Japan (Tokyo/Kyoto)

koneko wrote:

Day 2 Tokyo
AM:
Tour-- We are supposed to cover Tokyo Tower, Imperial Palace Plaza,
and
the Asakusa Kannon Temple and end up in the Nakamise Arcade
- I am not sure how large the tour group is going to be. I wish we
did
the Tokyo Tower last, then we could skip it. I sort of want to see
the
Imperial Palace and Asakusa Kannon Temple. We have the PM free. I
was
hoping to somehow get to Ginza from Asakusa. From what I understand,
I
can take the subway? Then after Ginza, back to Hotel, which is in the
Roppongi area. Can I take a subway from Ginza to Roppongi? Does this
sound feasible?

Looks fine to me. Personally I'm not that opposed to having Tokyo Tower
in the itinerary; it does offer a good view of the city, which to me is
impressive (Tokyo is incredibly vast). I would visit the fish market if
you can.

Day 3 Tokyo (free day)
AM: would like to go to Ghibli Museum in Minatara. I have to get to
Shinjuku station from Roppongi, I think. On the way back, I think I
might stop by Nakano for anime shopping if time permits or I might
have
to skip and move onto Shinjuku or Shibuya or Harujuku in the
evening.
B/c I need to do one of those!!! However, this is all depending on
whether I even get the tix to the museum.

As in Studio Ghibli? They really have a museum? That'd be pretty cool.
If you have time you might consider going to Yokohama's China Town or
even down to Kamakura (one of my favorite places in Japan).

(you see I don't have nearly enough time to do all I want! I am
torn!)
I am wondering if I should abandon the tour day in Tokyo altogehter
as
Bob M. mentioned... would it be horrible not to see Asakusa
Temple/Imperial Palace? I was a history major, but I also love
fashion, cosmetics, and anime...

There's something to be said for tours; you can get lots of info that's
otherwise not readily available. I personally am not a big fan of
taking tours, but I do understand the attraction.

Day 4 Tokyo/Kyoto- transit
Shinkansen to Kyoto. Don't know which one (Nozomi or Kodama) yet,
nor
what time we depart, so it's hard to plan if we can do anything in
the
afternoon after getting to the hotel... will probably have the
evening
free, thought we'd roam Gion.

Honestly, if possible I'd head out to Kyoto the previous evening. While
you lose a night of play in Tokyo you gain half a day in Kyoto (factor
in travel and check in times). If you opt to do this you could go to
Shinsaibashi in Osaka as a substitute for the Tokyo playgrounds; I
really like that area.

At least I understood the map of Kyoto, and the bus routes! I really
hope the sakura open when we are there!

Day 5 Kyoto
AM- tour again (Gold Pavilion, Nijo, Imperial Palace, Handicraft
Centre) the PM is free.
I think I will go on the tour, and since the last thing is the HC, we
can abandon that if we want. We'll probably head to the Kiyomizu
Temple in the afternoon and stay in that area the rest of the day.

Day 6 Kyoto/Tokyo (our flight leaves from Narita, not Osaka-- so we
lose a lot of time in transit!), stay overnight in Tokyo

no plans yet... not sure what we can do with a half day.

I'd soak it all in. Maybe save your Tokyo Tower visit for that time.
John W.

koneko wrote:

Day 2 Tokyo
AM:
Tour-- We are supposed to cover Tokyo Tower, Imperial Palace Plaza,
and
the Asakusa Kannon Temple and end up in the Nakamise Arcade
- I am not sure how large the tour group is going to be. I wish we
did
the Tokyo Tower last, then we could skip it. I sort of want to see
the
Imperial Palace and Asakusa Kannon Temple. We have the PM free. I
was
hoping to somehow get to Ginza from Asakusa. From what I understand,
I
can take the subway? Then after Ginza, back to Hotel, which is in the
Roppongi area. Can I take a subway from Ginza to Roppongi? Does this
sound feasible?

Looks fine to me. Personally I'm not that opposed to having Tokyo Tower
in the itinerary; it does offer a good view of the city, which to me is
impressive (Tokyo is incredibly vast). I would visit the fish market if
you can.

Day 3 Tokyo (free day)
AM: would like to go to Ghibli Museum in Minatara. I have to get to
Shinjuku station from Roppongi, I think. On the way back, I think I
might stop by Nakano for anime shopping if time permits or I might
have
to skip and move onto Shinjuku or Shibuya or Harujuku in the
evening.
B/c I need to do one of those!!! However, this is all depending on
whether I even get the tix to the museum.

As in Studio Ghibli? They really have a museum? That'd be pretty cool.
If you have time you might consider going to Yokohama's China Town or
even down to Kamakura (one of my favorite places in Japan).

(you see I don't have nearly enough time to do all I want! I am
torn!)
I am wondering if I should abandon the tour day in Tokyo altogehter
as
Bob M. mentioned... would it be horrible not to see Asakusa
Temple/Imperial Palace? I was a history major, but I also love
fashion, cosmetics, and anime...

There's something to be said for tours; you can get lots of info that's
otherwise not readily available. I personally am not a big fan of
taking tours, but I do understand the attraction.

Day 4 Tokyo/Kyoto- transit
Shinkansen to Kyoto. Don't know which one (Nozomi or Kodama) yet,
nor
what time we depart, so it's hard to plan if we can do anything in
the
afternoon after getting to the hotel... will probably have the
evening
free, thought we'd roam Gion.

Honestly, if possible I'd head out to Kyoto the previous evening. While
you lose a night of play in Tokyo you gain half a day in Kyoto (factor
in travel and check in times). If you opt to do this you could go to
Shinsaibashi in Osaka as a substitute for the Tokyo playgrounds; I
really like that area.

At least I understood the map of Kyoto, and the bus routes! I really
hope the sakura open when we are there!

Day 5 Kyoto
AM- tour again (Gold Pavilion, Nijo, Imperial Palace, Handicraft
Centre) the PM is free.
I think I will go on the tour, and since the last thing is the HC, we
can abandon that if we want. We'll probably head to the Kiyomizu
Temple in the afternoon and stay in that area the rest of the day.

Day 6 Kyoto/Tokyo (our flight leaves from Narita, not Osaka-- so we
lose a lot of time in transit!), stay overnight in Tokyo

no plans yet... not sure what we can do with a half day.

I'd soak it all in. Maybe save your Tokyo Tower visit for that time.
John W.

"koneko" wrote in message
oups.com...

I'm still waiting to hear back from the agent for the final say on the
hotel. It might be the Okura.

OK - well, just let us know as soon as that's confirmed, and
I'm sure various people here will have some more pointers.

You'll also be able to get your anime fix in Kyoto - I just wish
I could remember the name of the store! It's in one of the major
downtown shopping arcades - anyone else know which one I'm
talking about?

A kind person on another site mentioned a place in Kyoto on Teramachi
Street, right off Shijo Dori? Could this be what you mean? I have
that on my list of things to look up too! =)

That's where it is, all right - I just can't think of the name or the
specific location of the store I'm thinking of. Teramachi St., along
with several others in that immediate area, are a sort of covered
pedestrian shopping mall. If you get there, my recollection is
that the anime place is on the second floor of one of the buildings
on Teramachi, not too far south and on the opposite side of the
street from (and I kid you not about this!) a place that has most
of a Cessna airplane mounted on the wall above and outside the
door. On the other hand, I could easily be misremembering the
location - but there are a lot of neat little shops in there, so just
have fun wandering around and don't forget to look up to see
what's on the upper floors every so often.

One of the east-west streets in that area, and I really wish I had
my Kyoto map handy so that I could give you the name, is a
market dealing primarily in food items, and that is also a lot
of fun to wander through. You can even pick up a meal "on
the run" (sushi, etc.) from some of the stalls there. Again,
mid-morning will be the best time to see things (not too early
in this case, as many of the shops won't be open before 9 or
10).

Bob M.

"Chris Kuan" wrote in message
.58...
"Bob Myers" wrote on Tue 18 Jan 2005
10:12:57a

Yamanote line (green cars, and this is a big loop that
encircles central Tokyo) and the Chuo line (oragne/yellow
cars, and the line itself cuts across the Yamanote loop from
Shinjuku on the west side to Tokyo station on the east. (This
line also extends past Shinjuku to the west, out to the suburbs,
but you are unlikely to be going out there.)

Actually, koneko intends at this stage to travel out to
Mitaka/Kichijoji/Nakano, which are all on the branch of the Chuo line West
of Shinjuku :-)

Oops, thanks - didn't see that. I normally think of the Chuo line
west as a commuter line; my experience with it has been limited
to going out to my company's Tokyo offices, which until fairly
recently were in Hachioji.

Also be warned that the amount of time that Fuji-san is actually in good
view is surprisingly small. My brother and I only managed about 5 photo
shots between the buildings before we were past!

Yes, I remember my first trip on that route - there was this
general "OMIGAWD, IT'S FUJI!" reaction from all of us
on that trip, followed by a mad scramble for the cameras...;-)

Last year, I was on a flight from Narita to Taipei which was
apparently needing to kill some time in the air - and the pilot
actually circled Fuji-san from not TOO high up (I would
guess we were at about 20,000 feet); sure got some great
pictures that time!


Bob M.

koneko wrote:

You'll also be able to get your anime fix in Kyoto - I just wish
I could remember the name of the store! It's in one of the major
downtown shopping arcades - anyone else know which one I'm
talking about?

A kind person on another site mentioned a place in Kyoto on Teramachi
Street, right off Shijo Dori? Could this be what you mean? I have
that on my list of things to look up too! =)

There are two stores in the area. I think you are talking of Kikuya.

Kikuya Mangakan Kyoto
http://www.blg.co.jp/kikuya/kyoto2.htm
On Teramachi, south of the intersection of Teramachi and Takoyakushi

Animate Kyoto
http://www.animate.co.jp/animate/map...to/kt-top.html
On Shin-Kyogoku, south of the intersection of Shin-Kyogoku and Takoyakushi

Both pages text in Japanese, with map and some pictures.
Takoyakushi is the name of a E-W street and a small temple.

Sorry, Mandarake is in Nakano, Tokyo. You can visit it on your way to Ghibli
Museum, Mitaka. Mitaka is several stops west of Nakano on the JR Chuo Line.

koneko wrote:

You'll also be able to get your anime fix in Kyoto - I just wish
I could remember the name of the store! It's in one of the major
downtown shopping arcades - anyone else know which one I'm
talking about?

A kind person on another site mentioned a place in Kyoto on Teramachi
Street, right off Shijo Dori? Could this be what you mean? I have
that on my list of things to look up too! =)

There are two stores in the area. I think you are talking of Kikuya.

Kikuya Mangakan Kyoto
http://www.blg.co.jp/kikuya/kyoto2.htm
On Teramachi, south of the intersection of Teramachi and Takoyakushi

Animate Kyoto
http://www.animate.co.jp/animate/map...to/kt-top.html
On Shin-Kyogoku, south of the intersection of Shin-Kyogoku and Takoyakushi

Both pages text in Japanese, with map and some pictures.
Takoyakushi is the name of a E-W street and a small temple.

Sorry, Mandarake is in Nakano, Tokyo. You can visit it on your way to Ghibli
Museum, Mitaka. Mitaka is several stops west of Nakano on the JR Chuo Line.

Bob Myers wrote:

Yes, I remember my first trip on that route - there was this
general "OMIGAWD, IT'S FUJI!" reaction from all of us
on that trip, followed by a mad scramble for the cameras...;-)

I will always remember my first time seeing Fuji. It was on a driving
trip around Izu, and I looked through the haze and fog and there it
was. At least I saw it; nobody else did, though I have a picture that
clearly shows a fuzzy outline of Fuji (or a dark cloud, but I'm
sticking to my guns).
Later of course I saw the mountain in all its glory.

John W.

Bob Myers wrote:

Yes, I remember my first trip on that route - there was this
general "OMIGAWD, IT'S FUJI!" reaction from all of us
on that trip, followed by a mad scramble for the cameras...;-)

I will always remember my first time seeing Fuji. It was on a driving
trip around Izu, and I looked through the haze and fog and there it
was. At least I saw it; nobody else did, though I have a picture that
clearly shows a fuzzy outline of Fuji (or a dark cloud, but I'm
sticking to my guns).
Later of course I saw the mountain in all its glory.

John W.

There are two stores in the area. I think you are talking of Kikuya.

Kikuya Mangakan Kyoto
http://www.blg.co.jp/kikuya/kyoto2.htm
On Teramachi, south of the intersection of Teramachi and Takoyakushi

Animate Kyoto
http://www.animate.co.jp/animate/map...to/kt-top.html
On Shin-Kyogoku, south of the intersection of Shin-Kyogoku and
Takoyakushi

Thank you for this info! Sounds so exciting! If time is short, is
there one you prefer over the other? Also, which "landmark" is close
by? (Then I can make sure to stop by while I am wandering around the
area!)

As in Studio Ghibli? They really have a museum? That'd be pretty
cool.
If you have time you might consider going to Yokohama's China Town or
even down to Kamakura (one of my favorite places in Japan).

Yes, I was thrilled to learn about the museum as well! I really hope I
can get the tix. I will be so sad if I can't, I really love Ghibli
Studio films! My brother wants me to visit Yokohama just b/c of the
reference to the anime Macross, but I think I can't squeeze it in for
this trip =(

There's something to be said for tours; you can get lots of info
that's
otherwise not readily available. I personally am not a big fan of
taking tours, but I do understand the attraction.

Honestly, if possible I'd head out to Kyoto the previous evening.
While
you lose a night of play in Tokyo you gain half a day in Kyoto
(factor
in travel and check in times). If you opt to do this you could go to
Shinsaibashi in Osaka as a substitute for the Tokyo playgrounds; I
really like that area.

What do you like in Osaka very much?