OliverB

Does anyone know what the procedure is for the moss temple? The Hyatt Regency has submitted an application however it's been well over a week now. How does it typically work?

Thanks!

CPH-Flyer

It usually takes about a week or a bit more.

The process is that you will send a written request for times you want to visit on a return postcard (ofukuhagaki, a Japanese postal construction that is two post cards in one, one for either directtion), the temple will return the card with a confirmation that you will have to bring for the visit.
I guess the hotel could call in advance to confirm the availability before the send the request. I have send a request twice on fairly short notice (no checking in advance), and both were confirmed. But if you are requesting a time on top of a Japanese holiday it may be more tricky.

OliverB

Thanks for the info!

We're going to be there at the height of koyo season in November so it will probably be very busy. Hopefully we'll receive an answer shortly though. I didn't realize it was done by mail so I wasn't sure what was taking so long but it makes sense now. I would have just written the hotel directly but didn't want to seem impatient or rude. Thanks again.

mosburger

There is always the Miho Museum...

mkjr

And you can always go back.....

OliverB

Would you say that it's possible to visit the Miho Museum and Meiji Mura in a single day?

We have 5 nights in Kyoto which would be approx. 4 to 4.5 full days. I believe we have two lunch reservations scheduled at 11:30 on separate days (both kaiseki meals which should take approx. 2 hours) plus we have a reservation to visit Shugakuin at 10:00 AM another day. I would like to spend at least 2 full days exploring the many neighborhoods of Kyoto and visiting all of the temples and cultural points of interest. I'm hoping that we'll have enough time for Meiji Mura which is a major draw for me (my wife and I make a point of visiting all FLW buildings) and Miho seems to be somewhat en route. Is it doable?

someotherguy

Do you know about the Yodoko Guest House? It's near Kobe.

http://www.yodoko.co.jp/geihinkan/index_e.html

LapLap

Do you want someone to say yes?

By using a combination of public transport and taxis, the fastest possible connection time between the Miho Museum and Meiji Mura is going to be about 2.5 hours.

The Miho Museum opens its doors at 10am and Meiji Mura closes at 4pm in November.

I'm scratching my head as to why you need someone to point this out to you. Information about opening and closing times is freely available in English.

OliverB

No I don't want someone to say yes. I want someone who's been to both places to suggest approx how much time should ideally be devoted to visiting each. I could scratch my head as to what confuses you about that question too.

OliverB

Thanks, I do know about it and we're planning to visit one afternoon from Osaka! ^

LapLap

Haven't been to the Miho musuem, have been to Meiji Mura. In this case, my experience counts for nothing, here's why:

Throwing any pretense at common sense aside I'll walk this through with you

step 1, take train from Kyoto (15 minutes), wait for bus, board bus (50 minutes) and arrive at Miho Museum for 10am opening time.

As common sense has no part in this plan, we'll schedule 1 hour for the visit to this museum, perhaps 1 hour fifteen minutes depending on the bus timetable.
At the end of this visitto the Miho Museum the time is: 11am

take bus to station, arrive at around 12am

Grab a bento, take train to Inuyama, arrive at 2pm

Take bus or taxi to Meiji Mura, arrive at 2:30pm

Closing time = 4pm

Can you see what remains of the FLW Hotel at Meiji Mura in an hour and a half? Yes.
Can you see much of the rest of Meiji Mura in that time? No

I'm scratching my head because you haven't figured out that you don't need anybody who has visited the Miho Museum AND Meiji Mura to tell you that you can only visit both places in the same day if you are prepared to visit the Miho Museum for no longer than an hour and Meiji Mura for no longer than an hour and a half. And that's if you get the timetables and practical details right.

OliverB

So the very simple answer would have been, "no, it's not practical".

Thank you. I don't need to start mapping transit routes and timetables now to figure out the logistics, hence my asking. I'm quite certain that most info on this forum can be researched online but the purpose of asking seasoned travelers who are familiar with specific cities and sights is to simplify planning. So "no, it's not possible unless you want to do it unpleasantly and rushed" would have sufficed and was exactly what I was looking for.

LapLap

A great deal of your itinerary questions have been answered with this response. Doesn't seem to make any difference.
At this point you should be paring down your plans, not adding flourishes.

someotherguy

I don't know about the Miho museum, but I've been to Meiji Mura and combined it with a visit to Inuyama castle and the Jo-an tea arbor, and altogether it took me the best part of a day. I started in Gifu and ended in Nagoya; coming from Kyoto will add a couple of hours. I used the bus between Inuyama and Meiji Mura and you could save quite a bit of time with a taxi.

Meiji Mura is a big place, with a lot of interesting buildings (e.g., Lafcadio Hearn's summer place, above a fish shop, a prison, an entire cathedral). You could just go see the Imperial Hotel, but you'd miss a lot else.

The hotel is at the far end from where you come in, so it takes about 30 minutes just to get there from the the ticket office by the bus stop. The map shows another entrance right by the hotel, so a taxi might save time there, too.

OliverB

Thanks so much for all that info.

We're definitely going to stick to Meiji Mura exclusively. I hadn't read much about it beyond my knowledge of the Imperial lobby remains but that all sounds really fascinating and I'm excited to visit!