I'll be taking a 4 day trip in the Hiroshima area the week after the next. I'll be flying into and out from Kansai Airport.
Itinerary briefly as follows
Day 1 - Miyajima
Day 2 - Miyajima to Hiroshima
Day 3 - Hiroshima to ? Akiyoshidai (to Shin Yamaguchi) and back
Day 4 - Hiroshima back to Kansai airport
Would it be worthwhile buying a JR pass under the circumstances?
If you are traveling in February, you would not be able to use the new JR Sanyo Sanin Area Pass, which would save you a lot of money.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_sanyo_sanin.html
Nevertheless, instead of a full JR Pass, look into a JR West Sanyo area pass:
It is much cheaper although I think you'd have to buy the bus tickets to go to/from Akiyoshido (which is mind blowing) out of pocket.
Hi there,
Looking at normal fares.
Kansai Airport - Hiroshima ¥ 12,050
Hiroshima - Miyajima (return) ¥ 1,380
Hiroshima - Akiyoshidai (train to Yamaguchi ¥ 5,590), JR bus from there ¥ 1210) (double return to Hiroshima) ¥ 13,600
Hiroshima - Kansai Airport ¥ 12,050
For a total of ¥ 39,080, the 7 day JR Pass is ¥ 29,110, so you could make ¥ 9,970 in savings over normal tickets. Additionally the JR Pass is valid on the Hiroshima sightseeing bus, so you can explore the city without additional cost.
Hope this helps,
Daniel
