itinerary Check please | Osaka - Nara - Kyoto - Shirakawa-go - Tokyo

Hello Bryan,

Welcome to the forum :)

For traveling to Shirakawa-go, there is indeed no JR line there. You can travel by bus there from Kanazawa, Toyama or Takayama. Coming from Kyoto, you can use the JR Pass on the Thunderbird Express to Shirakawa-go but from there you'd have to use the bus, which is not included in the JKR Pass.

For travel around Osaka and Kyoto, you can use the JR Pass in either place on local JR lines. In Osaka, you can access most of the city using JR lines, while Kyoto only has a JR Network limited to the south and west of the city. I don't think you'd need an other pass but you could buy 1 day bus tickets in Kyoto, they are 500yen for unlimited travel. A normal bus ride is 230yen, so its quite a good deal.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi,
To clarify, you cannot take the Thunderbird from Kyoto to Shirakawago. The Thunderbird will take you up to Kanazawa, and from there you can pay for the bus the rest of the way. You could also go by way of Nagoya and Takayama, but there is no point since it would take considerably longer. From Kanazawa or Toyama you can pick up the bullet train to Tokyo.

The JR Pass will not get you very far in Kyoto or Osaka either. In Kyoto you can go to Arashiyama on the west side, which has a number of good sights, as well as down the Nara Line to see the Fushimi Inari Shrine, Uji, and of course Nara, which you should not miss either. In Osaka you can use it on the Loop Line, which goes to some places of interest, but you'll probably need to change trains and get on the subway at some point. It depends on your plans, of course. The Osaka subway is not expensive though and you most likely won't go around enough to get a subway pass.

Taking some time to see Kanazawa is well worth it also. A rental bicycle is a quick and convenient way to get around. You should not miss Kenrokuen which is widely regarded as Japan's most beautiful historical landscape garden.

Good luck.