Originally Posted by
OliverB
Thanks aj,
I'm hoping we won't get hit too hard by jetlag. I've tried to space things out with 3 nights in Tokyo, 2 in Hakone, and then 4 more in Tokyo afterward to try and overcome it easier. I figure the first few days in Tokyo will be the hardest but by the time we get to Hakone and spend a couple of nights at Gora Kadan, we should return to Tokyo re-energized and able to get the most out of our final four days in the city. Anyhow, I appreciate your feedback - it helps a lot!
I would definitely leave many days to acclimate before attempting to drive. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I adapted pretty well. I started from GMT-5, so my time change was effectively 10 hours. (It's more convenient to think of Tokyo as 14 hours later than us in the winter, but that's really only a ten hour difference.)
I stayed awake for most of the flight from Chicago and only dozed a little on the long bus ride from NRT, so I was able to go to sleep at nighttime in Tokyo. I think I stayed awake till 7:00 or 8:00 PM Tokyo time the first night, and I was able to sleep through the night and get up at a somewhat normal time.
That doesn't mean I was alert, but I stayed more or less awake every day for my all-too-short six-day visit. Much of the time I felt like I'd had a couple of beers. I was very grateful for my attentive hosts, who knew all the ins & outs of the trains and took good care of us.