Where to spend last day of 14 day trip?

Hi there!

That's a very good question, here are a couple of options for you to consider.

1.) Make a visit to Kobe! Not too far from either Osaka or Kyoto, Kobe makes for a great day visit, the city is home to hundreds of small attractions and it's easy to fill your day. There's a great website about Kobe that lists many of the local sightseeing places, my favorites include the local Sake breweries (there's FREE sake tasting), Kobe's China Town and going up the local mountain range for a beautiful view over Kansai.

2.) Consider a visit to Matsue Matsue is not too far from Hiroshima, so it's a good idea to swing by if you are in the area anyway. Matsue has some very beautiful attractions, including Matsue Castle, the local Samurai quarters, the Adachi museam of art and the Izumo Taisha shrine which is the crown jewel of the area.

3.) A last option would be to make your way back to Tokyo and stop somewhere along the way. Some possible stops include, Nagoya or Yokohama.

I hope this gives you some ideas,
Daniel

Thank you very much Daniel San !
A few more questions pls:

1. Is there a penalty for non-show on seats reserved using JR Pass? i intent to get all the train seats reserved at Narita but was wondering if there is a penalty in case i miss a train or if decide to take a different one
2. Is a JR pass sufficient to travel around tokyo or would i have to buy a suica card? Are there any other cities (kyoto, osaka, hiroshima etc) where i can use JR pass for intra city travel to minimize costs?
3. Is 5 days in kyoto-osaka area too many? Any interesting side trips other nara that i could do please?
4. Is JR pass not valid in the Alpine route region? If valid, is there a place you would recommend i visit?
5. What is the minimum and maximum temperature i am likely to encounter (excluding any alpine trips) as per itinerary above? trying to decide how warm i'll have to dress!

Thank you again for your help. You are the best!

Hi again!

1.) There's no penalty for missing the train if you reserve a seat, however do keep in mind that someone else could have traveled on that seat so be so kind to return your tickets if you decide not to take a train. If you miss your reserved train you may always take the next but it could be that you can't make a reservation for the next and you may have to stand or take a non reserved seat.

2.) The JR Pass covers most of Tokyo, still there are some places that you can't reach by JR alone, namely Asakusa and Odaiba. It can thus still be handy to keep a loaded Suica card with you, just to pay for those small parts which may not be covered by the JR Pass. You can also use the Suica card to pay in stored and at vending machines so it's still handy even if you don't use it for transport.

3.) Actually 5 is a good start but there's tons to see in both Osaka and Kyoto, you could spend months there if you wished.
Other interesting trips you can make from Tokyo or Osaka by JR include Uji, Kobe and Wakayama.

4.) You can most certainly use the JR Pass to travel around the Japanese Alpines, however there's a lot of mountainous area there and getting from one place to an other can take up a good amount of time and going by bus or car can be a better option. The most famous place in the alps is the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route other great places are Takayama and Gero onsen.

5.) Temperatures in Japan can change a lot depending on where you are, luckily every city has their average weather information on Wikipedia, for instance the Kyoto page displays an average temperature of 12.1 degrees or 53.8 if you are from the states. This can vary by 5 degrees up or down.

Have a great trip!
Daniel

5.)