Busy schedule

Hi George,

Its indeed a busy schedule :) but not too busy I think.

1.) You are going a lot of travel and even a 14 day JR Pass would help you make savings. Though I think the best option would be to use a 7 day JR Pass from the 16th to the 21st. This would cover all your Shinkansen travel and you will make amazing savings.

2.) The trip Hiroshima - Nagano is quite a killer, even so its a beautiful trip to make. Especially if you use a limited express from Nagoya - Nagano, instead of using the Shinkansen via Tokyo. You'll have enough time to explore Nagano before traveling on to Fuji. Getting to Fuji could be a bit tricky though, many of the famous areas are on the other side coming from Nagano. They key here is to visit a place that is not too hard to access from Nagano.

3.) All routes are covered, though you still make require local transport at times that is not included in the JR Pass.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Cheers. Very helpful. So will i need to make extra payments for the shinkansen from hiroshima to nagano, and nagano south to fuji?

The JR Pass covers travel from Hiroshima - Nagano fully and most likely to Fuji as well but this does depend on what station you will travel to.

Every train from Hiroshima to Takayama includes the Nozomi shunkansen. I thought this wasn't included in the pass so what are my options and how much extra can I expect to pay?

Also, we're now thinking about going to Takayama instead of Nagano, then to the five lakes i.e. fujisan. The travel seems rediculous. Is there any routes which dont go through Tokyo?

Cheers

Hi again!

From reading your post, I get the impression that you plan using Google Maps? Unfortunately Google does not show all trains and therefore you may only see the Nozomi. I suggest using Hyperdia this way you know all routes covered by the JR Pass.

About visiting Fuji, its not that strange traveling via Fuji. Otherwise you'd have to go straight through Fuji. You could also visit the Hakone area instead, its much easier to access.