Oh sorry, I missed that. My train advice and the recommendation to take the rapid still stands. Transit time will be shorter though, 68-90 minutes.

Again, thanks to all for your helpful advice and suggestions. It'll take me a while to digest because I am not familiar with a lot of the terminology used.

jib71 - You can call me Betty! ;)

ninja138 - Thanks for your generous offer. I will PM you when I have more details of my itinerary.

I'm back - to trip planning - after having to tend to reality for a while.

I've recently watched Lost in Translation again and would love to spend a night or two at the Park Hyatt. I also have points to spend at the Conrad Tokyo.

Question -
Should I stay at the Conrad and then move to the Park Hyatt and then go to Odawara for two days? I will then go directly to Narita from Odawara for the flight home (around 6:00 p.m.)

Or should I break up Tokyo by going to Odawara in the middle for some R&R?

Is one option logistically easier than the other? (I'm sounding fretful again, aren't I?)

My husband and I are very slow travelers. We like to explore the city at a very leisurely pace and soak in the local scene.

Earlier this year when we visited Hong Kong, I checked that board on FT. Our favorite meal was at a hole-in-the-wall wonton joint mentioned on FT - impossible to find, but well worth the effort.

I am open to any similar local "not-to-miss" places in Tokyo.

So you're trying to decide on;

(1) Conrad-PHT-Odawara-NRT
(2) PHT-Conrad-Odawara-NRT
(3) PHT-Odawara-Conrad-NRT
(4) Conrad-Odawara-PHT-NRT

It's probably worth considering what your arrival and departure times are at NRT. That may impact how easily you can travel between NRT and the other points in your itin.

I am considering your options (1), (2), and (4). Option (3) puts us in Odawara during the weekend and I would prefer to avoid the weekend crowd. I would say either (1) or (4) are the preferred alternatives.

We are flying United. Will arrive in NRT around 5:30 p.m. and leave NRT around 6:00 p.m.

The advantage of doing the Conrad adjacent to the PHT (in either order) is that you can taxi from one to the other for maybe Y3000 max, with your bags in the trunk. Pretty convenient.

From either hotel, if you want to avoid thinking, you can take the bus directly to/from NRT.

I haven't been to the Odawara Hilton but going that far just for the spa and not doing at least a day trip around Hakone seems like a waste to me.

If you have more Hyatt points, do you know there is a very nice Hyatt in Hakone (in Gora)? I haven't had spa treatments there but the spa looked very nice. The onsen, available to all guests for free and segregated by sex, is also pleasant. The hotel's GM got her training at the Park Hyatt and knows what it means to provide good service -- plus their smallest room is about 53sqmt.

Based on that new info., I'd suggest (4).

On arrival at NRT, you can take the Limo bus (18.55 from Terminal 1 South) and reach the Conrad at 20.40. If your flight is delayed or if you hate buses, you can take the N'EX to Tokyo and then a taxi.

Train from Shinbashi to Odawara.

Then I'd suggest taking a scenic journey via Hakone to Shinjuku. Stay at PHT. Get the bus to NRT departing PHT at 2pm. Should arrive at NRT about two hours before your flight.

Anybody recommend Odawara Castle ? It's just 10 munutes' walk from Odawara station.

On fretting about travel in Japan. Piece of cake. It's my favorite country. Don't worry about not speaking the language. I've traveled by train and without reservations. And I'm old, well 64. (Some people think that's old. Wait till they get there!)

Thanks, jib71. Option 4 it is. It will give me the opportunity to do more shopping in Tokyo before heading home.

RichardInSF - Since I'm looking for R&R, would it be hectic to do one night in Odawara and one night in Hakone? Or, should I just pick one place and stay two nights? What do you like about Hakone vs. Odawara?

Manneca - You are not old. I'm not there yet, but will get there eventually. Thanks to your advice, my fretting will stop NOW!

I've never spent time in Odawara, just passed through, so I can't comment. But it didn't LOOK that interesting.

Hakone is very touristy but is pretty much just targeting Japanese visitors. There is a some very pretty scenery and also a lot of schlock. I kinda like both. For example, there are a zillion "museums," each charging non-trivial admission. Does the world really need a "Little Prince" museum?

Two main things to do in Hakone are to experience an onsen (which of course can be done elsewhere) and ride all the various transport systems: cable cars, cog railway, a single track railroad that has to reverse around curves, and -- yes -- stupid looking fake pirate ships. All of these, plus busses, are included in an Odakyu Railroad ticket called the "Hakone Free Pass," which is not free. It's well described online in English.

The cheapest pass is good for two days but buy it even if you are only going to be there for one day, doing everything will cost more than the pass otherwise.

Odawara station is only about 20 minutes by train from Hakone Yumoto, where all this starts, and the cheapest Hakone Free Pass originates and terminates in Odawara. So you really don't need to move hotels if you don't want to, although I'd prefer to be in the mountains -- but that's not taking point balances into consideration!

The very fact that you ask the question tells me that it does.

I agree with Richard that you can stay both nights in the same hotel. I'd also prefer two nights in Hakone vs. two in Odawara - simply because it's scenic. But Odawara would work. If you did two nights in Odawara, I'd aim to arrive towards the end of the day and leave early morning. One full day in Odawara is more than enough.

When will you be there? If it's around the end of Dec. or early Spring, then you could visit some of the strawberry farms where they grow the fruit under glass. Fond memories of strawberry picking in Shizuoka...
You could also visit Baird Brewery in Numazu. Oh yeah.

The trip is in early March, so I'm hoping it's strawberry season. I have two other trips before then, but the March one is the only "frettening" one.

Based on the communal advice, I'll spend a day (maybe even two) in Hakone. I presume I can do all the different fun trains in one day?

Finally, I keep reading about the N'Ex Suica combo. I've also read that there are about 14 different metro companies in Tokyo. If I buy the N'Ex Suica combo and stay at the Conrad, will there be the right subway lines nearby for me to use this ticket?

The Suica card you will receive as part of the combo is usable on all the major transit companies in the Greater Tokyo area. That includes all the transit options next to the Conrad, including the subways and JR.

Time to revive this thread....
 

....after taking time out to plan two other trips.

We are leaving for Tokyo in about a month and it's time to begin "re-fretting" about this particular trip. (jib71 - Are you reading this? ;))

We arrive at NRT around 6:00pm and have booked our first night at the Hilton Narita so that we can quickly check in and get some rest. Based on what others have recommended in other threads, we will either pick up dinner at NRT before heading to the hotel or, if we are not too tired, we can take the hotel shuttle to Narita-town to get dinner before crashing.

Question 1:
The next morning, the hotel shuttle can take us to the train station or back to NRT. If I want to use the N'Ex/Suica combo ticket, do I need to go back to NRT? Or if I buy the ticket upon arrival, can I use the ticket to begin the trip at the Narita train station? We will be spending the next few nights at the Conrad.

Question 2:
I'll need to re-read some posts to determine where to get off the train for the Conrad, unless some kind soul can repeat the info.

Then we head to the Hilton Odawara, followed by the Hyatt Hakone. SanDiegoK1 has provided excellent info in another thread about the logistics so I don't have to fret about this part of the trip. Based on suggestions, I will buy a Hakone Free Pas from Shinjuku to Odawara and back.

Question 3:
After Hakone, we will return to Tokyo and will be at the Park Hyatt. Again, I know somewhere someone has posted which train station is closest to the PH, but can someone please remind my useless grey cells?

Thanks, everyone.