i would be most grateful if someone could suggest how best to use my 7 day pass//i arrive 26 june and need to fly to Naha on 3rd July..from any airport?..what suggestions
You are way overloading yourself here - to see all that you list in just a week is unrealistic. While Kanazawa has some good sights, you should drop it for a future trip. But you'd need to go down to Fukuoka anyways to make a 7 day JR Pass pay off and catch a cheap flight down to Naha. Even then you'll be missing a lot of good places; in Tokyo, especially. A possible itinerary below is still loaded and fast paced, but it's better and would make a pass pay off. A JR Pass won't take you to Hakone, but you can take the bullet train to Odawara, and then buy a Hakone Free Pass for Hakone. http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/ http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5206.html http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
In the evening, you can continue on to Kyoto, ideally going back and boarding the train from Mishima Stn. If you can spend 2½ days in Kyoto and do a ½ day trip to Nara, it is at least something. http://www.ar.jal.com/world/en/guidetojapan/city_information/uky/see/central/ http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html Most of the best in Nara is in the Nara Park area - the Todaiji Temple is the crown jewel of the city. But there's also Kofukuji Temple, Kasuga Shrine, and the Isuien and Yoshikien Gardens. If you still have some energy, 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. For Fukuoka, you can see most of the best in a full day. For the bullet train from Kyoto down to Hakata Station, most likely you'll need to change trains once, usually at Shin-Osaka Stn. In Fukuoka, the best sight of the area is one that is virtually unknown to many, including all the tourist guidebook "experts" - go see the Nanzoin Temple, which is about 20 minutes by train from Hakata Stn. Here is a good guide to see the city: http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html Many of the best sights are near a subway station, so a subway day pass or Fukuoka Tourist City Pass can save you some money. For your last full day, you can take the bullet train and be in Kagoshima in 90 minutes. The best sights are the Sakurajima volcano, Sengan-en Garden, and Shiroyama Park. From there, go back to Fukuoka, and catch a flight to Naha. Two cheap ways to go are either by a low cost carrier like Jet Star, http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home or if you travel in a peak season and it's more expensive, look into ANA's Experience Japan Fare: http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/wws_common/promotions/share/experience_jp/index.html Please be sure to read the ticket rules and buy the ticket many days ahead of time. Lastly, be aware that if you activate your pass when you arrive in Japan on June 26, the last day you could use the pass would be July 2nd - which is not what you want. So get to Tokyo by a regular ticket. If you land at Narita, the cheapest way in is the 1000 yen bus. http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/ Another option is the Keisei+Metro Package: http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/special/index.html You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia. http://www.hyperdia.com
Comments
A JR Pass won't take you to Hakone, but you can take the bullet train to Odawara, and then buy a Hakone Free Pass for Hakone.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5206.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
In the evening, you can continue on to Kyoto, ideally going back and boarding the train from Mishima Stn. If you can spend 2½ days in Kyoto and do a ½ day trip to Nara, it is at least something.
http://www.ar.jal.com/world/en/guidetojapan/city_information/uky/see/central/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html
Most of the best in Nara is in the Nara Park area - the Todaiji Temple is the crown jewel of the city. But there's also Kofukuji Temple, Kasuga Shrine, and the Isuien and Yoshikien Gardens.
If you still have some energy, 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.
For Fukuoka, you can see most of the best in a full day. For the bullet train from Kyoto down to Hakata Station, most likely you'll need to change trains once, usually at Shin-Osaka Stn. In Fukuoka, the best sight of the area is one that is virtually unknown to many, including all the tourist guidebook "experts" - go see the Nanzoin Temple, which is about 20 minutes by train from Hakata Stn. Here is a good guide to see the city:
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html
Many of the best sights are near a subway station, so a subway day pass or Fukuoka Tourist City Pass can save you some money. For your last full day, you can take the bullet train and be in Kagoshima in 90 minutes. The best sights are the Sakurajima volcano, Sengan-en Garden, and Shiroyama Park. From there, go back to Fukuoka, and catch a flight to Naha. Two cheap ways to go are either by a low cost carrier like Jet Star,
http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home
or if you travel in a peak season and it's more expensive, look into ANA's Experience Japan Fare:
http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/wws_common/promotions/share/experience_jp/index.html
Please be sure to read the ticket rules and buy the ticket many days ahead of time.
Lastly, be aware that if you activate your pass when you arrive in Japan on June 26, the last day you could use the pass would be July 2nd - which is not what you want. So get to Tokyo by a regular ticket. If you land at Narita, the cheapest way in is the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
Another option is the Keisei+Metro Package:
http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/special/index.html
You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
http://www.hyperdia.com