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Piece Hostel Sanjo, Kyoto:
Stayed here for five nights in November 2023
- Pros:
- 1) The place is quiet at night which is great for a hostel.
- 2) The hostel has laundry machines.
- 3) It is very conveniently located. Short distance to Teramachi Street. There are plenty of eating / transportation options nearby.
- 4) The front desk staff speaks good English.
- 5) The property is very clean - lobby, rooms, bathrooms etc.
- 6) WIFI is free and the speed and connectivity good.
- 7) The tariff is not cheap. But it is hard to find anything better for this price.
- Cons:
- 1) The property does not have parking and the parking is very costly in this area.
- 2) The number of laundry machines are limited. There are just 4. And the dryer quality is not great.
- 3) The front desk is not staffed 24 hrs.
- 4) The rooms are tiny.
- The Bridge Hotel, Shinsaibashi, Osaka:
We stayed here for one night in November 2023.
- Pros:
- 1) The place is very quiet at night and bed is very comfortable. The sleep quality is great.
- 2) The front desk is staffed 24 hrs.
- 3) It is very conveniently located. Short distance to Dotonbori area. The metro is also nearby. There are plenty of eating / transportation options nearby.
- 4) The front desk staff speaks good English.
- 5) The property is very clean - lobby, rooms, bathrooms etc.
- 6) WIFI is free and the speed and connectivity good.
- 7) The tariff is reasonable for the location.
- 8) The property has parking. But it is limited.
- Cons:
- 1) The rooms are quite small.
- Nikko Nara, Nara: We stayed here for one night in November 2023.
- Pros:
- 1) The place is very quiet at night and bed is very comfortable. The sleep quality is great.
- 2) The front desk is staffed 24 hrs.
- 3) The location is great. It is is the same building as the JR train station. Transportation options are plenty.
- 4) The front desk staff speaks good English.
- 5) The property is very clean - lobby, rooms, bathrooms etc.
- 6) WIFI is free and the speed and connectivity good.
- 7) The tariff is reasonable.
- 8) The property has parking.
- 9) The property also has money exchange machines.
- 10) The room size was adequate.
- Cons:
- 1) We could not find a lot of restaurants in this area. The hotel does have a couple on site.
- 2) Todaiji is far. You need to catch a bus.
- UI Hotel, Shingu, Wakayama:
Stayed here for one night in November 2023.
- Pros:
- The place is very quiet at night and bed is very comfortable. The sleep quality is great.
- 2) The front desk is staffed 24 hrs.
- 3) The location is good. It is a 10 min walk to the train station and a 20 min walk to Hayatama Taisha.
- 4) There is a good public laundry next to the hotel.
- 5) The property is very clean - lobby, rooms, bathrooms etc.
- 6) WIFI is free and the speed and connectivity good.
- 7) The tariff is reasonable.
- 8) The property has parking.
- 9) The room size was adequate.
- 10) There are not too many options in Shingu. This hotel is probably one of the few good ones.
- Cons:
- 1) We could not find a lot of restaurants in this area. The hotel does have one, but vegetarian choices are very limited.
- 2) Front desk staff speaks very little English.
- Haostay, Kawaguchiko:
Stayed here for one night in November 2023.
- Pros:
- 1) The place is very quiet at night and bed is very comfortable. The sleep quality is great.
- 2) The front desk is staffed 24 hrs.
- 3) The location is good. It is a 20 min walk to the train station and a 20 min walk to the other side of the lake.
- 4) You get an unobstructed view of Mt Fuji from the rooftop.
- 5) The property is very clean - lobby, rooms, bathrooms etc.
- 6) WIFI is free and the speed and connectivity good.
- 7) The front desk speaks good English.
- 8) The property has parking.
- 9) The room size was adequate.
- 10) The breakfast is good and is served early (6:30 am).
- Cons:
- 1) We could not find many restaurants in this area.
- 2) The tariff is a bit high.
- Nikko Narita, Narita Airport:
Stayed here for one night in November 2023.
- Pros:
- 1) The place is very quiet at night and bed is very comfortable. The sleep quality is great.
- 2) The front desk is staffed 24 hrs.
- 3) The location perfect if your aim is to stay close to the airport. They have a free shuttle drop.
- 4) The hotel has laundry machines.
- 5) The property is very clean - lobby, rooms, bathrooms etc.
- 6) WIFI is free and the speed and connectivity good.
- 7) The front desk speaks good English.
- 8) The property has parking.
- 9) The room size was adequate.
- 10) There is a convenient store inside the hotel.
- Cons:
- 1) There are no restaurants in the area. There are couple inside the hotel and you are stuck with those.
- 2) The laundry machine capacity was low.
We had booked a rental car via Nissan Rent a Car. But they refused to lend us the car because my IDP was of the new format and it did not match their ancient template. In the hindsight, driving would have been a bad idea. The parking is quite limited and the public transportation infrastructure is great. Note that Shinkansen doesn't go everywhere. It is restricted to the main cities. If you want to go off Shinkansen path, then the train speed and choices are limited. Public transport inside cities is good, but costs time. If you can afford it, you are better off taking taxis for short hops.
English knowledge is pretty limited, especially outside of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. All items in supermarket are labelled only in Japanese. Even a rudimentary understanding of the language would be immensely useful.
- Kyoto
- Kyoto Tower: Of course, a Must see. The view from the top on a clear day is breathtaking. If the traffic is light, it is a quick up and down.
- Higashi-honganji: Must See. Mainly for its grand wooden buildings. 30 mins.
- Nishi-honganji: Must See mainly for its Flying Cloud Pavilion. 30 mins.
- Nanzenji: Must See especially during autumn. 30 mins to an hour.
- Eikan-do: Must See in autumn. Otherwise a Should. 30 mins.
- Honen-in: Can skip.
- Ginkaku-ji: Must See. 30 mins.
- Kinkaku-ji: Must See. Setting sun is the best for photography. 30 mins.
- To-ji: Must See. For its pagoda and its sculpture collection. Try the goodies in the on-site mini-restaurant. 1 hr.
- Tofuku-ji: Should See. The gardens are pretty in autumn. Otherwise it is a long haul. 30 mins.
- Shimogamo / Kamigamo jinja: Must See. They both look quite similar. So visiting one should be sufficient. They are two most ancient shrines in Kyoto. 30 mins (for each).
- Imperial Palace: Must See. The gardens are a pleasure to walk around. You cannot enter the buildings. You have to see them from the outside. 30 mins to an hour.
- Yasaka Kamimachi / Ninenzaka / Sannenzaka: Must See. 30 mins. It gets very crowded. Come here by sunrise if you want any chance of getting non-photo-bombed pictures. But the lighting is poor in the mornings.
- Kiyomizu-dera: Must See. 30 mins to an hour. Lighting is better at sunset. But crowd is less at sunrise.
- Nijo Castle: Must See. The paintings inside the Ninomaru palace is fantastic. 30 mins to an hour.
- Sanjusangen-do: Must See. 30 mins. The array of 1001 Kannon status inside the main building is simply breathtaking.
- Byodo-in: Must See. Come here at the opening time to get the best pictures. But you have to wait an additional hour to get into the Phoenix hall (it opens an hour after the site opens). 30 mins.
- Fushimi Inari Taisha: Must See. Time depends on how long you plan to walk the torii-path. Come early to beat the crowds.
- Kanazawa
- Castle: Should see. It pales in comparison to Himeji. 30 mins.
- Samurai District: Can Skip. But it is much less crowded than the Geisha district.
- Geisha District / Higashi Chaya: Must See. It is extremely crowded. So come very early to beat the crowd. 30 mins.
- Himeji: Of course, a Must See. Come early for the best light and to beat the crowd. It is a 15 min walk from the train station.
- Nagoya: Must See. The paintings inside the Hommaru palace is fantastic.
- Miajima: Must See. Come early for the best light. Come here when the tide is high otherwise the famous floating torii will not be floating. Do go up till the Daisho-in. 2 to 3 hrs if you want to walk till the Daisho-In
- Kumano Kodo: It is a long haul to get here, especially on a public transport. Nachi Taisha is fantastic. Hayatama Taisha is worth a peek.
- Nara
- Todaiji: Must see. Come early to beat the crowd. Do not miss the museum. 1 hour.
- Kasuga Taisha: Must See. This is a very large complex. It will take at lean an hour to see most of it. Come early to beat the crowd.
- National Museum: Should Skip. 30 mins to an hour.
- Kofuku-ji: Must See especially for its sculpture treasures. 30 mins to an hour.
- Horyu-ji: Must See. It is a challenge to get here on public transport. 30 mins to an hour.
- Yakushi-ji: Must See. Come early/late for the best lighting.
- Toshodai-ji: Should See. The buildings aren't as photogenic as Yakushi-ji or Horyu-ji.
- Osaka
- Castle: Must See. Especially for the views from the top. 30 mins to an hour.
- Daisenryo Kofun: Can skip. You cannot see the kofuns from the top. The view from the City Hall isn't great either.
- Shitennoji: Must See. 30 mins should be enough.
- Umeda Sky Building: Must See. Come here for the sunset. Expect a lot of crowd at that time.
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