mojo2121

Unfortunately I just don't know if it will work out with our travel plans to stay the night. If not, is it possible to still catch a dinner somewhere before the train back - or maybe a nice lunch?

Also, can anyone recommend a hotel with a very good location to the "major" sites since it looks like we will only have one day and want to best maximize it?

evergrn

Well, if you're going to be arriving late at night after a long travel... and you're presumably going to check out and hand in your bags to the front desk the next morning before heading out for a day of exploring the city, then I think it makes sense to just stay right near Kyoto Station. That way, you'll be able to check in and crash as soon as you arrive in Kyoto, and then you'll be able to retrieve the bags at the end of the following day and step into the train shortly thereafter. The best option would be Kyoto Grand Via Hotel, which is right at the station and is actually a very nice hotel imo. Kyoto Station is not really close to the main attractions but, for your situation, I think it makes sense to stay right near there.

I will just say that, the more I think about it, the more it makes more sense for you to just spend all the nights in Tokyo and then do a daytrip to Kyoto if you really want to squeeze in Kyoto. Why deal with having to worry about catching the train on time after a long flight, checking in and out of different hotels, having to tow your stuff along on shinkansen, only to have essentially the same amount of sightseeing time in Kyoto as if you were doing a day-trip out of Tokyo?

abmj-jr

Granvia Hotel.

desi

Both Tokyo and Kyoto have plenty to offer and you have to use your own interest/aptitude filter to pick what you want to do in the time you have

.

My 2 cents:

1) for the trip you have, you may want to skip JR pass and buy NEX deal + discount Nazomi tickets from japanican

2) 20-25 min saving (EACH WAY) is not the only advantage of Nazomi over Hikari. The fact that there is always another Nazomi in next 10-12 minutes mean that you do not have to worry about precise timing (I found this to be of great advantage)

3) Strongly agree with suggestion to spend night at station hotel when time is short or simply make it a long daytrip and skip movng luggage altogether.

4) Avoid Tokyo or Shinjuku stations as they are too big and confusing for the first timers. Shinagawa is lot easier.


Both Kyoto and Tokyo have plenty to offer. If there is a possibility of future trip then some may prefer to defer trip to kyoto. If there is no forseeable possibility of future trip then I would strongly recommend squeezing in 1 or 1.5 days visiting kyoto. Plenty of guidebooks to help you pick places/activities at each city given your time constraints.

It was nice to see you getting so much of useful advice/suggestions from so many different posters without getting flamed by certain regulars who frown upon short trips to tokyo/kyoto combo.

Have a good trip and please do share your experience.

desi

Offer that included hotel night was for Hikari (with upgrade to Nazomi possible) but main issue was that they would assign you a specific train based on your chouice of early or late morning departure.

The deal described in the link is totally OPEN Nazomi eligible ticket and includes day pass in kyoto.

evergrn

You are right again, sir.^

LapLap

That part is still not clear to me, particularly as we were shown the following message:

"Thank you for contacting us. The E-voucher can be exchanged for train ticket at any time of train (Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama) as long as it operates at your desired time."

I would be grateful if you can point me to something/anything that would confirm that this deal is for a totally open ticket.

mojo2121

Good advice, I have been thinking about this myself. For reference, my day of travel won't be that long as I am arriving from Seoul on that Saturday. I guess it probably would be the same net sightseeing time - since I would get into Kyoto late at night. What is the earliest I could plan to arrive in Kyoto the next morning (Sunday)?

I noticed through Amex FHR there is a deal on the Shangri-la hotel where you get a free night if staying four nights. I am currently booked at the Conrad in an executive level room (and have HH Gold status), but maybe this option would work out better? Besides obviously being right by the trains above Tokyo station, is it's location better overall?

mojo2121

Yea, the Mrs wants to ride a "bullet train" anyways so the Nazomi would probably be ideal. Does a JR pass help with travel around Tokyo as well, or is that a seperate ticket?

It is great to get such useful advice. I totally understand it is more ideal to spend more days in each city, but I am trying to make the most of the time I will have and am happy to have any at all!

jib71

JR Pass is not valid on Nozomi trains. It is valid on the Hikari, which are also bullet trains, but run less frequently.
JR Pass is valid on JR lines in and around Tokyo. However, it is not valid on subway lines, buses, trams, and monorails in Tokyo - modes of transport that you may wish to use at some point. To ride those things, I recommend getting a SUICA card, onto which you can store some money - and the gate deducts the fare from the stored amount each time you ride.

abmj-jr

I agree with jib71. Your best bet for your limited stay would be to purchase the Narita Express + Suica deal that Japan Rail offers. That will cover your ride into Tokyo on the N'Ex and give you a rechargeable prepaid card that will cover transportation around Tokyo. Just pay as you go for your Nozomi tickets to and from Kyoto and use the excellent bus system or cabs to get around Kyoto. If you can take advantage of the special Japanican deal, it will save you some money. If not, just pay your way. The JR Rail Pass will probably not help you much around Tokyo or Kyoto.

Coming from Seoul, have you looked into flying directly to KIX instead of NRT? An open jaw ticket might allow ICN-KIX/ ground /NRT- onward instead of ICN-NRT/ ground-ground /NRT-onward.

milepig

Google Kyoto Michelin. Many of them have wondeful not expensive lunch options. But I'm leaning toward the "don't bother" side. To travel all that way and then go right back... Kyoto needs to be slowly absorbed, not chugged. Just stay in Tokyo.

ksandness

I'm with milepig on this. Unless you just want to check the name of a city off your list, spend more time in Tokyo. It has its charms, too, only on the side streets and in the less touristed neighborhoods.

evergrn

If you're staying at Conrad, then you'd be catching the train at Shinbashi Sta.
It'd take just about 2.5hr from Shinbashi to Kyoto.

For example:
7.36am Shinbashi via Tokaido commuter train to Shinagawa arriving 7.42am.
Then transfer to Nozomi shinkansen at Shinagawa.
7.57am Shinagawa via Nozomi to Kyoto arriving 10.08am.

8.05am is the earliest you could get to Kyoto by. But you'd have to take the 5.40am train from Shinbashi. That'd be brutally early.

dcman2

We used a tour guide for a day in Kyoto, and were very pleased. This allowed us to see more than we could have done on our own, and added immeasurably to the richness of our experience. Kyoto needs a few days, but barring that be aware that Public transportation is good but not always as convenient or as easily accessed. Taxis are all over, reasonably priced, and useful.

We used Naiki Doi and highly recommend him.

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~doitaxi/