In article <20030919235841.18345.00001634@mb-m13.aol.com>, Jose
wrote:
> MONDAY, MAY 31, 2004
> åá Arrive at Narita Airport, 1355
> åá Customs Clearance (about 30-60 Minutes)
> åá Make Reservation and Pay Fare for Narita Express
> åá DO NOT ACTIVATE JR RAIL PASS ‰¥ã WAIT UNTIL TUESDAY
I assume you're avoiding activation to ensure your rail pass will get
you out on your last day. I made that mistake the first time I went.
I didn't count your days, but if that's your rationale, good thinking.
You're giving yourself plenty of time in Tokyo to recover and sight
see. Good.
I'm unsure why you are staying at the Takanawa Prince. I prefer staying
in Ueno or Asakasa to get closer to real people and communiites. Or in
Shinjuku to get closer to activity and nightlife. Since you're staying
at Shinjuku on the route back, I guess I'd suggest Asakasa,
specifically Ryokan Shigetsu for it's convenience.
I would leave for Kyoto as early as possible and wouldn't go either to
Nara or Osaka. Since you're spending such a brief time there I would
maximize it and save the others for another trip. Kyoto has plenty to
see and do, there's hardly any point in making these few days into
never-ending transit.
If I understand your second itinerary correctly, you don't leave Tokyo.
If you plan to visit Japan more in coming years I don't think that's
such a bad idea, though I'm sure some would be appalled. Me, I like to
concentrate on a town or city. I've concluded that I have to spend at
least three full days in a town to begin to get an idea of it. Two days
gets us almost there and is certainly acceptable.
But every one-day pass-through we've done, we felt hurried, confused,
and ultimately short-changed. When you spend all your time finding a
breakfast joint or a comfortable place to have a drink, it's nice to be
able to utilize that info over a few days, allowing you to put your
mind on the locale rather than navigating the locale.
We've concluded that a 14 day trip will get us about 4-5 places to
visit, and feel like we've done some significant exploration.
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