Japan Trip September 2014

Hello Christophe,

I think your itinerary looks good in terms of timing, all places between Hiroshima and Osaka make for interesting day trips.Although I would recommend switching Kurashiki out and visiting Naoshima instead. I think that Naoshima makes for a much more interesting visit.

As for the JR Pass? Will you be staying in each place for the night as well or travel back to Hiroshima/Osaka? I am asking this because it could make a big difference in ticket prices. Depending on that, a JR Pass could be useful for sure. However it may be better to buy normal tickets if you stay the night in each place.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Hello Daniel thank you very much for your reply. I will consider your suggestion about Naoshima.

I calculate all the train fees, if you have time, please tell me if I did some mistakes

Day 1 : Hiroshima ( arriving from Paris to Hiroshima)

Day 2 : Hiroshima

Day 3 : Hiroshima-Miyajima-Hiroshima 410 X 2 + 180 X 2 = 1180

Day 4 : Hiroshima-Iwakuni-Hiroshima 760 X 2 = 1520

Day 5 : Hiroshima-Okayama = 6020

Day 6 : Okayama-Naoshima-Okayama = 580 X 2 + 290 X 2 = 1740

Day 7 : Okayama-Osaka = 6020

Day 8 : Osaka-Kobe-Osaka = 410 X 2 = 820

Day 9 : Osaka-Koyasan-Osaka ( not covered by Jr Pass )

Day 10 : Osaka-Kyoto = 560

Day 11 to 14 : Kyoto

I will add 1000 jpy per day for train/subway/bus

So I have a total for the first two weeks of 31860 JPY and the JRPass for 2 weeks is at 46390 JPY. That is why I thought that the JRPass was not interesting for my two first weeks, but …..

Day 15 : Kyoto-Nara-Kyoto 760 X 2 = 1520

Day 16: Kyoto-Ise : 8030 using JR network only

Day 17 : Ise-Tokyo 12990

Day 18 : Tokyo

Day 19 : Tokyo-Nikko-Tokyo 5580 X 2 = 11160

Day 20 : Tokyo-Kamakura-Tokyo 920 X 2 = 1840

Day 21 : Tokyo-Kawaguchiko-Tokyo 3150 X 2 = 6300

For the third week we have a total of 41840 JPY. Which means that for the entire trip, it will cost us 73700 JPY per person if we choose to buy ticket by ticket. The 3 weeks Jrpass is more interesting because it will cost us 59350 JPY

Maybe it will be cheaper for us to arrive directly to Osaka, to use a Kintetsu pass for 5 days in the Osaka/Kyoto region, and then to take a 2 weeks Japan raill pass for Hiroshima/Okayama area for the first week and Tokyo area for the second week

What do you think of that ?

Thank you very much for your kindness

Best regards

Christophe

Hello Christophe,

That's some great research! I also checked it myself and it is spot on.
As for adding 1,000yen / per day for extra travel, think could certainly be valid in Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe. In other cases it will probably be a little lower.

Now let's get to the most important question, JR Pass: yes or no? With your current itinerary a 21 day JR Pass could certainly be helpful, as it covers the major part of your travel in addition the JR Pass would serve as a single ticket for many trips.

A good alternative would be, If you could fly directly to Osaka (Kansai Airport). You could explore Kansai (the area where Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Nara are located) using local trains and then start using your JR Pass to visit Hiroshima and make your way to Ise and Tokyo afterwards. Local travel within Kansai is not expensive and in general I would advise buying local tickets, as local passes in Kansai require a lot of travel to pay of and have a lot of restrictions. Upon arrival you could purchase a Haruka + ICOCA card which gives you a discounted ticket on the Haruka Express

Let me know your thoughts,
Daniel

Hello Daniel

Sorry for my late reply. I checked everything in different ways and checked different routes. Anf finally arrive to this one :

Day 1 : Arriving to Hiroshima 500 JPY

Day 2 : Hiroshima 1000 JPY

Day 3 : Hiroshima-Miyajima-Hiroshima 1200 JPY

Day 4 : Hiroshima-Osaka 10 300 JPY + 500 JPY = 10800 JPY

Day 5 : Osaka 1000 JPY

Day 6 : Osaka-Koyasan-Osaka 2520 JPY

Day 7 : Osaka-Nara-Osaka 1600 JPY + 500 JPY = 2100 JPY

Day 8 : Osaka-Kyoto 560 JPY + 500 JPY = 1060 JPY

Day 9 : Kyoto 500 JPY

Day 10 : Kyoto 500 JPY

Day 11 : Kyoto-Iseshi 3620 JPY

Day 12 : Iseshi 500 JPY

Day 13 : Iseshi-Tokyo 12590 JPY

Day 14 : Nikko arround 3000 JPY with a Nikko 2 day pass on Tobu Line

Day 15 & 16 : Tokyo-Fuji 5 lakes-Tokyo 6300 JPY

Day 17 to 19 : Tokyo 3 x 1000 JPY

When it is mentionned 500 JPY or 1000 JPY it is for public transport in the city.

I would prefer choose the 3 weeks JR Pass because it is more convenient than book every day a train but with my itineray my total will be 50190 JPY and the 3 weeks JRPass is at 59350 JPY

What do you think of that ?

Can you confirm that the Nikko pass is ok ? It seems very cheap

I am really tired to search all the imaginable route and would like to decide everything before the end of the month

Thank you very much