Originally Posted by
kzap
I just did something similar so maybe I have something to add:
The earliest Shinkansen- Hikari leaves at 6:32am, so you can get to Kyoto by 9:14am. I do no know if there are earlier Nozomi's but the Shinkansen start running at a certain time only.
A 6:32am departure would be wonderful. Is it possible Hikaris may be added as it gets closer to my trip? When I first looked on
www.hyperdia.com, the earliest Tokyo > Kyoto Hikari departure I saw for Wed 9/27 was 8:30am, arriving Kyoto at 10:45am. Too late for comfort. Then I thought I might be using hyperdia incorrectly.
This morning I noticed a "Route Outputs" search parameter set to a default of 2. Cranked her up to 10 and now I see more routes. There's a 5:06am route that would get me to Kyoto by 7:59am (not terrible). It departs Tokyo (assuming Tokyo Central Station); however, I'm staying in Shinigawa, and it's not a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. There are several changes between. Sounds like if I could get to Yokohama, then I could board a Shinkansen.
Here's the hyperdia search link:
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/se...d&sum_target=7. Result mentioned above is the first listed.
Could someone please explain what I'm seeing?
05:06
begin TOKYO
JR Keihin-Tohoku/Negishi Line Local for OFUNA
05:40
05:45
transfer HIGASHI-KANAGAWA
through
JR Yokohama Line Local for HACHIOJI
¥8,210
05:54
06:00
transfer SHIN-YOKOHAMA
[119 Min]
through
SHINKANSEN HIKARI 493
Train timetable | Interval timetable
07:59
end KYOTO
[ Arrival track No.13 ]
Thanks for all the info on Hakone. May use it if and when I can get back to Japan.
I did 2 nights in Kyoto but only 1 was for sightseeing, the 3rd day was traveling back to the airport. You really have to get up early and stick to a few sights. We did Fushimi Inari before lunch but it took us 3 hours to hike up and down. Then we went to Arashiyama on the other side and that took a couple hours also and everything closed up. Couldnt even squeeze in a visit to Kiyomizu-dera.
Holy smokes! The Fushimi Inari shrine is tops on my list and I wouldn't have known to allocate 3 hours to "summit" and return. None of the guidebooks or web sites I've seen seem to mention anything like that. More like "go up the path to your heart's content" or something similar. If you could do it over, how far up / how long up would you hike?
The main take away is Google Maps can tell you how long it takes to reach a place but nothing will tell you how long it takes to fully experience a certain location. Kyoto looks small on a map but those blocks are big compared to the blocks in Tokyo, and a lot hotter for some reason.
Great point. Like another poster pointed out, or asked, hell no it's not going to be all about ticking items off a list. Some places might be. But to treat everything that way would be a huge experiential mistake. And I do see that Kyoto is spread out. Might add taxis to the mix to speed transport up.
I totally get what you are trying to do, I managed to squeeze in a lot in 7 days but you are going to be exhausted walking all day from 6am to 10pm and repeat the next day. You could literally spend 7 days in Akihabara and not be done if that's your thing.
I understand. Akihabara doesn't sound terribly interesting apart from what's left of the electronics stores and arcades. I have no interest at all in anime or manga. I can see cosplay in Downtown Raleigh, NC during conventions. And for arcades, I wouldn't spend more than an hour, if that. Figured I'd choose one representative arcade.
Oh yeah, I'd be pooped ending the days at 10pm starting at 6am. I'd likely end the first Kyoto day after an early dinner. Or a stroll through Gion after dinner. See what I can see. And answer the question I always ask do on short trips: "would I want to come back?" If I can answer that; if I can get a taste of an area--then I often feel that's success (personally defined; others obviously would disagree on that definition of travel success). I've rinsed, lathered, and repeated this strategy and it's worked for me.
I'll be staying at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto. That itself looks like an experience. We've never stayed at an RC before. Some say it's one of their best properties. Wife doesn't want to give that up or Kyoto myself; neither do I. The shrines and temples in Kyoto look phenomenal--and those things are more of interest to me than city sights and activities. Although I know Tokyo has some interesting shrines and temples, I doubt they're as dramatically situated.
Imho stick with Tokyo, enjoy it and Disneyland/Sea. (Btw get to DisneySea at 7am so you can run for the fastpass to Toy Story, its the only line that matters.) You are not going to have fun on doing 1 night in Kyoto, if you want, make that 1 night in Hakone and you can do your Hakone loop stuff and be fulfilled there.
The plan for our second day in Kyoto (Thu 9/28) is to see what we can see in the morning, then take the 2:32pm Hikari back to Tokyo. It arrives around 5pm. Then to use an "After 6pm" discounted ticket to see Tokyo Disneyland. With a full day allotted for TokyoDisneysea (Fri 9/29); we'll be there for rope drop. We'll see as much of it as we like. If it doesn't impress, we may head back to Tokyo. Though we realize Mahaima's a bit out of the way.
We fly to Maui Sat 9/30, departing NRT around 7pm. Not sure how early we should arrive. But that may give us more Tokyo time if we bring our luggage and store in a locker. We travel light. Our luggage consists of two Rick Steves' convertible backpacks that fit in nearly all aircraft overhead compartments and two day packs.
The JR Pass can be refunded if you dont claim it, just return to where you bought it. It only becomes worth it if you take the Shinkansen more than once like to Odawara and Kyoto, or go to Nara maybe (dont squeeze that in)
Thanks. We bought online via a place called Japan Experience. I thought I'd read elsewhere that it was worthwhile if you at least take the one shinkansen RT Tokyo <> Kyoto. As it includes N'EX, some subway lines, free seat reservations, etc (I get you on not doing the etc). No Hakone this time.
I get that the Japan portion of our trip will be a bit (or a lot) hectic. The good news is that our 4 nights in Maui will be as chill as we'd like. We've already been to Maui twice, and so have hit nearly all of the highlights--Haleakala 2x, Road to Hana 1.5 times, etc. But I can't see, personally, hanging around a beach for 4 days (neither can my wife); so we'll get some adventure in. But it won't be at all rushed.