First Time To Japan - Kyoto/Tokyo Advice
Apr 29, 2014, 9:59 am
#61
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 245
Hard to recommend hotels or areas without knowing your requirements. Luxury or budget, or in between. Some would recommend staying near the station for ease of transportation options. I disagree as the area around the station is pretty uninspiring to say the least. I prefer something further north, near Nijo Castle or the Imperial Palace and near a stop on one of the major bus routes or a subway station.
http://www.japanhotel.net/ has reasonable choices and a locator map.
The train from KIX to Kyoto is called the JR "Haruka" and is very easy to use. There is a Japan Rail Travel Service Center right at KIX, up the escalator in the arrivals hall to the second floor and across the street via the enclosed pedestrian bridge. There are signs. You will see the JRTSC to the left, in a glass walled office with lime green trim. Once you have your ticket, the actual train platforms are right across the hall and down the escalator.
I still don't know why you want to leave Kyoto early and arrive in Tokyo early, before check-in time, but if you want an early train, I'd suggest dropping by the ticket office a day or so early and make a seat reservation. The most convenient ticket location is just inside the main, north (Karasuma) entrance but the shinkansens actually leave on the other side of the station. If you take a cab, just tell the driver "shinkansen eki" and he will deliver you to the right place.
http://www.japanhotel.net/ has reasonable choices and a locator map.
The train from KIX to Kyoto is called the JR "Haruka" and is very easy to use. There is a Japan Rail Travel Service Center right at KIX, up the escalator in the arrivals hall to the second floor and across the street via the enclosed pedestrian bridge. There are signs. You will see the JRTSC to the left, in a glass walled office with lime green trim. Once you have your ticket, the actual train platforms are right across the hall and down the escalator.
I still don't know why you want to leave Kyoto early and arrive in Tokyo early, before check-in time, but if you want an early train, I'd suggest dropping by the ticket office a day or so early and make a seat reservation. The most convenient ticket location is just inside the main, north (Karasuma) entrance but the shinkansens actually leave on the other side of the station. If you take a cab, just tell the driver "shinkansen eki" and he will deliver you to the right place.
Thanks for the advice!
I think location (so ease of access to attractions) would be most important for our stay. Any level from upper end to luxury would be great. We do have some Hyatt points we could burn since I heard the regency there is decent, but not required as I can always use them for something else
. Given that critera, which places would you recommend we try out?The main reason we are looking to leave Kyoto somewhat early is to get more of a full day in Tokyo. We have a noon check-in at the hotel (Conrad) so I'm hoping the overlap time won't be too bad...
Apr 29, 2014, 10:31 am
#62
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
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I think abmj's preference for city center is understandable, but I'll be one of the dissenters because it strikes me that your short stay with a very early morning departure is one of the cases where I think the Granvia hotel has some strong advantages. The station is in the station complex itself, so very convenient for arrival and departure. It's a very comfortable hotel and the location at the transport hub means you can get buses to all corners of town. (Can also rent bicycles nearby etc.)
Apr 29, 2014, 10:51 am
#63
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 245
I think abmj's preference for city center is understandable, but I'll be one of the dissenters because it strikes me that your short stay with a very early morning departure is one of the cases where I think the Granvia hotel has some strong advantages. The station is in the station complex itself, so very convenient for arrival and departure. It's a very comfortable hotel and the location at the transport hub means you can get buses to all corners of town. (Can also rent bicycles nearby etc.)
I can also see the advantages of staying near the station. Is it very easy to get to all of the sights in Kyoto from this hotel? Is the transit time long? Not sure how big the city is or how easily accessible the top attractions are.
Apr 29, 2014, 1:44 pm
#64
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
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Posts: 9,637
- Kiyomizu temple (south east side of the city) takes 15 minutes by bus.
- Kinkakuji (the golden pavilion - on the north west edge of the city) takes about 35 minutes by bus.
- Nijo castle (west central) about 15 minutes by bus
http://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-buses
Needless to say, if you plan a day out in Kyoto, you will explore various sites in the same part of town before moving on to another part of town and you won't travel via the station between each place you visit.
Apr 29, 2014, 2:43 pm
#65
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
Although I prefer to use the excellent subway/bus system when in Kyoto, for a very short stay, it might be more efficient to spend a little more and move between major attractions by cab. You could cram one or two more sites into a day by skipping the 20 to 30 minute bus trips. The cabbies will get you right to the front entrance at each place, so no walks from the nearest station. You would have to carry several thousand yen for cabs in that case in addition to the entrance fees of a few hundred that most sites charge.
Apr 30, 2014, 8:08 am
#66
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 245
Under these circumstances, I agree. The Granvia is a bit more expensive than I prefer but it certainly would be a good choice here.
Although I prefer to use the excellent subway/bus system when in Kyoto, for a very short stay, it might be more efficient to spend a little more and move between major attractions by cab. You could cram one or two more sites into a day by skipping the 20 to 30 minute bus trips. The cabbies will get you right to the front entrance at each place, so no walks from the nearest station. You would have to carry several thousand yen for cabs in that case in addition to the entrance fees of a few hundred that most sites charge.
Although I prefer to use the excellent subway/bus system when in Kyoto, for a very short stay, it might be more efficient to spend a little more and move between major attractions by cab. You could cram one or two more sites into a day by skipping the 20 to 30 minute bus trips. The cabbies will get you right to the front entrance at each place, so no walks from the nearest station. You would have to carry several thousand yen for cabs in that case in addition to the entrance fees of a few hundred that most sites charge.
Agreed it might be best to use cabs to maximize our time in Kyoto. If we do do that, does location matter less?
Last edited by mojo2121; Apr 30, 2014 at 10:36 am
Apr 30, 2014, 10:35 am
#67
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 155
We were in Kyoto recently and decided against using public transportation to hit the areas we wanted to visit, we used cabs and hired a guide for a day (as opposed to Tokyo, where the trains were easy and everywhere). Kyoto's public transportation system isn't quite as fast, comprehensive, or user-friendly for a foreigner and doing this enabled us to see several different things we wanted to see in a fairly efficient manner. If you choose to do this, you can effectively choose to stay anywhere in Kyoto.
Cabs are nearly everywhere in Kyoto. We rented a machiya in a somewhat residential section of Kyoto, but still could walk outside anytime and flag down a cab within a few minutes.
The guide really paid off for us. He drove us everywhere, but what we really enjoyed was having someone who could tell us the history and significance of a lot of the things we were seeing. He was well, well-worth the expense in terms of time saved, places seen, and our overall experience.
Best - dcman2
Cabs are nearly everywhere in Kyoto. We rented a machiya in a somewhat residential section of Kyoto, but still could walk outside anytime and flag down a cab within a few minutes.
The guide really paid off for us. He drove us everywhere, but what we really enjoyed was having someone who could tell us the history and significance of a lot of the things we were seeing. He was well, well-worth the expense in terms of time saved, places seen, and our overall experience.
Best - dcman2
Apr 30, 2014, 10:40 am
#68
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: YYZ
Programs: MR Plat
Posts: 383
The guide really paid off for us. He drove us everywhere, but what we really enjoyed was having someone who could tell us the history and significance of a lot of the things we were seeing. He was well, well-worth the expense in terms of time saved, places seen, and our overall experience.
Best - dcman2
Apr 30, 2014, 11:45 am
#69
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 245
The guide really paid off for us. He drove us everywhere, but what we really enjoyed was having someone who could tell us the history and significance of a lot of the things we were seeing. He was well, well-worth the expense in terms of time saved, places seen, and our overall experience.
Best - dcman2
Apr 30, 2014, 12:14 pm
#70
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 155
May 13, 2014, 9:35 pm
#72
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 245
For the half day before, are there any of the main attractions that are easy to hit near the Hyatt? Along a similar line, should we see certain items that day that don't necessarily require a guide (thinking maybe like the bamboo forests)?
Thanks!
May 14, 2014, 10:21 am
#73
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,263
We were able to secure Mr Doi's services for our full day in Kyoto and are very excited!
For the half day before, are there any of the main attractions that are easy to hit near the Hyatt? Along a similar line, should we see certain items that day that don't necessarily require a guide (thinking maybe like the bamboo forests)?
Thanks!
For the half day before, are there any of the main attractions that are easy to hit near the Hyatt? Along a similar line, should we see certain items that day that don't necessarily require a guide (thinking maybe like the bamboo forests)?
Thanks!
May 14, 2014, 4:49 pm
#74
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
From the Hyatt, the national museum is right across the street, Sanjusangendo temple (highly recommended) is 1/2 block to the west on the same side as the hotel and Chishaku-in temple (if time permits) is cat-a-corner across the intersection, along the way to Kyiomizu-dera. There is plenty right there around the hotel to fill a half day without ever boarding a bus or taxi.
May 14, 2014, 11:51 pm
#75
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 245
From the Hyatt, the national museum is right across the street, Sanjusangendo temple (highly recommended) is 1/2 block to the west on the same side as the hotel and Chishaku-in temple (if time permits) is cat-a-corner across the intersection, along the way to Kyiomizu-dera. There is plenty right there around the hotel to fill a half day without ever boarding a bus or taxi.
That being the case, any other main attractions we could fit into the first half day? Does heading out to the bamboo Forrest area not make sense? Seems like something we could do without Mr Doi, or maybe it makes sense to us the driver for that - not sure.
Last edited by mojo2121; May 15, 2014 at 12:00 am