Please help a first-timer to Japan!
 

Already booked for a trip in September (all points and miles!) to Geneva-Strasbourg and Paris but have given some thought to scrapping it to go to Japan.

We can be away up to ten or eleven days. Figuring three days for travel, that means up to 8 days.

How many days do we need to do Tokyo right? What one other city would make sense and not be too hard to include and how many days should we spend there?

I greatly appreciate any and all advice and insights!

Happy New Year!

The "classic taste of Japan" for first-timers usually includes some time in Tokyo and surrounding area and some time in the Kansai region - Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and surrounding area.

For 7 or 8 days in Japan, I'd suggest 3-4 days in Tokyo and 4-5 days in Kansai. Since Kyoto, Osaka and Nara are all within a short train trip from each other, you really don't need to change hotels. Just find a good place in Tokyo and one in Kyoto (my preference) or Osaka.

Tokyo is the quintessential ultra-modern Japan and Kyoto has the old, traditional castle and temple vibe. Nara is even older than Kyoto and was the first permanent capitol in the 8th century.

The best way to do all the above is to arrive in Japan at NRT (the New Tokyo International) or HND (Haneda-Tokyo International) airport and depart from KIX (Kansai International Airport) outside of Osaka - or vice versa. If you can't arrive/depart to/from different airports, then select one, probably Tokyo. In that case, you will need to plan a round trip on the bullet train (shinkansen) to get to and from Tokyo and Kyoto.

Thanks for the advice.

next - when we travel, we usually either tour on our own or get a guide for a day. When we travel to Israel, we ALWAYS have a guide. My sense is that Japan would be hard to negotiate without one.

So first of all, is that correct? And if so, any leads to companies that we can work with?

Thanks again.

I think it's unnecessary to hire guides and assistants. It's quite easy to travel around Japan independently. A little planning goes a long way. Plenty of tourists visit Japan without any knowledge of the language or culture.
(Some of them leave like that too).

I remember going to Japan the first time years ago, I could not read a lick of Japanese and got around the main cities just fine.

Do a little research ahead of time (http://www.japan-guide.com , and of course this site ;) ) and you should be generally fine in getting around.

If you are going to the main cities, main sites, even the minor ones, again do a bit of pre-planning there's no reason to have a guide.

Sample Shinkansen (bullet train) platform sign in Japan:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielross/279638638/

Sample sign on a Tokyo JR train:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manarh/121950767/

And I will add my standard advice: buy a guidebook and some maps, for heaven's sake. Any large bookstore will offer three or four choices.

Ever since my first stay in Japan in the 1970s, I have helped intimidated tourists get their bearings in the country. All of them are surprised at how easy it is to get around. For one thing, unlike Israel, there is no latent threat from suicide bombers, and on the whole, Japan has one of the world's lowest crime rates among industrialized countries. For another, there is bilingual (English and Japanese) signage in all stations and tourist areas. Most people do not speak English, but they can more or less read simple English written in block letters. The people are not effusively friendly, but they are quietly kind and helpful to foreign visitors.

I would recommend a guided tour (the ones I've looked at seem overpriced) only if you were an inexperienced traveler, and maybe not even then.

Even I was surprised when I went to the rather remote Koya-san temple complex in the mountains south of Kyoto in 2000 and found that the other foreigner staying at "my" temple was a young man in his early 20s who spoke no Japanese and had been in the country only four days.

Although I agree about not really needing an organized tour in Tokyo or Kyoto, there have been a few 1-day tours in Kyoto that are highly recommended by folks who have used them.

For a cab tour of Kyoto, try Doi Taxi : http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~doitaxi/index.html .

If you are walkers, Johnny Hill Walker seems to be highly regarded:
http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/h-s-love/ .

I vote for Japan
 

I vote for Japan. I lived in Europe for two years in the late eighties and spent five weeks in Tokyo in 1983. For me, visiting Europe gives me the same feeling I had as a kid when I went to Disneyland while visiting Japan was more like going to another planet. It was just an amazing experience. I recommend watching the movie "Lost in Translation". This movie did a good job of capturing the feeling of being in Japan.

You folks have been wonderful and I think you convinced my wife to change our plans. So let me impose some more!

I have Diamond Elite with Hyatt, Platinum with Starwood and Diamond with Hilton. I have many more Starwood points. I also have Marriott points so I would also consider the Ritz Carltons in either Tokyo or Osaka. We used them to stay at the Ritz in Central Park, NY and only had to pay $100 for daily Club Access - an amazing bargain. I have already sent emails to Ritz to ask if the same would be available in Japan. Hyatt and Hilton Diamond are nice since they gets me free breakfasts.

Okay so first of all, Kyoto or Osaka - or does it matter?

Second - Throw some hotels at me that you think would be great in each city- we will probably use points for almost everything altho the Kyoto Hyatt Regency seems very cheap and it may pay to use cash.

My sense from the above posts is to start with 3-4 nights in Tokyo, 4-5 nights in either Osaka or Kyoto and do day-trips from there.

I know I have a lot of research to do - fortunately, I have about 9 months to do it. But the advice from people on FT is invaluable to get one started in the right direction and you have all been wonderful. I am very grateful.

Right now ANA flights are all listed on their seach engine as Wait-Listed. Not sure what that means and what the chances are of it opening up. I do see flights available in Business on Air Canada - short flight from NYC and then a long flight on AC. The Business Class seats look wonderful. If anyone has insight on the Wait-List situation, that would be great too.

Happy New Year!

Let me pile on the thread too -- another first timer, but my trip is much sooner. Next week! I got an international F award PHX-SFO-NRT on United, and had the time available. I realize the weather won't be the greatest. I'm planning on staying in Tokyo and Kyoto, but haven't gotten too far with an itinerary yet. I'll be there 13th-20th.

I'd prefer to stay in Kyoto because on a first visit I'd probably find more to interest me in Kyoto. There are always some people like to say that "Osaka has the food and the nightlife".... Yawn. I think they're mostly people who found Osaka more affordable than Kyoto (it usually is) and don't like to think that Kyoto might have had food and things to do at night (it does).

Based on what you've said about points and prices, I'd suggest staying at the Ritz Carlton in Tokyo and the Hyatt Regency in Kyoto. Both fine hotels in great locations.

Then you better buy a JR pass quickly, you can't buy it in Japan.

The Ritz in Tokyo sounds very good - still waiting to hear if we can upgrade to Club Level. But the Hyatt in Kyoto does not have a Club Level while in Osaka they do. Does that affect your recommendation?

The Hyatt Regency in Osaka is out in the docklands. Unless you're planning a visit to the Universal Studios theme park, or you have business with a company in the immediate vicinity, I would recommend against staying there.

In fact, even if you do have a reason to visit that area, I think you're better off staying elsewhere.

I'd go with Kyoto. Osaka is much like Tokyo - big, modern, high-energy, albeit with its own vibe. You will have already had several days in ultra modern Japan. Kyoto will give you a much different experience than the "big cities."

Many disagree with me but I have never really found any good reason to stay in Osaka other than a transit layover near the shinkansen station. Visit, yes. See some sights and have a great meal, yes. But for the stay, I much prefer Kyoto - or even Nara. Despite no club floor, the Kyoto HR is quite nice and in a really great location. Assuming you invest in a JR Rail Pass, the bullet train between Kyoto and Osaka takes only minutes so a day visit is no sweat.

When you're looking at hotels, remember that the category of "business hotels" in Japan are not like U.S. business hotels. They're where junior staff stay - in small, clean rooms, not executive suites. Good bargains, but don't be surprised if you can touch opposing walls at the same time!

... with your belly.

Far better to stay at $hitty hotels. They're not at all like the $hitty hotels you find in the US.

I got a better one. During the 2002 World Cup, we went to the Mexico-Italy game in Oita, in the boonies in Kyushu. We had an extra ticket, so we sold it to a scalper outside, at face value. We knew that whoever sat next to us, would have bought the ticket from said scalper, and could tell us what kind of markup he was getting.

So this Mexican guy walks in and sits there. So we start the small talk, and it turns out he had landed in NRT the day before, rented a car in NRT, and drove from NRT to Kyushu, got to the stadium and bought the ticket from the scalper outside. Guy spoke no Japanese whatsoever, and had never driven on the left side of the road. Talk about a rabid fan.

So whenever somebody gets all hot and bothered about how Japan is so difficult to navigate, blah blah, I just tell them that story.

By the way, he bought the ticket at a small discount to face value, so the scalper actually lost money on the deal, good Karma for the buyer!

Check Out the Monterey Kyoto Hotel
 

Monterey is a Japanese-owned and operated chain with somewhere around 15-20 properties. We stayed in their Kyoto property on the Karasuma-dori (the main street that runs away from the railway station); absolutely beautiful, wonderful and charming staff, and their own rooftop "onsen". The Kyoto subway had a stop about a block away. I think you can get a $150 per night rate there.

We did do a guided tour on one of our days in Kyoto, which hit the highlights in Kyoto in the morning and the highlights in Nara, about 40 minutes by road away from central Kyoto, in the afternoon. As we had been in Japan a week by this time and were pretty much worn out from all the walking we had done, doing a guided tour for one day was right for us (my wife and I are in our mid-50s).

A JR 7 day pass is worth it; we did the Green Car pass, and it turned out that the cost of the pass was only a few yen more than a single Green Car round trip from central Tokyo to Kyoto. Not only did we ride the Tokaido Shinkansen to and from Kyoto, we also went to Nikko (about 100 miles north of Tokyo and really worth a look), rode JR trains all around Tokyo, and I did the Joetsu shinkansen through the mountains up to Niigata and back, just to do it. There are plenty of on-line travel agencies that can set you up with the pass-they send you a receipt, which you take to a JR service center (there is one on the mezzanine between the arrivals exit in NRT Terminal 1 and the rail station platforms; another one is in Tokyo station), show the agent your passport, and they issue your passes right there (and make seat reservations if you want them; all Shinkansen green cars are all-reserved).

I love Japan; it is sensational. I've even printed out instructions on how to read and write the Hiragana alphabet, and even have picked up a few words (Kita is north, Higashi is east, Minami is south, and Nishi is west--how about that?). I'm sitting here looking at about Y8,500 that I had left over from my last trip--I cannot wait to go back.

Okay - time for an update from the OP:

Thought I had things pretty well planned out when I found out yesterday that my niece will probably be married over Labor Day weekend (when we planned to be there) so I was back to square one.

Finding flights was not easy and we ended up taking the only Business Class award seats we could find. That means we are flying Air Canada, leaving Sept 7th and arriving the 8th. The only seats I could get to return are on the 20th meaning we will be there a few more days than I had wanted.

Reserved the Ritz in Tokyo from 9/8 - 9/13. Contacted both the hotel directly and Ritz reservations and we have been upgraded to a Club level room with Club Access for an additional $100 per night above the Marriott certificate.

Also reserved the Hyatt in Kyoto from 9/13 - 9/18.

Question is what to do the last night? Do I add Hiroshima for one night (the 18th), then train back to Tokyo for the last night to rest and wait for the flight? Do I just add one more night to Kyoto? Any other ideas?

Many thanks for all the generous help.

Here's my suggestion - Reduce your Tokyo stay by one night (9/8 to 9/12). Make a two-day onsen trip after Tokyo - to some rural destination in the mountains (or Hiroshima if that's what you want to see). Then stay in Kyoto until the final day of your trip (9/14 to 9/20). Take the Shinkansen from Kyoto around 11am to connect to Air Canada flight 4 (Departs Tokyo at 5:30pm)

Or ... if you want to do a Hiroshima trip at the very end of your stay ... Take the train to Miyajima on 9/19. Stay overnight at Iwaso onsen. Visit Hiroshima in the morning of 9/20. See the peace park and museum. Take the bus to Hiroshima airport. Catch ANA3114 to NRT (Departs at 2:25PM). Connect to your flight home.

Japan is my favorite place. You could also do a day trip or overnight north to Nara. (it's about an hour on the direct train, but the direct train is not JR (if I'm right), so it's a separate ticket). I love Nara. It's got tons of temples, they are close together and they are stunning. Not a lot of western tourists. I'd recommend an overnight so you can get up early in the morning before everyone gets there. When we were there, it was full of students visiting.

I also recommend the JR pass. We were able to use it on the JR system around Tokyo and so didn't have to buy many subway tickets.

You don't need a guide.

Any suggestions for favorite guidebooks?

Tsk tsk.

Ouch! Mea Culpa! :eek:

Wikitravel's sections on Japan are really, really good, and largely written by Japanese-fluent locals who know the different towns much better than the usual hack authors living off comps.

That was nice of you......:eek:

Thanks, I'm making notes. I did order a JR rail pass which should arrive this week via FedEx.

Go to bookstore. Exclude Lonely Planet, not for any special reason, just on general principles. Then pick another guidebook by which one has the latest copyright date.

I am jumping in as we will also be first-timers to Japan next July ;)

I see plenty of nice hotels (SPG, HH, IC, Hyatt...) in Tokyo, Osaka, and some other big cities.
However, according to tripadvisor, it seems somehow difficult to find adequate lodging in "smaller" cities (i.e. Nara or Nikko, Hiroshima).

How to be sure to make the right choice at the right price :confused: (We are not on a budget trip)
Is it better to use Tokyo or Osaka as a "hub" and take the Shinkansen for day trips ?

I've never heard this. What is your definition of a nice hotel?
If you only want to stay at SPG, HH, IC, and Hyatt properties, then you'll find that most of your options are in the largest cities. But just about any city will have at least one up-market Western style hotel - albeit without the opportunity to earn points that you can use back home. If you expand your criteria to include traditional Japanese inns, you'll find very comfortable lodgings in every corner of the country.

Yes, except substitute "Kyoto" for "Osaka" and "train" for "shinkansen."

While the shinkansen (bullet train) may indeed be the best option for day trips, local or deluxe trains may work better at times. From Kyoto (or Osaka for that matter) to Nara, there is no shinkansen but the local trains provide fast, frequent connection to the ancient capitol.

If you are on a JR Rail Pass, you can use either shinkansen or local JR trains as needed.

I'm surprised that you think "hub + shink" tourism is better than staying in smaller places abmj. Is that really what you mean? I know that you've wandered far off the beaten track without feeling the need to rush back to the big city on the last express train before nightfall.

That's what we are looking for. The wording "nice hotels" was indeed wrong.
How can these Japanese Inns be found ?

Guidebooks to Japan often list inns in various regions. As for online resources, you'll find a number of sites mentioned on the forum threads. Some of the sites that I can think of include:

http://www.ikyu.com/en/
http://www.ryokan.or.jp/index_en.html
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm
http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/
http://www.japanican.com/index.aspx

You can find some commentary about the various sites on this page:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/ac...ons/links.html

You are correct that I tend to wind up in little business hotels in places like Matsue or Kochi. I was thrown off by the poster's reference to "nice" hotels like SPG or IC and the desire for similar places in smaller cities. If one wants an IC, I stand by my advice. I see, however, that the poster has clarified and such accommodations are not really necessary. In that case, I am with you. On my last long stay, I actually stayed a few nights in Nara instead of Kyoto or Osaka as well as several other other somewhat out-of-the-way places. Not a single night in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka. :p

If the poster is ok with smaller, local hotels, then I think the "hub-and-shink" method (love that by the way) is not the most efficient or enjoyable way to see Japan.

It all depends on what you like.

Personally, I hate packing and unpacking. If I base myself in a central city, like Tokyo or Kyoto, the marvelous Japanese train network ensures that there's more to see within day trip distance than I can possibly cover in one trip.

For example, during one stay in Tokyo, I made easy day trips to Nagano, Mito, Aizu-Wakamatsu, and a client in Fuji-shi, and spent a night with some Japanese friends who have retired to the Nasu area.

From Kyoto, I've ventured to Nara, Osaka, and Kobe (of course) but also to the burial mound area, Yoshino, Tenri, Uji, Muryoji, and Hikone.

On the other hand, sometimes rural peace and quiet is what you need. I once spent a night in Ohara just for the atmosphere, even though the village is on the Kyoto city bus line. For Koya-san, a night in a temple is an integral part of the experience. In other cases, such as when traveling in more remote areas, you have to move from place to place.

Excellent; thank you ^

To the OP on the question of your extra day, I would use it do something else in the Kansai area. Kyoto is pretty central. So you could do Nara, Osaka, Kobe, or go to Arima (an onsen town near Kobe).

As others have said, Japan is really not that hard to get around in for a non-Japanese speaker. Also, in the last decade the use of English or at least Romaji (Romanized Letters for Japanese words) have increased a good deal in signage so it is even easier than it used to be. Enjoy your trip to Japan.

It's better to use Tokyo and Kyoto as hubs, not Osaka.

Nara can be done in an easy day trip from Kyoto (also from Osaka).

Nikko is a bit further away from Tokyo but can still be done as a day trip. There are no chain hotels in the Nikko area AFAIK, but virtually all Japanese hotels are clean and safe, so you don't need a chain hotel. A night in a ryokan or onsen would go well with a visit to Nikko.

I know there is that saying about Nikko that all the guidebooks will translate for you, but after you've seen Kyoto and Nara, I am not so sure you really need to visit Nikko.

July will be hot and humid. The early part of July can be part of the rainy season.