Hello,
My daughter will be staying in Kyoto for 2 weeks, she was planning on purchasing the 7 day JR pass for March 5-11 for the following day trips:
Kyoto- Hiroshima-Kyoto
Kyoto-Nara-Kyoto
Kyoto-Kobe-Kyoto
Kyoto-Kanazawa-Kyoto
Kyoto-Himeji-Kyoto
Kyoto to Osaka, flies from Osaka airport
Is the JR pass worth purchasing and does it go to all these places?
Suggestions?
Teresa
0
Comments
A 7 day pass would pay off and goes to all places, but you would likely get better value using a few regional passes:
JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_kansai_hiroshima.html
JR Hokuriku Area Pass
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_hokuriku.html
You can use them concurrently and if you go to the long distance trips within 5 days, you can just pay regular fare for the close places (Nara & Kobe) or get another regional pass like the Hankyu Tourist Pass
https://www.kansai360.net/en/ticket/
for Kobe, or for both there is the Kansai Thru Pass:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_005.html
You can see both Hiroshima and Miyajima as a day trip with an early morning start. You can cover the Peace Park/Museum, castle, Shukkeien Garden and Okonomiyaki-mura, and then go down to take the JR ferry to the island. Aside from the Itsukushima Shrine with the giant "floating" torii, the Daishoin Temple is also a must-see place. There are several other pagodas and temples, and climbing Mt. Misen offers a fantastic view over the island and whole area.
If you can see Itsukushima Shrine at both high and low tides, you're in for a bonus. The shrine looks better at high tide, and at low tide you can walk out on to the beach right up to the giant torii gate.
http://www.tides4fishing.com/jp/hiroshima/itsukushima
If you have time, just a bit past Miyajima is Iwakuni with its iconic historical bridge and mountaintop castle.
After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5 PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as Dotonbori, plus the night views from the Umeda Sky Bldg and Abeno Harukas Bldg are wonderful.
You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
http://www.hyperdia.com
Under "More Options", be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box if on a full 7 day JR Pass since you can't ride that train using the pass.
You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos
There are also loads of other tips on
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/the-best-japan-travel-tips/
Best wishes.