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JR Pass vs Regional Passes - Visiting Japan for 21 days

ChrisfromOhio
ChrisfromOhio
10 months ago
1 answer

Greetings,

I am planning on using 4 different locations throughout Japan as my home base and taking day trips from each location.

I am really confused on what, if any regional passes I may need that the JR Pass does not cover. I have already received my JR Pass voucher and have made flight & hotel reservations. I will get a Pasmo Passport when I arrive at Narita.

I will be in Japan February 15th ~ March 7th

Here are my home base locations with planned day trips

Narita
2 nights with hopes of getting over any Jet lag, I plan on roaming the Narita area only.

5 nights - using the Shinkansen and my JR Pass to get to:
Okayama - Home base #1 with day trips to
Hiroshima - Recommended place for oysters?
Nagasaki
Osaka
Kyoto
Mayajima Island ( maybe combine with a above day trip?)
What local, regional, loop buses or JR pass would be my best option for sightseeing?

5 nights - using the Shinkansen and my JR Pass to get to:
Hachinohe - Homebase #2 with day trips to:
Misawa - My place of birth (United Sates Air Force Base) and why this trip was planned
Unknown - Suggestions?
Unknown - Suggestions?
Unknown - Suggestions? Half day excursion to allow travel time to Sapporo
What local, regional, loop buses or JR pass would be my best option for sightseeing?

3 nights - using the Shinkansen and my JR Pass to get to:
Sapporo - Homebase #3 with day trips to:
Unknown - Suggestions?
Unknown - Suggestions? Half day excursion to allow travel time to Tokyo
What local, regional, loop buses or JR pass would be my best option for sightseeing?

5 nights - using the Shinkansen and my JR Pass to get to:
Tokyo - Homebase #4 with day trips to:
Mt. Fuji - Suggestions?
Unknown - Suggestions?
Unknown - Suggestions?
Unknown - Suggestions?
What local, regional, loop buses or JR pass would be my best option for sightseeing?

I think I have figured out on how to use the Navitime App and the Shinkansen rails to move around Japan. I request help with local transit for sightseeing and any 'Must See' locations and/or things to do. I have no interest in amusement parks as I grew in a major U.S. tourist destination that had all of that stuff.

I have youtube'd and google'd so much, I am just about google'd out. It appears, that there is so much to see and do in Japan that it gets confusing trying to keep track of it all. I really have no order on what days i'll do what. So please, reply with any suggestions you may have.

Thank You,
Chris

avatar
Daniel-san
18919 posts
10 months ago
Expert

Hi Chris,

First advice, don't try to see everything at once in Japan. You can always come back again, and again :) I've lost count but likely on my 30th trip to Japan later this year. There's always more to see and explore. Having said that, I do think it's a great idea to base yourself in different area's and explore locally, rather to just rush from point to point across the country.

At the same time, without having your full itinerary, it will be hard to suggest a rail pass to cover your trip. If you want to flexibility, then I'd just get a 21-day JR Pass to explore the country and plan to spend the remainder in the greater Tokyo area (that does include Fuji). The same goes for local transport, you first need to decide where to go, and then it's easy to figure out how to get there. You can use our JR Global map to get a feel of where trains will take you and get some inspiration.

Hachinohe, and Tohoku are less populated than the south of Japan. That does mean points of interest are far across. I would suggest a visit to Kesennuma. It's very interesting harbour town to see about the impact and recovery of the 2012 Tohoku earthquake. Due to its remote location, it is not visited a lot by tourists, meaning prices for accommodation and especially good food, are not high at all. Other trips in Tohoku I would suggest are Yamadera, MatsuShima and perhaps Sendai.

In Hokkaido, I would recommend visiting Sapporo (of course), Otaru & Yoichi (if you are interested in Whiskey, book the tour ahead of time). The lavender fields of Furona can beautiful but attract a lot of tourists. If you like hiking, then there are countless wilderness trails to follow. The route between Hakodate and Sapporo has plenty fo good stops too, my favorite is Lake Toya, closely followed by Nobori Betsu.

If you haven't spent much time in Tokyo, go explore the city. You could spend months there (I did) and see new things every day. If you do want to do day trips, then my recommendations are: Nokogiroyama, Nikko, Hakone, Izu, and Mt. Takao.

Hope this helps :)
Daniel

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