Tokyo shinjuku to kyoto

Hi, Which is the best way to travel from shinjuku to kyoto stn? How long is the journey?

http://www.hyperdia.com

Hi Miketang,

I would say you will travel from Shinjuku to Tokyo station. From Tokyo station you will take the Hikari train to Kyoto which will take about 170 mins.

take a chuo line rapid service to Tokyo station then a Nozomi shinkansen to Kyoto. Total journey time is a little under three hours. If you are using a JR pass, you will need to use a Hikari shinkansen service which will add about an extra 30 minutes to the journey.

All details can be found using Hyperdia.

Hi Anne,
Thank you for your valuable info. I had some more queries. Is the Hikari train a bullet train? Do i need to make any seat reservation at train stn counter a day or 2 in advance? Finally, do we need to transit at other station or is a direct train to kyoto as we had big luggage to carry around. We are travelling from tokyo to kyoto on the 9 th Aug to 18 th Aug 15. Thank for your advise.

Hikari is a bullet train and it'll stop at Kyoto, no transfers. If you're looking for a convenient, clean hotel, and have the budget, the Grandvia Hotel is located right above the station and a couple minutes walk from a bunch of shopping and a couple floors of restaurants (all connected to the station. Rooms are large and really nice too. Another plus is you can walk out of the hotel in the morning and get on the train direct to Uji, Nara, Arashiyama, etc.

Hi Miketang,

Do I need to make any seat reservation at train stn counter a day or 2 in advance?
Will you have a JR Pass? If yes, you can do a seat reservation (which is nice and a guaranteed seat) and I would recommend. You can reserve the seat once you activate your pass. If you do not have a JR Pass there is usually unreserved seating which is cheaper and more of a first come first serve. You can still reserve a seat if you do not have a JR Pass (there is usually a charge to reserve a seat without a JR Pass). If you do not have a JR pass get on the Nozomi and if you do have a JR Pass use the Hikari trains (they are covered by the JR Pass, Nozomi is not)

Finally, do we need to transit at other station or is a direct train to kyoto as we had big luggage to carry around.
No transfer's from Tokyo Station to Kyoto and there is a luggage area by the doors where you can lock your suitcase up. You can also have them in front of you depending on the size and there is a overhead rack as well.

Hope this helps. Should be a great time.

Thank you aether, pas7680, and Anne for your info.

I generally use Google Maps for trip planning, and the fastest route (and the one with the easiest transfer) would be to take the Yamanote line from Shinjuku to Shinagawa, and catch a Shinkansen train there.

If you want to buy a bento to eat on the train though, Tokyo station has a much better selection.

I would travel via Tokyo for comfort, because it is the first station along the line. You can enter the shinkansen early and sit down. At Shinagawa, you have to wait on the platform until the train stops there for a short time frame.

Especially so in case you travel by non-reserved seats.

I should also mention that there are several subway and train stations in the Shinjuku area and, depending on where your hotel is and how much luggage you have, it might be more convenient to take the subway to Tokyo station instead of the JR train.

That's another reason that Google Maps is easier to use than Hyperdia - you can input your hotel as the starting point, rather than trying to guess which station is best to use.

Hi,
I will be flying in to tokyo & stay in shinjuku for 5 days and then travel all the way to kyoto for another 5 days and then to osaka for 3 days before fly out from here. Is it advisable to purchase a JR pass?