3 weeks including Hokkaido & Okinawa

Hi Von,

I really like this plan! Okinawa is absolutely amazing and so is the rest of Japan. The trip is certainly possible in terms of time although more time in Okinawa would be something I'd look at.

You take out most of your travel time by flying to Osaka - this is a great way to save time - it also makes reduces the usefulness of the JR Pass and I don't think that a 14 day JR Pass would pay of. Instead you could consider a 7 day JR Pass and use it for instance from day 7-13 and cover as much train travel with it as possibly, Such as Kinosaki, Kanazawa, Tokyo and it would especially be nice if you could include Nikko too.

In this case you could be looking at the following savings.

Kyoto - Nara (return) ¥ 1,380
Kyoto - Kinosaki (return) ¥ 9,820
Kyoto - Kanazawa ¥ 6,910
Takayama - Tokyo ¥ 14,600
Tokyo - Nikko return ¥ 11,260

For a total of ¥ 43,970 or ¥ 15,670 in savings as the 7 day JR Pass is ¥ 28,300.

I hope this helps!
Daniel

PS: I'd certainly recommand staying the night at Kinosaki onsen, this way you can enjoy an Onsen stay, the town has some amazing Ryokan, so this may be your chance to stay at one.

PS2: I would not add a visit to Himeji on the same day as Koya, it just adds too much travel time.

Hi Daniel-san

Thanks sooo much for your suggestion. I truly appreciate it. Just a few quick question:
1. What would be the best option for day 1-6, 14-15 then? To get daily tickets?
2. Since my Okinawa trip is fixed, after day 19 I still have 3 days before going back to Sydney. Is it worth spending time in Ishigaki, or should I go back to Tokyo and explore more? The return tickets will cost almost the same.

Thanks again :)

Von

Hi Von,

1.) I would start using the JR Pass as of day 7 to Nara up-to day 13 and make a day trip with it to Nikko on the last day. This way all expensive rail travel is covered and the rest day 1-6 and 14,15 should not require much.

2.) Good question, I've been to Okinawa a couple of time but not yet to Shigaki, however once you've made such an amazing trip - what could be better than spending a couple of days on a sub tropical island? You can always return to Tokyo at a later date!

Hope this helps too :)
Daniel

Hello!

I have finalised our trip and there has been necessary changes and might affect the type of pass that we gonna use in Japan. Really appreciate your help. Thank you so very much :)

Day 1: Sydney - Sapporo

Day 2: Niseko

Day 3: Furano

Day 4: Sapporo

Day 5-6: Osaka

Day 7-9: Kyoto

Day 10: Kanazawa

Day 11: Takayama

Day 12-16: Tokyo

Day 17-19: Okinawa

Day 20: Kerama Islands

Day 21-22: Ishigaki

Day 23: Okinawa - Sydney

P.S. What's the best way to travel to Kanazawa and Takayama? Those places seem very time consuming when travelled with train/bus. Is it worth hiring car for 2 people for 2 days instead?

regards,
Ivona

Hi Ivona,

As you may have guessed, with the changes to your itinerary it would be better to just buy normal tickets for your travel as you don't do enough travel for a JR Pass to pay off.

For travel to Kanazawa and Takayama, I think going there by rail is way faster than by car. Especially Kyoto - Kanazawa. You could consider a car between Takayama - Kanazawa, especially if you wish to make a stop at Shirakawago.

Have a great trip,
Daniel