Japan and TDR Trip Planning

[mikelan6]

Hello everyone.

I am in the planning stages for my third trip to Japan and of course a 3 night stay at TDR!

I've already been to Tokyo twice and have never been to Kyoto, so I'd like to go there. My original thought was to stay three nights in Tokyo, one in Kyoto before going to TDR.

Now, I am thinking we should only stay two nights in Tokyo and two nights in Kyoto to see more there. I'd like to see the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and have read that they are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, so going there on a Friday would allow me to see that. Any suggestions?

Also, since we will be there for seven nights and eight days, I was thinking of getting the Japan Rail pass. I have to do the numbers to see how that works out. Any suggestions on that?

Thanks!!!

 

[Briarmom]

Kyoto is beautiful. Unfortunately when we were there it poured rain and it was very difficult to enjoy all the outdoor sights with the kids. We were so cold and wet.

I've only been to Tokyo/TDL/Kyoto once, so I don't know a lot about it. Because we were only there for 10 or 11 days, we felt that time was of the essence and we bought bullet train tickets to Kyoto. It was really easy to do, we just purchased them at the airport when we arrived in Tokyo.

Have a great time. That was one of the best trips we've ever been on.

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

Kyoto is interesting. I agree with Briarmom that it is difficult to see the sights if the weather is bad. It was cold and rainy while we were there, too, and we only saw a few places because we took lots of breaks to warm up/dry off.

We only stayed one night in Kyoto. I think two nights is probably better because we exhausted ourselves running around the city...two nights would give you more time to really drink in the sights and not wear yourself out too much.

That being said, there are a ton of sights to see in Kyoto, but for us, we just saw a few of the most popular places and that was enough as we were more interested in spending our time at TDR, seeing the sights of Tokyo, shopping, eating, etc. than in seeing shrines and temples. That's just our personal preference, though.

Our favorite things that we did in Kyoto were visiting the Nijo Castle, which was fascinating both inside and out. We also loved visiting the Heian Shrine, specifically the gardens there, which were beautiful.

We purchased a rail pass here in the States as we thought it would be easier for us since it was our first visit to Japan. I did, however, calculate our trips and we ended up just about breaking even money-wise. The only advantage was ease of use as we were not familiar with the transportation system. Now that we are, we would not purchase it again unless it actually saved us money. I used the Hyperdia website to calculate estimated costs and plan out our travel to maximize our time (faster trains, fewer stops, etc.)

 

[dinkerbelle]

Hello everyone.

I am in the planning stages for my third trip to Japan and of course a 3 night stay at TDR!

I've already been to Tokyo twice and have never been to Kyoto, so I'd like to go there. My original thought was to stay three nights in Tokyo, one in Kyoto before going to TDR.

Now, I am thinking we should only stay two nights in Tokyo and two nights in Kyoto to see more there. I'd like to see the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and have read that they are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, so going there on a Friday would allow me to see that. Any suggestions?

Also, since we will be there for seven nights and eight days, I was thinking of getting the Japan Rail pass. I have to do the numbers to see how that works out. Any suggestions on that?

Thanks!!!

We just got back from 10 days in Japan. We spent 2 days at Disney and 1 1/2 days in Kyoto.

We saw a lot in Kyoto in our 1 1/2 days but were exhausted. When we arrived at the Kyoto train station, we went to the bus terminal place where you can buy an all day bus pass. We bought the one that allows you to do more than just the city buses and it was well worth it. We were able to see the Monkey Park in Arashiyama, the bamboo forest, the Golden Pavilion, and Nijo Castle on Day one. Day 2 we went on to Kiyomizudera and the Imperial Palace (note that if you want to do the English tour, you need to sign up in advance). If you wanted to see more than that, I would recommend adding another day.

Almost all of those places (with the exception of the bamboo forest) charge anywhere between 300-600 yen per person for admittance. Make sure that you have a lot of yen with you because most places we went to didn't take credit cards at all.

We didn't have the Japan Rail pass. My sister-in-law lives on the Naval base in Atsugi right now and she booked our train tickets on the shinkansen (bullet train) through the Navel travel office. So I can't really help you there.

If you wanted to know more about Kyoto, I kept most of the flyers and things we got from each of the shrines/temples. I assume it says how much each item costs and operating hours. Just let me know what additional information you were looking for.

Have a great trip! We loved our visit to Japan.

 

[walt's assistant]

I would spend a minimum of two days in Kyoto. As folks above have shared, there's so much to see that you just don't want to miss it. Two days in Tokyo before you head over to TDR is fine. I think this is a good trade off.

 

[Sugarglider]

Honestly - you could spend a month in Kyoto - there is SO much to do / see. Spent a week in Kyoto on my trip 2 yrs ago and am here planning again for another week - cause we just didn't get to it all. Don't skimp on Kyoto - if you can afford any extra days add them.

 

[disneyholic family]

i only just discovered this board today...

i'm a japanaholic too...

i spent lots of time in japan when i was growing up....
many many trips there from when i was very young through my early years of marriage and staying there for extended periods of time...
i dragged DH there for the first time on our around the world trip (when i was pregnant with DD)....
That was the year Tokyo Disney first opened (and of course we had to see it )
DH fell in love with japan too and we seriously considered living there, though Israel won out in the end..
but it was 2nd on our list...

DD has caught the bug now too, so i could have shared the planning info from her recent trip there...
alas, i assume your trip is pretty well locked in..

she stayed almost exclusively in ryokans, so if anyone is interested, i can dig up the info..