I have a solo trip booked for 10 days in February. Flights are booked (roundtrip Tokyo Haneda). I’m considering going directly to Kyoto via train upon arrival.
Flight lands at 3:20pm local time and I’m wondering if it is even feasible? I thought it might be better to start at the slower pace of Kyoto/Osaka for the first 5 days and then travel back to Tokyo for the last five.
I have made a reservation at The Cross hotel in Kyoto for 5 nights. Although I don’t have a concrete timeline worked out, I plan to see the Gion, Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine, Nishiki Market, Pontocho and the bamboo forest. I also want to take the train to Osaka for a day/evening and visit Shinsekai and the aquarium.
I have not made hotel reservations for Tokyo yet. I’ve been waffling between the Hotel Sun Route, Hotel Gracery Shinjuku and the Tokyo Hilton (I’ll have enough to book a points stay with 5th night free after a domestic trip next week). I haven’t fleshed out my Tokyo plans (there’s so much to choose from!!!) but I’d like a trip to Odaiba and Team Lab, visit the Sensō-ji and Shinjuku Gyoen and the Imperial Gardens. Also, I’ll be doing the usual tourist wandering and gawking at Harajuku, Ginza and Shibuya.
Any input is appreciated although I can’t change my flight into or out of Osaka because I’m traveling on an award flight and the cost goes up significantly if I use multi-city flights.
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ETA: I’m a 57yo female from the US, if that makes any difference. 😉
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The train to Kyoto is doable, I think last train out from Tokyo is at like 11pm, so you have plenty of time considering you land in Haneda and not Narita
I’d recommend staying in Tokyo for a couple of days first and then getting a 7 day rail pass for the rest of your trips and you will save money!
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Tokyo is huge and the areas are filled with tons of stuff to see and explore so it really depends on your vibe. That being said, I’ve always loved the Daikanyama area. There’s a gigantic Tsutaya bookstore with more than just books. Roppongi Mori Tower area + Musuem were also beautiful and you can get a view of Tokyo Tower.
If you’re into the vintage clothing scene/more alternative scene, check out Shimokitazawa area. Overall Tokyo has a ton of cool spots from vinyl bars, listening lounges and then some. Also very solo traveller friendly.
Yes it it possible. If it’s not covid time, you would realistically be able to be at Shinagawa station around 5 (and for sure before 6). So realistically, you are in Kyoto before 8pm. It is more a question of do you want to be in the train for 2 hours after your long flight to Japan.
I do like the location of the hotel you selected in Kyoto. Easy access by subway, close to Higashiyama and Gion, close to the Keihan line and not to far from Hankuy, so you have both nice attractions in the area and good transit options. Thing is, you will likely not rely much on JR.
As other people might suggest, you are in a case where JR Pass is not a must. It would be about the same price as buying the individual tickets. The thing is that unless you plan an extra trip by shinkansen like Himeji or Hiroshima, no JR Pass would likely be better for you to give more flexibility. If you are not sure, I can give you more detailed calculation to show that the 7 days pass would not be worth, because there is literally no saving to make.
For place to stay in Tokyo, it depend on what you are looking for, but the hotels you listed are in Shinjuku, so not a huge difference, well, appart from the distance from Shinjuku station.
Hilton is a bit further from Shinjuku station, and closer to Nishi-Shinjuku subway station. Gracery is closer to Kabukicho, that is the red light district, so might not be my first recommendation for a solo female traveler.
Only for convenience of the location, I would say Sun Route. That is if you absolutely want to stay in Shinjuku.
Also, if you want to see a nice garden, I would go to Koishikawa korakuen or Hama Rikyu before going to the imperial palace.
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Personally I would also check to add a spot to go check plum blossom (for sur it depend on the date), and there is usually some festivals, especially during the weekend, for example at [Yushim Tenjin](https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/yushima-tenjin-ume-matsuri/27556) in Tokyo.
If you can get the points together for it, I’d highly recommend switching from the Tokyo Hilton to the Conrad Tokyo. It’s a 5 star experience all the way.
Koishikawa Korakuen in Tokyo or Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto have perhaps more impressive than plum blssoms at Yushima Tenjin mentioned by /u/gdore15 (festival is fine, but is usually overcrowded with students from Tokyo University hanging *ema* before finals). Hamarikyu Gardens would also make more sense as nice gardens go rather than fairly bland Imperial Palace East Gardens. Even Rikugien or Kiyosumi Garden would make more sense in that regard.
Ginza is entirely missable unless you have specific stores you don’t want to miss – if you are looking for less generic shopping areas than Ameya Yokocho, or Yanaka Ginza in Tokyo, Teramachi in Kyoto, or Tenjinsujibashi in Osaka may make more sense.
With regard to JR Pass: trip to Himeji would make sense (3 days in Kyoto, a day in Osaka, a half-day or day in Nara and a morning in Himeji and rest of time spent in Tokyo would be a fairly sensible itinerary).
When in February?
>I’m considering going directly to Kyoto via train upon arrival.
>Flight lands at 3:20pm local time and I’m wondering if it is even feasible?
Yeah, I woulda say it’s feasible, and a good idea. The first day would be wasted anyways. You’ll probably land around 5-6pm in Kyoto, so you’ll have enough time to get to the hotel and get some food.
The places you want to visit seems reasonable. I’d consider doing a day trip out from Tokyo to see the kawazu sakura in Kawazu, Shizuoka (they bloom in February). It’s a bit of a trip, 2.5 hours one way. There are some viewing spots in Tokyo as well, if you rather not take the long trip.
Ton of great ideas already listed here. And yes, you should be able to make it to Kyoto the first night.
Don’t skip Team Lab in Tokyo! 🇯🇵❤️
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It’s feasible, yeah, but it might have been a better idea to book your flights connecting to KIX or ITM instead.
Anyway, it’s certainly doable. After border formalities and such you should be on your way around 4 pm. Here’s advice for getting there: https://www.kyotostation.com/traveling-between-kyoto-and-haneda-international-airport/
The JR Pass miiiiight be worth it? Plug Tokyo-Kyoto into Hyperdia and do the math. Also account for any excursions you want to take in those first couple of days in Tokyo.
You can activate a JR Pass at many ticket offices and service centers, including at the JR East service center near the Tokyo Monorail stop at Haneda. (The Monorail does not connect to shinkansen service so maybe catch the Keikyu Airport Line to Shinagawa and activate it there.)
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No idead but kudos to you❤️
I stayed at the Hyatt Regency across Hilton in Shinjuku. I assume Hilton will have a shuttle too, it took me to Shinjuku Station on a frequent basis. It’s a good area, albeit somewhat far from other parts of town if you’re going to the opposite end (Odaiba, or Disney for example). I’m doing Conrad in April, otherwise I’d compare the two locations.
I would always recommend flying into Osaka, then out of Tokyo on this type of itinerary.
The train journey will add 2.5-3 hours and that’s not including getting to and from the Shinkansen stations. I don’t know about you, but I’d be totally shattered for days if I did that after a long flight.
I would not land then go straight to Kyoto unless you have experience with this type of travel. You might be extremely jet lagged. I would stay in Tokyo the first day or two and cut your Kyoto stay by a day and stay in Osaka at least a day. Osaka is such a cool city and reminds me of the Japan you see in the movies.
Another suggestion would be to visit Nikko, it’s a day trip from Tokyo on the normal train lines. Nikko has an amazing temple/shrine complex made for the person who united Japan in the 1600s.
I’d lean towards the Tokyo Hilton instead of Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. Where hotel Gracery is in Shinjuku can get pretty sketchy at night with a lot of nearby touts in my experience.