Tokyo->Osaka->Himeji->Kyoto->Tokyo in 14 days, is JR pass worth?

tuanhngoova

Hi,
My question is how to save money on this trip please? I also want to include to see the famous mountain Fuji.

9.6. Arrival at NRT airport and going to Osaka directly
9-14.6. Osaka and Himeji
15-18.6. Kyoto (visit Nara)
18-22.6. Tokyo (visit Nikko, Hakone, 5 Fuji Lakes)

Thanks alot.

Tenjin

Your itinerary as is barely makes a 14 day JR Pass pay off. However, if you included a day trip to see Hiroshima/Miyajima, you would start to save some real money. If you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka in the daytime anyway. Five days in Osaka is serious overkill anyway. Instead you might want to go see Kobe for a day, and if you like, experience the spiritual side of Japan at Koyasan,
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_012.html
plus see some of the lesser known jewels in northern Kyoto:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3985.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3990.html
Even Kanazawa is within reach and very beautiful.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2167.html

For the Fuji area, a JR Pass is of limited help. You can take the bullet train to Odawara, and from there get an Odakyu regional pass:
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6900.html

japanexperience

Hi Tuahngoova,

Unless you have plans to see several particular things in Osaka, Tenjin is right that you may be staying there for longer than necessary. A day trip to Hiroshima is highly recommended! It takes around 1.5 hours to get to Hiroshima on the Shinkansen from Osaka, so is definitely doable in a day, and is very worth seeing, Miyajima in particular. Eating Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at Okonomimura is also a treat.

All the other suggestions sound great too, especially the Hakone Free Pass for visiting Mt Fuji: http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/freepass/hakone/

Sincerely,
Japan Experience

tuanhngoova

Thank you both for answers. I really appreciate your detailed replies. I am staying in Osaka almost 5 days because my friend is coming there with me and then she leaves. I also plan to go to Okinawa and go to the -Ishigaki Island of the Yaeyama Islands. I want to enjoy beaches. So I think I would spend less days in Tokyo or Kyoto. I find Hiroshima a bit depresive so I didnt include it to my trip. So I will buy the 7 days, is that fine?

9.6. Arrival to Narita airport
9-15.6. Osaka, Himeji,
15-16. Kyoto, Nara, Uji
16.-18.6. Okinawa from Fukuoka airport
18.-22.6. Tokyo(visit Nikko, Hakone, 5 Fuji Lakes)

Tenjin

So you wish to go from Tokyo down to Fukuoka, with a side trip to Himeji? That would make a 7 day pass pay off.
Regarding Hiroshima though - it is far more than the Peace Park and the A-Bombings. The castle and Shukkeien Garden are very nice, as well as the Mitakidera Temple on the city's west side. Miyajima is about 25 minutes away from the city and world's apart - you should visit sometime in the future if not this trip.
Fukuoka has a number of good places to see as well - the Nanzoin Temple alone is one of Japan's very best, and nearly unknown to the rest of the world.
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html

At any rate, so you will fly from Fukuoka to Okinawa, and then back to Tokyo? I hope you are using a low cost carrier like Jet Star, Peach, Vanilla Air etc, or an Island Pass.
http://www.churashima.net/jta/company/islandpass_en.html
Since you won't then use a JR Pass in the Tokyo area, look at getting a Tokyo Wide Pass or Tobu Nikko Free Pass
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_002.html
in addition to the Hakone Free Pass.

tuanhngoova

I will go from Osaka to Fukuoka airport to depart from there to Okinawa. As I will take a flight with Fly Peach to Okinawa on 14th June and fly from Okinawa to Tokyo. It is quite cheap therefore I decided like that. Yeah I will not use JR pass in Tokyo anymore. Thank you, Tenjin for the tips! I appreciate your help.