ($200/pp) category in Kyoto? I've seen people mention the Three Sisters but have no idea what the price is or how to contact them via email).
Three Sisters, at least when I stayed there a few years ago, was in the super-cheap category (less than $100/pp) and more like a glorified youth hostel than a ryokan. Not that there's anything wrong with that... but I suspect it isn't really what you're looking for. (We were booking a last minute trip down from Tokyo over a three day weekend in the fall, when the maple trees are changing color, and it was one of the few places with availability given that they don't take Japanese guests, unless they're with foreigners.)
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Old Apr 1, 2005, 8:03 pm
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Originally Posted by nparker99
Unfortunately I can't do the guided tours.....already purchased my 7 day japanrail pass (yesterday). Now my husband thinks it's better if we just stay in Kyoto (instead of schlepping our luggage to Hiroshima/Miyajama). We've decided to stay 2 nights at the Westin (using *wood points) and 1 night at a Ryokan. Hiiragiya wanted 27,000Y/pp for a very small room without private bath and 55,000Y/pp for a room with a private bath. As nice as this place looks, I just can't justify spending over $1,000 a night for "the experience". Call me crazy. Are there any nice Ryokans (doesn't have to be luxurious....just clean and nice) in the $400 or less a night ($200/pp) category in Kyoto? I've seen people mention the Three Sisters but have no idea what the price is or how to contact them via email).
If you are mainly interested in the bathing and dining aspects in a Ryokan, you might want to try the Kurama Onsen mini-"Resort". It's located on a mountainside just north of Kyoto proper and accessible through the Eizan mountain railway line. The train ride itself is quite enjoyable and the Onsen can organize a van to pick you up from Kurama station.

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kyoto/kurama.htm

When I lived in Kyoto I normally took guests there for a day tour. We'd start by hiking to the mountaintop Kurama Temple ( Kurama-Dera ) and enjoy the tranquility and scenery up there before either taking the cable car or walking back to Kurama village. Then buy some rice wine from the village shop and enter the outdoor ( same-sex ) baths, have a little Sake, read, dream and relax. After the bath the "resort" offers a wide choice of local fine ( or simple ) dining. Actually we'd normally take the train back to Kyoto to go my friends steak eatery, but the food at Kurama Onsen is really quite good if one desires the Kaiseki typically offered at a Ryokan.
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