best route by jr pass 7 days?

Hi Dyna,

Welcome to the forum. I see that you have a great itinerary. Before we start with your question, there are some things that I am a bit worried about. The first is on may 24th when you plan to visit both Hiroshima and Nara. I would recommend sticking to one of these, there time alone to Hiroshima is about 2H each way and I would afraid that you may not be able to see anything if you also add Nara.
The other thing that needs a bit of attention is your planned trip to the alpine route, traveling there alone from Tokyo takes 4-5 hours so it's nearly impossible to make the return trip on a single day and also enjoy the route itself. I would recommend staying a night there or travel there the evening before and start the route in the morning.

As for the JR Pass. I do think that one would be very useful - it covers most of your travel and you would make good savings by visiting Hiroshima - Osaka - Tokyo and more. The pass is also good for local travel in Tokyo and Osaka on the JR as well as travel to Narita Airport. Note that the Romance Car to Hakone is run by the Odakyu rail company and the JR Pass does not cover it.

For things to see and do:

In Tokyo, I would recommend a visit to Shibuya, Akihabara, Asakusa and Tokyo Tower.

In Kyoto be sure to visit Kyomizudera and Nishiki Market.

in Osaka I would certainly visit Namba and walk the streets of the close by Shinsekai.

Have a great time in Japan!
Daniel

Ok.. tks for the advice Daniel san.

I have revised my itinery to:
24 May 2014
1) Kansai Airport - Osaka hotel ( can you recommend which hotel that is near Jr line?)
2) Osaka JR line - Hiroshima and Miyajima
3) Come back to Osaka hotel ( is it possible to do that in same day or better to stay at hiroshima?)

25 may 2014
1) osaka full day sightseeing.
2) stay at osaka

26 may 2014
1) osaka - nara - kobe - kyoto
2) stay at kyoto hotel (pls also recommend hotel near JR line?)

27 may 2014
1) kyoto to alpine route ( is the JR stop name takayama?)
2) stay at alpine route area ( pls also recommend hotel near JR line)

28 may 2014
1) alpine route to Tokyo
2) stay at tokyo hotel

29 may 2014
1) tokyo to hakone and mt fuji
2) mt fuji back to tokyo hotel

30 -31 may 2014
1) full day sightseeing at tokyo
2) tokyo to narita airport.

Is this a better itinery? And more possible? Can you let me know which route require more than just JR lines? And how much extra do they cost to reach the destination?

Tks a lot for the advice. It really helps to plan for my holidays. :)

Best regards
Dyna

Hi Dyna,

This looks much better! It still feels busy at times but I certainly think it is possible. One thing I would consider changing is visiting both Nara and Kobe on the same day. Both places have a lot to offer and especially Kobe offers much and can keep you occupied for days.

When visiting the Kurobe Alpine route, is Tateyama the station on the other side of the route is Shinano-Omachi.

I see you are still looking for hotels, in general I try not to give individual recommendations for hotels as we all have our own standards, wishes and budget. Instead I would recommend using booking websites such as tripadvisor. You can search hotels and set your own search parameters. In addition you can read reviews from other travelers.

Lastly, the JR Pass covers by far the major part of your travel. Only within Hakone is it that you will have to use other kinds of transport. Fees are generally a couple hundred yen per ride. Also travel along the Kurobe Alpine route is not included.

Hope this helps!
Daniel