How do I get to Hakone from Hiroshima.

Sorry wrong way in title I am going FROM Hiroshima to Hakone!

Hi there,

It is a relative easy route with one transfer at Shin-Osaka.
I would take the bullet train to Odawara, this is the access station for Hakone. The travel time there takes approximately 257 Minutes, from there you can take a local (non JR) train into the Hakone area depending on where your hotel is located.

I hope this helps,
Daniel

Thanks Daniel-San. This does help a lot. Thank You.

One last question from my wife - I know this is not your expertease and probably not the right forum - but are there any recomended shopping malls\outlets centers in Tokyo or Kyoto that would be good to visit?

Hi Again,

I really do enjoy shopping myself in Japan and always walk around the shopping centers in Japan to get a feel for the place.

Here are some recommendations,

I'll start in Kyoto since I lived there a couple of months this year,

Kyoto station - itself is a rather large complex with department stores build in, like The Cube and Isetan. This makes for a very good start in Kyoto.

Avanti on the back side of Kyoto station is a very popular shopping mall for women and I think your wife may enjoy it a lot.

To get a real feel for Kyoto city, walk the streets of Kawara-machi and Shijou this is the real center of the city and is home to many small shops selling everything you can image. I personally love walking around in the area.

Going outside Kyoto, the area around Kyoto (Kansai) also has many great shopping opportunities.

While not in Kyoto, Shinsai bashi is the heart of shopping in Osaka. It is both home to many small shops and department stores.

One last more romantic recommendation is Kobe Harbor Land. It makes for a perfect place for shopping during the day with many fashion boutiques and in the evening you can have a lovely stroll along the lantern-lid promenade.

Going to Tokyo: Tokyo is a shopping heaven too, if you love departments stores, visit [Ikebukero] Sunshine City is one of the more amazing ones.

For luxurious brands and glamor visit Ginza, which is rightly called the 5th avenue of Tokyo. It's close to Tokyo station and only a 10min walk. Other great shopping areas in Tokyo include Shibuya (for more youth culture oriented stores and Shinjuku (a lot of everything).

One last recommendation are the Premium outlets at Gotemba. This area can be found between Tokyo and Kyoto and offers a truly beautiful view on Fuji san. The ride there is completely covered by the JR Pass and makes for a wonderful day trip from Tokyo or stop over to Kyoto. You can find more about it here.

I can give you some more specific recommendations if you tell me what kind of things you are interested in.
-Daniel

Brilliant.... last questions:

Do you know of any good markets we should try and visit whilst in Kyoto\Tokyo? Also, my wife wanted to know if you know if any good bargain/cheap outlet designer shops

There are not that many traditional markets in Japan. Some places like Kawaramachi in Kyoto are home to many small shops with added street vendors that resemble a market.

In Tokyo you can of course find the famous Tsukiji fish market which makes for a very nice visit too (you have to get up early though).

For outlet stores, I would recommend the previous mentioned Gotemba, Rinku Town not too far from Osaka/Kyoto and Odaiba VenusFort in Odaiba, Tokyo. Especially VenusFort is aimed at women and has several outlet stores on the top floor.

Enjoy!
-Daniel