Preparation for 2 weeks in Japan

Hi Leigh,

From reading your plans, I can tell you that it looks very good route wise. It is very efficient and you get a see a lot of great places. Most of your travel is done using the Shinkansen, which are the high speed bullet trains.

I've made a map for you HERE and marked all places which you plan to visit on it, so you get an idea of train lines involved. The Blue lines are the Shinkansen.

Again, I think your itinerary looks very good and I would not really alter anything, there's a good balance between places to see and the amount of time you spend in each place. Maybe 3/4 days in Hiroshima is on the long side, if you have some time there a visit to Onomichi is something I would highly recommend!

I hope this helps!
Daniel

Hi Daniel,

BIG help!! Thank-you.

When I'm traveling from Hiroshima to Kyoto do I get off at Osaka and catch another Shinkansen? And similar when traveling to Nagano, get off Tokyo and switch Shinkansens? And would you recommend booking in advance?

I'll check out Onomichi!

Thanks,

Leigh

Hi Leigh,

Yes there's always a transfer involved if you travel on the Shinkansen past Osaka, going either up north to Kyoto/Nagoya/Tokyo or down south to Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Kyushu. It is the same when you travel to Nagano, you make a transfer between Shinkansen at Tokyo station. Alternatively you can take the Shinkansen to Nagoya and take a limited express train to Nagano.

I don't think that you require to reserve your tickets long in advance, since you are not traveling on special holidays and trains have many seats and depart very frequently. However you can make all the reservations you want once you are in Japan with your JR Pass.

Hope this helps too!
Daniel