I am planning to go from Osaka (2 nights) to Kinosaki (1night) to Kyoto (4 nights) to Takayama (3 nights) to Osaka (4 nights). Is there too much travelling? What type of rail pass should I buy? Thanks
Hi, Your question is somewhat unclear. Too much traveling for what? If you are neither rushing nor lingering and you are happy with what you see at each stop, then there is no problem. The other question is if by each place you are thinking not only of seeing the city but using it as a base to see some other places. Seeing Nara near Kyoto is well worth it for example, and aside from Takayama (which you can see in a day) there is Shirakawago and Kanazawa.
There is no single pass that can pay for all the places you are going to. But for Kinosaki Onsen and some travel around the Kansai area, you would make a JR Kansai Wide Pass pay off. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_08.html
That said, a better solution for you may be the Kansai Hokuriku Area Pass. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_kansai_hokuriku.html In this case though, you'd have to pay for the route between Inotani and Takayama. Round trip for unreserved seats would be ¥4300. It still comes up shorter than the first 2 passes.
Comments
Your question is somewhat unclear. Too much traveling for what? If you are neither rushing nor lingering and you are happy with what you see at each stop, then there is no problem.
The other question is if by each place you are thinking not only of seeing the city but using it as a base to see some other places. Seeing Nara near Kyoto is well worth it for example, and aside from Takayama (which you can see in a day) there is Shirakawago and Kanazawa.
There is no single pass that can pay for all the places you are going to. But for Kinosaki Onsen and some travel around the Kansai area, you would make a JR Kansai Wide Pass pay off.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_08.html
For seeing Takayama, there is the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_takayama_hokuriku.html
That said, a better solution for you may be the Kansai Hokuriku Area Pass.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_kansai_hokuriku.html
In this case though, you'd have to pay for the route between Inotani and Takayama. Round trip for unreserved seats would be ¥4300. It still comes up shorter than the first 2 passes.
You can find regular rail fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
http://www.hyperdia.com
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 regards.