Best way Kyoto to KIX Osaka

HI

We are due to leave Kyoto a day before our flight from KIX as i thought it would be easier to get to the airport ( early flight) and stay in Osaka. However, i have found out that our hotel maybe nearere the airport but getting to KIX by train is still 2 hours etc, and taxis are ridiculous.

The hotels right by the airport are astronomical!!

Any suggestions? We fly at 10.00am to Hong Kong from Osaka.

Thanks

Best way Kyoto to KIX Osaka

You could take the JR Haruka Limited Express train from Kyoto to KIX in the morning of the flight out.

Kyoto 6:22 -%26gt; 7:47 KIX (7:42 on weekends)

* This schedule is subject to revision from 14th March.

If you purchase the JR West Kansai one day pass, you can take the unreserved section of this train for 2,000 yen.

Haruka train and JR West Kansai Pass info:

…blogspot.com/2008/09/japan-railpass-validat…

Day trip from Kyoto: Himenji and Arima-onsen (hot springs) ?

Hi - Looking for feedback or advice about a potential day trip. I%26#39;m thinking about getting up really early in Kyoto and going straight to Himenji (90min on JR special rapid). I read that there is a 2.5 hr english-speaking tour around the grounds.

Then I want to go to some real hot springs. So far, the closest I found is the Arima-Onsen, which is 30-40min outside of Kobe I think. I figure spending 2-3hours around the springs and then heading back to Kyoto for some dinner.

Has anyone been around these parts and can tell me if this is a feasible day excursion? Do you have any suggestions about the best way to get between Himenji -%26gt; Arima-Onsen Springs -%26gt; Kyoto?

Or perhaps your know of a better/closer hot springs in the area? All feedback is welcome!

Day trip from Kyoto: Himenji and Arima-onsen (hot springs) ?

If you%26#39;re not staying overnight, then do Arima. Kinosaki is really a place to go, stay in a nice ryokan, eat good food, drink some beer, and wander the baths in the early evening (there are multiple baths in the town that you can visit).

Some suggestions. In Himeji try to see more than just the castle: Kokoen is a nice garden next to the castle (there%26#39;s a combo ticket with the castle entrance) and Mt. Shosha is about a half hour away by bus (need at least an hour, maybe two, to wander the temple grounds).

After you do Arima you could do dinner in in the onsen where you take your bath; it%26#39;s a great experience to soak away your troubles, and then stuff yourself. Also, in Arima you can take the cable car up Mt. Rokko, if you have time.

If it%26#39;s still daylight when you leave Arima, I suggest taking the train to Sanda station and then from Sanda to Osaka. It is a pretty scenic route and unless you have something specific to do with your time it%26#39;s a pleasant ride. Make sure you take an express train, not a local.

Good luck!

John W.

Day trip from Kyoto: Himenji and Arima-onsen (hot springs) ?

Thanks John W - Is this all doing in just a day trip? I don%26#39;t have a very good sense of how long the traveling between Kyoto-Himeji-Arima-Kyoto will be (including finding the stations, waiting for train, , transfers, etc).

%26gt;%26gt; Thanks John W - Is this all doing in just a day trip? I don%26#39;t have a very good sense of how long the traveling between Kyoto-Himeji-Arima-Kyoto will be (including finding the stations, waiting for train, , transfers, etc). %26lt;%26lt;

A lot depends on what you do in Himeji; if you do Mt. Shosha then you can probably be on a 2 pm train to Arima (at the latest). That trip takes an hour or so. That gives you a couple of hours to walk around Arima (maybe take the cable car), go to an onsen (really only need a half hour or so), and then eat a good dinner.

If you don%26#39;t do Mt. Shosha, then you could do lunch in Arima, walk around, and then head back to Kyoto by around 2 or 3 pm. That trip takes about an hour and a half.

If you%26#39;re into hiking, you can do that in Arima as well.

Use www.hypedia.com (click English in the top left) to see the train times. I like these links for the Kobe area and Arima:

www.arima-onsen.com/eng/index.html

http://feel-kobe.jp/english/index.html

Good luck!

John W.

Final itinerary...comments and suggested day-trips please

Right, we%26#39;ve finally booked all of our accomodation...but we still haven%26#39;t narrowed down everywhere we want to see to a sensible level.

So could I ask for comments on the itinerary below - not ';you%26#39;ll never do it'; (we%26#39;ve no choice now! ;) ), but suggested must-see%26#39;s and worthwhile visits. Most importantly, how long we should expect something to take (travel and on-site).

Thanks all,

Martin.

10th April - Land 5pm @ Kansai - Overnight Hiroshima

11th April - Miyajima / Hiroshima - Overnight Hiroshima

12th April - TBD - Overnight Kyoto

13th April - TBD - Overnight Kyoto

14th April - Takayama (Matsuri) - Overnight Takayama ryokan

15th April - Takayama (Onsen %26amp; relaxing) - Overnight Takayama onsen

16th April - TBD - Overnight Tokyo

17th April - TBD - Overnight Tokyo

18th April - TBD - Overnight Tokyo

19th April - Harajuku am, TBD pm - Overnight Kyoto

20th April - TBD - Overnight Kyoto

21st April - Kyoto - fly out at ~ midnight.

Current places on the list include:-

- Himeji

- Mt Fuji / Hakone

- Nikko

- Nara / Arashiyama

- Kanazawa (possibly - long way to see the gardens)

...and of course there%26#39;s lots to see / do in Tokyo and Kyoto. So if you%26#39;ve any suggestions for how to split those 6-7 days unallocated, it would be much appreciated.

Final itinerary...comments and suggested day-trips please

1. See Himeji on the way from Hiroshima to Kyoto

2. Go to Kyoto and Arashiyama during your first two days at Kyoto. Go to Nara the second time you are there. You may also want to hit Osaka one evening.

3. Kanazawa is out of the way as it%26#39;s another two hours north of Takayama. Consider a day trip from Takayama to Shirakawa-go instead via bus.

4. Tokyo looks fine, and you have enough time for a day trip to Nikko. If you want to go to Hakone and save time, it can be done either way to/from Tokyo/Kyoto. However, you might feel very rushed.

Final itinerary...comments and suggested day-trips please

Thanks Sammy...hadn%26#39;t even thought of Shirakawa-go...will check it out!

Bump for the day-shift...any more comments / suggestions?

I know it%26#39;s an old question, and we%26#39;ve reviewed and shortlisted a good few places, but it%26#39;s still nice to have opinions from people who live somewhere or who%26#39;ve already visited.

Thanks again,

M.

garlic off skin

My Masterpiece what do you think?

I have spent many many hours searching this site to build my ';masterpiece'; could all you Japan experts please have a look through and advise if there is anything you would change or if i have something on a wrong day ect.

Thank you all for your help over the past two months, we will be leaving in a few short weeks and i will be sure to get back to you all upon my return.

Cheers.

Day 1 Wednesday Kyoto

Hotel: Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto – Horikawa – Shiokoji Shimogyo-Ku Kyoto 600-8237

shuttle bus runs every 15min to 9pm from opposite McDonalds 01st level.

* Walk to Sanjusangen first then go to tourist info at Kyoto Sation

Sanjusangen – do (15-20 min walk from Kyoto station or bus 100, 206, 208)

¥600 Open 9am to 4pm

Kyoto Handicraft Centre

Free Open 10am to 6pm

Silver Pavilion ( Ginkaku-ji ) then follow Philosophers Walk to

¥500 Open 8.30am to 5pm

Nanzenji Temple

¥600 Open 9am to 4.30pm

Day 2 Thursday Kyoto

½ Day Trip

Visit Arashiyama – takes approx 30 min from JR Kyoto can take up to 1 hour.

Foot bath

¥150 at Arashiyama train station

Tenrugi Temple

¥1000 Open 8.30am to 5pm

Bamboo garden

(behind the temple) Free

Gioji Temple

¥200 Open 9am to 5pm

Sagano Romatic Train

¥600 Open everyday except Wednesday takes 25 min 1 way from Torokko Saga Station (Same building as Saga-Arasiyama Station) to Torokko Kameoka Station

Monkey Park

¥520 Open from 9am to 4pm Opposite side of the river from Tenrugi Temple

Thursday afternoon

Kiyomizu temple

¥300 Open from 6am to 6pm. Jishu Shrine at same spot closes at 5pm

Day 3 Friday Kyoto

Imperial Palace

Free booked in for 10am - must be there between 30-10 min before tour starts, Bring Permits

The Heian Jingu Shrine and gardens

¥600 for the garden the shrine is free 6.00am to 5.30pm but garden opens at 8.30am

Nishiki Market

Open 9am to 6pm No Fee some shops closed Wednesday and Sunday

Friday Evening Gion

Gion Corner – To start at dusk for Maiko viewing

Would like to see Kabuku and Banraku and a Maiko.

Walk through – Shirakawa Dori Teahouses

Pontocho Narrow Canal with authentic buildings

Day 4 Saturday Kyoto

Golden Temple

¥600 Open 9am – 5pm

Nijo-jo Castle ( Nightingale Floor sings like a bird )

¥600 Open 8.45 to 5pm

Ryoan-ji Rock Garden and Temple

¥500 Open 8.30am to 4.30pm

Day 5 Sunday Kyoto

1 Day Trip

Himeji Castle and Gardens

¥600 Open from 9am to 5pm – 15 min walk from JR station

Kokoen Gardens

¥300 Open 9am to 5pm location beside Himeji Castle

Hiroshima Peace Park

¥150 15min by tram – take tram 2 or 6 to Genbaku-Domu mae station. The ride takes 15 minutes

Hiroshima Memorial Museum

¥50 Open 8.30 and 6.00pm

Day 6 Monday Kyoto

Free

Day 7 Tuesday Travel to and stay at Takayama – Departs 9.56am arrive 2pm.

Hotel Best Western Takayama 6-6 Hanasatomachi Takayama Gifu Japan 506-0026

Telephone:+81-577-37-2000

Day 8 Wednesday Takayama

Takayama Hida Folk Village Open Air Museum

Taste Hida beef

Sanmachi Suji streets

Takayama Festival Float Hall

Inro Museum

Green Hotel Foot Onsen

Day 9 Thursday Travel to and stay at Nikko – Departs 6.50am arrives 1.20pm

Hotel Nikko Lakeside Hotel 2482 Chugushi, Nikko-shi, Tochigi

Telephone:+81-288-55-0321

Nikko Toshogu Shrine Open 8am to 4pm – need at least 2 hours.

Lake Chuzenji Last bus to Lake is 7pm

Day 10 Friday Lake Chuzenji – Travel to Tokyo

Hotel Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku 2-3-1 Yoyogi Shibuya Tokyo 151-0053

Telephone: 81 (3) 33753211

Lake Chuzenji Kegan waterfalls

Bus back to Nikko

13:07 13:22 13:42 14:11 14:23 14:41 15:02 15:25 15:56 16:43 17:10 17:40 18:47 19:20 19:39

Friday Evening Tokyo

Roppongi early evening

Day 11 Saturday Tokyo

Area: Ueno, Akihabara, Asakusa

Akihabara Electricial City

Asakusa Sensoji (Asakusa Kannon Temple)

Free Open 6.30am to 4pm

Ueno Park Can split up and do whichever museum interests you

Toshogu Shrine

¥200 Open 9.30 to 5pm

Tokyo National Muesum

¥600 Open 9.30 to 5pm

Ueno Zoo Open

¥600 9.30 to 5 Closed Mondays

Science Museum (good for kids)

¥420 Open 9am to 5pm

National Museum of Western Art

¥420 Open 9.30 to 5pm

National Royal Museum

Free Open 10am to 5pm

Day 12 Sunday Tokyo

Area: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku

Shinjuku Metropolitan Government Building

Free open 9.30 to 7.30

Shinjuku Gyoen

¥200 Open 9am to 4pm Closed Mondays

(58 hectares 3 gardens, English, Japanese and French)

Tenruji Temple

Free Open 24/7

Harajuku Meiji Shrine

Free Open 24/7

Yoyogi Park (After 11am for rockabilly dancers)

Takeshita Dori (Street) Hachiko exit of the JR station people watching and

Free Open 24/7

Day 13 Monday Tokyo

Tokyo Hama Rikyu Garden

¥300 Open 9am to 5pm then

Taxi to Hinode Pier then Water bus to Odiaba.

Odiaba National Museum of Emerging Science %26amp; Innovation

¥500 Open 10am to 5pm

Mega Web (Part of Palette town)

Open 11am Free Entry

Day 14 Tuesday travel to and stay at Osaka departs 12.30 arrives 4pm

* leave luggage in locker at Tokyo Station

Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market-

Free not open Sunday

Imperial Palace East Gardens

Free open 9.30 – 3.00 Closed Fri %26amp; Mon

Hotel Swissotel Nankai 5-1-60 Namba Chuo-Ku Osaka 542-0076

Above train station

Osaka Dotonbori and surrounding area

Free 5pm 1 hour guided tour with hotel

Day 15 Wednesday Flight to Gold Coast departs 8.55pm

Universal Studios

Open 9am to 7pm (must leave by 5 to pick up luggage and make flight home)

Wednesday 18th March

Jetstar Flight JQ20 Departs 08.55pm arrives at the Gold Coast at 07.00am

My Masterpiece what do you think?

This is definitely information for the archives! Good stuff. One suggestion is that in Himeji you also see Mt. Shosha. It%26#39;s about a half hour from hte station and makes a great side trip. Also, you can get a combo ticket for the castle and Kokoen.

Good luck!

John W.

My Masterpiece what do you think?

Hello John,

Thank you for your suggestion, i have looked into this however i was unable to insert my train time table excel spreadsheet which would show you we arrive in Himeji at 9.22am and depart at 12.29pm so to arrive at Hiroshima at 1.28pm. I did not think that i would have enought time in the 3 hours to take this side trip and do the castle and all its grounds justice. I could shorten our time in hiroshima however with the kids i am trying not to make the days go long into the evening. But thank you on my itinary that i am taking i actually have noted this as a possibility if time will allow on the day.

Cheers

Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku is very close to the Oedo Line that gives you direct access to Tsukijishijo Station for Tsukiji Fish Market without a transfer. In my opinion, it%26#39;d be better to visit the market early Monday morning (subject to closing days of the market, see link below for Tsukiji closing days). Tsukiji is only interesting in the morning anyway, and the earlier the better. On Tuesday, you can then take Yamanote Line from JR Shinjuku to Shinagawa for Shinkansen to Osaka, without worrying about putting your bags in lockers.

Tsukiji closing days (avoid the red days):

tsukiji-market.or.jp/etc/calendar/2009.html

Thank you Sammyfloyd for your suggestion. I had planned to go to the market very early anyway as the four adults will need to alternate going in the market while the other two watch the kids. I have changed the fish market to Monday however we will still need to put our bags in the locker on Tuesday while viewing the Imperial Palace Gardens.

I assume you want to put your bags in lockers at Tokyo Station so you don%26#39;t have to backtrack to Shinjuku? This early in the day, you should have no problem finding larger lockers (there usually aren%26#39;t too many larger lockers at the station so they get taken up by mid-morning in many cases). Alternatively, if you don%26#39;t mind backtracking to Shinjuku for your luggage, you can leave it at Sunroute Plaza until you are ready to leave so there%26#39;d be no need to find lockers in that case.

I am assuming that you know about storing larger bags on Shinkansen? The only place you can put them is behind the last row of each car. However, that space is usually available. Each car can fit four larger standup roller bags.

Sammyfloyd

Thank you again, i am aware of the luggage space on the trains, we will be travelling very light and only have a back pack each. Are you suggesting we leave our bags at Sunroute Plaza because it is easier to back track to hotel then put in a locker at Tokyo Station, is this because it is easier to get the train from Shinjuku to Namba (Osaka) than it is to get it from Tokyo Station to Namba?

If you have just very light luggage, then it%26#39;s definitely a plus to put them in lockers at Tokyo Stations. I made the suggestion of keeping your luggage at Sunroute because then you can leave from the hotel, walk to Shinjuku Station, take Yamanote Line to Shinagawa and transfer to Shinkansen to Osaka. Dragging large bags around looking for lockers is not an ideal way to travel but if your bags are light, this is not much of a concern.

lower eye liner

G.A.P. Adventures

Has anyone had experience with GAP Adventures, good or bad?

We are thinking about taking the Japan Express tour from Tokyo to Osaka in the summer.

Thanks for any input.

G.A.P. Adventures

www.travelblog.org/Forum/Threads/5023-1.html

G.A.P. Adventures

I had a friend that did a tour with GAP late last year. They landed at Osaka then travelled through to Tokyo for 12 days.

They did not realise that the tour only offerred a ferry service, including using the trains, to get them from place to place and obviously booking them the hotels.

The tour director did not offer any information on additional sightseeing, Japanese history or culture etc.

We were planning on doing a tour when we first started looking at Japan but I could not find one that was reasonably priced so after much research and advice from this site we are going it alone when we travel to Japan in April.

Good luck.

La Rochelle in Shibuya - Reservations needed???

Do you think I need to make reservations to the Iron Chef Sakai%26#39;s restaurant @ 2130 on a Wednesday night? the restaurant is open until 2300. I tried to make reservations online, but it%26#39;s all in Japanese script, and I can not understand it. I typed in the request any way... but have no idea if it went through okay. so, am curious if I can just walk in @ this time of night.

La Rochelle in Shibuya - Reservations needed???

They take reservation by phone in English. I always use a concierge company and I know that their staff don%26#39;t speak Japanese and would just called in and confirmed the reservation right away.

BTW their dinner last order is at 20:30. If your request was received, probably they are trying to figure out how to inform you(in English) of the last order time.

La Rochelle in Shibuya - Reservations needed???

Thx! Re: the last order @ 2030.. darn darn darn. b/c I don%26#39;t think I can make it by 2030. Guess, I%26#39;ll just have to try my luck and see if I can make it. Thx a bunch for the information!

We%26#39;d like to visit LaRochelle as well, but for lunch. Do you know what the average cost per person would be in USD?

www.la-rochelle-sby.com/menu/lunch1.html

Click on the 4 set menus on the left (French/Japanese bilingual). 10% service charge on top of the price. No a la carte offered.

p.s. ';marche'; only available on weekdays, ';Passionne'; only on Sundays and holidays.

Ito-Yokada and Daiei in Tokyo

I%26#39;ve looked into the websites of Ito-Yokada and Daiei, they are all in Japanese. Can anyone please suggest where can i find these 2 shops in or near Tokyo and how to go there by train?

Thank you

Phontong

Ito-Yokada and Daiei in Tokyo

There are so many branches of Ito Yokado and Daiei in Tokyo.

my suggestion is open http://maps.google.com and specify your location in Tokyo and search %26#39;ito yokado%26#39; or %26#39;daiei%26#39;

after that click one of their branches and click route search.

Ito-Yokada and Daiei in Tokyo

great thanks, will try.

The two most convenient to city centre are Daiei at Himonya, Meguro-ku and IY at Kiba, Koto-ku.

Take the Toyoko Line to either Gakugeidaigaku or Toritsudaigaku stations and walk 15 min to Daiei Himonya.

Take the Tozai Metrol Line to Kiba station and IY is right there.

I think the IY at Kiba or the Jusco at Shinagawa Seaside (from your previous posting) are both al lot better than Daiei.

Thanks a lot Yamanote, I will definitely check them out.