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adelinechh
adelinechh
about 8 years ago
5 responses

Hi Daniel,
We (4 persons) will be travelling to Japan from 26 Apr - 7 May 2016. This is our first trip to Japan and have tentatively planned our itinerary as follow:-

Day 1 (26Apr) - Arrive Haneda Aiport (best way to travel fr airport to hotel?)
Day 2 (27Apr) - Free & Easy Tokyo
Day3-4 (28-29Apr) - 2D 1N tour to Mt Fuji / Hakone
Day 5 (30Apr) - Mt Fuji /Hakone to Osaka (to activate JR 7 day pass - which station to take from?)
Day 6 (1May) - 1D Kyoto/Nara tour
Day 7 (2May) - Free & Easy Osaka
Day 8 (3 May) - 2 Persons depart Osaka to Hiroshima (which JR train line/station?)
and the other 2 persons to depart from Osaka to Kansai airport - best way to travel to airport?
Day 9 (4 May) - Free & Easy Hiroshima
Day 10 (5 May) - Hiroshima to Kyoto (which JR line/station?)
Day 11 (6 May) - Kyoto to Osaka (which JR line/station?)
Day 12 (7 May) - Depart from Kansai airport (best way to travel fr Osaka to Airport?)

Can we get some tips & suggestions on the above itinerary. Which train tickets to purchase for the F&E days in Tokyo and Osaka?

Regards
Adeline

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 8 years ago
Expert

Hi Adeline,

You are planning a nice trip! I also think it would make sense to start using your 7 day JR Pass from Day 5 to Day 11 for the best possible savings and you can use the JR Pass for travel between all the cities you plan to visit.

Starting in Hakone, the Shinkansen station for Hakone is Odawara. It is here where you can activate the JR Pass as well and get on the Shinkansen to Kyoto.

The Shinkansen station for Osaka is Shin-Osaka and Hiroshima is just Hiroshima.

Traveling to Kansai Airport, take the JR Airport rapid service from Osaka station or the Nankai Express from JR Namba.

In general your itinerary looks great, a bit busy but not overly so.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

adelinechh
adelinechh
5 posts
almost 8 years ago

Hi Daniel,

We are ready to explore Japan in 2 weeks. Our final itinerary deviates slightly from originally planned. A couple of questions before we depart on 26 Apr2016.

Q1
Day 5 (30 Apr) - Tokyo Shinjuku to Osaka. We have booked 2 hotels 1) APA Villa Hotel Yodoyabashi and 2) Kishibe Station Hotel.

Which is the preferable hotel in term of convenient (for visit to places of interest in Osaka and doing day trip to Kyoto/Nara)?

Q2
Day 6 (1 May) - Explore Osaka (suggest top places to visit)

Day 7 (2 May) - Day trip to Kyoto/Nara (suggest top places to visit, since 2 of us only have 1 day)

Should we go Kyoto on Day 6 or Day 7? which sequence is better?

Q3
Day 8-10 (3-5 May) - 3D/2N in Hiroshima (Hotel Aeroone Hiroshimawing).

Is staying 3D/ 2 N in Hiroshima is too long? Should we cut short 1 day to stay in Kyoto instead? (Given that Kyoto has more places to visit).

Thank you and hope to get a reply from you soon.

Regards
Adeline

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 8 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

1.) Having looked at both hotels, APA Villa Hotel Yodoyabashi lies in a nicer area of Osaka but is less convenient to access. While Kishibe Station Hotel is near Shin-Osaka for each JR access but the area is quite boring.

2.) I would head to Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi/Namba, all are close by each other and provide a great local admostphere. I also recommend Osaka castle, Aquarium and Shinsekai.

For Kyoto, I would recommend visiting Kyomizu-dera temple, Fushimi Inari, Goin and the close by Nishiki Market. You can also visit the Golden Pavilion, this is the most famous tourist spot in Kyoto (though personally I like the other places better).

For Nara see: http://www.jrpass.com/blogs/day-trip-to-nara

Q3.) I think most people stay in Hiroshima for 1N, still there is plenty to do and see for 3D. especially if you add in a visit to the closeby Miyajima. An other nice day trip from Hiroshima is Iwakuni..

Hope this helps,
Daniel

adelinechh
adelinechh
5 posts
almost 8 years ago

Hi Daniel,
Thank you for the valuable information. More questions:-

1) Are we able to purchase Data SIM card upon arrival at Haneda Airport?
2) Do we need to use special phones or the Data SiM card can fit into our Samsung S6 and Iphone 6?

Regards
Adeline

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 8 years ago
Expert

Hi Adaline,

You can buy Data Sims for most major phones at the airport.

Alternatively, we also offer Pocket Wifi rental. This way you don't have to swap a Sim.

Kind regards,
Daniel


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