Shinkansen to Kyoto

Hi everyone!
This is what's worrying me:
(1) my husband and I are going to Kyoto for one day, on the 31 July. We do not have a JR Pass, and were wondering how and where to reserve our tickets? Should we do it at Narita when we arrive, or at another "Midori-no-madoguchi" station?
(2) since we'll be staying at Ueno, which station is best suited for us to take the shinkansen? We'll be travelling light to Kyoto.

Thanks! :-)

(1) On the way to your Ueno hotel, make a quick stop at Tokyo Station and purchase the Shinkansen tix there. Shinkansen departs from Tokyo. Tokyo Station is a straight beeline from Narito Airport.
From there, jump on the JR Yamanote to your hotel in Ueno. Midorinomadoguchi's are at the major JR stations so you can buy them at Ueno Station's midorinomadoguchi if you want.
When are you arriving at Narita? The same day you want to go to Kyoto? If thats the case, it's not impossible to get reserved seats if you go early enough in the morning but I've never tried buying reserved "Shink" tix the same day I wished to go. But the day you're going shouldn't prevent you from grabbing a seat in the free-seating section.

(2)Use Ueno Station to go to Tokyo Station to reach the Shinkansen. It's on the JR Yamanote Line which is the fourth station counter-clockwise from Tokyo Sta, less than 10 mins.

Since you said you are staying in Ueno, I'm thinking that you *might* be using Keisei Skyliner to get from Narita airport to Ueno, instead of taking the Narita Express that gets you to Tokyo station in a "beeline" as jmarkley suggests :)

(1) When you arrive at Narita airport, yes, you can ask at JR "midori-no-madoguchi" there. Since you know the date of travel already, on a piece of paper you can write the date, preferred departure time, "from Tokyo to Kyoto," the number of travelers, and ask for Shinkansen reservation.

(2) From JR Ueno station, take JR Yamanote line to Tokyo station, then change to Shinkansen there. (When you buy the tickets, they will most likely give you a ticket that covers the ride from Ueno to Tokyo as well, because Ueno is within the Yamanote line.)

Shoegal,

Its a little unclear in your post, but are you going to be returning to Tokyo after your day in Kyoto? If thats the case then a JR Pass will be worth looking into as it will save you some money.

Jmarkley,

You're welcome to post your own address here as long as you don't mind it inevitably being added to the spam mailing lists that are no doubt scouring the forums. I'd suggest using the private message form found in your user account instead to protect your privacy.

..thanks for all the info.
I will be arriving in Tokyo on 27 July early in the morning, so I will have enough time to get the tickets - I will probably get them the same day of our arrival.
If I understand correctly - I can just write everything down and show it to the JR staff at the ticket office?? Is "hyperdia" OK for browsing the departure times??
Yes, I will be returning to Tokyo on the next day. Unfortunately, I live in a part of Europe where you cannot get JR Passes and if I would have them mailed it would cost a lot. Plus, the exchange rate euro-Yen makes it wiser to save in my national currency and just buy the ticket when I'm in Tokyo.
I guess I'll be using Suica for transport around Tokyo.
Oh, one more thing - how do I get the "JR rapid" train from Narita to Tokyo? :)

If you are planning to make a day trip to Kyoto, "Higaeri 1 Day Kyoto" is best, I believe.
A set of a round trip Shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto and meal coupon is sold for 20300yen.
You can buy it at JR Tokai Tours ( travel agency owned by JR Central) shop in Tokyo Station (Yaesu side).

http://www.jrtours.co.jp/domestic/tour/TourDetail.aspx?sc=1&cn=A09338&...:

jmarkley: We're arriving on the 27/07 and will be in Tokyo for a few days before we leave for a one-day stop in Kyoto. That should give me enough time to get the tickets. I'll try to buy them on the day of the arrival (we'll arrive in the morning) so I won't think of it anymore..
AK: I was planning to take the JR Rapid train (Sobu line) to Tokyo - does anyone know where they depart from at Narita? Is it the same platform as the one for Keisei? Is it really OK to write things down for the staff at the ticket counter? :o Just the dates, no. of tickets and time of travel?
yllwsmrf: I know about the JR Pass - however we live in a part of Europe where you cannot purchase them and the postage would be excessive..Anyway, with the exch.rate of the EUR-JPY, I will be better off buying it in Tokyo and then using my Suica for transportation around Tokyo.. :P
Japanboy: that sounds really interesting - my first intention was to go to Kyoto only for a day (being summer I guess it will be crowded and hot) but wasn't sure if I would manage.. We' re only interested in the Philospoher's path and the adjacent temples. But the web-page is only in japanese!!! Help.

If you are going by shinkansen, they run about every 20 minutes or so, so I wouldnt bother buying a ticket until you get to the station on the day, unless it is a long weekend or something when they get crowded. Philospher's path is a brilliant walk. You catch a cab (whatever) to silver temple which is worth a walk through the gardens anyway, then follow the path along the canal. If you stop for food (there is a good ramen restaurant along the way I always stop at) it should take maybe 2 hours before you get to Nanzenji. If you are staying the extra day, I'd suggest Kyomizudera. Again, start by taxi to the temple, then after you've seen it walk along the path/road essentially to the right as you go down (pretty much where the buses park) toward Gion. There are heaps of nice little shops, shrines etc, no reason why you wouldnt spend 4 hours plus on that, especially in the heat.

Shoegal,

AK: I was planning to take the JR Rapid train (Sobu line) to Tokyo - does anyone know where they depart from at Narita? Is it the same platform as the one for Keisei?

They have clear signs indicating the two separate platforms; one for JR and one for Keisei. So if you want to take the JR Rapid, you go to the JR platform. It's very easy to follow :)
You *could* take Keisei Limited Express (not Skyliner) to Ueno for 1,000 yen I believe. It's the same commuter type train like JR Sobu line.

Is it really OK to write things down for the staff at the ticket counter? :o Just the dates, no. of tickets and time of travel?
The staff at the Narita Airport train station speak some English alright :) But just so that they can see the ticket info. at a glance, I would recommend having it written down beforehand.

There's a few other deals available for the shinkansen that can save you some money. If you want to stay overnight I'd recommend the JTB Free Plan Kyoto 2 day package which includes a round trip from Tokyo to Kyoto by hikari train and accommodation in Kyoto from 19,500 yen per person. Thats about 5000 yen cheaper than the regular round trip ticket alone.

http://www.japanican.com/tours/tourdetail.aspx?tc=GMT01TYOOVJH2KAK&aff...

See this page for more info on travel to Kyoto and available deals:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html

Thanks guys, this was really, really helpful! Especially the info on the discounted tour to Kyoto..I think we'll do that!
Also, I think we'll take the Keisei lmt.express to Ueno as we'll be staying in that area.
One more question - do you think a Tokunai pass is a good option for travelling around Tokyo (does it cover Yamanote line)?
And, which ticket should I get in Kyoto? Is there a one-day-covers-all type?
:)