Originally Posted by
stevenshev
Thanks for the useful advice so far. I've arranged the MO for them for the last two nights. Do you think the ease of staying in Tokyo overnight on the day of arrival justifies the (presumed) added expense of a hotel in Tokyo over one in Kyoto?
Is there any logic in attempting to trek to Kyoto on the night of their arrival, either by flying to ITM or training it through town?
Also, is there any rail pass that includes the faster bullet train to Kyoto (I know it's only 20 minutes, but there is a cool factor built in) and green car?
Where would you recommend staying the first night if it is in Tokyo. Probably in the range of $200-$250 US would be optimal.
Same price range for a hotel recommendation for Kyoto.
The idea of just seeing Mt. Fuji from the train sounds good, as does the day trip to Nara. Osaka is of relatively little interest, I think they will get their share of Japanese cosmopolitonia from Tokyo.
Anything that I should note about a trip to the big Tokyo fish market for their two nights there such as it may be closed on Tuesday or Wednesday morning?
Also, Tokyo and Kyoto are entry points, not necessarily limiting points. If there's anywhere else worth seeing (relative to the opportunity cost within the timeframe of their visit), please let me know.
Again, thank you all for your help.
Trying to go all the way to Kyoto on the day of arrival seems rather ambitious but just barely doable if they really want to. As
RichardInSF indicated, the last trains will be the limiting factor. I haven't checked flights and am unsure about connecting to ITM but most of the flights there require a connection at HND and would be a real hassle. If there is an alliance flight from NRT, it might work. They would have to take a bus from ITM to Kyoto Station. It is over an hour.
There is no "Nozomi Rail Pass." As Richard said, you really don't know the difference between Nozomi and Hikari other than Hikari makes a few more stops. If using the Pass, that last Hikari at 8:03 pm would be just barely possible but would entail mad rushes through C&I, Rail Pass activation and both NRT and Tokyo Stations, not to mention getting on the earliest possible N'Ex. It won't work if everything doesn't break just right. I don't know what the travel time is from Australia to Japan but I certainly would not do it from the US. The day is long enough already. Even if they made those very tight connections, they would be getting into Kyoto at 11:00 pm and then have to get to the hotel. Not worth it IMHO.
If they stay in Tokyo that first night, I'd suggest one of the "Prince" hotels near Shinagawa Station.
Lap Lap has written extensively here about those options. The Shinagawa Prince is virtually next door to the Shinagawa Station and the Grand Takanawa is not far away. There are other options in the same general area. I recommend these simply because they are convenient for the next morning's connection to the shinkansen.
For Kyoto, there are many great hotels but take a look at the newly renovated and rebranded Hyatt Regency, which is convenient to many tourist sites or the Hotel Granvia, which is really convenient for travel as it is in the Kyoto Station building. The Miyako (Westin) is also highly regarded.
The Tsukiji fish market has been closed to tourists recently but we have seen an announcement that it is being opened back up with much more regulation on tourists. The workers and management have come to really resent visitors due to many incidents of bad behavior by tourists. I'll let others address this as I just think it is a waste of time and effort to get up at 4:00 am to go dodge forklifts and walk through fishy runoff.
JR