Narita to Hokkaido and Hokkaido to Kyushu

peters

#1 Narita to Hokkaido - with the new train, I was told it would be 4.5 hours, but with the transfers from Narita Airport, do I need any transfers and how long would it take. Is the 7 or 14 day pass cover this route?

#2 Hokkaido to Kyushu - how long would it take? I would be better off
to stop somewhere in the middle and then go to Kyushu. Again, is the 7 or 14 day pass cover the route?

#3 Hiroshima - does the 7 or 14 day pass cover this route?

Thanks

Faiyez

Hello, Peters!

The Hokkaido Shinkansen will take you to Hokkaido from Tokyo in as little as 4 hours, but please note that the route terminates in the middle of nowhere!

The city of Sapporo is a further 3.5 hours away. The closest major interest point would be the city of Hakodate, which is only 15 minutes away.

If you're going to make the trip from Narita Airport, a transfer is necessary. It takes 60-80 minutes to reach Tokyo Station, from where you can board the Shinkansen.

Hokkaido to Kyushu by rail would take the entire daytime portion of a day. It's basically going from one end of the Japanese archipelago to the other, which I find pretty daunting to consider without doing any stopovers!

For all locations you inquired for, there is coverage with the nationwide JR Pass (7, 14 or 21 days).

Tenjin

For going from Sapporo to Fukuoka, I suggest you fly - there is a non-stop 2½ hour flight, and you can fly very cheaply with ANA's Experience Japan fare. It still gives you most of the day for sightseeing.

http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/wws_common/promotions/share/experience_jp/index.html