1 Week JR Pass Itinerary (Low Budget)

pulporaul

over 8 years 전

4 답변

Konnichiwa!

My girlfriend are planning a two week, low-budget backpacking trip to Japan (Apr 25 - May 9) and would appreciate your thoughts and advice regarding our itinerary. We current intend to spend our first week traveling to several Japanese cities (Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Kanazawa) using a 7-Day JR Pass, and spend our second week getting to know Tokyo. Our idea is to stay in Tokyo during "Golden Week" and avoid traveling across Japan those days as to avoid higher prices, crowds, and delays.

Below you will find our preliminary itinerary - we would like to finalize it as soon as possible in order to book our accommodations before they get too expensive. We would also like to know what train(s) we need to take using our JR Pass in order to complete our journey, and whether we need to book them in advance given the high tourist season. Many thanks in advance for your support!

Apr 25: Arrive in Tokyo, rest
Apr 26: Tokyo --> Kyoto
Apr 27-28: Explore Kyoto
Apr 29: Kyoto --> Hiroshima
Apr 30: Explore Hiroshima
May 1: Hiroshima --> Kyoto --> Kanazawa
May 2: Explore Kanazawa
May 3: Kanazawa --> Tokyo
May 4-8: Explore Tokyo
May 9: Depart from Tokyo

Daniel-san

19375 올리기

7667 좋아요

over 8 years 전

Hi there,

I think it is a good idea to avoid travel during Golden Week to avoid the crowd - Tokyo will have enough to see in the meantime and will be busy enough :)

Your travel looks pretty straight forward and I don't expect many problems. I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the Shinkansen lines. At least the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto and on to Hiroshima. It will give you an understanding of distances involved and timings. For trains that you will be using:

Tokyo - Kyoto, use the Hikari Shinkansen.
Kyoto - Hiroshima, Hikari to Shin-Osaka and Sakura Shinkansen to Hiroshima (be sure to reserve this train 1-2 days in advance).
Hiroshima - Kanazawa, Sakura Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka and Thunderbird express to Kanazawa. Also reserve at least 1 day in advance.
Kanazawa - Kyoto, use any Shinkansen on the Hokuriku line directly to Tokyo. Reservations are recommended, also 1 day in advance. You can use the fastest train, the Kagayaki.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

훌륭합니다!1

pulporaul

4 올리기

0 좋아요

over 8 years 전

Thank you Daniel! :)

훌륭합니다!0

pulporaul

4 올리기

0 좋아요

over 8 years 전

Daniel, I have a follow-up question for you:

Once we activate our JR Pass, how far in advance can we reserve our trains? Is it possible to book all of our train rides for the 7-day period in one sitting? Or do we have to reserve our trains individually every time we change cities?

Again, many thanks for your support and clarification!

훌륭합니다!0

Daniel-san

19375 올리기

7667 좋아요

over 8 years 전

You can make all the reservations you make once you exchange the JR Pass :)

In 1 go or on the day of travel, the choice is yours.

훌륭합니다!0

pulporaul

4 올리기

0 좋아요