JR Pass or enter/exit from different city

Dear all,

I'm planning to go for 11 days trip during autumn but have not decided the exact destination as I'd like to do some hiking. On my destination piles are Kyoto/Kansai area, Nikko, Sendai, Aomori, Shimane island, and Kyushu. I'm thinking to cover Kyushu and Shimane next year and cover Kansai to Aomori (including Nikko).

I'm thinking on some options for the transportation:
1. Taking major Japan airlines with Tokyo as entry/exit point + 7-days JR Pass, but I need to squeeze the trips requiring Shinkansen or long trip on JR line within 7 days. Other destination which is more convenient with non JR lines will be planned during the 5 days.

2. Taking major Japan airlines with Tokyo as entry/exit point + 14 days JR Pass. More expensive but I can stretch more time for the pass usage, but not sure whether the trip will be paid off.

3. Taking direct flight to Kyoto and exit from Tokyo + 7-day JR Pass. It costs $200 more from Japan airlines but maybe able to save travelling cost.

What do you think of the arrangement? Please let me know your view on which option is more time and cost effective. Thank you very much.

So Kansai and Aomori this year, and in 11 days?

In that case the 7 days starting from Tokyo is the best option. (Better if you can fly in/out KIX without extra costs though)

Spend 3 days in Kyoto and 3 days in Aomori. Last day is for transiting and late wake ups.

Thanks for your suggestion, Joshua.

Yes I am planning to have Kansai and Aomori this year. Do you think it's too rush, especially for Kansai? I'm thinking to stay at koyasan or going along the Kumano-kodo.

Without seeing the full schedule, Tokyo to Kyoto and Aomori back to Tokyo would cover the 14-day pass cost. Some of the other places you mention would simply be bonus trips.

Yes, with Aomori it paids off.
After sorting the trips, it would be more time-effective to start from Kyoto to reduce train trip, but I found a cheaper fare for entry/exit in Tokyo. So I'm taking this option with 2 weeks JR Pass.

Thank you all for the advise!

It would not be easy. Kansai can easily take a week of your time. Especilaly if you include Hiroshima. But even if you do not , there are plenty of things to do.

That said, you have limited time. So doing 3 days in Kyoto with maybe a night out in Osaka is the best time can give you. Maybe even 4 days if you can cut a day from Aomori.

Aomori takes about 3 days. Maybe 2 if you rush. If you plan to do the whole of tohoku then it takes longer.

11 days should be a good amount of time for the destinations you listed. Not sure why Hiroshima was mentioned though as it's not in Kansai nor is it on your list. Plus that would make more sense for a subsequent Shimane/Kyushu trip. Btw, what did you mean by "Shimane Island"? Did you mean Shikoku? Or Shimane Prefecture?

I do plan for a subsequent trip covering Kyushu and Shikoku. My apology, it should be Oki islands in Shimane prefecture . I have visited Kyoto and Tokyo earlier this year so my focus now is for hiking trip to places with great koyo view.

I plan to get the 14 days JR pass if I'm going to Aomori and split the visit into 4D Kyoto, 3D Aomori (maybe stopover at some areas along the way), 2D Nikko, and 2D Tokyo. Last time I went to Nikko on JR lines. If All Nikko Pass is more useful, I'll get only the 7 days JR Pass.

Oh I see, sounds like a nice trip. Keep in mind that the leaves generally change from north to south, so you may want to start in Aomori.

Thanks for pointing it out! Otherwise I would have scheduled Kyoto first.