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First trip to Japan: Narita/Osaka/Nara/Kyoto/Tokyo

syndra
syndra
about 8 years ago
2 responses

Hello,

I am planning to travel to Japan for 18 days in July. I have booked my flights and have a brief idea of the places I want to visit.
I am thinking about buying a JR Pass but am unsure of how many days I should buy and if it is appropriate for me.

This is my brief plan so far:
Day 1: Arrive at Narita airport 9:05AM, travel from the airport to Osaka
Day 2 - 3: Explore Osaka e.g Universal Studios, aquarium, ferris wheel etc.
Day 4: Travel from Osaka to Nara (not sure if I will spend a half or full day here)
Day 5: Travel from Nara to Kyoto
Day 6: Visit places in Kyoto
Day 7: Travel from Kyoto to Tokyo
Day 8 - 11: Day trips to places e.g. Harajuku, Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Disneyland, Mt. Fuji
Day 12: Travel from Tokyo to Naeba Ski Resort
Day 13: Fuji Rock Festival
Day 14: Fuji Rock Festival, Travel from Naeba Ski Resort to Tokyo
Day 15 - 17: Visit places in Tokyo
Day 18: Travel from Tokyo back to Narita airport, departing 12:15PM

Does my plan sounds okay? If it sounds weird or if I am doing things in a weird order please let me know because it’s my first time travelling to Japan!
For the longer distance journeys, I was wanting to know if it better to travel in the day or night time?
If you have any other suggestions or tips please let me know.

Thank you!

avatar
Daniel-san
18829 posts
about 8 years ago
Expert

Hello there,

The travel plan looks good and I think it works well. Looking at your itinerary, I think the best option would be to use a 7 day JR Pass for Day 1 to Day 7. This would cover a lot of your travel and you can make good savings compared to purchasing normal tickets at the same time.

Note that there are no train services in Japan between midnight and 6 am. So night travel generally is not an option.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

syndra
syndra
2 posts
about 8 years ago

Hey Daniel,

Thanks for replying so fast! I was just wondering, if I were to extend my trip to 21 days adding 1 more day in Osaka and 2 more to visit Naoshima Island at the start of my trip, do you think I should still stick to a 7 day JR Pass or is it more worthwhile to switch to a 14 day JR Pass?

Thanks again!

avatar
Daniel-san
18829 posts
about 8 years ago
Expert

Hi again!

Travel to Osaka and Naoshima can add a lot of cost depending on where you are coming from. The JR Pass can be used for all rail travel to both Osaka and Naoshima (the ferry is not included). You also get an additional 7 days of travel which is also very nice.


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