Hi there, I am new here. I am travelling to Japan from 3 November to 14 November 2017. No specific itinerary yet, need help and advice on that. I will be going to and coming back from Nagoya. Plan to buy 7 days JR Pass. Would like to go Korankei when in Nagoya, and also planning to go Osaka, Kyoto or anywhere easy and convenient with the JR Pass. Any advice on how to maximize the use of JR Pass as in where can I go and when to activate it. Thanks!
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I don't see how any JR pass can help you - you simply don't travel enough to justify the cost. If you make out a full itinerary, then some regional pass might save you some money.
You could use a Kintetsu Railpass, although you cannot use any bullet trains or limited express trains with it, so it will take longer.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_006.html
To go to Korankei, it will take about 2 hours. This site has more info:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3316.html
Hope that helps.
And do you mean if I just travel around Osaka and Kyoto from Nagoya, I don't need to buy the JR pass?
The question is not if you need a pass - it's if it pays off or not. In your case, unfortunately it doesn't unless you add more travel.
As for where to go, Kyoto and Nara are the cultural jewels of the country, and well worth a lot of your attention. Nagoya has some places of interest like anywhere, but it's really the least interesting big city in the country. You could however go see Inuyama for its nice and original surviving castle.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3350.html
as well as Meiji Mura, and open air museum preserving a Japan from over a century ago.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3353.html
It's all up to your interests of course - and you know yourself better than anyone else. Both Kanazawa and Takayama are interesting places. Toyama less so. Aomori is far up north and at that time very cold and possibly snowy. If you're interested in the Hokuriku Region, a Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass might be an attractive option for you.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_takayama_hokuriku.html
My family is scheduled to visit Sapporo come Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, 2017. What places can you recommend for us to visit by train and bus for our 5 day visit using the Hokkaido Regional Pass? We would love to see all the popular sites in the province of Hokkaido starting from Sapporo to anywhere practical and worth the trip during our stay. Thank you for your suggestions in advance.
As to what to see, that entirely depends on your interests. Hokkaido is quite big though, and travel is time consuming - there are no bullet trains except from Honshu to Hakodate currently.
I suggest you browse some sites like
https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1101.html
http://en.visit-hokkaido.jp/
and see what appeals to you.
You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
http://www.hyperdia.com
Make sure your travels justify getting a rail pass in the first place.
Please also be aware that Hokkaido will already be starting to get cold for winter.
We will be in Japan 15 days.
Will arrive 1st. Nov. to Osaka and go directly to Kyoto at 5/11.
5/11 go to Hiroshima and Miyajima at 7/11.
7/11 we go to Takayama at 9/11.
9/11 we go to Tokyo at 15/11, then we come back home through Narita airport.
Which JR Pass you recommend for this itinerary: 7 or 14 days?
I wait for your kindly answer. Thanks, Zeev Naveh
Again, please start a new thread and not piggyback your question on someone else's.
Your itinerary looks somewhat unclear. But if you can go from Kansai to Hiroshima, and end up in Tokyo within 7 days, that would be the best way to save the most.
I still find you a little short from making a 14 day pass pay off.
But you can try it yourself with this simple calculator.
https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/
The cheapest way from Tokyo to Narita is the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
The biggest differences are that with the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass you can go to Kansai & KIX, and with the Shoryudo Highway Bus Ticket it's by bus only and you can go to the Central Japan Airport with it.
There are other details as well. See:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_shoryudo.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_takayama_hokuriku.html
I have finally come out with the itinerary. I did not buy the JR 7 days pass with your advice, but instead I bought the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass and 4 days Kansai Pass, so they cover me for 9 days.
1. I arrive in Chubu Airport in the morning on 3 November, plan to rent a car for 1 day and head to Korankei straight from there, after which return to Nagoya for 2 nights stay. Second day will tour around the city and Nagoya Castle.
2. Travel to Osaka on 5 November with 1 way train or Shinkansen which I am still not sure what they have from Nagoya to Osaka. There I will activate my 4 days Kansai pass to travel around Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe from 5 - 8 November.
3. I will activate my Takayama-Hokuriku pass from 9 November to travel to Kanazawa, and take the shinkansen to Toyama. Base in Toyama, I will tour around Kanazawa, Toyama, Takayama, Shirakawago and Gokayama with the pass till 13 November, and return to Nagoya with the pass.
4. Stay Nagoya for the night and following day take a one way transport to Chuba airport which I'm still not sure by bus or any train.
Is it ok with what I have planned? Or maybe you have some good advice for me like what you did before?
Well, it looks like a plan. Getting from Nagoya to Shin-Osaka Station is very easy, and if you're buying a ticket, you can easily take the fast Nozomi train and get there in under an hour.
I question getting a Kansai Area Pass however - nearly all the area passes there are hard to make worthwhile. If you're just going between the Kansai cities, it is likely cheaper to just buy regular tickets. A Hankyu Tourist Pass is likely the easiest to save money, but you can't use it for Nara.
https://www.kansai360.net/en/ticket/
Another option is the Kansai Thru Pass, which includes virtually everything except JR trains. Unlike nearly all other passes, it can be used on buses and subways. But again, it takes a lot of riding to make worth it.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_005.html
For getting to the Central Japan Airport, see here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2431.html
Every city has something to see, but Nagoya is not one of the best among the big cities. You might consider seeing Inuyama Castle, which is a small but nice castle that is also one of the few surviving original castles in the country. You can also see Meiji Mura, which is like walking back into a Japan over a century ago.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3350.html
Best of luck.