To buy or not to buy

roman

Hi
My wife and I will visit Japan in October for 14 days and after spending a lot of time researching transport I am still a little confused and would very much appreciate help with determining the most effective & economical way for us to get around.
Our itinerary is as follows:
10th - Arrive Tokyo 5:30am
13th - Day trip to Nikko
15th - Tokyo to Takayama
16th - Day trip to Hida
18th - Takayama to Kanazawa stopping at Shirakawago for 4 hrs
21st - Kanazawa to Kyoto
24th - Kyoto to Hiroshima and on to Miyajima for 1 night
25th - Miyajima to Hiroshima and on to Osaka Int Airport for 2:50pm departure.

Any assistance with travel options or itinerary suggestions would help us greatly.
Thanks

Tenjin

A 14 Day JR Pass used between Oct 12-25 would pay off for you. Please remember also that the day you activate it for counts as Day One - which starts and ends at midnight. So if you activate it and use it at 6 PM, your first "day" is just 6 hours long.

If you wish, you could squeeze in another day trip on Oct 12 to get even greater savings - there are many great day trips from Tokyo, including Kamakura, Karuizawa, Izu, Kusatsu, plus to see Fuji there is Hakone and the Fuji 5 Lakes area. For Fuji the JRP won't help much, but there are other regional passes you can buy:
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/

Also be aware that there is no rail access to Shirakawago - you will need to pay for a bus separately. You should be able to cover the area in a few hours though, and if you can, go to the vantage point at the top to get a great view over the whole area.
One big omission you made though is leaving out Nara which is near Kyoto - it is also one of the crown jewels of Japan and worth at least half a day.

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 could also spend another evening to see Kobe, which a great city to visit also.


For Miyajima, please note that there are 2 ferry companies there - make sure you go to the JR one if you want to use your pass. Since you'll be there overnight, in the evening or early the next morning, go for a walk around the area - when the tourist crowds are gone it is a totally different and relaxing atmosphere. As soon as people get off the ferry, nearly all of them stampede for the Itsukushima Shrine with the "floating torii" - but be sure to check out the time for the tides. The shrine is best at high tide, but be sure to go there also at low tide to walk on the beach and go up to the big torii gate.
And while it is nice, the Daishoin Temple should not be missed either - it is in many ways more varied and far more beautiful.

roman

Thank you very much Tenjin for your quick and helpful reply.
I will certainly consider your suggestions carefully.

roman

One other question - which, if any, of the journeys I have listed is not covered by the JR pass (apart from the bus)?

Tenjin

In some cases there may be more than one way to get there besides JR, but I think I already listed where JR does not go at all.

roman

Thanks Tenjin. I guess it's only the bus from Takayama to Kanazawa.
Great!

Tenjin

Well, actually you could go by train, but in a more roundabout way via Toyama. It'd take about 2¼-3 hours depending on the connection. If you go by bus, it can be done in just over 2 hours and costing ¥3390. So it's your choice.

You can see regular rail fares and schedules on
www.hyperdia.com