Arrow29

Hi all,

Firstly, what a great resource this forum is. I've been reading it intensely (along with other sites such as Japan-guide) and still will be for some time!

Some background: I recently received some good news with regards to career, which meant that I suddenly had a bit of time off in Japan between contracts. After asking my wife to scramble and try to get some leave, she managed to get a week off and we decided to visit Japan!

We're in our mid-late 20s and I've never been to Japan. My wife has been to Fukuoka many years ago. We love food, love to explore cities and get a feel for the culture and get a glimpse of how the locals live and I'm a technology/gadget lover (I also love cars and motor racing). So very excited about visiting Japan.

We would love more time but this is the most we could get at this stage, so below are two itineraries that I've come up with (early stages). We have a total of 8 nights in Japan.

Itinerary 1:
- Arrive Tokyo Narita Sunday morning 07:40am
- 3 nights in Tokyo
- Travel to Kyoto via train on Wednesday
- Spend 2 nights in Kyoto
- Travel to Osaka via train on Friday
- Spend 2 nights in Osaka
- Travel back to Tokyo Sunday afternoon
- One night in Tokyo and then plane leaves back home on Monday 11am

Itinerary 2:
- Same as above, however:
- Travel to Kyoto via train on Wednesday
- Spend 4 nights in Kyoto, including a day trip to Osaka
- Travel back to Tokyo on Sunday as above

Initially I was going to go with option 1, however after a lot of reading I'm now definitely leaning towards option 2. As mentioned, we do love our food and I"ve read Osaka has some great food options, but I figure we could explore that on a day trip and Tokyo/Kyoto won't exactly be wanting for options either.

Would others agree, or would you all suggest changes for our 8 nights in Japan?

Thanks a lot!

ksandness

No need to switch hotels between Kyoto and Osaka. They are about an hour apart even by slow commuter train, and Kyoto has a lot more to see than Osaka.

abmj-jr

Based on your stated interests, you might consider a 3rd alternative and spend the 4 nights in the Kansai region in Osaka rather than Kyoto. You would find more food and nightlife options in Osaka and could just as easily do day trips to Kyoto as the reverse. Osaka is well placed for day trips to Kyoto or Nara.

I always stay in Kyoto or Nara but am not interested in the things you are. Either Kyoto or Osaka would work for a base in that area and, as recommended above, it makes little sense to change hotels during that 4 day stay as the cities are so close together by rail.

For this itinerary, you might want to consider a Japan Rail Pass. In your case, I would purchase the Narita Express + Suica package upon arrival for travel to Tokyo and also around the City by subway or train. I'd pre-purchase and then activate a 7-day Rail Pass just before traveling to Kyoto/Osaka and use it for the shinkansen round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo, day trips around Kyoto/Osaka/Nara and for the last Narita Express trip back to Narita for departure home.

LapLap

As usual, I am in complete agreement with abmj-jr.

However, if you are looking to save a bit of money, and as there are two of you, there is an alternative way to book your itinerary.

http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/det...d=M21&kw=2-Day

You should be able to book return Shinkansen tickets to Osaka with sunrise tours (JTB) for between 20,000 and 22,000 yen each and the price would include one night's accommodation.
I would strongly suggest booking the return date several days later informing the agency that you will arrange your own accommodation for the additional nights spent in the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto) region.

The return trip by Hikari Shinkansen would be around 28k yen, the JR pass is 29k yen. You'd be saving about 4,000yen each with the accommodation included in the deal.

The downside is that you'd be paying a bit more on local travel, but your plans suggest that it wouldn't be more than 4,000 yen or so.

In short, there's the possibility of saving around 10,000yen each this way.

ashkale

If you are arriving on a oneworld airline, the jal yokoso fares are decent value and much more convenient, you could get straight to kansai area from nrt/hnd, use the kansai wide pass and then return to tokyo for sightseeing and eventual departure. I am sure ana/ star alliance has a similar japan addon fare..

String33

I'm by no means an expert, but I just got back from a 2 week vacation in Japan. I LOVED Kyoto. I spent 5 nights there and would have been happy to spend 5 more. I spent one evening in Osaka and loved it too (saw a Honshin Tigers game). The people in Osaka were unbelievably friendly and helpful. If you have a JR pass, you can get to Shin-Osaka in 15 minutes from Kyoto Station and regular Osaka in maybe 30 minutes. I stayed in Hotel Gran Via which is in Kyoto Station. If you stay there, you can be anywhere JR goes whenever you want. And when I booked, they had a promo - if you stay 5 nights, the rate is 1/2 off.

So, I would go with plan 2 and add one day to Kyoto (maybe don't travel back to Tokyo - go to NRT directly from Kyoto). And not for nothing, but whatever you want in Tokyo, Kyoto has it too, but better (except the Robot Restaurant). Great sights? Check. Super-great shopping (Isetan and Tokyu Hands). Great temples and shrines. Great shows - I loved Gion Corner and kind of liked Gear. And fantastic food. And maybe you could see a Tigers game.

Like I said, I only have 2 weeks experience, and this is just my $.02. If I never go to Tokyo again, I'd be ok with it. But I really miss Kyoto.

Arrow29

Thanks for your replies, all.

After taking advice on board and some further research, we decided to modify our itinerary like many have suggested. So we are now splitting our time between Tokyo (4 nights total) and Kyoto (4 nights), with some day trips from Kyoto if we feel like it. Seems a lot easier and more suited to our likes.

I'm planning the rail passes now, will probably go ahead with the 7 day JR pass. I can purchase the voucher anytime now as it's less than 3 months until we arrive in Tokyo and have it activated just before catching the train to Kyoto.

I understand that the JR pass doesn't allow travel on the Nozomi line (which just seems a little bit faster and runs more frequently), so we would get the Hikari, which runs every 30 mins according to HyperDia. Will it be much of an issue reserving seats for my wife and I in terms of availability, or is there normally plenty of space? This will be in mid January 2015. We would be exchanging the JR Pass voucher on arrival to Narita, but would be asking for it to be activated the day before our travel to Kyoto, so that we can use the 7 day pass for the Narita Express back to the airport on our final day. I guess this would mean going to a ticket booth to reserve a seat the day before at the earliest.

jib71

Jan 12 (Mon) is a national holiday (coming of age day). You might see some increase in people on the trains that weekend. And you'll certainly see an increase in people wearing kimono. But there shouldn't be a problem with availability on long-distance trains. I assume you have some flexibility - so if your first choice train is unavailable you could travel half an hour earlier or later?
No. You can make reservations at the same time as you do the exchange. Write or print the details of the trains you plan to take and hand it to the person who is exchanging your voucher for the pass.

Arrow29

Thanks for your reply, that's very useful info to know. I had assumed that I wouldn't be able to make reservations until the Pass was "active." Being able to make reservations for at least the two long-distance trains (Tokyo - Kyoto and vice versa) when exchanging will be very handy!

Our travel date to Kyoto will be 21st January, so will be a bit after that National Holiday. But yes, we will definitely have flexibility with regards to the timing on the day.

emma69

I just got back from Japan, and travelled by train Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo - we made our reservations minutes before we got on the train, but that's because we wanted the flexibility to change plans as we wanted. One tip, ask for tickets on the 'Fuji-san' side of the train to try and catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji - if the clouds cooperate - we had a lovely clear view one day, and cloud the others!