From Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto ... plane or train?
 

I'll be flying in the autumn from JFK to Tokyo, where I plan to stopover for several days. I then plan to continue on to Kyoto.

My question for the Japan hands on the board (who have previously been very helpful to me) is this: when traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto, is it quicker to fly to Osaka and then cab it over to Kyoto, or to simply take the train from Tokyo directly to Kyoto? Thanks kindly in advance.

So much depends on where you are in T Town.... (relative to the airports versus JR lines.)

I have done this via train a half a dozen times and have come to enjoy it.

To fly from Tokyo to Kyoto, considering getting to the airport at Haneda, getting from at Kyoto, etc. you aren't going to save a lot of time over the train, if any, and personally, I think that taking the bullet trains is an experience that you will enjoy.

Thank you both!
 

Thanks both for sharing your experiences with me. It seems that the train would be quicker than the plane. Once again, thanks.

Might need to be moved over to the Japan/Tokyo Forum.

To already add what's been said I recommend taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto. Rougly 2hrs 20-44mins.

From Haneda to Itami (Osaka) (more domestic flights to Itami from tokyo), The time to to leave to tokyo Haneda (rougly 30mins south of Central Tokyo), do security etc, and land at Osaka then transfer to Kyoto, seems like a hassle when compared to taking the train direct to Kyoto Station.

Flying is'nt likely going to be cheap, the airfare might be high and then you have to get to the airport.

From KIX (osaka airport) you can get on a train and get to kyoto directly, if i remember correctly.

Now the trains are not cheap either....in fact it's quite pricey.....

I did a quick search on JAL and a one way is $152 from Haneda to KIX.

I'd take the train....it's probably going to be more convenient since you go right into downtown Kyoto (which is an amazing city...so much beauty...made sure you get to the food halls in the basement of the dept store at the rail station. We ate many a bento meals there including the seafood and rice ones...great for you flight home!)

Thank you, too!
 

Railroadtycoon and NOLAnwGOLD, thank you both for your informative responses!

(Actually, I would probably be flying JFK to NRT on NW 17, so I though that the NW forum would be appropriate. Sorry if not so.)

If you are doing this roundtrip by train, really consider getting a JR railpass, a one week pass is essentially the same price as the Tokyo-Kyoto roundtrip. If flying, the limosine buses into and out of KIX are much more cost effective and often have more conveniant destination points than the "direct train", and Itami is just one big pain to get into and out of.

A 7 day Japan Rail Pass would certainly be worthwhile in this situation. As the price would be cheaper than purchasing two single fare tickets between Tokyo-Kyoto. As long as you make the return trip within 7 days.

Restrictions with the JR Pass:
You have to purchase it outside of Japan (travel agencies etc sell them), they give you a voucher for the pass, when you get to Japan you can exchange the voucher for the actual pass.
You cannot use the pass inside Kyoto itself on the municpal subway or buses.
You cannot take the Nozomi Shinkansen, but you are free to take Hikari Shinkansens between Tokyo-Kyoto.

But it is still worth it if you want to save a little.

Train is almost surely the winner.

The train leaves from Tokyo station, arrives in Kyoto station. Simple.

Plane leaves from Haneda, and most flights arrive at Itami airport. From Itami, you get to Kyoto by airport bus (about 70 minutes). A taxi would cost in excess of $200. A few flights from Haneda go to Kansai airport (KIX), and from KIX you can take the 75-minute train to Kyoto station.

Train almost certainly wins on comfort, convenience, and probably price.

Trains also leave every 7-10 minutes, no goofy security checks etc.

Buy the railpass if you don't hold a Japanese passport, it'll save some $$. They can be ordered online through JTB (which is a Japanese travel agent) and other groups if you can't find them locally.

To actually tie this in with NW, you can get an intra-Japan award as well at 15k miles which is a fair deal but it's really a steal if you're going from places like Fukokua (I love their airport code, FUK :D ) or Oita up to Sendai or Sapporo.

As noted in the Tokyo forum if you use the railpass Hikari Shinkansen's are about 2 trains per hour, but you shouldn't have problems finding availability. The rest are Nozomi (JRPass invalid) and a Kodama.

Since this is completely unrelated to NWA, I'll move it over to the Japan forum... but before I do that, I'll leave you with the JTB link so you can buy your rail pass from them.... I've bought 10-15 over the past several years... JR will get you there a heck of alot quicker and just as fast. Any other questions PM me or any of the other posters in this thread.

JNTO Page with link to JTB

Thanks, all!
 

Thank you all very much. I appreciate your assistance, and your generosity in sharing your experiences.

7-day Ordinary pass costs you 28,300 yen. They will calculate how much you need to pay in US$ based on the exchange rate on the day you purchase it. It should be around US$260.00.

One-way Shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto is 13,420 yen (ordinary) or 13,720 yen (ordinary, Nozomi). So if you travel between Tokyo and Kyoto ONLY, then I would recommend that you buy individual Nozomi tickets in Japan instead of a rail pass. As previously posted, there are only 2 Hikari service each hour (leaving Tokyo :06 and :36) and Nozomi is much more frequent and convenient. But if you decide to use a railpass, and 7-day will work for your itinerary, I'd recommend Green (First class) pass. The difference in price is only 9,500 yen (37,800 yen vs. 28,300 yen) and the seat is much nicer, the car is quieter, and usually green cars have more seat availability. They would even give a wet disposable napkin, but no free drinks! Holding a pass does not guarantee you a seat on the train you want to take. You will need to make a seat reservation after you convert the voucher to the pass. You can ride any Hikari or Kodama Shinkansen without seat reservation, but only in one of the "Non-reserved" cars - usually cars #1 to #5. In those cars, first come first serve so grab a seat quickly! (A tip - if you didn't have time to get a seat reservation, get on any of the reserved-seat cars and use any vacant seat. If a passenger shows up with the seat-reservation, then just give it up and find another. When conducter comes to check on your ticket, show your pass, tell him/her "Kyoto" and smile! Usually they let you sit there. Keep changing seats until you get to Kyoto.)

In anyway, taking Shinkansen is the way to go from Tokyo to Kyoto. Hope this helps, and you will have a good trip!