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KIX - Kansai - Fuji - (Tokyo?) - KIX

Dwicheung
Dwicheung
almost 9 years ago
10 responses

Hi,
I want to check with you whether my itinerary and my plan to purchase JRPass is worth all the way.

My wife and I plan to touchdown at KIX on 28 October morning and return from KIX on 5 November evening. That means we have almost 9 full days in Japan.

Our plan is to split the days between trip to Kansai area and Tokyo, with a visit to Mt. Fuji/Kawaguchiko in between (either on our way from Kansai to Tokyo or reverse). 

My trip around Kansai will include Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, perhaps Kobe, Himeji or Hiroshima. 

After that we plan to see the Fuji from Kawaguchiko. For this trip only, do we need to get to Tokyo first and then take JR trains to Fuji? I wouldn't mind if I don't have to visit Tokyo... We probably would not spend much time in Tokyo anyway, since we've been there, but I think it's more convenient and value for money if we travel to Kawaguchiko from Tokyo. Am I correct?

How many days for each part do you think is feasible for this plan? 

And do you think we need to purchase JRPass for the travel? Or some regional pass would do?

Please advise, any help is welcome!
Thanks.
Dwi.

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 9 years ago
Expert

Hello there,

The 7 day JR Pass would be perfect for your itinerary. There's so much travel in here that you may almost cover double the price of the pass itself. Just making the return Kansai - Tokyo will pay for the pass, from there any additional travel would basically be free.

Let's start with Kawaguchiko, as it is the hardest place to get to. You are correct that you'd have to travel via Tokyo using the JR Pass. That also means that it will be quite a trip to make. Something you could do is stay 2 nights in Tokyo, make the day trip to Kawaguchiko in between and just make a quick visit to something in Tokyo you may like to see / do as well.

With 9 days, I think I would do something like.

Arrival -> Osaka 2 days ->
Start using the JR Pass and travel to Himeji, spend the day there then evening train to Hiroshima. Spend two nights in Hiroshima and also visit Miyajima, then to Kobe and spend there one night.
On to Tokyo for a 2 night stay and day trip to Kawaguchiko. You could also stay in Hakone or Yokohama if you don't want to go to Tokyo. Then travel to Kansai stay at Kyoto until return home. You would also have 1 day left of the JR Pass and you could use it to visit Nara.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Dwicheung
Dwicheung
10 posts
almost 9 years ago

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for such a thorough and thoughtful reply.
So I should use the JR Pass from Day 3, right?

And are you saying that we should get to KIX on our last day straight from Nara?
If not, what city should we pass through, Kyoto or Osaka?

One more thing, from your suggestion, we would spend the first 2 days in Osaka.
I understand that I can travel either to Nara or Kyoto during that time, but will not be covered by JR Pass since it won't be activated yet. If we do that, should we just get regular tickets?

Thanks a lot,
Dwi.

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 9 years ago
Expert

Hi Dwi,

I agree from day 3.

Both Osaka and Kyoto have easy access to Kansai Airport. So either city is fine, Osaka however is closer. Also travel to Nara is not that far and tickets are around 500-700yen.one way.


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