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Advice on alternative routes covered under JR Pass

Joycelyn
Joycelyn
about 2 years ago
3 answers

Hi Daniel-san,

I will be travelling to Japan from March to April this year and would like to seek your advice on these legs of my journey please:

1) I will be travelling from Nagoya to Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, and from Google Maps, all the routes involve taking the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi (which I understand is not covered by my Unlimited JR Pass). May I know if I could take Hikari, Kodama, Sakura, or Tsubame instead, or are there any alternative routes or alternative shinkansen/ trains I could take that are covered by JR Pass?

2) I will be travelling from Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima to Matsuyama and the journey involves a cruise ferry run by Setonaikaikisen. May I know if this is covered by JR Pass?

3) I will then be travelling from Shimonada Station, Iyo, to Osaka, which according to Google Maps requires a section of the journey to be by the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi (not covered by my Unlimited JR Pass). However, is it possible to get to Osaka by any other shinkansen/ train covered by the JR Pass, such as Hikari, Kodama, Sakura, or Tsubame?

Thank you very much for your help!

Best,
Joycelyn

avatar
Daniel-san
19039 posts
about 2 years ago
Expert

Hi Joycelyn,

1.) Google Maps is not a great tool to plan your trip with, because it only shows the Nozomi in many cases. The Hikari, Sakura, Komada and other services travel the exact same route but have a couple more stops along the way. This you can use the JR Pass to travel the exact same route, but the timings can be a bit different. We recommend using Navitime instead.

2.) The JR Pass includes the JR ferry to Miyajima, but not any other ferries. You can however use trains instead to travel for free between Hiroshima and Matsuyama using the JR Pass. It will wake you over the Great Seto Ohashi Bridge, an experience worth doing on its own.

3.) Yes, similar to question.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Useful!0
Joycelyn
Joycelyn
3 posts
about 2 years ago

I see, thank you very much! That is helpful. :)

Useful!0
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