Japan (Tokyo/Kyoto)

"Jim Ley" wrote in message
...

Why not use the cash machines at the airport and then at the post
office or similar? using the exchange at the hotels front desk seems
to be a very good way to get an extremely lousy rate.

If you can find them, that's great; in my experience, finding those
locations outside the airport would be difficult for the average
first-time tourist. Besides, at least in Japan the exchange rate
at the hotel will not be significantly worse than what you get
elsewhere.

Bob M.

Hello everyone,
Thank you so much for all your help, I really appreciate it! I have a
very rough itinerary planned right now (I am still waiting to hear from
the travel agency for finalized details, so I am not sure about travel
times). Please feel free to comment! My main problem is the subways.
I studied the maps like mad, and I still don't really understand
them...!

Day 1
arrive in Narita early afternoon. go to Hotel. wander around area of
hotel that evening.

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?

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.

(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...

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.

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.

we are trying to get a evening Shinkansen, so we have the morning/early
afternoon free in Kyoto. However, I thought maybe we should spend the
last half day in Tokyo... so we should take the morning Shinkansen to
Tokyo, so we can check out whatever we will miss.
Day 7 Tokyo- Depart from Narita at 3:30 pm

"My main problem is the subways. I studied the maps like mad, and I
still don't really understand them...!"

If you ever need directions, just ask the subway staff - they're very
helpful. Almost everything of interest to visitors is on either the
Yamanote line (the circular one that goes around the city), the Hibiya
line (grey) or the Ginza line (yellow) - don't worry about trying to
find shortcuts, since crossing the city only takes a few minutes by any
of the lines.

"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."

Can you still drop the tour? It's easy to get to and explore the
Asakusa Kannon Temple by yourself, and the market street leading up to
it is very interesting - you might want more time in that area, which
also includes many traditional Japanese craft shops. The Imperial
Palace and most of the park surrounding it are closed to visitors
except for two days a year, and the closest you can get the rest of the
time is a distant glimpse of the Palace from one corner of that park,
so I wouldn't really call it a must-see experience for someone on as
short a schedule as you are.

"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."

Never heard of that museum. There two excellent museums in Tokyo
itself that you might want to consider - the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which
tells Tokyo's history, and the Tokyo National Museum, which is the
premier collection of traditional Japanese art.

"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."

In the evening, definitely choose Shinjuku. It's the image of Japan
that most people have in mind - neon, crowds, noise, action, and it's
streets are full of revolving sushi restaurants, karaoke parlors, and
traditional Japanese bars.

If any of your days in Tokyo happen to be weekends, Harajuku and
Shibuya have some very interesting people-watching opportunities - they
are the center of Japan's youth subcultures. Harajuku also has a
beautiful Shinto Shrine. On a weekday or at night, they're much less
interesting.

"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..."

Maybe spend half a day in Asakusa? It depends on whether it's
important to you to see the traditional side of Japan as well as the
modern side.

Since you're interested in fashion, you might want to check out the
neighborhood Daikanyama, which has many independent designers.

"My main problem is the subways. I studied the maps like mad, and I
still don't really understand them...!"

If you ever need directions, just ask the subway staff - they're very
helpful. Almost everything of interest to visitors is on either the
Yamanote line (the circular one that goes around the city), the Hibiya
line (grey) or the Ginza line (yellow) - don't worry about trying to
find shortcuts, since crossing the city only takes a few minutes by any
of the lines.

"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."

Can you still drop the tour? It's easy to get to and explore the
Asakusa Kannon Temple by yourself, and the market street leading up to
it is very interesting - you might want more time in that area, which
also includes many traditional Japanese craft shops. The Imperial
Palace and most of the park surrounding it are closed to visitors
except for two days a year, and the closest you can get the rest of the
time is a distant glimpse of the Palace from one corner of that park,
so I wouldn't really call it a must-see experience for someone on as
short a schedule as you are.

"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."

Never heard of that museum. There two excellent museums in Tokyo
itself that you might want to consider - the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which
tells Tokyo's history, and the Tokyo National Museum, which is the
premier collection of traditional Japanese art.

"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."

In the evening, definitely choose Shinjuku. It's the image of Japan
that most people have in mind - neon, crowds, noise, action, and it's
streets are full of revolving sushi restaurants, karaoke parlors, and
traditional Japanese bars.

If any of your days in Tokyo happen to be weekends, Harajuku and
Shibuya have some very interesting people-watching opportunities - they
are the center of Japan's youth subcultures. Harajuku also has a
beautiful Shinto Shrine. On a weekday or at night, they're much less
interesting.

"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..."

Maybe spend half a day in Asakusa? It depends on whether it's
important to you to see the traditional side of Japan as well as the
modern side.

Since you're interested in fashion, you might want to check out the
neighborhood Daikanyama, which has many independent designers.

In article .com,
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?

Yes, can be done on the same line too.

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?

Yes, again on the same line (no transfer).

Enjoy your trip.

jay
Sun Jan 16, 2005

Can you still drop the tour? It's easy to get to and explore the
Asakusa Kannon Temple by yourself, and the market street leading up
to
it is very interesting - you might want more time in that area, which
also includes many traditional Japanese craft shops. The Imperial
Palace and most of the park surrounding it are closed to visitors
except for two days a year, and the closest you can get the rest of
the
time is a distant glimpse of the Palace from one corner of that park,
so I wouldn't really call it a must-see experience for someone on as
short a schedule as you are.

I booked my entire trip as part of a tour package... but I think I can
probably just go independent, right? They can't chain me to part of
the group, right? =) When the Palace is open those two days... what
exactly do the visitors have access too? Actually, when I am in Kyoto,
I think the Imperial Palace will be open for the two days I am there!
Although... no one lives there, right? Not sure about Tokyo's Imperial
Palace's opening days...
Thank you for the tips on Shinjuku, Harujuku, and Daikanyama too!

Can you still drop the tour? It's easy to get to and explore the
Asakusa Kannon Temple by yourself, and the market street leading up
to
it is very interesting - you might want more time in that area, which
also includes many traditional Japanese craft shops. The Imperial
Palace and most of the park surrounding it are closed to visitors
except for two days a year, and the closest you can get the rest of
the
time is a distant glimpse of the Palace from one corner of that park,
so I wouldn't really call it a must-see experience for someone on as
short a schedule as you are.

I booked my entire trip as part of a tour package... but I think I can
probably just go independent, right? They can't chain me to part of
the group, right? =) When the Palace is open those two days... what
exactly do the visitors have access too? Actually, when I am in Kyoto,
I think the Imperial Palace will be open for the two days I am there!
Although... no one lives there, right? Not sure about Tokyo's Imperial
Palace's opening days...
Thank you for the tips on Shinjuku, Harujuku, and Daikanyama too!

Bob Myers wrote:

One other place in Tokyo that you're not likely to see the equal
of elsewhere is the Tsukiji fish market; I can't do it justice here,
but you can find a good deal of information on the web. Just
plan on being there EARLY in the morning (7 AM is none too
early, and even earlier may be better), or you'll miss all the
fun...:-)

This sounds sort of neat! My only question... is it a bit... stinky? I
get a little queasy from overly fishy smells, but I do love the
watching this kind of action! My mom would really like this (she goes
to early morning fish markets in other Asian countries, and doesn't
mind fishy odors!)


I would also put the Meiji Shrine somewhere into the plan as well.

Can you tell me why you like this site better than the Imperial Palace?

Thank you for all the info on the different shopping areas and on
Kyoto. It was really great info!

"koneko" wrote on Mon 17 Jan 2005 02:51:27p

very rough itinerary planned right now

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).


Day 1
arrive in Narita early afternoon. go to Hotel. wander around area of
hotel that evening.

As you mentioned below, you are staying in Roppongi? You could use this
evening to explore one of the bright-lights centres you mentioned - for
example, there is a subway line (Oedo) that runs directly between
Roppongi and Shinjuku. I suppose the Mori centre in Roppongi itself is
OK, but I don't really know the district, having only been there for
dinner - once.

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 :-)


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

You can indeed skip the tour (for which you have already paid a large
premium, no doubt) and go independently, but if you want to see most of
this anyway, may as well go along. You are unlikely to be attacked by
Godzilla at Tokyo Tower :-) 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
(^_^);

For the second half of this day, you could still see Ueno Park and the
surrounding shopping areas as someone else already mentioned, plus Ginza
or Akihabara. They are all located on the same side of the city, only
minutes from each other by train or subway.



Day 3 Tokyo (free day)
AM: would like to go to Ghibli Museum in Minatara.

"Mitaka" :-) (Personally, I prefer to say it's in Kichijoji because that
gives it a cosier feel, but it's probably technically in Mitaka).

If you *do* get tickets, I think the valid entrance time is actually
time-stamped to a specific half-hour. That will dictate to some extent
what you can do beforehand, and the earliest you can hope to leave. For
a first time, I would budget a minimum of 3 hours in the Museum. It's
small, but you should savour it all. And especially the mini-theatre in
which is generally shown a short film made only for the Museum (the
actual film being shown rotates, so I don't know what wil be on in
April). I really would recommend Nakano afterwards though :-)



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...

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


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.

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.


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.

If you've already managed to see Kiyomizudera the previous afternoon,
I'd try to squeeze in a visit to the Heian temple and especially the
gardens around the back for an additional fee. It's reasonably close to
the HC.


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.

we are trying to get a evening Shinkansen, so we have the
morning/early afternoon free in Kyoto. However, I thought maybe we
should spend the last half day in Tokyo... so we should take the
morning Shinkansen to Tokyo, so we can check out whatever we will
miss.

Maybe an early shinkansen to Toyko to see whichever one of
Shunjuku/Shibuya/Akihabara you missed in the first half of the trip?


Day 7 Tokyo- Depart from Narita at 3:30 pm

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:-)

--
Chris
Concatenate for email: mrgazpacho @ hotmail . com

"koneko" wrote on Mon 17 Jan 2005 02:51:27p

very rough itinerary planned right now

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).


Day 1
arrive in Narita early afternoon. go to Hotel. wander around area of
hotel that evening.

As you mentioned below, you are staying in Roppongi? You could use this
evening to explore one of the bright-lights centres you mentioned - for
example, there is a subway line (Oedo) that runs directly between
Roppongi and Shinjuku. I suppose the Mori centre in Roppongi itself is
OK, but I don't really know the district, having only been there for
dinner - once.

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 :-)


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

You can indeed skip the tour (for which you have already paid a large
premium, no doubt) and go independently, but if you want to see most of
this anyway, may as well go along. You are unlikely to be attacked by
Godzilla at Tokyo Tower :-) 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
(^_^);

For the second half of this day, you could still see Ueno Park and the
surrounding shopping areas as someone else already mentioned, plus Ginza
or Akihabara. They are all located on the same side of the city, only
minutes from each other by train or subway.



Day 3 Tokyo (free day)
AM: would like to go to Ghibli Museum in Minatara.

"Mitaka" :-) (Personally, I prefer to say it's in Kichijoji because that
gives it a cosier feel, but it's probably technically in Mitaka).

If you *do* get tickets, I think the valid entrance time is actually
time-stamped to a specific half-hour. That will dictate to some extent
what you can do beforehand, and the earliest you can hope to leave. For
a first time, I would budget a minimum of 3 hours in the Museum. It's
small, but you should savour it all. And especially the mini-theatre in
which is generally shown a short film made only for the Museum (the
actual film being shown rotates, so I don't know what wil be on in
April). I really would recommend Nakano afterwards though :-)



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...

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


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.

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.


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.

If you've already managed to see Kiyomizudera the previous afternoon,
I'd try to squeeze in a visit to the Heian temple and especially the
gardens around the back for an additional fee. It's reasonably close to
the HC.


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.

we are trying to get a evening Shinkansen, so we have the
morning/early afternoon free in Kyoto. However, I thought maybe we
should spend the last half day in Tokyo... so we should take the
morning Shinkansen to Tokyo, so we can check out whatever we will
miss.

Maybe an early shinkansen to Toyko to see whichever one of
Shunjuku/Shibuya/Akihabara you missed in the first half of the trip?


Day 7 Tokyo- Depart from Narita at 3:30 pm

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:-)

--
Chris
Concatenate for email: mrgazpacho @ hotmail . com