10 Day Japan itinerary with JR Pass

Hi,

I saw an article about a 10day trip to Japan http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_8.html.

I tried to follow it as much as possible and came up with this itinerary...If we use the IT below, will we be able to maximize the JR Pass? Which JR Pass should be buy? We would like to minimize cost as much as possible as there will be 6 of us travelling.

Should I still get the Icoca & Haruka and 7 day JR Pass?

If I have to choose between Hiroshima and Kobe which would you recommend?

DATE TIME ITINERARY
Day 1 04-Dec-15 Kansai Airport - Explore Osaka
Day 2 05-Dec-15 Universal Studios - Harry Potter Land
Day 3 06-Dec-15 Nara
Day 4 07-Dec-15 Travel from Kyoto to Tokyo
Day 5 08-Dec-15 Gotemba outlet shops
Day 6 09-Dec-15 Tokyo
Day 7 10-Dec-15 Tokyo-Osaka
Day 8 11-Dec-15 Hiroshima and Miyajima or kobe?
Day 9 12-Dec-15 Kyoto
Day 10 13-Dec-15 Depart from Kansai Airport

Thanks in advance for our help...

Hi,

If i were you, i would activate my pass here. So your pass day would be:

Day 1 06-Dec-15 Nara
Day 2 07-Dec-15 Travel from Kyoto to Tokyo
Day 3 08-Dec-15 Gotemba outlet shops
Day 4 09-Dec-15 Tokyo
Day 5 10-Dec-15 Tokyo-Osaka
Day 6 11-Dec-15 Hiroshima and Miyajima or kobe?
Day 7 12-Dec-15 Kyoto (must return to Osaka on this day).

USJ is pretty near Osaka so it shouldn't cause too much cash flow on that.

By the way, do consider buying your USJ express passes online if you want to visit the HP area! :)

Thank you! :)

Which would u recommend? Hiroshima or kobe?

I would use the pass on the day after Nara for the simple reason that it allows the Usage of haruka express to the airport.

Besides that, I would rexommend that you
1. Spend more time in kyoto (are you even spending a day here?)
2. Your time in Tokyo is spend doing what? It may not be worth it to go all the way there for a short time. Seems like a waste of money and time.
3. I would go to hiroshima as compared to Kobe. Kobe is really city like, and has a nice skyline. Activity wise is nothing too different from Osaka or Tokyo. On the other hand, Hiroshima has the beautiful miyajima & traditional castle yet also has the contrasting peace park and atomic bomb museum.

Hi, thank u for the insight :)

I will be visiting kyoto, i might be staying there after tokyo...
For tokyo, we are going to gotemba hoping to see a glimpse of nt. Fuji. Also we'll be doing the touristy stuff...meiji shrine, sky tree, tsukiji, disney sea....

I'd have to agree with JH. Your trip to Nara from Osaka doesn't cost much money (the trip is 800Yen) and you probably won't be using trains there anyway so activating the pass the day after that would be best since it covers the 2000Yen needed for the Haruka to take you back to Kansai Intl. on the final day.

I'd definitely go to Hiroshima/Miyajima (the ferry is covered by your JR Pass) but I'd stay in Osaka since the train trip to Hiroshima is covered by your JR Pass and is only 1h20m, I'd recommend stopping by Kobe on the way back in the evening and heading up the Shin-Kobe Ropeway for the nightview before returning to Osaka. This is just what I would do since dragging around your luggage and checking-in and out is a pain in the butt and, in my opinion, not worth it if it's only just over an hour to get to Hiroshima by train and doesn't cost you a thing with the JR Pass.

Thank you very much! I really need your insights since this will be our first trip to Japan :)

Do check the closing time for the Kobe ropeway.
I personally feel that you might not have enough time to do both cities. But that is only because I like to see Itsukushima shrine in the day & night, at low & high tide. To do this, you would need to leave Miyajima past sunset. By the time, you take the photos, wait for the ferry, take the ferry, walk to Miyajimaguchi, take the train to Hiroshima, and take the Shinkansen to Shin-Kobe station it would nearing 9pm. Not sure about your dinner (maybe ekiben?).

IMO the Onomiyakis in Hiroshima and the snacking at Miyajima is great. Do not be deceived that Kobe beef can only be gotten in Kobe. You can get it half way round the world so you surely can get it in Osaka, Kyoto, or Tokyo.

But if you can do it, then do it. It is well worth the trip up. The city lights stretches from Kobe to Osaka and I couldn't tell where one started and the other ended. But I am not crazy over skylines so I cannot tell you how great it was or was not.