Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe-Tokyo

A limousine is more convenient thought it may not drop you right by your hotel door depending on what hotel you stay in (check transportation in your hotel internet site). by the way there is no such a thing as a bullet train. Many people don't like that name at all. Very fast trains are called the Shinkansen. Please check at the top of this site the tab marked A-Z. There is a lot of great info on transportation, food , sightseeing etc.

Thanks monkey see!

Any suggestion which area is more convenient to stay in Osaka, Kyoto & Tokyo?

I wonder what if the advice is wrong by chance...

Osaka
http://www.johomaps.com/as/japan/osaka/osakametro.jpg
Kyoto
http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~asanoxn/general/kyotomap.gif
Tokyo
http://www.johomaps.net/as/japan/tokyo/tokyo2.jpg

I read about not to miss Harajuku. Takeshita dori, the Laforet store, Omotesando (away from the park and Harajuku station) and have a look at the amazing buildings of Prada and other designers. Are all the above near Himeji castle?

I read about not to miss Harajuku. Takeshita dori, the Laforet store, Omotesando (away from the park and Harajuku station) and have a look at the amazing buildings of Prada and other designers. Are all the above near Himeji castle?

No they are not, in fact they are in cities about 3.5 hours apart from each other.

Harajuku (in Tokyo):

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3006.html

Himeji (in Hyogo Prefecture):

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3500.html

Thanks yllwsmrf!

Can I check how long does it take from Osaka to Kobe and Osaka to Kyoto?

roughly 30 minutes to Kobe, 45 to Kyoto by frequent trains. check www.hyperdia.com by only leaving a check mark for "limited express".

I will be travelling from Osaka to Hakone to Mt Fuji. Need help for following :

1) How long does it take Shinkansen train from Osaka to Hakone (Gotebba Station)?

2) How do I travel from Hakone to Mt Fuji?

3) Any recommendation of ryokan hotspring at Hakone?

4) Do I take Shinkansen train from Hakone to Tokyo? If so, how long does it take?

I am planning for day trip to Kyoto and would like to cover the following. Where should I start from and how should I go abt?

1) Fushimi Inari shrine
2) Amanohashidate
3) Walk of Philosophy
4) Gon
5) Ginkakuji ((Silver Pavilion)
6) Kiyomizu temple (Golden Pavilion)
7) Ryoan-ji
8) Nijo Castle

Issit to many to cover within a day or have I miss out any must visit places?

Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion, Kiyomizu-ji is a different temple), Ryoan-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Philosopher's Walk, Gion, Nijo-jo and Gion can all be reached by city buses.

Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine can be reached by 12 min. JR.

It's 2 hr. by train one-way from Kyoto to Amanohashidate. You can go there on a day trip but I doubt whether you can include the rest on the same day !

Some general recommendations:

It will still be quite hot and humid in the Osaka and Kyoto areas.

Be flexible. Often, first time travelers end up seeing less than they planned for (especially when it is hot), but you will easily find a weeks worth of sites within the Kansai area (kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe) alone. Don't overlook the Wakayama area.

A trip to a mountain destination is a nice contrast, highly recommended, and a nice break from the heat. Be prepared for cold (if not harsh) weather on Fuji. If you are short on time, consider Takayama, or at least Koya-san in Wakayama.

Don't be afraid to skip Tokyo--there is always next time. I currently reside in Tokyo, but can honestly say, most large cities in Japan have enough to do that you won't feel you are missing much. Only one or two days in Tokyo, can seem pretty cursory and redundant.

In Osaka, Jinaimachi near Tondaya-bashi is a (surprisingly) little known historic neighborhood.

Pls comment :

Day 1 : Arrive Osaka at 7.20am
Day 2 : Day trip to Kyoto
Day 3 : Check in New Otani at 5pm.
Day 4 : Convention in the morning.
Day 5 : Train to Himeji castle in the morning and on the way back to Osaka, drop by Kobe.
Day 6 : Shinkansen train to Hakone to Mt Fuji and overnight at Mt Fuji/Hokone
Day 7 : Mt Fuji to Tokyo
Day 8 : Tokyo
Day 9 : Tokyo
Day 10 : Tokyo back home (6pm flight)

Thanks william! Need some clarification :

1) Do I take JR or Shinkansen to Kyoto?

2) What is the name of the station at Kyoto?

3) Can someone help to plan the route for the day at Kyoto.

Btw I will be travelling with a 19mth old kid. Anything to take note?

Anyone know or how can I find out what are the list of hotels nearby New Otani Osaka?

Kyoto JR Station is a big 16-storey bldg. It's 30-45 min. JR from Osaka Sta., 15 min Shinkansen (also by JR) from Shin-Osaka Sta.

If you can only afford a day trip to Kyoto from Osaka, buy a 700 yen bus day-pass to go to the various sights. The bus terminal is located near the north exit of Kyoto JR staton. You can buy the bus day-pass from the driver.

Really Kyoto deserves more than just a day trip from Osaka. I would rather sacrifice a day in Tokyo if I were you.

Day 1 : Arrive Osaka at 7.20am
Day 2 : Day trip to Kyoto
Day 3 : Check in New Otani at 5pm.
I am a bit confused...where are you going to stay at night on day 1 and day 2? this is important as the answer to your question about whether trains or limousine are better to go to the hotel from, I assume, Kansai airport, depends on the hotel location! I assumed in my previous answer that you had checked on the hotel own web site for directions.. Where you stay also influence what train to take to go to Kyoto!
To go to Kyoto from downtown Osaka (including the New Otani) you have to go to Osaka station in Kita then go straight to Kyoto by train. Going by shinkansen (shinkansen IS a JR train) would mean going to Shin-Osaka then changing to the shinkansen there. Not worth it for a short ride!. There are other rail companies than JR going to Kyoto by the way...
there aren't too many hotels near the New Otani. There are lots of hotels in Kita, only a 3 minutes ride on the JR loop line that goes all around Downtown Osaka then a 3 minutes walk from the Osaka-jo koen station near the New Otani hotel (check the maps in The New Otani web site, under location). For hotels around Osaka JR station in Kita-Umeda check www.japanhotel.net. click on Osaka then on JR Osaka and Umeda under the small Osaka map.

Thanks william & monkey see!

My package comes with accomodation at New Otani for day 3-5. As I am doing pre & post extension, I am currently looking for hotel for 1st 2 nights. Any recommendation and any comment on the follow :

1) namba oriental
2) dai-ichi
3) dotonbori
4) castle hotel
5) Hotel Monterey Osaka

Think Castle Hotel is nearest to New Otani? Any idea if it's walking distance to New Otani?

Thanks monkey see! The website is off great help!

I am very confused by the diff type of train lines. Is there a website that I can view which is which or which goes to which location? Also, is there a web to find out the travelling time fm diff stations?

Btw Osaka is a train station right? How abt Udema, namba etc etc? Are they going by same line?

Sorry for been so blur.

for train information:

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

Zenn, you really have to find a map of Osaka on the internet. Someone sent you one right after my first posting about limousines. Kita-Umeda and Minami-Namba are the 2 major areas of downtown Osaka. Kita=north, Minami=south and they are a 30 minutes walk from one another along Midosuji boulevard or a 5 minutes ride by the subway Midosuji line. JR Osaka in Kita is JR main station in OSAKA. As mentioned previously JR has a loop line that goes around downtown. Going from JR Osaka station to the loop line station "Osaka-jo koen" is fast so you be better off looking for a hotel near JR Osaka. from Hotels in Namba to the New Otani is more complicated, with several changes of subways or trains. Hotel dai-ichi is close to JR Osaka and is around 150 US for a twin on some internet sites. The Monterey is in the same area but a bit farther away and it is more expensive, over 200 $ unless you get a good deal. Namba oriental and the Dotonbori are in Namba so I don't recommend them as you don't have time to get used to all the subways and trains.
The castle hotel is the cheapest of the 3 by far. OK if you are used to basic small rooms. Close to your conference location but to go from the airport to that hotel then from the hotel to either JR Osaka or other places is a bit more tricky than being in Osaka Kita-Umeda UNLESS you are familiar with subways and trains not the same thing) in various towns around the world. I will not talk about the other rail companies as this will be to confusing. stick to JR trains and perhaps subways if you want to go to other places in Osaka. check www.urbanrail.net, click on Asia then Osaka for a map of Osaka subways. Click on A-Z at the top of this site then transportation, trains and Osaka, Kyoto etc. for maps and info