Itinerary

Due to our budget and hotel availability, my itinerary is fixed as follows:-

29/4/13 - Arrive late in Osaka. Check in.

30/4/13 - Check out and take a train to Tokyo
Visit Kamakura.
At night in Shinjuku.

01/5/13 - Take a train to Mt Fuji (Lake
Kawaguchiko)

02/5/13 - Check out. Take a train to Akita,
Kokunadate. Visit Lake Tazawa,
Hinokinai Riverbank.

03/5/13 - Check out. Take a train to Hirosaki
Visit Hirosaki Castle.

04/5/13 - Check out. Take a train to Osaka.
Check in hotel.
Take a train to Kyoto for
sightseeing. After dinner take a
train back to Osaka.

05/5/13 - Take a train to Kyoto. Visit
Kiyomizudera, etc. (pls recommend)
After dinner back to Osaka.

06/5/13 - Osaka - Visit Sumiyoshitaisha
Shrine, etc. (pls recommend)

07/5/13 - Osaka - sightseeing.(pls recmmend)

08/5/13 - Early morning fly back to KL.

We will spend 2 nights in Tokyo, 1 night in Akita (Hotel Pearl City Akita Kanto-Odori)- is this hotel very far to Lake Tazawa?,1 night in Hirosaki and 4 nights in Osaka.

I thought of buying the 7-day Japan Rail Pass which cost 28,300 yen. Would it be more economical and can I use it to travel to all the places mentioned above and also repeated trips? Otherwise, could you please recommend a pass for us to travel?

Your assistance is very much appreciated.

Thanks and regards

are you aware of transportation times particularly for Kawaguchiko to Akita and back to Osaka?

I would strongly advise to visit places that are closer to each other.

I agree with the above commenter. Hirosaki to Osaka alone is going to take you all day with no time at all for any sightseeing in Kyoto.

TBH, it seems as though you're going to be spending most of your trip to Japan sitting on trains, rather than enjoying the sightseeing!

Due to our budget and hotel availability, my itinerary is fixed as follows:

Not sure what you mean by "hotel availability," but booking hotels a year in advance is going to serverly limit your choice, many hotels will not make rooms available until 3-6 months ahead of arrival.


04/5/13 - Check out. Take a train to Osaka.
Check in hotel.
Take a train to Kyoto for
sightseeing. After dinner take a
train back to Osaka.

Even if you start with the earliest train from Hirosaki at 05.45, you will not get to Osaka station until 14.17 (based on current timetable. You still have to then get to your hotel, check in, and then get to Kyoto. As many tourist sites close around 17.00, you will will likely only get to walk around the streets.

I thought of buying the 7-day Japan Rail Pass which cost 28,300 yen. Would it be more economical and can I use it to travel to all the places mentioned above and also repeated trips?

The JR Pass would obviously pay off for 29/4 thru 5/5, it would cover most trains except to Lake Kawaguchiko (where JR will get you as far as Otsuki, you would then need to take a private railway to the lake) and transport within Kyoto. The pass can ve very useful in Tokyo and to a lesser extent in Osaka where the subway is more likely to be of more use.