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Chris Kuan wrote:
Our advice may change slightly based on exactly which days you are in Japan. For instance, the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka (not "Minatara") is closed on Tuesdays! And the cosplayers in Harakjuku only come out on Sundays (just outside the entrance to the Meiji Shrine). ah, thank you for the tip. i should have mentioned the days of the week i'd be there. so, if i went to the Ghibli, it would be on a Friday... phew! but this means i miss the cosplayers =( (well, i guess this means I can leave my anime costume at home! LOL!) So... Meiji Shrine is by Harajuku? Bob M mentioned that above, I might have to visit that temple instead of one of the others... will have to get my location names straight... I keep getting them mixed up! (Askausua and Akasuka... Mitaka and "Minatara!") The subway + rail system in Tokyo seems overwhelming because there is so much choice. Note that the "train" system is run by Japan Railways ("JR") and is separate from the multiple subway lines so you can't necessarily go to the big "train station" (usually JR) in a suburb and expect the subway platforms to be right next to the JR platforms. But they'll be nearby in the station complex. The convenience of the subways is that they serve the smaller suburbs and criss-cross Tokyo in several places, saving much time. Just think of it as a big game of Snakes and Ladders and the subway map might be a bit easier to follow :-) Thank you for clarifying that! I was getting really confused! The maps of the train/subways make it look even more complex, and the maps don't tell how far everything is from one another! On a purely selfish note, as you come down from Toyko Tower, a couple of the floors of the podium are shopping arcades. Mostly crap souvenirs, but there is a "Donguri Kyowakoku" store there, which sells all manner of Ghibli goods - the store's name means "Acorn Republic" or some such, which of course is a Totoro reference. If you can wheedle 15 minutes in the store from the tour guide, it's got stuff which even the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka doesn't carry - official products of course, but the store in the Museum is rather small - and crowded as heck. You can easily spend 20 minutes in the Museum just queueing up. Beleive me, I've spent (literally!) far too much time there (^_^); Oh!!! great tip! If the Ghibli tix don't happen, at least I can get great Ghibli merch! Maybe Tokyo Tower must be done after all... just for the giftshop... I could always meet up with the group later? Mmm... if you are going to see the Imperial Palace and the temples in Kyoto, you *could* skip these. In Toyko, you will only see the East Garden because the actual Palace area is only open a couple of days per year. The gardens are OK and there's one or two small historical sites. Same for Asakusa Kannon (the one with the huge iconic lantern at the entrance). But really, you've paid for the tour already and it's only taking up one morning. And you can still use the last half of "Day 2" in Tokyo to do some independent sightseeing I found out the two days that the Imp. Palace is open... it's Jan 2 and Dec. 24, LOL! and now that Tokyo Tower is the only one I really really want to do, and it's first on the itinerary (that gift shop!!) I might adjust a little bit. Or just take the tour, since it's only the morning. Or move on to Ginza so I can get to Shinjuku/Akihabara/etc. one of the other shopping districts and get to see them! Day 4 Tokyo/Kyoto- transit will probably have the evening free, thought we'd roam Gion. Sounds like a good idea :-) If you get there just after lunch, I'd say head out to Kiyomizudera straight away, and then Gion (it's pretty close by) in the evening. Oh, great idea! =) I hope we get there soon enough. What's the latest you'd say we should get in Kyoto and settle into the hotel before heading to Kiyomizudera? That is one heck of a trip :-) By the way, where are you travelling from? That jet lag might hit on the morning of "Day 2" and you might appreciate being led around by a tour guid while in a semi-dazed state rather than having to navigate an unfamiliar city on your own:-) LOL. I forgot to tell you, I'm actually going to be in Asia for a while, before getting into Japan. I'll be in the Philippines for 11 days prior, so I am really hoping to be sort of accustomed by then. But I'm not of the most hearty disposition (if this were anime, I'd be the girl that always faints and asks, "Is it anemia?") so maybe I better not get too ambitious! But this is something I've always really wanted to do, I've always wanted to go to Japan... and since I start working this year, I don't think I'll be able to go to Asia again for at least 5 years, and there's just so much I want to cover! I just wish I had a couple more days... right now I'm only getting tiny bits of fashion, anime and history! |
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