nikko - samurai festival in mid-may

hi!
i would like to check out the famous samurai parade in nikko in the morning of 17 may. however, my flight leaves at 1830 from narita. so i am thinking of getting into nikko in the afternoon of 16may and leave after lunch for narita. can anyone tell me approx what time should i leave nikko in order to be on time for my flight? or am i too ambitious here?

thanks for your inputs!

By all accounts that festival is attended by a big crowd(it starts at 10:00am or later but can be cancelled in case of heavy rain). This means that you may not find accomodations and that the trains will be pretty crowded too. It takes a good 2 1/2 hrs from Nikko to Ueno(By JR)where you can get the Keisei train to Narita (Keisei is not JR) or you take a Tobu train from Nikko to Asakusa then the subway to Ueno and walk to the Keisei station. Ueno to Narita is another 1 to 1 1/2 hrs.From Nikko to Narita will take 4 hrs-if everything goes well-- and as you must be at Narita by 16:30 at the latest you must leave Nikko by 12 noon. By the way the procession of 1000 samourai is on the 18th. on the 17th the archers are the stars.

thanks for the info, Red Frog!

I guess the archers would also be quite a spectacle too, right? How about on the 16th? Do you think Nikko will be really crowded on the eve of the celebration? Would I still manage to take nice photos of the shrines?

I might be using my JR pass for this trip..so 4.5 hours from Nikko to Narita for me then...

the festival is on the weekend only (17-18). Nikko is pretty much busy all the time. We went in the middle of the week and there was quite a few people. It was easy enough to get photos of the 3 monkeys and other architectural details with a zoom but wide angle photos had many people in it. On the 16 you will visit all the shrines (took us about 4 hrs) as you will not have time on the 17th . Have you reserved a place in Nikko(for the 16th) yet? time is running out.

hi red frog!
if i depart asakusa on the 16th at about 12noon, would the remaining time be enough for the shrines? where can i go in the evening?
as for accommodation, i haven't booked yet but i think there are still available beds at the nikko park lodge. do you recommend the place? i read good reviews about it so far... or maybe i should stay near the train station..? do you known any good ones? my budget is about 6,000 yen for the night...
appreciate your tips!
thanks a bunch!
michi

I've heard that the Mid may festival really is only on the 18th, and on the 17th they just have an archery contest? But I'm not sure, can some one confirm/ unconfirm it?

one answer for the last 2 nice posters. The shrines close by 4pm. I think, so you Must leave Tokyo by 9 am in the morning or before. It takes a good 4 hrs to see the 4 major shrines in the area. Nikko is a touristy town. There aren't too many hotels and Ryokans and many are expensive. yen 4000 is practically way too low in that area. Try to look (google) at hotels in nearby Utsunomiya.
The first day you will only see the archers. BUT if it rains heavily the events may be cancelled at the last minute.