fandi

Hello All,
I'll travel with my 70 y.o dad and 60 y.o. mom for a 9 day tour to Japan during cherry blossom season. This will be our first time to Japan. Three of us managed to visit for the first time Rome/Florence/Venice/Paris in 2015 without hiccups. But it's been 3 years and now we plan this trip to Japan from scratch.
Our initial itinerary:
1) 15:55 April 4: touch down Narita Airport Terminal #2 . Travel to Tokyo.
2) April 4 thru April 6 (2 days and 3 nights) visit Tokyo (Ginza + Tsukiji market and Asakusa+Tokyo Skytree areas). Where to eat: don’t know.
3) April 7 morning: travel to Kyoto.
4) April 7 thu April 10 (3 days and 4 nights): Kyoto. Take Kyoto Sightseeing Bus at the Kyoto Station. Walk the places near Imadegawa Street such as (we could always reduce the number of places if we don’t have time) Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kaburenjo Theater (last day opening), Kyotofu Fujino, Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto Imperial Palace, Shinsenen Temple, Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion), also Nijo Wakasaya confectionery, Toji pagoda, Nijojo castle, Kodaiji Zen temple, Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, etc. Where to eat: preferrably budget eating at Porta Underground Shopping Mall
5) April 11 morning: travel back to Tokyo.
6) April 11 thru April 12 (2 days and 1 night): Tokyo (Cool Tokyo + Omotesando).
7) 18:05 April 12: leave Narita Airport Terminal #2 .

I'm about to book rooms for 2 places (but I could book other places nearer big stations if needed to shorten the walking distance for my parents' old legs)
Tokyo: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...ure_Kanto.html (close to Ikebukuro Station)
Kyoto: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g14124512-d736897-Reviews-K_s_House_Kyoto-Shimogyo_Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html (close to Kyoto Station)
Please help with how we would travel, what the best way to save on train tickets (passes are OK) and where we'd better stay:
- From Narita to our hotel in Tokyo and vice versa: Limousine bus will get stuck in traffic at 5pm weekday. Plus it only stops at big hotels whereas the place we stay are budget hotels. On the other hand, Narita Express always has a long line. So we might take Keisei.
- Travel from our hotels to Tokyo/Kyoto attractions:
a) For Tokyo: since We stay near Ikebukuro Station, we might take Marunouchi Line (Red line) to Ginza and the Fish market. Then take Ginza line(Gold line) to Asakusa areas. To go to Cool Tokyo, we could take Fukutoshin Line. From Ikebukuro to Nippori (to take Keisei to air port) we could take JR Yamanote line.
b) For Kyoto: We stay near Kyoto Station. We'll take Karasuma Line to Imadegawa Street.
- From Tokyo to Kyoto and vice versa: Take Marunouchi line to Tokyo Station and then buy tickets to Kyoto.
Any input is highly appreciated as I don't know much about Japan. Thanks A LOT!

allset2travel

I presume you already booked your air tickets, else I’d suggest doing an open jaw (e.g. fly to NRT; fly out of KIX) instead of what you have now (think saving travel time).

You seem to have done some online searches already. I would also down-load a few apps, such as:Tokyo metro map

Japan Official Travel App

Hyperdia (a train app)

Check this out before you go over to Tsukiji Fish Market due to the recent change,

https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainmen...-what-to-know/

In Tokyo (and Japan in general), you can eat almost anywhere. Restaurant menus usually have photos and prices posted. In some restaurants (usually smaller low end but equally good) you order your food (like noodles, rice) by inserting money in a machine by the door, and choose your food from it. Hand over the ticket to a staff and sit down if you find a table. If in doubt, go to a big department store and look for the restaurant floor (generally on higher floors).

Hotel in Kyoto: If you prefer a hotel near the train station, Hotel Granvia Kyoto is actually inside the station. It is a darn good one at that (by Japanese standard). While in Kyoto station, pick up tour info at the Tourist office in the train station, same place you’d buy ticket for the tour bus. Add Inari on your itinerary. It is but 1 (from recollection) train stop away.

I’ll let other to chime in with additional info for you.

I do have a few photos of Japan should you wish to take a sneak peek, please use this link

https://stefanofoto.smugmug.com/Asia-SWP/Japan

Regarding chasing cherry blossoms in Japan, click here for a journal:

https://stefanofoto.smugmug.com/Trav...herry-Blossoms

catcher1

Hotel suggestion in Kyoto: Hotel Granvia is above the train station. Very nice hotel. Recommend upper (luxury) floor, preferably 15th. You will be escorted to your room by porter, with your luggage. Multiple restaurants, all conveniences, excellent Japanese service, wonderful view of station below, access to rail transportation at your doorstep. Steps from mall with many restaurants.

fandi

Beautiful pictures. The compliment from a photography guy (I'm there just for photography) You meant Fushimi-Inari Shrine? The reason I take Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo is to travel against the cherry blossom path so if we miss one place, we can go back and catch it. I could book Hotel Granvia because its convenient location but not sure how loud the place is. What can JR passes benefit us in this case? Should we buy 1 week JR pass and then buy metro passes for the remaining 2 days? I know JR passes can't be used on Tokyo lines or Toei lines. Thanks.
Also will I get foreign transaction fees if I use a regular credit card to book for the rooms via US sites such as Booking.com/Priceline?

Pickles

Loud? Why would it be loud? It's above the station, not between the train tracks.

nishimark

You might be too late for cherry blossom season, though still too early to predict. Last year they came early, with full bloom in Tokyo I think around March 25. Even normal years full bloom is about April 2. Just something to be aware of. You might want to plan on blossom viewing as soon as you arrive.

fandi

Yes, I will. How long cherry blossom would last on the trees?

nishimark

Maybe a week or so after full blossom. It's beautiful to see the blossoms blowing through the air when they start to fall off and be replaced by the green leaves. But from the start of blossoming to the end is only about two weeks or so.

tt7

In addition to everything in the Porta Underground Mall, there are a lot of restaurants on the 10th and 11th floor in the station - Kyoto Station Dining. Take the escalators all the way up to the 11th floor and then through the door on the right. The ramen restaurants are on the 10th floor - take the escalators up to 11 (you can't get off at 10), cross over to the other side (left) and back down the steps to 10 and then through the door on the right. All the ramen restaurants are good though our favourite is Iroha - try the Tan Tan Noodles. On the 11th floor (see the 'Eat Paradise' group in the link above), we've eaten quite a few times at Mimiu and also at Waco (which is more or less opposite).

tt7

Do you really need to spend another day/night in Tokyo before you fly home? I would do what you're going to do in Tokyo, then go to Kyoto and then take the train from there to Narita (if it's not possible, as already suggested, to fly out of Osaka <KIX>). Getting from Kyoto to Narita on the train would take about four hours, so if you leave before lunch you should be able to make it to Narita for an 18.05 flight.

A 7 day Japan Rail Pass (Ą29,110) would be worthwhile as it would be marginally cheaper than individual tickets (Tokyo - Kyoto = Ą13,800 + Kyoto - Narita = Ą16,780). Any additional usage you get from the pass would be a bonus. The only downside to a JR Pass is that you can't use the Nozomi Shinkansen (the most frequent and fastest) and have to use the Hikari Shinkansen (usually two per hour Tokyo - Kyoto). They're a bit slower but only because they make a few more stops, not because the train goes any slower. If you're not already familiar with it, use HyperDia for everything you ever wanted to know about train times, fares, track numbers and generally how to get from A to B (and if you need any help figuring out how to use it, please just ask).

You should also get IC (Suica) cards. These are prepaid transit cards that can be used to pay for trains (but not the seat fee), buses, subways and can also be used at convenience stores (7-Eleven, Family Mart, Lawson). Much, much easier than getting a ticket every time you want to hop on a train or the subway. There are a number of regional variations (Suica, Pasmo, Icoca, Nimoco etc.) but they operate interchangeably throughout Japan (more or less). Suica is issued by JR East in Tokyo, Pasmo by the non-JR private railways/subways in Tokyo - I'd get a Suica. If you have iPhones (8, X, XR, XS), you can load a virtual Suica card in Apple Wallet and top it up using Apple Pay - very convenient. If you get a physical card, it can be topped up at ticket machines (but cash only).
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html

LapLap

In 2018 it was pretty much all over in Tokyo by the 1st April. I arrived on the 29th March, had a wonderful experience at Chidorigafuchi on the 30th March, and that was pretty much it for Tokyo with the exception of some lovely lone examples of late flowering trees (particularly “weeping” Sakura with bent branches - shibazakura).
The season was covered extensively in this thread:
White Day and Cherry Blossom 2018

Other years have been different, and for the Sakura to last two weeks in any one spot does happen, but is unusual. It tends to be due to a unseasonal cold front descending which “freezes” the blossom’s progress for a while. 2016 was such an occasion.

For the OP, I would urge a back up plan of visiting Matsumoto (the castle and Koboyama Park) in order to see Sakura.
I myself will be arriving in Tokyo on the 8th April next year and am not expecting to see much if any Sakura.
For fandi and co. I would recommend a visit to Nezu shrine (stunning azalea) and the surrounding Nezu and Yanaka area (look up YaNeSen). I would also suggest viewing umbrella shaded Peonies at Kamakura.
In Kyoto look out for the wisteria. For Tokyo, you may find some wisteria in the beautiful Denbo-in gardens in the heart of Asakusa.

Truffles

I stayed there last year on our 25th wedding anniversary Japan trip, also during cherry blossom season. Our room was quiet. I'm not sure I would be as enthusiastic about it as others seem to be. It falls in between being a Japanese hotel and a Western hotel in outlook. I prefer one or the other.

electriclarry

Have your parents look at the 'walking tours' on the You Tube , Only in Japan-Go Channel. Host John D an ex pat American Fluent in Japanese brings an interesting view to mostly Tokyo, but also Kyoto, and other place in Japan.

LapLap

Is there a particular video you think is appropriate to the OP?
I tried to watch “Ueno to Akihabara via Ameyoko Market” and had to give up. Alas, I fear I’m forever corrupted by what I did see, will have to fight to repress “Way no!” from spewing out every time I read or think of Ueno
Is he a friend of yours?

The episodes from the NHK Tokyo Eye series do vary in quality, but they are generally entertaining and informative. This one covers the Yanaka area
And there are other Yanaka themed episodes, as well as those covering other neighbourhoods.

An interesting assortment of walking maps can be found here
Tokyo walking map

ksandness

You've done a lot of research, but are you aware that the fish market has moved to a less convenient location and has limited access? Also, why do you want to go to Ginza? It's one of the most expensive areas of Tokyo, filled mostly with expensive shops and restaurants, and the only really interesting spot for the first-time visitor is the new Kabuki theater. You can buy tickets for one act only and rent headphones that give an English narration. However, if you do go to Ginza, this might be the opportunity to explore the wonders of a Japanese department store. They not only sell everything imaginable but also have gourmet supermarkets in their basements and at least one, sometimes two or three floors of restaurants.

Never worry about where to eat. There is always a budget restaurant (meals for US$15 or less) nearby with either a picture menu or plastic models of the food in the window. In fact, the problem is often deciding where NOT to eat. Many of these small restaurants specialize in one category of food, such as noodles, sushi, o-konomiyaki (somewhere between an eggy crepe or a floury omelet with your choice of seafood, meat or vegetable ingredients), or Korean barbecue (meat that you grill yourself at the table). I have never gotten sick eating in one of these places, and by the way, if you haven't learned this otherwise, the tap water is safe to drink.

Unless the menu says that your meal includes a beverage, be content with water and quench your thirst by buying something from one of the countless vending machines that you will see on the street. The extra beverage may cost almost as much as the meal.

If you're really low budget, you can find surprisingly good box lunches in the convenience stores, and the clerks will heat them in the microwave for you. Many hotels, even in the budget category, provide coffee or tea and some kind of breakfast in the morning, even if it is just toast or sweet rolls or o-nigiri rice balls. If not, most coffee shops have something available for breakfast. The non-chain coffee shops (more and more rare these days) provide "morning service," that is, coffee or tea with toast, a hard-boiled egg, and a salad.

Asakusa, Ueno, and the Tokyo Sky Tree are worth seeing, as is the nearby Edo Tokyo Museum of life during the samurai era. In fact, your parents might enjoy the small, hands-on Sh*tamachi Museum near Ueno Park, with its exhibits about everyday life in prewar Tokyo.

If you're staying in Ikebukuro, you can get to Ueno on the JR Yamanote loop line, and from there, three subway stops to Asakusa.