Order Your JRPass
DC
DC
about 11 years ago
24 responses

Hello
I am planning a (mid-late) May trip to Japan,with my sister, to include Tokyo /Kyoto Hiroshima for about 7-9 days. The length of the trip is is not fixed at the moment. First trip to Japan - very excited but not sure what to include and what to miss due to limited time available .Will purchase a JR pass for a week and will arrive/depart to Narita.

Do we use the JR pass immediately upon arrival to Japan or stay in Tokyo for a few days (3-4?), travel and then come back to Tokyo for an additional day or two before flying back to London and use the JR pass for the journey back to Narita airport?

Suggestions needed please for itinerary and for sites incl Gardens to visit but also to include some relaxing time to be included as we live in a busy city / we are aware we are travelling to busy cities! Which is the best area in Tokyo/Kyoto for hotels ( mid-higher class but not deluxe as budget would not stretch that far.. If pool/spa avail @ Hotels it would be a bonus.

Many thanks for your suggestions and tips.
London girl

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 11 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

Since the flight from the UK may be a bit tiring I would recommend trying to stay at least the fight night in Tokyo to recover from any Jetlag. Then on to Kyoto, Hiroshima and back to stay a couple of days in Tokyo for shopping and taking a little break before heading back to the UK. In this case I would use to JR-Pass on the first day to head to Tokyo and for the following travel days.

What to see, if you enjoy gardens I would recommend a visit to the imperial palace in Tokyo and a visit to the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto. Also while in Kyoto a visit to the Temple town of Nara may be of interest. If you would like a little more quiet consider visiting Takayama which is a nice little town in the mountainous heartland of Japan. You could fit it in on the way from Hiroshima to Tokyo for instance.

For Hotels, I would recommend using booking sites like tripadviser.com to look for hotels, you can set your own preferences and budget and also read a lot of reviews left by previous guests. For Kyoto [Royal Spa Hotel]may be of interest, when I stayed there, it offered nice rooms for a good price and is in the center of Kyoto. If you book a Hotel I would always recommend using one of the booking sites, like the previous mentioned trip adviser (and others like bookings.com, agoda.com etc..) as they usually give better deals than if you book directly on the Hotels website.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

DC
DC
24 posts
about 11 years ago

Thank you for your quick response! We are looking at the hotels/reading and making plans. Would you recommend another visit (another town/site )as we will have the JR pass? Are 4 days enough for Tokyo (we will shop in the UK- I think its cheaper )so.. its purely sight seeing and ENJOYING the new city/sites,but not in a rush!
Can't wait for May now...

Kind regards
DC

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 11 years ago
Expert

Hello again,

While you are in Tokyo a visti to Nikko may be very nice. You can do this as a day trip or stay there for a night.
In 4 days you can see a lot in Tokyo and visit many of the bigger Wards, if you make a planning before hand it is easy to combine many places on the same day.

For instance, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Omote-Sando and Shibuya are very close to each other.

Have a great time in Japan!
Daniel

DC
DC
24 posts
about 11 years ago

Thank you so much !
Kind regardsDC

nojay
nojay
7 posts
about 11 years ago

If you like gardens you might consider stopping for a day in Kobe, near Kyoto. There's a cable-car just next to the shinkansen station in Kobe that goes up to the Nunobiki herb garden on the hilltop. Great views of the city below, lots of places to walk around and always something in bloom.

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 11 years ago
Expert

Hi Nojay,

That is a really good tip! The Herb garden is currently closed because of the season but in Spring and Summer makes for a beautiful walk down the mountain, especially during sunset. The trail takes about 3 hours if you plan on walking the whole thing.


Looking for more information? Search the forum

Select Category

Instant Quote

Starting from $524.00 for 7 days of unlimited Japan Rail travel

Can’t find the answer?

Learn from over 17329 questions about the Japan Rail Pass, or ask our Japan Rail travel experts

Ask Question

Get pocket Wifi in Japan

Get pocket Wifi in Japan

Visit us on Facebook

Get inspired for your visit to Japan by following us on Instagram and don't forget your own shots once you are there.


Find out where to buy the japan rail pass online.

Order your JRPass Now!

We have special prices for children and great first class options. See all tickets or see our range of Regional Passes