Tokyo - Kanazawa - Takayama - Nagoya - Hakone - Tokyo

Hi there,

A 7 day JR Pass would be very good for travel from Day 1 - Day 7. From there you could use a Hakone Free Pass for local travel around Hakone and back to Tokyo.

Personally I would pick Nagano and Matsumoto over Nagoya. As there is more to see and experience in these cities, while Nagoya is very much a business city,

For travel times, I recommend learning to plan with Hyperdia this way you can find any route/timetable and more. It's a great tool for planning with the JR Pass. We also have a useful interactive map with all JR lines included.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the prompt reply.
If we were to add one more day to our trip and include Nagano and Matsumoto (exclude Nagoya), will it be sufficient to cover both places or only one place? Which should we go for?

Will it be feasible to travel from Takayama to Nagano/Matsumoto and then to Hakone? Are these routes covered by Japan Rail pass? Or should we switch the order of the itinerary to better make use of the Japan Rail pass?

Hi again,

I think 1 day for both Nagano and Matsumoto is enough to see each city but you can make nice day trips from each. For instance to Jigokudani for the snow monkies from Nagano and to Kamikochi for great hiking and beautiful nature from Matsumoto.

All the routes you mention are included but you may still need additional transport locally.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi Daniel, may I know if the Japan Rail pass alone is sufficient for travel from Shinjuku to Kanazawa? I am quite confused after reading various materials. Some of them mention that we need to get some Hokuriku arch pass? Appreciate your advise please. Thank you.