na123

I'm making a trip to Asia during the last week of March and first week of April. (5 days in Beijing, 7 in Japan). I found it very easy to book a hotel in Beijing but Japan has been so difficult for me. From what I've read, Tokyo has so many interesting neighborhoods and I can't decide which one to stay in. (I was going to go for the Park Hyatt but the only room left is a $1200 room which is not something I'm willing to pay). I'm considering the Shinjuku neighborhood (I would like to stay somewhere where as soon as I step out (even at night) there is stuff going on (many restaurants, bar, activity, lights).
I'm also making a two night trip to Kyoto. I was able to find two Ryokans which have very good reviews. One I purchased through JapanIcan and the other through booking.com. I am praying that these two websites are legit. I never really used these types of websites as I usually find that booking directly through the hotel is cheaper but I found zero availability for the Ryokans I wanted (I even called the Ryokans directly and they said: first week of april? noooo no availability!). Strangely, I found rooms available at these two websites.

So first question is:

1. Where do I stay in Tokyo? Specifically what neighborhood? Which hotel would you recommend? I am looking to spend up to 300$ a night.

2. Looking through the forums I understand that it will not be convenient for me to purchase the JR one week pass since I'm only making one trip outside of Tokyo but I'm very worried about not being able to get a Shinkansen ticket for the roundtrip of Tokyo-Kyoto. (Booking hotels took so long since they are all so crowded during this season, it worries me that the trains will be similar). Is there a way I can purchase this roundtrip ticket well in advance?

3. Should I get the one week subway pass in Tokyo? Can I purchase it in advance or do I have to be there to get it?

4. Is two days in Kyoto and 5 in Tokyo too unbalanced? I'm thinking about squeezing a trip to Nara. Is that advisable?

Thanks a lot.

emma69

1. Sorry, I am not much help on this one, probably. I stayed at the Shangri-La by the main station (would be over the $300) and the Intercontinental Bay - decent hotel, location fine for me, but it is certainly not much stuff going on in the area.

2. I believe you can buy full rate Japan Rail tickets outside of Japan, through travel agents, but not ones using the JR pass. I have not done this, I used a JR pass.

3. I purchased a SUICA card from a machine in Tokyo station - a 'pay as you go' card similar to Oyster card in London - you can use it on local rail, subway, buses, in convenience stores etc. Found it very simple to use.

4. I really liked Nara, so if your trip means one more night in Kyoto to do so, I would make the change.

As to the website, I booked three hotels through Japanican with no issues whatsoever.

na123

Thank you Emma, super helpful!

evergrn

If you want shops, dining, bars in the immediate vicinity, there are many areas to consider for hotel. Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ebisu, Ginza, Roppongi, etc, etc.

For a 7-day stay in Jpn that involves roundtrip on Narita Express and Tokyo-Kyoto bullet trip, I would think you should get the Japan Rail Pass.

I don't think you'll have a problem getting a seat on the bullet train, especially if you book seats at the JR Ticket office a couple days in advance. The times of the year when seat availability becomes a problem are certain days of Golden Week, obon, New Years.

I probably wouldn't bother with the subway pass.

2 days in Kyoto and 5 days in Tokyo sounds reasonable to me, if it's 2 full days in Kyoto. It kind of depends on what you like, though. There are others here who feel that Kyoto is a better experience than Tokyo.

beep88

1. In Shinjuku there is also Hyatt Regency and Keio Plaza in that price category, both better located than Park Hyatt. Century Southern Tower a notch below but excellent location.

2. return Kyoto/Tokyo ticket = cost of JR Pass, which you can also use for Narita Express. Otherwise buy the Shinkansen Kyoto e-voucher deal from Japanican - which is good on Nozomi trains ( 6-7 departures/hr), while JR pass good only on the half-hourly Hikari. Seat availability shouldn't be a problem.

3. none of the Tokyo subway passes pay off - there are 2 subway companies plus JR. If you plan it really well, the JR day ticket may be useful.

4. it's your trip. However you can't really try to squeeze Nara in with the 2 day Kyoto side trip.

I only book hotels through Japanese website. No deposit required, ever (Japanese language version) except for the international chains.

na123

Thank you all very much! I have decided to do the following: first 4 nights at the Cerulean, next night at a ryokan in kyoto, night after at a separate ryokan in kyoto and the last two nights I want to go out with a bang so I'm considering booking at a luxury hotel like Mandarin Oriental or Park Hyatt or something in that caliber. (Still trying to decide on which, any advice is certainly welcome). I'm really tempted to go to Nara for the deer temple. Please let me know if this is super dumb: once we get to Kyoto (early in the morning) we would leave our bags at the Ryokan and explore Kyoto, next morning we'd wake up, drop our bags off at Ryokan #2, go to Nara, explore Nara and come back to the Ryokan at around 5ish for the full Ryokan dinner experience, the morning after, wake up early do some more Kyoto exploration, pick up our bags late afternoon and head back to Tokyo, and spend our last two nights there. If I do this I think I would definitely get the JR pass. Would I be able to use it for a ride from Kyoto to Nara? Thank you kindly!

evergrn

Cerulean's a good choice.
I think you're really cutting it short in Kyoto with a lot of disruptions. For one thing, I wouldn't suggest staying each night at a different place. All that time and trouble spent checking in/out, unpacking/repacking, moving bags will take time away from your precious little time in Kyoto.
If you want to do 2 nights in Kyoto, then you should arrive by noon the first day, see Kyoto that afternoon and all of next day, then leave your bags in Kyoto the day after for a quick jaunt to Nara (you can use your JR Pass to go there as long as you use JR, and yes there is a JR train) then return to Kyoto in the afternoon and head back to Tokyo.
What time does your flight leave from NRT? To further minimize check-in/out of hotels, you could stay the first 5 nights in Tokyo and the last 3 nights in Kyoto. If you leave Kyoto by ~10am, you should be able to catch a 4pm flight out of NRT. That itinerary will give you even more time in Kyoto/Nara.

na123

"I think you're really cutting it short in Kyoto with a lot of disruptions. For one thing, I wouldn't suggest staying each night at a different place. All that time and trouble spent checking in/out, unpacking/repacking, moving bags will take time away from your precious little time in Kyoto."

I know, it sounds like an awful idea.. switching hotels. I desperately wanted to stay at the hiiragiya and only managed to get one night (the rest were sold out) and was able to find the other night at another Ryokan (with a lot of difficulty since it's cherry blossom season).

"If you want to do 2 nights in Kyoto, then you should arrive by noon the first day, see Kyoto that afternoon and all of next day, then leave your bags in Kyoto the day after for a quick jaunt to Nara (you can use your JR Pass to go there as long as you use JR, and yes there is a JR train) then return to Kyoto in the afternoon and head back to Tokyo."

I will listen to you and do it that way. It certainly sounds less hectic. Is the JR train to Nara a bullet train as well or a regular one? I hope it's a short ride.

"What time does your flight leave from NRT? To further minimize check-in/out of hotels, you could stay the first 5 nights in Tokyo and the last 3 nights in Kyoto. If you leave Kyoto by ~10am, you should be able to catch a 4pm flight out of NRT. That itinerary will give you even more time in Kyoto/Nara."

I would love to but I really don't want to risk it and miss my 5:30 flight back to New York (got to work the next day.. ugh) and I already booked my hotels in Kyoto so I can't do first five nights in Tokyo. This is what it looks like:

Day 1: arrival at night in Tokyo
Day 2: day in Tokyo
Day 3: day in Tokyo
Day 4: day in Tokyo
Day 5: day in Kyoto
Day 6: day in Kyoto
Day 7: day in Nara pick bags in Kyoto night in Tokyo
Day 8: day in Tokyo
Day 9: return to NY

Also, I can't decide where to stay the last two nights in Tokyo! arghhh I want convenient location with luxury. It seems like most of these fancy hotels aren't in prime locations like the Cirulean. Any advice? thank you!!

beep88

With a JR pass, you can only take Hikari (every half hour) and it takes 4 hours from Kyoto to Narita with a 17 minute connection at Shinagawa ... plenty if you are familiar with changing trains at that station.

na123

That sounds like a total nightmare. I have already booked hotels for the whole trip so I can't make changes any more. This is what I have:

Night 1-4: Cerulean (3 days in Tokyo)
Night 5: Ryokan 1 (day in Kyoto)
Night 6: Ryokan 2 (day in Kyoto)
Night 7-8: Peninsula (1 day Nara and 1 Tokyo)

I do want to visit Nara on day 6 or day 7 though (and only have one day in Tokyo) so I'm wondering if there is a place I could leave my suitcases (I'm taking a big suitcase since I'll be in Asia for two weeks) in Nara (perhaps at the train station there are lockers?). Also, how long would the trip from Nara to Kyoto be? Are there direct trains from Nara to Tokyo? It sounds to me like just going to Nara on day 6 might be more convenient since I have the Ryokan #2 to leave my suitcase in.

Thanks a lot for your help!

abmj-jr

I have done Kyoto to NRT several times and even Fukuoka to KIX on departure day. It is anything but a nightmare.

The JR local train from Kyoto to Nara is about 45 minutes, an hour if you mistakenly get on the commuter train. If you are not using a Japan Rail Pass, you can use the Kintetsu private rail instead and that is about 35 minutes.

For travel to Tokyo from Nara, there is no direct route. The simplest would be to return to Kyoto and take the shinkansen from there. You could also go on to Osaka to make your connection but that would take a bit longer. For this day trip, you would be better off sending your luggage ahead to NRT from Kyoto the day before and just keep an overnight bag for the last ryokan stay. Otherwise, use the lockers at Kyoto Station and pick the bags up on your way back through. Nara Station is pretty small and I wouldn't count on finding available lockers there.

beep88

Japanese use luggage delivery service to send their bags instead of lugging them around. It's next day service. Costs ~1800 each.

evergrn

Is there any reason why you can't make changes? Are these non-refundable bookings or something?

Day6 is your only potential full day in Kyoto. I'm personally not much into temples and old things but, even then, I strongly recommend that you at least allocate one full complete day (and ideally more) in Kyoto instead of two separate half-days. If it were me, I'd try to go to Nara on your day7 prior to your return train to Kyoto. I agree with others about shipping your suitcases on to Tokyo. The oversized lockers for suitcases are at a premium at train stations, so there's no guarantee one will be free even at Kyoto Station.

na123

[QUOTE=abmj-jr;24184613]I have done Kyoto to NRT several times and even Fukuoka to KIX on departure day. It is anything but a nightmare.

"With a JR pass, you can only take Hikari (every half hour) and it takes 4 hours from Kyoto to Narita with a 17 minute connection at Shinagawa ... plenty if you are familiar with changing trains at that station"

That, for a first timer (me) sounds like a total nightmare. 4 hours on a train before a 16 hour flight with fear of losing the flight? No thanks.

"Is there any reason why you can't make changes? Are these non-refundable bookings or something?"

I would love to stay another night in Kyoto but it was sooo difficult getting a hotel during Sakura season so I gave up and booked the rest of the nights in Tokyo. I would have to pay a fee to make any changes to the Tokyo hotels.

"If it were me, I'd try to go to Nara on your day7 prior to your return train to Kyoto."

I'm 100% listening to this suggestion. Someone else had mentioned that I could transfer my suitcases from hotel 1 in Tokyo to hotel 2 in Tokyo and just carry a small bag to Kyoto. Will they keep my suitcases there even though I wouldn't be checking in until 2 days later?

Thank you guys a lot!

evergrn

Absolutely. People do this all the time in Jpn. I do it all the time. You'll be able to forward a luggage from just about any hotel to any other hotel. When you check out of your ryokan#1 in Kyoto on your day6 in Jpn, tell the front desk staff that you want to ship out a luggage. There's a requisition form for the shipping company that you'll fill out. Well it's all in Jpanese so you'll have the hotel staff fill it out for you. On the requisition form, I put down the hotel name/address on the forwarding address line, and I put down my name followed by check-in date in paresthesis [ie, "John Smith (check-in 2/1/2015)"] on the recipient name line. If you send it out the morning of day6, I would think that it'd get to Tokyo the next day. You pay the ryokan, who'll in turn pay the shipping company. I forward stuff to hotels several days before the check-in date.