Travelling around Japan

Hi there,

I see you already made a nice and very well planned itinerary.
A JR East Pass is valid in the area northern area of the Honshu, basically the Tokyo area and everything north of it (excluding Hokkaido). See here for the area that is covered by the JR East Pass. Since you travel from Osaka (and later on to Takayama) a 14-day JR Pass is recommended, this will cover all your travel nationwide in Japan.

When you are in Kyoto on day 4 consider walking the streets of Shijō Kawaramachi here you can find all kinds of small local shops selling everything from small delicacies to art and clothing. Also Gion is just over the bridge so maybe you can see some Geisha too!

When you travel to Hirosaki you will indeed have a transfer in Tokyo, the journey may look like Route 4 but you can ask for tickets all the way to Hirosaki at Kyoto station.

For the rest, I think you have a really great itinerary and you will be able to see and visit many places for sure!

Happy travels,
-Daniel

Thanks for your reply, Daniel

Can you help me to calculate the train fare for each town if i don't buy the JRpass?
Can i use the JR pass in tokyo city?

Thanks,
mary

Hi again!

Of course I can :)

Here we go:
Kansai Airport --> Osaka ¥ 3,140
Osaka local travel (universal city e.g.)
Osaka --> Kyoto ¥ 540
Kyoto --> Hirosaki ¥ 25,810
Hirosaki --> Towadaminami:¥ 2,290, from here you can use a bus to the lake.
Towadaminami --> Hirosaki (way back)¥ 2,290
Hirosaki - Tokyo ¥ 16,690
Tokyo - Takayama ¥ 14,300
Takayama - Tokyo ¥ 14,300
Tokyo - Narita Airport for ''Bye Bye Japan'' ¥ 2,940

For a total of ¥ 82,300 a 2 week JR-Pass is ¥ 45,100 so you would save at least¥ 37,200 with the JR Pass.
Please note that local travel in Osaka and Tokyo is not included in this calculation, you can ride Local JR-lines in both cities for free with the JR-Pass, unfortunately the Subway/Metro is not included in the pass.

Hope this helps!
-Daniel

Thanks daniel.I understand a lot better now.

Regards
Mary

Another quick question Daniel. Every train have first class seat? I was thinking of buying the first class seat as it is more comfty for long distance.

What is the timetable for the train like? night train available for all the places i go??
What website i can check for timetable shedule?
Thanks
Mary

Hi Mary,

Almost all Shinkansen and Express trains have a Green Class available. The only train that I am aware of that does not have a Green Car is the Hikari Rail Star that runs between Hakata (Fukuoka) and Shin-Osaka but seeing your itinerary you won't be using it. You can find more about Green Class in your Travel Blog.

In Japan Trains generally run between 6.00 and 24.00 and in most cases multiple trains depart each hour. There are only a limited amount of night trains available on some tracks and they may not always be covered by the JR-Pass. For timetables I would recommend using Hyperdia, it's service is completely available in English and you can use it to look for time and route information. For more information on planning with Hyperidia see our blog post.

Hope this helps!
-Daniel