Hello -
We are in the very preliminary stages of planning our first trip to Japan.
We will be there from April 5 to April 25, arriving at Haneda (from Canada).
Our thoughts were to get 2 separate National 7-day JR passes. We would use the first pass during the first week and travel from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto and then on to Kagoshima, if this is a realistic agenda re distances.
We are hoping to spend 5 to 7 days in Yakushima hiking and snorkelling - is this too long on the island? We plan to use the hydrofoil from Kagoshima.
Then, during the last week, we hope to use the bullet trains to head back to Tokyo for a couple of days, with stops in between - not sure where yet.
Basically exploring the Kyushu area on the way back to Tokyo and then on to Narita airport for our late afternoon departure.
Is this a crazy plan?
All advice would be appreciated.
Alison
0
Comments
Well first, a 21 day pass comes up cheaper than 2 seven day passes, so your idea doesn't make much sense. Only you can really decide how long in Yakushima is enough. But in April you might find it too cold to go snorkeling. Personally I'd say 7 days is way too much for such a small island. 3 to 4 days may be quite enough.
If you want water activities, why not try someplace like Okinawa, Miyakojima
http://bit.ly/2iNrIhN
or Ishigaki?
http://bit.ly/2iiSP87
There are dirt cheap air fares on low cost carriers like Jet Star, Peach, and Vanilla Air.
http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home
http://www.flypeach.com/pc/en
http://www.vanilla-air.com/en/
Seeing Kyushu and southern Honshu is a great idea. They are often ignored by most tourists, and there are some excellent places. Kagoshima itself has Sakurajima, and there aren't a lot of places to be near a live volcano.
Nagasaki is the most interesting city on Kyushu, with great food and a varied history.
Fukuoka is the biggest city on the island, with lots of parks, night life, and the Nanzoin Temple is one the most fantastic in Japan, yet virtually unknown to the outside world.
And if you really want something mind blowing, go see the Akiyoshido Limestone Cave in Yamaguchi - a 300 million year old marvel with an underground river going through.
Hiroshima also has a number of good places with Miyajima being the most famous. Everyone goes to see the Itsukushima Shrine with the 'floating torii', but it really doesn't take long and the real gem is the Daishoin Temple - a place you will find unforgettable.
Just south of Miyajima also lies Iwakuni with its historical bridge and mountaintop castle.
And aside from Hiroshima City itself, Onomichi with its temple tour and Kosanji Temple is spectacular. Okayama also has Kurashiki, with its old canals, the Kibi Plain, and one of Japan's Top 3 Gardens, Korakuen.
After Kansai, you could go straight back to Tokyo, or return by way of Kanazawa and Takayama and see even more.
We were looking at the Green Car JR passes initially and found that the 7-day pass cost 38,880 yen while the 21 day was 81,870 yen. So, it was slightly cheaper to buy the 2, 7-day passes, especially as we wanted to go snorkelling/diving during the the middle of the trip.
But...do we even need to get a green car (business class) pass? Would an Ordinary one (Economy) be sufficient? Can we still make seat reservations on the Ordinary pass? We will each have large back packs as our luggage and weren't sure if this would be a problem. The Ordinary passes are definitely more economical.
We were thinking about Okinawa previously but weren't sure how difficult it would be to get there. We will re-look at that option using the links you have provided.
Regards, Alison
Thank you for contacting us.
You are still able to book seats with the ordinary JR Pass so if you are looking to save 40% of your money, that would be the way to go.
According to Japan Rail’s official rule, you can carry 2 pieces of baggage on JR trains, the total of height+width+depth of each item must be under 250cm and the weight less than 30kg per bag. But in practice, the Shinkansen (Bullet train) is designed with quite limited space for luggage. If you only have one suitcase you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. If it’s not much bigger than aircraft “hand-luggage” size, it should fit on the storage rack above the seats. If you can get a seat at the end of the carriage, there is a space behind the last row of seats where a suitcase will fit. If you have a reserved seat, it’s quite possible that the carriage won’t be too full, and you can fit your suitcase on a spare seat next to you or nearby. (Non-reserved ordinary-class carriages are usually too full for you to be able to do this). If you use the Japan Rail Pass, it is very easy to get a reserved seat: just go to the ticket counter and ask for seat reservation. If you travel in Green car (First class), there should be space between you and the seat in front for your suitcase to stand on the floor.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best regards,
Japan Experience
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-first-class-Japan-Rail-Pass-ticket-much-better-than-the-regular
But if you want to splurge, you can. Taking backpacks should not be any problem either. If you're carrying duffel bag sized packs though, or just don't want to carry a lot of weight, there are inexpensive delivery services you can use.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html
Some more advice please as you are extremely knowledgeable.
We are getting closer to finalizing our trip:
Three days in Tokyo upon arrival and then activating the 7-day JR pass to go to Osaka.
We will stay in Osaka for 4 nights, taking day trips to Kyoto and Nara.
We will leave Osaka and stop off in Himeji on our way to Hiroshima.
Stay in Hiroshima for 2 nights prior to heading to Fukuoka for the day to see the Nanzoin Temple.
From Fukuoka direct to Kagoshima where we will use "local" transit.
Your comments on the above itinerary would be appreciated.
We then wanted to fly from Kagoshima to Yakushima for a couple of days and then fly onto Okinawa to spend 6 days on the islands down there. Which airline would then fly to Ishigaki?
Do you know of any one airline which flies from Kagoshima to Yakushima then on to Okinawa/Ishigaki and back to Narita?
Do we need to use a couple of different airlines?
(ANA will go from Kagoshima to Okinawa to Narita but doesn't offer Yakushima. Vanilla Air goes from Okinawa to Narita but doesn't offer Kagoshima..... ).
Also, are there any websites we could search for accommodations on Yakushima/Okinawa and Ishigaki?
Thanks, Alison
The only flights to Yakushima are from Kagoshima, Fukuoka, and Osaka (Itami). It's can be fast, but expensive - maybe $200 round trip with the cheaper flights. Unfortunately, the subsidiary that flies them (Japan Air Commuter) does not have discount flights like the JAL Explorer pass.
http://www.world.jal.com/world/en/japan_explorer_pass/ar/
However, at a travel agency in Japan you might be able to find some cheaper prices. There is no direct flight between Yakushima and Okinawa. Also note that Kagoshima Airport is about an hour outside Kagoshima City. Fukuoka's airport is just 2 subway stops from Hakata Stn and more convenient.
You might consider taking the high speed ferry from Kagoshima City or Ibusuki.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4651.html
For hotels, of course there are some, but please note Yakushima is really out there in the boonies. You might look at:
http://bit.ly/2khYNWC
For Ishigaki, on JAL you'd need to get there from Naha on the main island, or from Tokyo via Miyakojima. ANA is also via Miyakojima but a lot more choices. If you want to do some island hopping, JAL's Okinawa pass is one good option.
http://www.churashima.net/jta/company/islandpass_en.html
You also might check out ANA's and JAL's route maps to plan better.
http://ana.innosked.com/(S(v35t1ymnefzet255ietoil45))/default.aspx?lang_id=EN&region=NHDOM&origin=ASW
https://www.jal.co.jp/en/dom_network/
The cheapest fares to Okinawa are typically the low cost carriers like Peach, but be aware of their baggage allowances first since they are very limited. You can by the way fly ANA from Kagoshima to Okinawa.
Their Experience Japan Fare is an excellent bargain too.
http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/wws_common/promotions/share/experience_jp/index.html
For hotels on Okinawa or Ishigaki, you might try Toyoko Inn - nothing fancy, but cheap, quiet, clean, free internet and they throw in breakfast for free.
http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/
Superhotel is another option with the same.
http://www.superhoteljapan.com/en/
Good luck.