Visiting Japan in August!

[DInk]

Hi Everyone,

I will be visiting Japan by myself during August for 2 weeks and would like abit of feedback on my itinery please! I will be staying in Shinjuku for my entire stay. Any comments about what to see/do while in different areas will be appreciated!

Day 1&3 (Sun/Mon/Tue) = Get familiar with Toyko (and also recover from jetlag)
Day 4 (Wed) = Kyoto - Northern Kyoto and Arashiyama
Day 5 (Thur) = Hakone
Day 6 & 7(Fri/Sat) = Tokyo - Again, maybe visit some interesting places/Maybe Kamakura?
Day 8 (Sun) = Nikko
Day 9 (Mon) = Izu Hanto
Day 10 (Tues) = Takaosan
Day 11 (Wed) = Kyoto again to see other landmarks
Day 12 (Thur) = Yokohama
Day 13 (Fri) = Tokyo
Day 14 (Sat) = Go Home

I am interested in all sorts of different things, so an recommendations that might mean changing my schedule would be ok!

Thanks in advance

[JonB]

You are going to be pretty tired on the plan home!!!

You do know that Kyoto is 2.5 ~ 3 hours away - right? And then to get to Arashiyama another 45 minutes (or there abouts). Any reason why you can't do your two days in Kyoto together?

Also I assume you are getting a rail pass as that will save you money - especially if going to Kyoto twice.

I think you have the right idea on the whole - get out of town! August is very hot and humid in Tokyo and Kyoto so getting out to the mountains for the cooler, fresher air is a great idea.

Also why not combine Izu and Hakone as hakone is at the top of the izu penisular. Go for the hakone free pass for the hakone bit and pay extra to go down on the romance car - try and get the front seat but book in advance! (Not avaialble on JR pass)

Enjoy!

[josiah]

yeh
i dunno if you already have the flights booked
but august is the hottest month
of the year,
and let me say that you will literally be having as many showers
as you can since you'll spend most of your time covered in
SWEAT!!!!

also in my opinion
kyoto is hotter than tokyo
waaaay hotter!!

[DInk]

Thanks for the replies, I have another question.

I do plan on getting a JR Rail card, not sure if it will be a 1 Week or 2 Week pass yet. I will be there from the 10th of August to the 23rd, what will travelling about be like during that period? I expect it will be busy, but for my long trips I hope to be up nice and early to get the train, but for getting around Tokyo on the subway, will it be crazy?

[JonB]

Around the 10th would probably be a good time for doing Tokyo as it is fairly quiet (for Tokyo) around then due to the Bon Festival. The unfortunate thing is a lot of restaurants still close around that time as a lot of people travel to their home town.

If you can avoid the subway between 8am and 9:30am it is generally not too bad and it will depend on your direction of travel - for example on the Hibya senin the morning coming from ebisu to kamiyacho is pretty crowded but trains going the opposite direction are pretty empty. The reverse commute is usually a lot more staggered.

For your long distance travelling I recommend you book your shinkansen tickets as soon as you arrive. Even if you decide to just go for the 1 week option and travel in the second week you can still validate your pass on arrival for a future date and then book your tickets.

I've never been to Kyoto in August but a friend who used to live there says it is more hot and humid than Tokyo that time of year (in the winter it is also much colder - city of extremes when it comes to weather!)

[punisher]

Osaka area Rush hour is 5-7 PM. At 7:30 PM trains were still a sardine can.
Did we mention it would be hot?

[JonB]

Doing some research for a project yesterday I found that the Bon festival is 13th ~ 15th August and peak travel dates are expected to be 12th ~ 17th August.

You must get a reserved seat on the shinkansen unless you enjoy playing sardines for 3 hours. But you can't book them until you have your rail pass validated I think. If you can't book tickets (unlikely if you leave it until you arrive) and you must travel in that period then get to the station an hour before your train and join the queue at the non-reserved cars - yes there will probably already be a queue.

Me? I'll go to work as usual. Actually it will probably be easier than usual as the metro is not very crowded during bon

[DInk]

Thanks for all your advice, depending on the booking of tickets, I might stay local for the dates you mentions and stick around tokyo, then hit Kyoto and the other places in my 2nd week. Would I be able to book my seats soon as I have validated my pass at Narita airport?

[JonB]

Would I be able to book my seats soon as I have validated my pass at Narita airport?

Yes you would - and that is probably the best place to do it as they can normally speak some English

[skrba]

But DInk, friendly advice is that it's better to first decide what is the goal of your travel, is it to really see and enjoy in some places or just to visit as much spots as possible and to take a photo on each of them? Your schedule looks very dynamic but I think it belongs more to this second type. All Japanese tourist places are really interesting and you can have great time for a few days in each of them, especially in big cities.

I am sure you will get much better impressions if go slower but to deeply see and feel the culture and people, and stay longer on the same place. Also, make a path to always go in one direction, not going back and forward and spending time in the train.

I lived in Kyoto for one year and even went around a few times per week, always was finding new and nice places. The summer in Kyoto is really tough and humid, so it would be better if you go to coastal places or some mountains on the beginning of the trip and leave cities to the end. If you have a chance, visiting Hiroshima is worth of far trip. Also, climbing Fuji is good but takes more than just one day.

Have a nice trip, hope you will enjoy!

[Fedgrub]

Would I be able to book my seats soon as I have validated my pass at Narita airport?

Yes you would - and that is probably the best place to do it as they can normally speak some English

Shinjuku station also has many rail consultants who can speak enough English to get your pass validated.

[mtpiper]

but august is the hottest month of the year,
and let me say that you will literally be having as many showers
as you can since you'll spend most of your time covered in
SWEAT!!!!

also in my opinion
kyoto is hotter than tokyo
waaaay hotter!!

I'll second that on the showers!!
We just got back from Tokyo (July 17-29) and it was really hot. We showered at least twice a day when we were there. It was uncomfortable, but it certainly didn't detract from our vacation. Next time we're there will be spring or fall
We went to Nagano for a couple days and people in Tokyo said it would be cooler there...nope, as a matter of fact, we think it was a little hotter than Tokyo.

Have fun!
トニー