Hi,

We are possibly going to Tokyo next august. I know it will be hot and humid but understand less rainy. We are going on award tickets with sky miles from DL. KE and SQ are not available sadly. Only thing is NW from LAX-NRT. How bad are they and there 747?

Matt

This question has to do more with NW than it has to do with visiting Tokyo, thus would be better answered in the Northwest Worldperks forum.

And yes the LAX-NRT flight is a 744.

With that, I do most of my travels to Japan on NW and never had a problem with them.

Rainy season is usually June and parts of July. Depending on when in August you might travel Obon is in August, and hotels might fill up fast so plan in advance. August is definately really hot and humid.

Hope that helps in your planning.

Just flew NRT-DTW, also a 747-200. Major problem is no power outlets anywhere in the plane. Business class has old WBC seats.

Just flew? DTW-NRT is normally a 744, so I'm not sure if it was an equipment change for that particular flight, might be something worth discussing in the NW forum.

Hi,

Air is taken care of. Arrive Tokyo 5ish pm on Saturday and leave next sunday at 3:30pm. I would like maybe go to Disney for one night and rest in tokyo and maybe Kyoto. What are good cities for first timers? Kyoto? Also can we then go Hemji from there and see famous feudal castle. Any nice hotels that are not 350 in tokyo?

Matt

For that length of trip, you can feasibly spend the whole time in the Tokyo area - or divide the time between two cities. (Tokyo and Kyoto).

If you were to spend the whole week in Tokyo, then you need to work on a few out of town day trips. It is easy to visit Disney from Tokyo one evening. From Tokyo you could perhaps also consider day trips to Kamakura / Hakone / Nikko.

If you go for the two-city split, then it's a good plan to use Tokyo as your "base" for the first couple of days and then move to Kyoto for the rest of your time in Japan. My recommendation would be to spend more time in Kyoto than in Tokyo.

I assume that you are arriving and leaving Japan from NRT? In that case, you should buy a 7-day JR pass before you come to Japan. The pass won't cover you for your entire trip (which spans 9 calendar days), but if you use the card for the journey to Kyoto and back then it pays for itself.

Use Kyoto as a base for seeing the Kansai area. There is really so much to see around there. You can easily devote all of the time to Kyoto. But I think Himeji and Nara are also excellent day trips. From Kyoto it is very easy to get to Himeji (Direct shinkansen train) and to Nara (Direct train from Kyoto).

If you're a big fan of castles, you can also visit Hikone castle (a few stops on a local train from Kyoto). It is not as spectacular as Himeji, but nonetheless an authentic, original castle - worth seeing if castles are your thing.

You will find many hints on this forum if you search for "Nara" / "Himeji" / "Kamakura"


As for hotels - You could try to get the crazy "mistake" ORBITZ rate for the Intercontinental that people are talking about in other areas of flyertalk right now....

Failing that, there are plenty of places going for less than $350 US per night in both Tokyo and Kyoto.

Can you be more specific about your ideal price range and your needs? This is a good place to ask - A few of the regular posters on the Tokyo forum are afficionados of the bargain basement (less than $40 per night). You will find opinions and advice on everything from there up to $350... and beyond.

Thanks for the info so far. We want to stay in a nice hotel in a good location. We would like to pay under 200 if that possible for anice 4 star hotel.

One quick question. Would rail pass work to Kyoto? It says not useable on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkasen line which looks to serve kyoto?

Matt

The JR Railpass is not valid on the NOZOMI Shinkansen which is a type of service on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen Line. There are other shinkansen trains that run on the Tokaido shinkansen line, which includes the Hikari Shinkansen and Kodama Shinkansen (slowest).

You are free to use the Hikari Shinkansens between Tokyo and Kyoto. If you go out to Himeji you might have to connect at Shin-Osaka station (one station after Kyoto Station via Shinkansen).

Also as noted, get a 7 day railpass and because you are on a 9 day trip, pay single fare tickets the first few days in Tokyo then "activate" the railpass on day 3 or whenever you plan to depart for Kyoto, since it will make the railpass "economical" to use because it will cover your return trip too.

When you exchange your JR Pass voucher for the actual pass, you can indicate what day you wish to start using the pass.

As noted, the JR Railpass is only valid on JR trains, so it is not valid on subways, monorails, other private rail lines, etc.

Kyoto is well covered by a dense network of buses so getting a day bus pass in Kyoto is a must in my opinion.

Note that you can - and probably should - exchange your JR RailPass voucher immediately upon arrival at NRT. Just go to the JR ticket booth in the arrivals lobby and tell them what day you wish it to start. Then you will have to pay cash for your transfer into the city, but that is not too bad. DO NOT PLAN ON A TAXI FROM NRT TO TOKYO. Taxis can cost upwards of $300.00. When you have a hotel planned, posters here can make suggestions for the best way to get to/from NRT - probably either the airport train or the limo bus.

I agree 100% with the above regarding bus passes for Kyoto. Tokyo buses are notoriously tourist unfriendly, but Kyoto buses are a breeze. If you are there for more than one day (you should be) then the prepaid bus/subway Trafica Card passes are a wonderful option. They can be purchased at various places, but the most convenient is probably the bus center right outside the Karasuma exit from Kyoto station. They come in either 1000 yen or 3000 yen denominations and don't expire until the prepaid amount is used up.

JR

I also agree, if you visit Kyoto make a day trip out to NARA (you can get there by taking the JR Nara Line from Kyoto Station, take the RAPID train to JR NARA station). More informatoin on each place in the archives I believe on each locaton.

Thanks for all the rail info. I need some reccomendations now for Kyoto and Tokyo and possibly one night at TDLR

I suggest searching the forum, extensive discussion on different hotels in tokyo and kyoto. Find something that looks good and search the price.

Thanks. I just cant tell what people think is a good a location. We want good location, under 200 and 4 star or better.

Matt

That's because there isn't just one good location. The question is, good for what? Then the crowd can pitch in. Beware, though, the crowd is very opinionated and precise, doesn't take well to amateurs and lazy people. So caveat emptor.

Yes I am a amatuer but not lazy. I could search tokyo hotels and 500 threads will come up. I just dont know where to start. I just need some good reccomendations.

Matt