Quote:
Originally Posted by minniemouse
Hi guys!
I post here my trip that I have planned for next Summer (in August).
Can you tell me if is it ok? Can you have any reccommend for me?
from 05th to 13th : (8 nights in Tokyo)
* 5th and 6th = 1 day and half in Tokyo
* 7th = half day in Puroland and after going to a Paper Lantern (Bonbori) Festival at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine
Can you confirm me this address and this date, please? (12 min. walk from Kamakura Sta. on the JR Yokosuka Line.(Access: 1 hr from Tokyo Stn by JR Yokosuka Line.)
* 8th = Tokyo
* 9th and 10th = 2 days Disneyland
* 11th = From Tokyo, make a day trip to Nikko and return in Tokyo
* 12th = one day in Kamakura
On 12th August Kamakura Fireworks Festival (12 min. walk from Kamakura Sta. (Access: 1 hr from Tokyo Stn by JR Yokosuka Line.) Kamakura Hanabi taikai -start at 19:30 to 21:00 Place Kamakura-city, Kanagawa pref (Yokosuka line, get off at Kamakura Sta, fiteen minutes on foot, nearby Yuigahama beach)
Can you confirm it?
from 13th to 14th : In the morning, travel from Tokyo to Takayama (4.5 hours) and spend the afternoon and evening exploring Takayama. (1 night)
from 14th to 15th : Leave in the afteroon Takayama for Kyoto (3.5 hours) and spend the evening exploring Kyoto.
from 15th to 17th : Spend two full days in Kyoto and one day in nearby Nara. Nara is an easy day trip from Kyoto. . (3 nights)
On August 16th - Kyoto City - The Daimonji Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfire)
from 17thto 18th : In the morning, travel from Kyoto to Mount Koya (3 hours) and overnight there at a temple . (1 night)
from 18th to 20th: Spend the morning at Mount Koya. Around noon, take the train to Osaka (2 hours) and spend the afternoon, evening and night there (Sky Building ad Osaka). (2 nights)
from 20th to 21th : In the early morning, travel from Osaka to Hiroshima (2 hours) and visit the Peace Park. In the afternoon, continue to Miyajima and overnight there. (1 night)
from 21th to 22th : Get up early and spend a few more hours on Miyajima (temple and O-torii gate at low tide)
Leave the island around eleven for Himejii (2 hours). Spend the afternoon exploring Himeji Castle. Return to Tokyo in the evening (3-4 hours) and got to Narita for the night.
Leave on 22th August to Italy.
I'm waiting for your post!
Many thanks in advance all you!!!!!  
Have a nice day |
As I said in the other thread, I believe a 14 day Rail Pass will be a waste for you.
The first 8 days you are spending in and around Tokyo, so you'll have little or no chance to use the pass those days. Even on the days you do use it, it would be cheaper to just buy your ticket, probably. Nikko, for example, is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours by train north of Tokyo, as I recall (depending upon where in Tokyo you start from). (I went to Nikko, great place to visit! You'll love it!) That will probably cost you about $30 for the train, round trip. But a Rail Pass is $40 per day for the ordinary kind, and $54 per day for the Green pass! So just buying your ticket for these short excursions will be much cheaper. A ju-hachi kippu, on the other hand, is about $22 per day, so using one of the all day passes from that booklet would perhaps save you a little money, but not a great amount unless you go someplace besides to and from the Nikko temple complex.
On the 13th, when you start heading west, you may find the JR Rail Pass or ju-hachi kippu more useful. In general, if you plan to ride the JR train for at least 3 hours that day, you'll break even with a ju-hachi kippu. If you plan to ride it for at least 6 hours, or need to take express trains to cover the distance faster, then a Rail Pass is worthwhile. If you do decide to get the Rail Pass, I'd buy a 7 day pass and only activate it on the 14th, when you head toward Kyoto, being sure to have it available for your long trip from Himeji back to Tokyo (which will take many hours by local trains. The 3-4 hours you budgeted for that trip will only apply if you take the bullet train. This is 1 drawback of the ju-hachi-kippu. However, with the $170-$260 you save by getting a ju-hachi-kippu instead of a Rail pass, you can buy a ticket on the bullet train for your ride back, or even fly from Kansai International Airport to Narita, which takes only 1 hour and is actually cheaper than the bullet train...)
Ok, enough about the tickets for now, though I'd be happy to give more advice on it if you wish. Just ask. On to the locations. As I already mentioned, Nikko is a great place. These are pictures from my trip to Nikko:
Takayama is incredible too, I enjoyed the ancient village there (and I also spent a day hiking in the Japan Alps which was breathtaking). They also have huge 15-30' statues of the lucky Gods in Takayama. You can see one of them in the upper left corner here:
In the lower left corner above is the giant Buddha in Nara, another place you have on your list to visit. Nara koen (park) is beautiful and full of wild deer that will come right up to you begging for food. The top picture here was taken in Nara park where I and my friend Machiko are feeding the ravenous horde:
The bottom picture above was taken on one of the many bridges along Dotonburi street, in the Shinsaibashi section of Osaka. It is a bustling area with a ton of restaurants and shopping.
Now we really get to my area of expertise... Koya-san. I lived for 2 years in Hashimoto city, called the "gateway to Koya-san" It's the last decent-sized city before you head up the mountain to get to Koya-san, and it is the place where the Wakayama-Nara train line crosses the Nankai-Koya line (The Nankai-Koya line is the one you'll take from Osaka's Namba station to get to Koya-san, and the fare to Koya-san includes the cable car ride at the end of the trip to get up the mountain.) Koya-san is a truly incredible place... be sure to get up early to walk through the cemetery at dawn. With the rising sun coming through the trees and burning away the morning mist, the place seems almost magical. Here are some pictures from the cemetery:
I stayed in a temple there myself, and it was great. There is actually a JET who lives on top of Koya-san and has a house to himself, if things haven't changed since I was there... maybe ask around for him/her and see if he/she can show you around.
Miyajima Island was a very cool place, with the "floating torii" and more hungry deer, as well as families of monkeys. You may want to take the gondola ride to the top of Mt Miyajima, or if you're in need of a workout, hike the trail to the top as I did. One word of caution though... don't believe the sign at the start of the trail that shows a nice little path with deer playing alongside it and such... it is a heck of a steep climb that took my more than 1 1/2 hours, and made me exhausted as well as my catching a cold from climbing it in drizzling wintertime. It's a better idea to take the gondola up and perhaps hike down instead, or just stay around the edges of the island and visit the temples and such.
Finally, Himeji Castle was a very good castle to visit, one of the best in Japan easily. The inside is full of historical displays, suits of armor, and the history of the castle.