I'm trying to plan my trip to Japan. I intend to go from Kansai area (i'll probably book a hotel in Osaka because I know my way around that city) to either Hiroshima or Takamatsu (I wanna do both anyway) but I looked at it on google maps and it seems I can only take shinkansen that includes a portion of the route by the nozomi or mizuho...which is not covered by the Pass! Is that so or is Google maps lacking some knowledge. Thanks in advance!
is there routes only using nozomi/mizuho?

Hi there,
Google Maps does not show other Shinkansen trains like the Hikari and Sakura, making it a bad tool for planning with the Japan Rail Pass.
You may want to use different websites like www.hyperdia.com instead to find the correct routes.
Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi,
There are no routes where only Nozomi & Mizuho trains run. The routes don't change - the difference is that Nozomi makes fewer stops. You should have no shortage of Hikari and Sakura trains to ride (and you should avoid Kodama trains which stop at every last bullet train station).
Note that for Takamatsu there is no bullet train - you'll need to switch at Okayama. For Takamatsu, be sure to see the Ritsurin Garden which is one of Japan's best. And since it's on the way, go on the gorgeous day hike at Kotohira to a nice mountaintop view over the whole area at the Konpirasan Shrine.
In Hyperdia, under "More Options", be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box since you can't ride that train using the pass.
Good luck.
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