Flights or JR pass

Hello to you experienced Japan travellors or citizens:
we (2 adults, 1 child (13yrs. ) need help to make a decision. We want to stay 3 weeks in this lovely country. Start is Tokyo for 4 nights. Then we want to fly to Nagasaki (3 nights), after that Beppu 3 nights, than ferry or shinkansen or boat to Hiroshima (3 nights) - further to Kyoto (shinkansen/ flight) 7 nights and back to Tokyo (shinkansen/ flight?)for 4 nights. So what is the best decision/ combi, cause I read that the fast trains are not a part of the JR pass.
We appreciate any hints.... as well as tips for hotels/ rooms.

Most fast trains ARE covered by the JR pass. Some (such as Nozomi) are not.

Airports in most Japanese minor cities (Hiroshima, Nagasaki, etc.) have airports that are not close to the city they serve. It may take some time to get there. I have used some (Okayama, Hiroshima) but I would not recommend it with your itinerary. You don't have a long run to benefit by flying, like Hiroshima to Haneda, for example.

I would only fly from Tokyo to Nagasaki; otherwise that's a really long trip by train. The other trips would be best done by train; that way you arrive in the middle of the city instead of having to then also travel to/from the airport. You also don't have to arrive as early to train stations as you do to an airport, so it saves time there too.

From Tokyo to Nagasaki, there are special promotion fares by JAL and ANA.

http://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/201606/003841.html

http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/wws_common/promotions/share/experience_j...

From Nagasaki to Beppu to Hiroshima to Kyoto, buy Japan rail pass 7days. Note that the "child fare" is applied to those who are 6 to 11 years old, so your child will be treated as "adult".

http://goo.gl/t0bHpY
http://goo.gl/yTqAIc
http://goo.gl/bGweX4

From Kyoto to Tokyo, your options are

1. Buy 14 days JR pass instead of 7 days. You will have flexibility in your itinerary. For example you can go to Himeji, Osaka, Nara or even to Takayama, if you like.
2. Buy normal Shinkansen ticket. Somewhat cheaper, can use Nozomi.
3. Pratt Kodama ticket. http://www.jrtours.co.jp/kodama/en/
4. Flight. I don't recommend.

I would investigate if the 21 day JR pass would work for you. Once west of Osaka, there isn't many private railway that compete for services.

IF you wanted to use a 21D JR pass, then you could do an itinerary like this:

4D tokyo
4D kyoto
2D hiroshima
2D nagasaki
2D beppu
3D Osaka
3D Tokyo

Each jump to you next location is between 90 mins and 4 hours. The above is also 4 days shorter than your example itinerary, so you can still add more days at each location.

I ask why you need 3 days at Hiroshima, Beppu and Nagasaki? 2 days for each would be enough. Unless you are planning for day trips to other locations close by?

hey guys, thanks all for your ideas: we now have our planning, but still do not know whether to take a 3 or 2 weeks JR pass.... (2 adults, 1 child (13))
Arrival Tokio (4 nights),
flight to Nagasaki (2 nights),
by train to Beppu (how?) ( 3 nights),
by train to Hiroshima (1 night),
by train to Kyoto (7 nights) - incl. SUMO at Aichi
by train to Koya san (1 night)
by train to Tokyo (4 nights)
going back to Holland ....

thanks

Have you done the price comparison? Is the 2- or 3- week pass more cost effective?

The price comparison is not so easy cause we aren't able to find the route and prices for going from Nagasaki to Beppu bij train as well as from Kyoto to Koya san.
If we take the two week pass we need 3 days in Tokio passes for the local trains there. 1 meek more cost about 300€ more in totaal and I guess thats more than 3 persons 3 days traintickest in Tokyo. Am I right?

http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1108.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4705.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4904.html
www.hyperdia.com
Or use Google Maps. It's really not hard.

prices for going from Nagasaki to Beppu bij train as well as from Kyoto to Koya san.

Nagasaki to Beppu

http://goo.gl/uzzBj3

If you will take Route2 (fastest), it will be 11870 yen, as calculated by hyperdia.

Kyoto to Koyasan is somewhat complicated

http://goo.gl/68j17Y

since you must take private railways (Nankai) from Namba(Nankai) to Gokurakubashi and then to Koyasan. There are many ways to get to Namba(Nankai) from JR Kyoto station. Of course you can take Shinkansen Hikari to Shin-Osaka, but after that you must take JR's commuter train to Osaka and then Osaka Metro (non-JR, so the JR pass does not cover it) or take Osaka Metro's Shin-Osaka to Namba by Osaka Metro. Anyway, the non-JR fare is not so expensive or the JR fare in this sector, you don't need to consider them.

1 meek more cost about 300 more in totaal and I guess thats more than 3 persons 3 days traintickest in Tokyo. Am I right?

With 3 weeks JR pass, you should activate it on your third day of Tokyo. You can use it on the third day to fifth day (you can use it to go to Haneda Airport by Tokyo Monorail). The pass will be useless in Nagasaki, Beppu (you can go to Yufuin by JR though) and maybe in Kyoto, but you can use it again in your Tokyo days in the end of your trip. All in all, you can use JR trains 7 more days in Tokyo area. There are many nice places to visit as a day trip from Tokyo (Niigata, Nagano, Karuizawa, Otsuki, Nikko, Sendai, Odawara, Kamakura, Morioka, Hakodate, etc.). Therefore, I think 3 weeks JR pass will pay off for your itinerary.

1.) Is it right we cannot use the JR pass from Nagasaki to Beppu and is it right it wil take us 10 hours, than we could better fly to Oita?

2.) JR railpass: from Beppu through Kokura to Hiroshima is possible?

3.) Hiroshima - Kyoto is well done by JR and
4.) Osaka - Tokyo too

how do I get from Kyoto to Aichi (fot the sumo competition)?

1.) Is it right we cannot use the JR pass from Nagasaki to Beppu

The whole journey is covered by the JR pass, since all the trains are JR trains, and I checked off "Nozomi/Mizuho/Hayabusa" option which are not covered by the pass. However, you should reserve the seats. You don't need to pay extra: Just go to the JR train station such as Tokyo, Shinjuku, or Nagasaki--your convenient place--and show the Hyperdia result to the ticket office staff.

By the way, you must buy the JR pass before you land in Japan. You will then exchange the voucher after you land in Japan.

and is it right it wil take us 10 hours, than we could better fly to Oita?

No, it will take about 3 hrs and half, as I have shown (see Route2).

http://goo.gl/uzzBj3

This is for September 21st, so you should change date and departure time. There is no flight between Nagasaki and Oita.

2.) JR railpass: from Beppu through Kokura to Hiroshima is possible?
3.) Hiroshima - Kyoto is well done by JR and
4.) Osaka - Tokyo too

Yes, they are all covered by the pass. You may need to read the explanation for Hyperdia and Hyperdia help page.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2323.html

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/help/help.html

how do I get from Kyoto to Aichi (fot the sumo competition)?

Basically by Shinkansen (excluding Nozomi which is not covered by the pass). The Sumo will be held at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium close to Shiyakusho station of Nagoya Metro. The Metro fare (not covered by the pass) is 240 yen per person, so you might better take taxi from JR Nagoya station.

http://goo.gl/K32bbj

I think you need to plan your itinerary in detail, but at the same time you should prepare for the "Plan B". It will be a long trip and you will have 21day pass, which will give you numerous options. Enjoy planning and enjoy your trip!

I would not fly Nagasaki to Oita. Both airports are 30 minutes out of town. You have to arrive 30-60 minutes early and it will take 15-30 minute to depart airport.

The Nagasaki mainline has some beautiful beaches out the window and the Kyudai line has some beautiful rural scenes and water fall to see.

Tokyo to Nagasaki is also done by Skymark. May or may not be a bit cheaper than the tourist fares by ANA and JAL, depending on dates.

3 nights Beppu, 1 night Hiroshima ??? Make is 2 and 2.

Thanks for all the responses - I do not hope we are annoying you with all of this rookie questions, but we are still a little bit confused, cause some people say it is not possible to use the JR pass in Nagasaki area whereas other say we can use it everywhere.
We understood that for Koya san we can't use the JR pass.
What about airport Nagasaki to the centrum (we haven't yet booked a hotel there) can we use the JR pass there?
Any tips for hotels in the shibuya area which are not on booking dot com or sites like that. Any personal experiences with good hotels (not too pricey?).

Everything you need to know is at your fingertips should you actually look for it http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html
The point of the JR pass is to cover long distance travel, so whether or not it can be used in cities is a moot point.

some people say it is not possible to use the JR pass in Nagasaki area whereas other say we can use it everywhere.

I am very sorry to make you confused. I intend to say you can not use the tram (non-JR) within Nagasaki city. Of course you can use JR trains which is covered by the pass. Maybe "other" is also me :).

What about airport Nagasaki to the centrum

Most convenient and fast way is to take direct bus to Nagasaki city area (900 yen, 40 min).

https://www.keneibus.jp/limousine/nagasaki_20160701.pdf

You can also take local bus (240 yen, 12 min) to JR Omura station and then local train to Nagasaki (covered by the pass), but the trains are only once an hour, so you may need to wait for a long time.

Any tips for hotels in the shibuya area which are not on booking dot com or sites like that.

I am sorry, but today almost all hotels use booking site to gather customers. As far as I know, those hotels do not use them are exceptionally high class ones or do not want to make their business.

Shibuya is one of the busiest district in Japan, so you may encouter difficulty in finding vacant room in a continuous days. There are surely long-stay discount and you don't want to change hotels, but you might better check the vacancy in a one day basis. You may also check the vacant room in other places such as Shinjuku, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Ueno etc. Less crowded places tend to be cheaper.

Many hotels are not on the "international" sites like booking.com, although they are on Japanese ones like Rakuten. Usually they are the ones that make no effort to cater specifically to foreign guests, so the average tourist may not find them to his or her liking anyway.