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Questions about "Stay in Osaka, Visiting Kyoto for 7 consecutive days during Cherry Season"

TimT
TimT
about 11 years ago
3 responses

Hello,

I've booked a backpacking tour with 16 other people to visit Kyoto during Cherry Season this year ( 2013/4/7~4/14). but, unfortunately , we can not find a single room available in kyoto. So, We have to book a hotel in Osaka instead. Question is ..

  1. We have to take JR line to Kyoto everyday, We're kinda worry that the train might be full during that season. So.. Is there a way that we can make reservation to guaranteed a seat ?

  2. If the seats are full, is there any alternative way to get to Kyoto ?

Thanks in advance for any tips :-)

PS : None of us can speak or read Japanese.. Is it gonna be a problem in Kyoto ??

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 11 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

You will most likely use the JR Special Express that runs between Kyoto and Osaka (540 Yen), this train does not allow for reservations and once seats are taken you may have to stand. If you really want to have seats there are a couple of limited expresses that you can reserve seats for, such as the Thunderbird express. These trains are about 1,200Yen though.

Besides JR there are also a couple of other companies that provide train services between Osaka and Kyoto. Like JR they don't allow for reservations and when all seats are taken you will have to stand, however you will be able to get from point A to B.

Also don't worry about not being able to understand Japanese. All station sights are also displayed in English and guide maps with English texts can be found all over the city.

Hope this helps :)
-Daniel

TimT
TimT
3 posts
about 11 years ago

Thank you so much , Daniel :-)

Glad to hear that we can "Stand" to Kyoto when there's no seat available. What a relief.

I've prepared some cue cards that written in English & Japanese. Guess I'm worrying too much :-)

Thank you so much ..

Benjamin

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 11 years ago
Expert

Hi Benjamin,

Glad to hear it was helpful, let me know if I can help you with any things else.

For your cue cards, do you have an Iphone or android phone? You can download ''Kotoba'' for iOS and ''JED'' for Android, both are free dictonaries and you can simply type in the English word and it will display the Japanese, can be a lifesaver at times :)

Happy travels,
Daniel

TimT
TimT
3 posts
about 11 years ago

Wow, Daniel, Thank You So Much.....

Right Now, JED definitely reached the #1 on our to-do-list. I'm giving you a big "Thank You" On behalf of our Team, This offline dictionary is working great. Much better than the Google one ( That one need wifi or 3g to work) . Thank you So Much.

With your help, We can now focusing on the issues such as "How to take good photos" .. etc .....

Thanks Man..

Ben


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