Where to visit between Tokyo and Osaka

Hi Everyone!

I'm planning a trip to Tokyo, Osaka and Nara next year, but without using JR pass.

I'm thinking of taking an overnight coach for Tokyo to Osaka (seems like a cheaper alternative) or breaking this journey into two by stopping one night at a state/city in between Tokyo and Osaka, so that the journey won't be that long/tiring.

So my question is, where would you recommend? I'm not very familiar with Japan, so would like to seek your advice.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated and welcome! Thank you~~~ :)

I'd really reccommend a JR Pass. I know it's pricey, but I'd rather hit Osaka in 3.5 hours by Shinkansen than in 10 hours and sleep through all the sights and experience.

I'm pretty much doing this route later this year, and squeezing quite a lot in so that I only need a 1-week JR Pass, but it's worth mentioning that I've been to Japan a few times now, so can "miss" quite a lot this time to hit specific targets.

That said, this year I'm going from Tokyo to Nagoya and taking a day to visit Inuyama from Nagoya. Then Nagoya to Iga-Ueno for the Ninja Museum and Castle on the way to Nara, couple of nights in Nara then up to Kyoto for a couple of nights before using the last day of the 1-week pass to return to Tokyo.

From Osaka, though, I'd nip out for a day to Hiroshima, without a doubt. There's also so much to do in Kyoto that you'd really only see a few things in a single day if you chose to go there, but at least it's a short hop from Osaka.

If you want to see multiple locations between Tokyo and Osaka, you'll need to use a train sooner or later, which again might make the JR Pass worth your while, especially if you want to use the Shinkansen at all. A two week pass is about £350 per person, which compared to the one-week pass of £210pp is one heck of a bargain - especially when a single Shinkansen journey from Tokyo to Osaka comes in somewhere around £85. It'd be a shame to have less time to spend at your chosen destinations just for want of the JR Pass.

I hope that helps, but really all I can reccommend is using this site to research Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, and possibly Hakone (depending on your budget / time of year) and Gifu. Each page here has a list of top sights in those cities, along with suggested side-trips.

I can honestly say wherever you choose to go it'll be great :)

Wow, thanks for your reply! Will study it carefully, Nagoya sounds very interesting though.

Going with family and is on a tight budget, but of course, will compare the expenses with and without JR pass to see what work best. :)

Thanks for your advice, once again :)