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Originally Posted by atan64
it's 256 minutes (4.3 hrs) with 1 transfer from Kyoto according to Hyperdia.
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This is not correct, there are direct shinkansen (aka bullet) trains from Kyoto to Tokyo train station. The fastest of these, the Nazomi, does it in about 2:20. However, since you said you are buying the JR Pass, you won't be taking this, as the JR Pass is not valid for the Nazomi. I don't remember the exact timings, but I think the next fastest takes about 2:45 and the slowest about 3:30, both of which I think are valid for the JR Pass.
Quote:
Originally Posted by atan64
That would be awesome, please do  |
We made it!
For us, I think it was the right decision to do it in one day, but your situation may vary. Doing Kyoto to home in one day, it is 23 hours door-to-door for us; in two days, it would be only 19 hours from Tokyo to home (and 4 hours the previous day Kyoto to Tokyo hotel), so the savings of 23 hours to 4+19 hours was not worth the extra check-in. But that is due in part to having a 2 year old, where we need to unpack a lot of stuff even for one night.
I also find the train quite relaxing compared to the plane. There is much more leg room, and there is something about flying that is always a but nervous. [Maybe because there is something unnatural about humans flying at 34,000 feet....]
The process is relatively straight-forward. We decided when we wanted to arrive at the airport (2:30 before our flight, to have time to eat lunch and do some last-minute souvenir shopping). So we looked at the N'EX timetable to find the train we wanted based on the arrival time, picked the train
before that one just in case we missed it (which we did! more on that later....), and then found the departure time for that train from Tokyo. That was the train we bought tickets for. Then we decided how long we wanted at the Tokyo train station. We picked 45 minutes, which is excessive but we had a stroller so we needed to take the elevators, which are small and hard to find there. We actually did it in 17 minutes, including finding the ticket office and buying the ticket. You can probably do it in 7 minutes without running if you already have your tickets and know where to go, but I recommend 30-45 minutes for your first time, just so you can be relaxed. Anyway, that set our arrival time for the Shinkansen at Tokyo station, so we looked at the timetable for the (almost) all non-smoking Nazomi train that arrived then, and picked that train. We planned about 20 minutes from when we arrived at the Kyoto station and get to the track; it took us about 7 minutes.
I recommend buying the train tickets ahead of time. In Kyoto, if you go anywhere in or around Kyoto, odds are you'll be at the Kyoto train station at some point. So I recommend buying the Shinkansen tickets ahead of time and getting familiar with the gates for the Shinkansen. [They are on the south side of the station, near the McDonald's. The ticket office is about 40 ft from the McDonald's, to the left with your back to the McDonald's.]
In Tokyo, to buy the N'EX tickets, find the JR Ticket office (it's bright green). There is a ticket office near the "Yaesu Central Gate", which is close to where we exited the gates for the Shinkansen, but again we took the Nazomi, so you might arrive somewhere different. To find that office, with your back to the "Yaesu Central Gate" （八重州中央口) walk about 30 ft at an angle of about 10:00. You can purchase the tickets from the machines, but I don't know how. The issue is that all seats on the N'EX are reserved, meaning you need to buy a ticket for the transportation, and then a separate ticket for the seat. I'm sure it's easy, but I didn't feel like spending time learning how, and I never had an issue buying a ticket at a JR Ticket office in English.
As I said, even with all that, we still missed our N'EX train. Why? When I bought the ticket, I asked which track. He said "4". Turns out I WAS AT THE WRONG TRACK 4. Yes, that's right, the Tokyo train station REPEATS TRACK NUMBERS 1-4. [And may even repeat them twice, for a total of 3 different track 4!] What TOTAL IDIOT thought that was a good idea? We were at the upstairs track 4 for the Yamanote Line. You do not want this. You want the underground track 4 for the Yokosuka-Sobu Line (I think). [And there may be another track 4 for the Keiyo line, I'm not sure.] After entering the "Yaesu Central Gate" you want to go straight across the passageway and down 2 or 3 escalators.
[With about 4 minutes before our train was scheduled to leave, we both concluded we were at the wrong place. So we rushed down 4 sets of escalators -- yes, with a stroller, stupid I know -- only to arrive at the correct track 4 just in time to see our train go down the track. So I went upstairs to the ticket office and exchanged my seat assignment for a new one. According to the rules, if you miss your assigned seat you can either take the next train w/o an assigned seat, or purchase a new seat assignment for JPY 1660 (or so). Because we were tired, and had a toddler for which we do not purchase a seat but hold, I made decided to waste the USD 40 and buy two new seat assignments. The ticket seller took pity on me and just gave it to me at no charge.]
Anyway, that was our experience, based on one time doing it. If others have different experience, please post.