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7 or 14 Day Pass for Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka/Fuji/Hakone?

Evo
Evo
about 9 years ago
2 responses

Hi! Please advise--curious if it's worth doing a 7 day or 14 day pass for the following itinerary:

Day 1: Land in Tokyo, activate JR pass to use the Narita airport rail to Tokyo.
Day 2: Head to Kyoto with JR Pass.
Day 3: Kyoto exploring for Gold & Silver temples, visit Arashiyama area
Day 4: Kyoto, visit Fushimi Inari and day trip to Nara
Day 5: From Kyoto, day trip to either Himeji Castle or Hiroshima/Miyema, stop by to Kobe
Day 6: Kyoto--stay in area or visit Himeji or Hiroshima (whichever one we didn't get to do day before)
Day 7: Move from Kyoto to Osaka
Day 8: Osaka
Day 9: Leave Osaka to go to Fuji/Hakone area
Day 10: Fuji/Hakone (or other suggestions in this area)
Day 11: Fuji/Hakone (or other suggestions in this area)
Day 12: Kawaguchiko (maybe? Did not decide) or Kanazawa? Which is better? In any case, leave for Tokyo in evening
Day 13: Tokyo, visit fish market early in morning
Day 14-16: Tokyo exploring

I am most concerned about what to do btwn Osaka and Tokyo. I have about three days to 'spend.' I definitely want one day at Fuji and one day in Hakone, but not sure if it's necessary. Would like to do Fuji 5 lakes as well but where would be good to stay? And will the JR pass be helpful in this area?

Any advice greatly appreciated!!!! Someone else on another website (not JR Pass) mentioned this itinerary is not worth it for 14 days but I thought with the Kyoto day trips and possible Hiroshima/Himeja trips it might be? But I'm not sure...Many thanks in advance!!

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 9 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

A 14 day JR Pass would work very well with the trips added in to Hiroshima and Himeji. A day trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima costs more than 20,000yen using the Shinkansen. There's more than enough travel from there on to make good savings with a 14 day JR Pass.

Hakone and Kawaguchiko/Fuji Five lakes are somewhat similar. I think it would be nicer to spend a couple of days in Kanazawa and then make a day trip to Kawaguchiko from Tokyo. Do note that Kanazawa is much easier to access from Osaka, so I would suggest traveling from there and then follow with Tokyo/Hakone or Kawaguchiko.

Tokyo and Osaka have a lot to offer and it's hard to recommend something without knowing what kind of things you wish to see visit. Here are some great spots to visit in general.

Tokyo
1.) Odaiba, this is the most modern part of Tokyo is great for amusement, shopping and romantic moments.
2.) Akihabara, the electronic city of Tokyo. Even if you are not interested in computers, gadgets and anime, the atmosphere is something everyone should experience.
3.) Ueno Park, there are many museums of note here, such as the Edo museum and Tokyo national science museum. Some are free of charge, it's also very beautiful during the Sakura season.

Osaka.
1.) Namba / Shinsai Bashi / Dotonbori, I've always found this the highlight of Osaka. There's a downtown atmosphere not found elsewhere. There are many smaller shops selling all kinds of delicacies and useful things. The area really comes to life after dark and should not be missed on any visit to Japan.
2.) Shinsekai, this is a very interesting place to visit. Build in the 1960's with the idea of how the future would look like. Now it feels old fashioned futuristic. There are also many small street stands closely.
3.) Umeda. The northern part of Osaka, great for uptown shopping and you can visit the Umeda Sky Building for an amazing view over Osaka.

Let me know what your interests are and I can give you some more specific recommendations.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Evo
Evo
2 posts
about 9 years ago

Daniel,

Thanks so much for your response, feel better know that the 14 day pass might work out for us. The reason why we want to spend more time in Hakone is because my mother can't travel around too fast so we'll be moving at a slower pace. Is Mt. Fuji easier to visit from Hakone or Kanazawa? Also, is it difficult to get to the Fuji area from Osaka?

Once we are in Hakone/Fuji area, how do we actually get to the base of the mountain? Is there a bus that takes you up? We are not planning on climbing the summit or anything but would like to travel up as high as we can. Also, thought about going to Kamakura as well. Would it make sense to do two nights in Hakone and then travel to Kamakura and then to Tokyo? Would the JR Rail pass help with getting from Hakone to Kamakura to Tokyo?

Thank you for the Osaka/Tokyo recommendations!


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