cruise603

Hello,
We would like all your help for our 1st trip to Japan from end of March 2011 to see the cherry blossom.
This is our preliminary itinerary and do welcome all suggestions:

Day 1: arrive KIX at 3pm, airport limousine to The Westin Osaka (stay 2 nights)
Day 2: Osaka Castle, Kobe back to Osaka
Day 3: Osaka to Kyoto, stay at the Westin Miyako Kyoto (2 nights)
Day4: day trip to Nara
Day 5: Kyoto - Hakone
Day 6: Hakone - Tokyo, stay at the Hilton Shinjuku Tokyo ( 3 nights)
Day 7: Tokyo
Day 8: day trip to Kamakura, Yokohama
Day 9: 4pm flight NRT-LAX

As this is our 1st time to Japan, really appreciate if you can give us detailed name, departure/arrival time and cost of which kind of train/metro to take.
Thank you all.

ninja138

Considering your itinerary route, you would have higher chances of success in seeing cherry blossoms if you pushed the trip forward to the second week of April.

Considering that the majority of Kyoto is a 30-60 min. train ride from Umeda, it doesn't really make sense to transfer from the Westin Osaka to Westin Kyoto for only 2 nights.

I doubt you will see any cherry blossoms in Hakone. They will barely begin budding in Tokyo, Kamakura, and Yokohama. Hakone will be especially cold and windy during late March, so bring appropriate clothing. On the plus side, the winds usually drive out the clouds and lend for a spectacular view of Mount Fuji from the lakeshore.

Personally, I would skip Kobe and Nara and focus more on Kyoto. I would also drop Yokohama and stop by Kamakura on the way from Hakone to Shinjuku.

I'm not quite sure what you are expecting. Do you want us to plan out your entire trip for you? It doesn't look like you even tried to look up options on your own. I suggest you do it yourself using either Jorudan or Hyperdia.

If you have more specific questions on getting around or what to do that isn't normally covered by any decent guidebook, I would be happy to help. Looking over your post history, it would also be nice if you can contribute more to the FT community.

railroadtycoon

When planning out schedules remember these important station names:

The Westin Osaka is within walking distance of:
OSAKA Station and UMEDA Station(s)
Osaka is the name of the JR Station, whist every other railway company uses the name "UMEDA" Station, the stations are essentially across from each other.

Osaka Station is not to be confused with SHINOSAKA Station, where the Shinkansen (bullet train) toward Tokyo goes from. Osaka and ShinOsaka Stations are one JR station apart.

There is no Hakone Station, so HAKONEYUMOTO would be the station you want to use (from ShinOsaka / Kyoto) most likely you will need to transfer at ODAWARA Station.

For Kobe, you probably want to utilize SANNOMIYA Station (which is more central) vs KOBE Station.

The Hilton Tokyo is located via SHINJUKU Station in Tokyo.
I recommend if you are coming from Hakone to use the ODAKYU RAILWAYS line direct to Shinjuku from Hakone.

Googlemaps can help with determining what stations might be nearby, also referencing Japan-guide.com is very helpful for access to main tourist spots you might want to travel to.

ninja138

Just to warn you, it's a 15-20 minute walk and it's relatively easy to get lost in that area north of the train stations and Yodobashi Camera. I wouldn't suggest walking with any baggage larger than a carry-on on the day of arrival. Once you figure out how to find the pedway though it becomes substantially easier, especially now there are ramps.

RichardInSF

BTW, Osaka Castle is not very interesting. Better to look at from a distance than to visit.

Get a JR pass and do a day or overnight trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima.

And I agree with those who say you should just stay 4 nights in Kyoto and commute to Osaka as required -- it's a standard suggestion on this forum.

abmj-jr

Not to pile on, but - piling on here.

You aren't leaving any time to actually SEE the places on your itinerary, moving hotel every 2 days. I'd agree with the recommendation to skip Osaka and concentrate your Kansai area stay in Kyoto, which will be much more "in bloom." I'd also second the recommendation to slip your trip to the 1st/2nd weeks of April. March will be too early for good sakura viewing.

If you purchase 7-day Rail Passes, you could activate them for the last 7 of your 9 days and not worry about train reservations. The jury is out as to whether that would actually save you any money or not. If you stay in Kyoto and only do day trips to Osaka and Nara and spend the rest of the time in Kyoto, you will probably NOT come out money ahead but will come out ahead in terms of hassle. You would pay cash or buy a 2-day Kansai Area Pass for the trip from KIX to Kyoto and other local train trips, then use the JR Rail Pass for everything else including the Narita Express out to NRT on departure day. Otherwise, you could simply pay cash for each train segment but would then have to queue up each time to buy them. That would probably save a bit of money. Most of the major stations (KIX, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo) will have english-speaking agents to help you.

Assuming you skip the Osaka stay and settle into Kyoto for 4 days, you will be riding the Japan Rail (JR) "Haruka" airport special from KIX to Kyoto and the Narita Express (N'Ex) airport special train from Tokyo (multiple stations) to NRT. In between, you will need a shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto (or ShinOsaka) to Tokyo and local trains for other travel - Kyoto-Osaka, Kyoto-Nara, Kyoto-Hikone (for the castle,) Tokyo-Kamakura, Tokyo-Nikko, etc.

You should plan on most of your travel by train, with local subways (Tokyo) and buses (Kyoto) in between. The occasional taxi will help when time is tight but will cost much more than subway or bus.

If I was planning an 8/9 day first trip to Japan in springtime, arriving KIX and departing NRT, I'd probably plan 4/5 days in Kyoto with day trips to Osaka and Nara and 3/4 days in Tokyo with a day trip to Kamakura and maybe one to Nikko. I'd skip everything else on your itinerary. Kyoto is so beautiful, you WILL want more time there than you think.

ksandness

I agree with what abmj-jr says.　

You can't see everything in such a short time. In fact, you could easily spend a whole week in Kyoto, and between the city itself and day trips, not run out of things to see and do.

You're one of those inquirers who definitely needs to read a guidebook or two and study some maps.

cruise603

Thank you so much for all the valuable input.
Yes, I did check Hyperdia but was so confused because I don't know the station names. Now it's getting much clearer.
Following your advices, we'll postpone the trip 1 week and depart 1st week of April. Here is the modified itinerary:

Day 1: KIX to Kyoto
Day 2: Kyoto sightseeing
Day 3: day trip to Nara and Osaka
Day 4: Kyoto to Hakone
Day 5: Hakone to Kamakura to Tokyo
Day 6: Tokyo sightseeing
Day 7: Tokyo
Day 8: day trip to Nikko
Day 9: morning in Tokyo, then Narita Express to Narita

We'll spend 3 nights in Kyoto, 1 in Hakone, and 4 nights Tokyo, or should we skip Nikko and spend 4 nights Kyoto and 3 nights Tokyo.
Again, thanks a lot.

RichardInSF

Hakone is an entire region, it's not a single city. You need to decide in what part of Hakone you want to stay. I'd recommend Gora. Hakone-Yumoto is more quickly accessible but less scenic.

With only one night in Hakone, you should spend the entire day 5 taking all the assorted transport systems around the area. Hakone and Kamakura in one day is way too much. Having been to Kyoto, I'd say you can skip Kamakura.

There's also plenty to see in and around Tokyo without making a day trip to Nikko, but you don't have to decide about that until the last minute anyhow. It takes about two hours each way to get to Nikko from Tokyo.

railroadtycoon

A lot packed there, I'd say skip KAMAKURA especially if you've seen Kyoto and Nara already. Only so much temples and shrines one can tolerate...@_@.

abmj-jr

I'd opt for the extra night in Kyoto.

For blossom viewing in Kyoto, try Nijo Castle, the Imperial Palace Park and tour (the only time I recommend the tour is cherry season), Maruyama Park, Kiyomizu Dera temple and Ryoanji temple garden. There are literally dozens of other gardens, temples and other sites that will also have nice displays, too. Likewise, the day trip to Nara.

For Tokyo, along with the usual "must-see" sites, I recommend the Hama Rikyu Detached Imperial Garden (really amazing sakura displays), Asakusa including Sensoji temple and the Edo-Tokyo Museum. The ETM doesn't really have anything to do with sakura but is the best museum of its type. If you only do one museum that should be the one. Ueno Park will also be quite pretty but likely very crowded. For a nice day, you can combine Asakusa and Hama Rikyu by taking the water taxi from one to the other. Quite reasonable and a unique perspective of the city. If you ride from Asakusa to Hama Rikyu, after you see the garden you can walk to Tsukiji or even to Ginza to catch the subway back to where ever.

cruise603

Very good input.
We'll skip Kamakura and spend the extra day in Kyoto.
In Hakone, is it worthed to spend the night at the Hilton Odawara or should we go directly Kyoto-Tokyo and do day trip to Hakone ?
Also, is Odaiba in Tokyo worth to see ?

thank you (as always)

ksandness

Odaiba is an artificial island in Tokyo Bay with some strange architecture, a bunch of restaurants and amusement centers, and some high-rise housing developments. I've been out there with friends, but to me, the most interesting part is the ride on the automated Yurikamome train from Shinbashi.

It's not a priority unless you like that sort of thing.

railroadtycoon

Odaiba, depends on what you are interested in. For the scenery the Yurikamome train ride is very nice, and the view of of the Rainbow Bridge with Tokyo Tower from Odaiba is very nice, daytime and night. Things to actually do on Odaiba other then the views is your standard shopping etc. Tokyo Big Site is good to go to if you check their website maybe there is a convention of sorts during your date.

If you are visiting Asakusa in Tokyo, you can take a waterboat cruise to Odaiba, then leave via Yurikamome train to Shimbashi.

cruise603

Thanks for the reply.
We'll try to squeeze in Odaiba, to see the modern part of Japan, so we will do the train ride for the view only, but we are not very interesting in shopping since the price in Japan must be much higher than in the US.