JRPass

Hi there!

I am officially envious! I had a long hard think about your question (especially as it was so well written!). Here are some thoughts for you:

1. For Yakushima, you should look into the "Toppy' Jetfoil from Kagoshima. The return trip is ¥14,000, and is not covered by the JR Pass. You can also get a much cheaper ferry (¥8200 return), but the trip is much longer. Here's a great page with all your options for getting to Yakushima. Whichever way you choose, you should head to Kagoshima on the Shinkansen from Hiroshima to pick up these boats. I strongly recommend the hike up to Jomon Sugi if you do make it out to Yakushima.

2. If you're looking for more in Kyushu, I really recommend you take a look at hiking around Mt Aso, and possibly a trip to the nearby Kurokawa Onsen on the way to or from Yakushima. We have a good discussion about Mt Aso on our forums here. If Aso/Kurokawa is not looking possible, then perhaps you could stop off at Sakurajima just off the coast of Kagoshima for a stay at an onsen there, or travel a bit further down Kyushu to Ibusuki for the hot sand baths...

3. As you're looking for nature, you could also include a trip to Kamokochi national park (video) in the Japan Alps. Totally beautiful alpine area with lots of great walks and breathtaking scenery.

4. Another highly recommended Onsen that is nearer to Osaka is Kinosaki Onsen which is very accessible with a Japan Rail Pass. It's around 3hrs from Osaka on the Japan Sea coast, and is a fantastic little town with many Onsen, a great atmosphere and routinely described as the best Onsen town in the area of Hyogo. Here's a good forum post with more, and you can also book many onsen online. Here's a good tripadvisor.

5. Car factory wise, a lot of people recommend the Toyota factory tour just outside Nagoya. You can find out more on how to get there here.

6. The JR Pass is quite useful inside Tokyo, but you'll certainly use the Subway a lot too. (here's a map of JR lines in Tokyo). I think activating your 14 day pass on the 15-29th is a great use of it as you'll just squeeze the Nikko trip in there. If you're arriving into Narita, you should take a look at the Narita Express/Suica Metro card deal, or the Tokyo Metro 2 day travel pass + Keisei Skyliner deals to save you money on your travel from/to the airport and around Tokyo.

7. Looking at your itinerary, you may want to spend a little less time in Osaka, and give yourself more time to travel around the country. Some parts are going to be quite long, such as Fuji > Hiroshima, and Yakushima > Kyoto, although they are by no means impossible, and will only require 1 transfer at most.

8. Finally, you may have seen this post already, but you should also check out this great discussion planning another three week trip. We cover much of the same locations as you are planning on, so I'm sure it'll be helpful.

Hope this helps, three week trips are the best!

Hi there,

It does depend on the amount of extra travel you do during that last week. I really think that a 14 day pass would be ok + metro cards/hakone free pass, but as the 21 day is only ¥12,600 more than the 14 day, you may want to purchase it for peace of mind and flexibility. As you say, the return to Narita will be around ¥5000, so factoring that in, you'll be paying ¥7600 for an extra week of flexibility...

I think if I was in your situation, I'd go with the 14 day, and the Narita Express + Suica card. Then I'd also purchase the Hakone free pass for travel up to Hakone/fuji. If you do think you'll extend your trip outside Tokyo at all however then a 21 day pass really becomes the best choice.

Hope this helps and sorry there's no conclusive answer!