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Traveling from Tokyo to Otaru

Madhya
Madhya
over 1 year ago
1 answer

Hi Daniel
We are a family of 2 adults and 3 children aged 1, 6 and 8. We are travelling to Japan on the 12 of December 2023 until the 27 of December.

The itinerary is:
Arriving to Osaka 12dec
Leaving Osaka to Tokyo 15dec

Tokyo from 15dec to 20dec

Leaving Tokyo 20 dec to Otaru

Otaru from 20dec to 27dec (car rental)

27th back to Australia

We want to get the Jrpass for the longer trips so we were thinking on getting the 7 days pass activate it on the 14th so we can use it for travelling on the 20th from Tokyo to Otaru. Would that be ok?
We are struggling to find the times that the train to North Island leaves. We need to be in Otaru at 6 pm at the latest to pick up a car.. At what time do we need to leave? Where I can find all the departing times and trains that we need to take. What would you recommend if we are travelling with kids.
We checked Hypedia but don’t understand much how to use it or the different times the train leaves as well as arrival times.
Thank you
Madhya

avatar
Daniel-san
19056 posts
over 1 year ago
Expert

Hi there,

The full trip from Tokyo to Sapporo takes around 7 hours, then add roughly 30 minutes to Otaru. Trains depart frequently, but I think you would want to start your travel at 8 or 9 am.

Hyperdia no longer shows actual times, so please read:
https://www.jrpass.com/blog/hyperdia-alternatives-how-to-plan-for-jr-pass-travel

It is a long trip, maybe especially so for kids. So you may want to look at flights instead to Sapporo.

Kind regards,
Daniel


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