A 7 day JR Pass is for 7 calendar days...activate it on Monday and it is good until midnight the next Sunday.

With your itinerary, it does not seem like you will save much at all, if any, by using a JR Pass. It is only valid on JR Lines, thus you cannot use it to get around Hakone. A Hakone Free Pass would be good for that. www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html

www.hakonenavi.jp/english/i-info/index.html

You can check train schedule and cost on www.hyperdia.com. Price out your trips on JR and compare to the cost of the pass.

jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-503.pdf should help with Kyoto.

Your itinerary is rather rushed, but if you are accustomed to always being on the move it might be fine for you.

Just a quick thought here.

For a detailed bus map of Kyoto, visit:

…kyoto.lg.jp/kotsu/…bus_navi_en200801.pdf

Spot the Okazaki area far right in the middle, where Silver Pavilion is located together with others. You might find it more rewarding to visit places other than Imperial Palace / Garden...

artistsmarket,

>>> As it will be a Friday we want to get to Kyoto in time to leave our bags at the hotel before check in time and to be able to visit the Imperial palace (which) i believe is closed on weekends) <<<

As you might know, English tours at Kyoto Imperial Palace are held at 10AM & 2PM on weekdays. You will need to apply for the tour (via the following link) in advance. Please see

sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html

Thank you for advise. seems we are planning too much. what would you recommend we do to get a balance between relaxation and activity. say half half as at end of day we are on a vacation and staying at nice places conjusive to relaxation and spa etc...

<<Day 5 (Sat) - want to do the philosphers walk from the top (home of Zen (I believe) then walk down to temples etc. Where do we get bus/taxi to and then how far is walk to get to temples.>>

Is golden temple near by or do we need to go there separately>>

If you are thinking of hitting Golden Pavilion, you should approach Philosopher's Path(1.7-1.8km in length) from its southern tip right off from Nanzenji Eikando Hall. Yes, you can come here by bus: one option is to take bus100(if you start from JR Kyoto, for example) and get off at Heian Shrine, and walk on the neat street (called Niohmon) along the canal to Eikando Hall; um, it'd be a shame if you were pressed for time and thus had to skip Nanzenji Temple, which is located next door to Eikando.

The reason I suggest the above is because you should possibly like the idea of getting a bus204 going direct to Golden Pavilion from Ginkakuji Temple(Silver Pavilion), which is within a short distance of the northern end of P. Path, rather than cabbing it first to Ginkakuji (and doing P. Path in reverse,) the nearest cabb-able point in there being Shikagatani Intersection on Shirakawa Street. Off-topic, though, a cab user might as well know cabs running in this country are all equipped with semi-automatic doors, operable only by the guy at the steering wheel, because of which the drivers would resent their passengers opening / closing doors manually. Yes, you'd be better off leaving that job to your driver all the time.

Back to the topic, umm, where were we..? um, yes, at the northern end of P. Path, there's a small bridge in one direction from which you'll see a lane flunked by souvenir shops and cafes / restaurants that leads to the chic entrance to Silver Pavilion: the distance being a tad less than 300meters. The ambience here is not quite unlike that of Kiyomizu, I gather, in both of which places there always are a happy hum of the tourists and locals. Yes, you'd sure like them both.

Lastly, to conclude your day with Kyoto-some night scene so you can call it a day "half" and "half," I'd suggest hitting Gion Shirakawa. You might be lucky enough to see a geisha dancing to the tune of shamisen through the bamboo shade hung over the window of a ryokan, or possibly get to see her cute face in person when the music ends and she retires to another room there, which I did the last time I came around.

thanks to you all