NRT to Kyoto help!
 

Hi guys
I need some help, my flight from NRT to Kix just got cancelled (our trip was next week!!) and now there are no flights.
we fly in from the US to NRT and arrive at around 4:30pm.
at this point we figure we can just stay one night in Tokyo and take the train to Kyoto but I am confused on the best way to do this.
There are no flight alternatives (So SO not happy with Jetstar airlines).

Any tips on how to do this. we figured to go from NRT to Shingawa (stay somewhere around there for a nigh and take a train to kyoto the next day maybe? I just dont know which station from Shingawa to go to and what train to take to kyoto, which station i would be at and how to find my hotel
wow im stressing!
any help is appreciated!!:confused::confused::confused:

Jetstar? I think they did this once before...

You can easily reach Kyoto on the day of arrival. If you land at 4.30pm, you can get the Narita Express train to Shinagawa, then change to Tokaido Shinkansen, which takes you all the way to Kyoto. It's roughly a 4 hour journey in all. If you prefer to break it up, you could stay at a hotel near Shinagawa station.

Get your tickets from the JR ticket office at the JR station under the arrivals hall at Narita Airport.

How long is your trip? If 7 days or less, you might find the JR pass worthwhile.

nrt to kyoto help!
 

my friend i am traveling with is nervous about going too late on a train. we have a 12 hour flight to narita so another 4 hour train ride may be a bit tedious.
we are trying to find a hotel near shingawa station.
our trip is from 11/22-11/28 (just going to spend about 2 nights in kyoto and 3 nights in tokyo, then going to hong kong)

our hotel is technically in north kyoto (not sure what is going on there next weekend, every hotel is booked)
yes jetstar...im so annoyed with them.

Well, I am another vote to just go straight to Kyoto and not waste 1/2 a day in Shinagawa. I'd get a Japan Rail Pass, convert it upon arrival and try to make the 5:44 pm Narita Express to Shinagawa. There, connect to the Hikari shinkansen, arriving Kyoto a little after 10. Grab a sandwich or bento at Shinagawa and eat on the train. Checked into hotel and in bed by 11 or so.

You'd be tired but staying up until a "normal" bed time will help with the jet lag and you can be out early to see some of Kyoto before the tour bus crowds flood all the sites.

If you decide to overnight in Tokyo, Tokyo Station might work out better for the short stay. More hotel options close-by and more departures in the morning. Either way, Tokyo or Shinagawa, with the jet lag you'll be up early so get an early train to beat crowds.

With Narita Express both directions plus shinkansen round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo, the JR Pass pays for itself even if you don't use all 7 days. Throw in a quick local train to Nara or Hikone and you are way ahead.

my friend coming with me is concerned with 2 women getting off the train in kyoto with bags and looking like obvious tourists and wandering around to get to the hotel, even though i've tried to explain it should be fine she seems to be nervous about this which is a reason were thinking about just staying in shingawa for a night
but thank you, i may consider staying near tokyo station instead.

i'm reading that the JR pass does not include the train to Kyoto (nozomi express?), did i misread this?

OP is clearly not as experienced in traveling in Japan as many here, so it's best not to make it too complicated.

For your 1st night, reserve a room at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. After arriving at NRT, take the Narita Express train to Shinagawa station. The Shinagawa Prince Hotel is directly across the street from the station.

All trains from Tokyo to Kyoto stop at Shinagawa station. The fastest of these trains is called the Nozomi, and the JR pass is not valid on Nozomi. But there are also many other trains from Tokyo & Shinagawa to Kyoto, and the JR pass is valid on those trains.

There will be no problem with looking like tourists in Kyoto. I know it seems hard to believe but I was just in Kyoto about 10 days ago and that sort of thing just doesn't happen. It is easy to get a taxi to your hotel at any time you arrive, and the taxi will use the meter and will not give you a tour of the town on the way.

I think wandering around Shinagawa station trying to find your hotel is no better than wandering around Kyoto station, in fact!

If you are making a round trip to/from Kyoto, the JR pass is a good deal, check out the threads here about it. The Hikari to Kyoto (which the JR pass is good on) runs twice an hour and does the trip in about 25 minutes longer than the fastest train, the Nozomi. You are there the ideal time for a 1 week pass, it would be good for your entire trip and cover transportation to/from NRT as well as some local Tokyo transport and the train between Kyoto and Nara.

Japan is probably one of the safest places in the world to be "two women getting off the train...with bags and looking like obvious tourists."

Here's what you need to do, step-by-step if you're not up for a train ride right after a 12-hour flight (for which I do not blame you).

1. Arrive at NRT, and when you finish immigration and customs, go downstairs to the JR Office. Turn in your JR Pass voucher (you need to buy the voucher before you go to Japan), and tell them you want a ticket to Tokyo or Shinagawa (whichever you decided to stay in). Personally, I think that Shinagawa Station is less confusing than Tokyo if you're jet-lagged and a first-time visitor.

2. Go to your hotel, stay up till 10PM Tokyo time if possible, and sleep.

3. You may wake up at 4:00AM, but the Hikari Shinkansen to Kyoto start running really early in the morning, every half hour or so beginning at 6:34.

4. When you get to the station and the Shinkansen gates, go through the turnstile that is staffed, usually the one farthest to the right. It's supposed to be for wheelchairs or special tickets, but it's also the only one you can use with a Japan Rail Pass, which does not work in the automated turnstiles.

5. At that time of day, you should be all right with non-reserved seats. There will be signs on the platform telling you which cars on reserved and which are smoking and non-smoking.

6. If you have a hotel reservation in Kyoto, print out the hotel's Japanese website before you leave. The website should have a page with a map on it. If your hotel isn't one of the famous ones in town, show the map to the cabdriver. You don't have to tip the driver (or anyone else in Japan).

If it's stressing you out that much, then look at JAL or ANA and book one of their flights from NRT to KIX. Even better, get to HND and go to KIX. Flights every hour.

Such flights don't exist. Jetstar is currently the only airline flying NRT-KIX. JAL and ANA fly to ITM.

Again you are probably thinking of ITM. But if you are going to go to HND, then fly to ITM or KIX, then go to Kyoto from there, you might as well take the shinkansen, which takes the same amount of time or less, and saves you at least one transfer on the ground.

Never mind.

Both JAL and ANA have domestic flights from NRT to ITM (Itami) airport, the "downtown" airport in Osaka. The ANA flight departs at 17:55 and the JAL flight at 18:30. Depending on your destination in Osaka, that airport might be more convenient than KIX,

Edit to note. I see that you're going to Kyoto. From ITM you can catch a highway bus direct to Kyoto. Last one leaves at about 21:00 and arrives in Kyoto at about 22:00.

Yes, thinking of ITM. However, as noted, one can fly NRT-ITM.

While the train could get the OP to Kyoto as early as 9:00 pm.

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/searc...d&sum_target=7

The train is also slightly cheaper, even without a Japan Rail Pass: just over 16,000 yen, compared to a standard fare of 22,500 yen from NRT to ITM (discounted to 16,000 if you buy round trip, but still more expensive when you factor in the cost of the bus from ITM to Kyoto).

Take the train same day all the way to Kyoto. You'll wake up the next morning at your destination fresh and ready to go. It's easy and totally safe.