Hello,
I am going for 2 weeks to Japan in second half of May and I would like to check whether it is worth for me to buy a 2-week JR Pass or a 7 day Pass. I’m still working on my itinerary, so I’ll be glad to hear whether I should stay 1 night or maybe 2 days in Hiroshima and depending on that 2 or 3 nights in the Kanazawa/Japanese Alps region.
My itinerary is the following:
Day 1: Arriving at Tokyo Narita airport around 5:30 pm, going to Tokyo
Day 2-6: staying in Tokyo but planning some trips around, possibly as follows:
Day 3: trip to Kamakura
Day 4: trip to Mount Fuji National Park (Fuji 5 likes?)
Day 5: trip to Nikko
Day 6: going to Hiroshima
Day 7: either staying in Hiroshima and going to Miyajima (for sure) or maybe Nagasaki for a day trip, or going to Kyoto in the afternoon
Day 8 – 11 (or 7-10): Kyoto and some day trips to Himeji, Nara, maybe Osaka on the way
Day 12-14 (or 11-14): going to Kanazawa and some day trips to Takayama or Shirawago or Matsumoto
Day 14: going to Tokyo
Day 15: leaving Tokyo in the evening through Narita airport.
I assume that I will be probably better off with a 14 day JR Pass, but please confirm if it’s worth it. Also, I guess it’s probably better to activate it on the second day, since the first night we are arriving late and won’t be doing much sightseeing (anyway I’ll probably use metro in Tokyo more that the JR lines), am I right? Also maybe you can suggest something different to see on the way – it’s my first time to Japan, and I would love to see the most interesting places there.
Thank you so much for help!
Is it worth to buy a 2-week JR pass for my itinerary?
Hi, Check the http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ There you have train schedule with the price.
Maciek :-)
And remember that, JR Pass is working except any reserved or non-reserved seat on "Nozomi" and "Mizuho" trains
:-)
Hi there,
Yes it will be well worth it getting a JR-Pass for this itinerary (it looks like its becoming a very nice trip).
You will already making savings if you just do the following route Tokyo --> Kyoto --> Hiroshima --> Kyoto --> Tokyo. You will really make some good savings with all the additional travel.
For Kanazawa: You will be able to see most of the city attractions in one day but it does make for a good base to make day trips from to Shirakawa-go for instance. So I would say stay there for one night if you plan on just seeing the city and two if you have some extra places in mind.
Activating it on the 2nd day is a good idea too! This because you can than use it on your last day to return to Narita Airport. For the first day I would recommend buying a [Suica + Nex] ticket when you arrive. This gives you a discounted ticket for the Narita express and a Suica card that you can use on all kinds of transport within Japan.
I think you already have planned many great places to visit, if you have time consider a visit to Matsue/Izumo. The Adachi museum of art in Matsue is very beautiful and Izumo Taisha in Izumo is one of the most important temples in Japan. Many Japanese women visit it for luck in marriage.
Hope this helps,
Daniel
PS: As garwol points out, Hyperdia is a great help for planning and deciding on a schedule. So make good use of it ;)
Daniel-san - thank you so much for your answer, you confirmed that I'm going the right way;-) I'll think about Izumo, I guess this can be a good place for a day trip from Hiroshima. Thanks once more for all your tips!
K.
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