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10 days with luggage issues

timetraveler
timetraveler
about 10 years ago
2 responses

We two seniors will be in Japan for 10 days prior to boarding the Diamond Princess in Yokohama for a 27 day cruise. This trip will require two large suitcases, two roll-a boards, and two backpacks. We expect to be jet-lagged when we arrive, as we will be traveling from the East Coast of the US. We are scheduled to land at Haneda at 10:15 PM and plan to spend that night at an airport hotel. We hope to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, possibly Nagano, Matsumoto, and other places of interest.

How can we best use a JR Pass? And what do we do with our luggage?

Tentative itinerary so far:
first night: Arrive in Haneda, spend the night in airport hotel
day 1-2: Tokyo
day 3 -9 ??
day 10: Sail from Yokohama

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 10 years ago
Expert

Hi there!

Let's start with your luggage, it does seem a bit much reading about it like that. Most Shinkansen and limited express trains offer a special compartment in each train car to store a suitcase or two, however it may be a problem if you travel locally such as on the Yokohama subway, it's better to avoid rush hour if you travel packed as local trains/subways will be packed with people.

For the itinerary, Matsumoto is very beautiful and well worth a trip! I'd recommend visiting it either on the way to Kyoto or when you travel back to Tokyo/Yokohama. Assuming that you would use a 7 day JR Pass you could do the following travel. A possible itinerary could look like this Yokohama - Matsumoto(1d) - Kyoto(3d) - Nara(1d) - morning train to Nagano (1d) and travel on the following evening to either Tokyo/Yokohama. This is straightforward route without extra travel time. You could also switch out Nagano for a visit to Osaka/Kobe/Hiroshima etc, either way a JR Pass would be very useful, just be sure to be back in Yokohama or at least Tokyo before the pass expires.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

timetraveler
timetraveler
2 posts
about 10 years ago

To avoid some luggage hassles, would it be a good idea to use Tokyo and/or Kyoto as bases for day trips?

Would you recommend doing Matsumoto and/or Nagano as a day trip from Tokyo?

Would you recommend doing Nara as a day trip from Kyoto?

Would you suggest any other day trips from Kyoto?

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 10 years ago
Expert

Hi again!

Yes making day trips from either Tokyo or Kyoto would be a great idea. However I would not do so for Matsumoto or Nagano as both take quite some time to get too and you would lose too much time to do a return on the same day.

From Kyoto there are lots of possible day trips! Nara, Osaka and Kobe immediately come to mind. Also if you feel adventurous you could make a visit to Hiroshima.


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