Hi-

We're finalizing the plans for our trip to Japan, and I wanted to run them by the helpful folks on this forum. We'll be there 11/15 througth 11/23. We'll be in China the two weeks prior. This is our first trip to Japan, so the goal is to take in a variety of sites. We would like to end the trip with a couple of relaxing nights at Hanafubuki Ryokan, which has received rave reviews here.

15 Nov: Arrive in Tokyo, check into Westin
16 Nov: See more Tokyo
17 Nov: More Tokyo
18 Nov: Check out of Westin, More sightseeing in the morning, then take the train to Kyoto in the afternoon. Check in to the Yoshi-Ima Ryokan in the Gion district of Kyoto
19 Nov: Explore Kyoto, perhaps with Mr. Doi
20 Nov: Check out and take the train to Izu-Kogen (near Ito), check into Hanafubuki Ryokan
21 Nov: RELAX Take a walk through the woods surrounding the ryokan. Relax some more.
22 Nov: Check out and take the train to Narita. Sightsee somewhere along the way (not sure where yet). Check in to a hotel close to the airport.
23 Nov: Check out and go to the airport to Fly home

questions...
Mr. SWise is interested in touring a place where Sake is made. This might be something we could do on 22 Nov. Does anyone know of one along the way between Izu-Kogen and Narita?

It looks like we may have to go through Tokyo to get from Izu-Kogen to Narita. Can someone confirm?

Is rail the way to go, and would the 1 week JR pass be worthwhile? I'm thinking yes.

Opinions on the itinerary in general? Advice?

Any feedback would be most appreciated.

thanks!

Hmmm....there's a place in Berkeley, CA, where sake is made and they have tours, but that is probably not what you are looking for.

General rule: if you are doing a RT Tokyo-Kyoto, the JR pass is worth it.

What time does your plane leave on 22 Nov? Most U.S. flights leave in the late afternoon, if that's the case, there is absolutely no need to stay near the airport, I would suggest spending that last night in Tokyo. If you want cheap but decent, Priceline Tokyo will invariably give you the Crowne Plaza in Ikebukuro or the IC Tokyo Bay.

I pretty much agree with everything Richard had to say. If your flight out of NRT is in the PM, I'd probably stay in Tokyo and just take either the Narita Express from Tokyo Station or the Keisei Skyliner from Keisei-Ueno Station out to NRT on the day of departure (the Rail Pass does not cover the Skyliner.) If your departure is in the AM, then there are several airport area hotels to choose from and your last evening might be spent site-seeing around Narita City which has its own charms.

The only thing I would change about your itinerary (if it were me) would be to move my days and nights around to include one more day in Kyoto. YMMV.

As for an actual tour of a sake distillery, you might need to look for escorted tours. There is a small sake museum (Horino sake museum) in Kyoto, but it is more a historical look at how it used to be made. Some of the places in Fushimi do tours, but I think they are mostly for Japanese tourists and am unsure whether you can get English information. I found one reference to a Sunrise Tours offering for a combined Himeji-Fushimi escorted day tour that includes shinkansen to Himeji, a castle tour, train to tour the sake place and train return to start - all escorted in English and available from either Kyoto or Osaka for a minimum of 2 tourists. It's a bit pricy, but available. There are undoubtedly other options. Check JNTO, JTB, etc.

http://www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour/

As preveiously posted, the 7-day Rail Pass makes perfect sense if you are doing the roundtrip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo and any other JR rail trips during a 7 day period. If your stay will be more than 7 days airport to airport, just make sure you activate the pass for the 7 day period that includes your most expensive travel and pay out of pocket for either the train from NRT on arrival or the train to NRT on departure. In your case, I'd probably just pay for the limobus or N'EX upon arrival and activate the pass 7 days before departure. That way, it will cover all shinkansen and other long distance trains, the Yamanote line after you return to Tokyo and the N'EX out to NRT for departure. Even if you change your itinerary a bit, you can pay out of pocket for the less expensive stuff and make darned sure the pass covers the pricy trips.

JR

Ok, I did a bit more looking and found something that might interest your hubby regarding sake-making. If you invest in Diane Durston's book "Kyoto:Seven Paths to the Heart of the City," you will find detailed directions for a half-day walking tour of the sake-making area of Fushimi, outside of Kyoto. The description includes detailed walking directions with map, places to see - including a museum and distillery, rail lines to use and station locations - everything you need to get there from Kyoto. Unfortunately, the prime time for sake-making is mid-winter, but it would still be a nice half-day trip.

Frankly, Durston's book is one of the gold standards for visitors to Kyoto and is a beautifully photographed coffe table book even for those who are not interested in the guides. Available in most large book stores and via Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. Very highly recommended.

JR

Kobe has tons of sake distilleries, many of which do tours. The tourist info office has an English-language pamphlet with lots of detail on the topic, and a bit of Googling pulls up this website too:

http://www.feel-kobe.jp/english/sightseeing/sake.html

Note that Sawanotsuru and Hakutsuru, the two biggest names, only offer "sake museums", not live tours. (The upside is that they're always open.)

I'm thinking that if you have a good camera, you should bring it with you. The leaves in Kyoto should be quite nice when you're there, although Kyoto will probably be crowded.

Thanks for all the terriffic advice!

I have one more question... It looks like it's possible to purchase JapanRail passes at the Japan Airlines offices in various US airports, including LAX, where we'll be. Is this something I could take care of when at the JAL lounge? Seems like that may be the most painless way to get the passes. I already printed out the form you have to fill out to redeem for the actual pass you pick up at the JR office upon arrival. Just need to make the purchase now. If that won't work, does anyone know of a web site where we could make the purchase to be overnighted to us?

That's lovely to know that we'll catch the fall leaves in Kyoto. We just purchased a Canon Elph SD900 for the trip. I've seen photos from an SD600 that were quite nice, so hopefully the "extra 300" will make up for my horrible photography abilities. I broke down and got an 80 GB iPod Video as well. Both camera and iPod were purchased with my Apple employee discount, so I can't complain too much...but cough cough. Was hoping to wait until we got to Japan to see the money flying out of my account.

We leave for China on Wednesday. Then on to Japan in two weeks. very exciting!

I wouldn't leave this as late as the lounge -- if you don't get it before leaving for Japan you're in trouble.

For sake, if you are pushed for time the Hasegawa Sake Shop in Omotesando Hills (right in the centre of Tokyo -- a cab-ride from the Westin) is small but has an excellent selection and does tasting. Being Omotesando Hills they will also probably speak English.