A newbie needs travel help

Hi, I am from England. I am planning on travelling to Japan in early October. First to see the sites, experience the culture etc. And secondly to visit Suzuka race circuit and watch the Japanese Grand Prix. I have never been to Asia let alone Japan so it is somewhat of a dream for me. My family have had many Japanese students stay at our house over the years and I have always wanted to go after listening to them.

I want to fly to Tokyo, stay there for around a week and then travel on down to the Suzuka area for a few days to catch the weekend's racing events. I am quite sure after looking throughout the web there is no way I'd find a hotel room anywhere near the race track since they're all fully booked. I have found hotels in Kyoto though with room still available, however Kyoto to Suzuka is quite a journey as I'd be travelling to and from the track for 3 days.

Are there any direct train routes from Kyoto to the Suzuka area (Shiroko?) that I could use everyday to get to the race circuit? If not what other ways are there? Also what is the best way to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto? I'd need to travel back to Tokyo after the race to fly home, from Narita Airport though so I'd need a return ticket.

Any other tips/advice/warnings would be great. Thanks a lot.

Hmm, that's tough.

Training to and from Kyoto everyday is going to be expensive. I the fastest way would probably be via Shinkansen (the bullet trains.) However that'll also be the most expensive option.

Hopefully other people will have better advice.

I read that it is often a good idea to get a rail pass, as they're cheap and can last for a week. Not sure how I'd get one in advance though, and whether it covers all train journeys.

I don't think you can get one in advance. I did get one of those when I was there. I can't remember exactly what it involved...I remember I had to go to a specific office and give them my passport. It was fairly expensive for the pass, but much cheaper than paying for each individual ticket.

ttp://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8619&highlight=train
choose hyperdia link

you'd be wasting alot of time taking the train back and forth, its like 4 hours each way.

ok um i want to go to japan from nyc roundtrip and go to a hotel. about how much would that cost. and about how much would i need spending wise

Thanks for the replies, I am also starting to think it would be a little too stressful travelling to the track from Kyoto everyday. Could you suggest another place closer to Suzuka that may have hotels with rooms still available. I still want to travel to Kyoto so I'll probably travel there after the race.

Like I said though, all of the hotels near the track I've checked on the net are fully booked for that weekend (8th October-11th October)

you'd be wasting alot of time taking the train back and forth, its like 4 hours each way

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Would that be for a round trip from Kyoto to Shiroko? If not how long would it would it take? I've searched everywhere, in all the cities close to Suzuka and it seems Kyoto is the closest city that has hotel rooms still availbale.

Sikario said:

Could you suggest another place closer to Suzuka that may have hotels with rooms still available.

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Nagoya. This is the hotel search page.

It is 40min to Shiroko station from Nagoya (one way,) while 120min from Kyoto with a transfer at Yamato Yagi station. It's the Kintetsu line, so you can't use the JR pass.

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