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2 1/5 weeks - crazy trip? 2012/7/14 07:55
Hi, I would like to share my plan with you. If you have any suggestions or observations I will appreciate.

Some points:
1- I'm going to Japan (my first time) in Dec 2012 for 2 1/5 weeks.
2- I believe I could see Tokyo & region with cheaper passes, but as I need to go to Nagoya on the 12th and back to Tokyo on the 16h (for 2 football matches) I will have to buy a 14-day JR pass.
3- I am just a little bit concerned about my 3-day trip to Nagano, Matsumoto, Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa. I think it could be too crazy (but hopefully I won't have problems with transportation), although I'm used to do these crazy trips.
4- I'm not going to relax. I will wake up early everyday (as the day is short in Dec), I want to see everything I can, take many pics and enjoy.

Please, let me know your thoughts.

Sun 9 - Arrival in Tokyo 5am (Full day in Tokyo)
Mon 10 - Day trip to Kamakura. Back to Tokyo.
Tue 11 - Day trip to Mt Fuji, Lake Ashi or Hakone (if good weather). Back to Tokyo.
Wed 12 - Full day in Nagoya (football)
Thu 13 - Full day in Kyoto
Fri 14 - Day trip to Nara, and then train to Mt Koya via Osaka - Temple Lodging
Sat 15 - Morning and lunch in Koyasan, train to Osaka (2 or 3 hours in Osaka for a quick walk) and back to Tokyo.
Sun 16 - Tokyo and Yokohama (football)
Mon 17
- Train Tokyo(6:24am)-Nagano(8:05am) - 3h in Nagano
- Train Nagano(11:23)-Matsumoto(12:31) - 4h in Matsumoto
- Bus Matsumoto(17:05)-Takayama(19:25)
Tue 18 - Morning in Takayama for 4h
- Bus Takayama(12:50)-Shirakawa-go(13:40) - 2:30h in Shirakawa-go
- Bus Shirakawa-go(16:40)-Kanazawa(18:05)
Wed 19 - Day in Kanazawa (until 4pm). Train to Hiroshima via Osaka.
Thu 20 - Hiroshima
Fri 21 - Day trip to Myajima. Back to Hiroshima.
Sat 22 - Morning train to Kyoto and 2nd full day in Kyoto. Evening train to Tokyo.
- Or if I miss Mt Fuji on Tue 11, morning train to Odawara + evening train to Tokyo.
Sun 23 - 2nd Full day in Tokyo
Mon 24 - Day trip to Nikko
Tue 25 - 3rd Full day in Tokyo
Wed 26 - Flight at 11:10am from Tokyo Narita

Many thanks
Paolo
by Paolo Romano (guest)  

Re: 2 1/5 weeks - crazy trip? 2012/7/15 10:40
Your current itinerary includes some parts each of which sounds hectic for the first-time Japan travelers.
What is important in choosing places to visit may depend on interests and purposes, but for example, if you discard Nagano you can have more time in Matsumoto, and if you pass Osaka you may have more time in Kyoto.

Arrival in Tokyo 5am (Full day in Tokyo)
Flight at 11:10am from Tokyo Narita

So, you will come into Japan via Haneda Airport [HND] and go out via Narita Airport [NRT], right?

If you don't have airport option of Kansai [KIX] / Centrair [NGO]
and if your dates with football matches cannot be changed
and if you use railroad every time when it is convenient,
then your trips will be worth purchasing a 14-day Japan Rail Pass.

If you are OK to take overnight buses to travel, for example, between Nagoya and Yokohama,
then a 7-day Japan Rail Pass could be enough and the total cost for accommodation and transportation might be lower.

(By the way, although Narita International Airport is actually NOT located in Tokyo metropolis, it is sometimes regarded as a Tokyo airport. Its old official name included "Tokyo" but its current official name does not.)

[JRP and train seat reservation]
Please note that Travel Service Center in HND international terminal is not open until 11:00.
Your plane is scheduled to arrive early at 5:00, so probably you can reach Tokyo Station by 8:00 at latest, where two exchange offices are open from 7:30. Consult one of them about your seat reservation in trains on JR lines.
- http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html
# Route from HND to Tokyo Station (requiring about 30 minutes)
Haneda Airport International Building --[Tokyo Monorail, 470 yen]-- Hamamatsucho : gate --[walk]-- gate : Hamamatsucho : Track 2 --[Yamanote Line's inner loop, 150 yen]-- Track 4: Tokyo.
- http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/stations/e1039.html
: In Tokyo Station, going down a staircase near the end of platform in your train's direction, you will be on the north pathway. Walking as the track number increases, you will find Yaesu North Ticket gate.
: Or, you can use an escalator in the middle of platform to the central pathway, which leads to Yaesu Central Ticket gate.

[Japan Rail Pass duration]
You can set your Kamakura trip and Hakone trip during the 14 calendar days of your JRP and your Tokyo trips and Nikko trip during other calendar days.

[Bus reservation]

You may have to make reservation of some buses, but reservation centers will be closed when you get to Takayama. I recommend making reservation in advance on a phone call, for example from a reception desk of your hotel in Nagoya.
- http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/shirakawago_kanazawa.html

[Hakone trip]
If you stay overnight in Hakone area, a 2-day Hakone Free Pass (3900 yen version) might be a good option.
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html

[Nikko trip]
A World Heritage Pass and an All Nikko Pass sound worth considering.
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_002.html

[Koyasan trip]
A 2-day Koyasan World Heritage Ticket might be a good option.
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_012.html
You can make transfers Shin-Imamiya Station. The leg Shin-Imamiya -- Gokurakubashi -- Koyasan is operated by Nankai and NOT covered by a Japan Rail Pass.
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4904.html (Select "To/From Nara")

[Osaka trip]
In Shin-Imamiya Station of JR-West, trains running for Osaka Station are using Track 3.
You will allow very short time for Osaka, so I recommend checking in advance location of Osaka Station, Umeda Stations of Hanshin and of Hankyu and some department stores.
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4009.html
Note that you cannot take a Shinkansen super-express train from Osaka Station. You can take a non-Shinkansen train from Track 7, 8, 9 or 10 in Osaka Station and reach the next Shin-Osaka Station within a few minutes.
In Shin-Osaka Station you will not have to get out and come in through gates, because you can pass through a Shinkansen transfer gate to the Shinkansen zone. (Search for "Shinkansen" on sign boards.) This transfer may require about 10 to 15 minutes.

[For your information: first snowfall]
# Average of dates when the season's first snowfall was observed during 1981 - 2010
November 21: Nagano;
November 29: Kanazawa;
December 11: Hiroshima;
December 15: Kyoto;
December 20: Nagoya;
December 22: Osaka;
January 03: Tokyo;
January 07: Yokohama.

by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: 2 1/5 weeks - crazy trip? 2012/7/15 18:50
Dear omotenashi,
Many thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it.

I'm flying with BA from London and on the 26th there is no departure from HND, unfortunately.

I will consider going directly to Matsumoto as you suggested.

All other details you posted are really useful and precious for me. I would like to thank you for your suggestions and quality of info provided. I will be using this website a lot in the next few months.
I'm also happy to know that I may see snow in some of the cities I will visit.

Regarding Osaka, I wasn't planning to go there at all, but due to my trip to Koyasan I had to include it. Actually I made a change already, I will sleep in Osaka 1 night because going to Koyasan from Kyoto or Nara seems too complicated. Also I want to make sure I have 1 full day in Nara and arrive in Koyasan early in the following day.

I know I'm going only in December but I will book all hotels in the next few days to make sure I don't pay too much last minute. That's why I'm trying to decide the plan now.

Just in case this can be useful to anyone, I made a few changes to my plan:

Sun 9 - Arrival in Tokyo 5am (Full day in Tokyo)
Mon 10 - Day trip to Kamakura. Back to Tokyo.
Tue 11 - Day trip to Mt Fuji, Lake Ashi or Hakone (if good weather). Back to Tokyo.
Wed 12 - Full day in Nagoya (football)
Thu 13 - Day trip to Nara (6:51am morning train via Kyoto). Sleep in Osaka.
Fri 14 - Morning in Osaka and arrival in Mt Koya at lunch time. Temple Lodging.
Sat 15 - Morning in Koyasan. (consider whether to go to Kyoto for a half-day trip or back to Tokyo earlier)
Sun 16 - Tokyo and Yokohama (football)
Mon 17
- Train Tokyo(6:24am)-Nagano(8:05am) - 3h in Nagano (consider skipping Nagano)
- Train Nagano(11:23)-Matsumoto(12:31) - 4h in Matsumoto
- Bus Matsumoto(17:05)-Takayama(19:25)
Tue 18 - Morning in Takayama for 4h
- Bus Takayama(12:50)-Shirakawa-go(13:40) - 2:30h in Shirakawa-go
- Bus Shirakawa-go(16:40)-Kanazawa(18:05)
Wed 19 - Day in Kanazawa (until 4pm). Train to Hiroshima via Osaka.
Thu 20 - Day trip to Myajima.
Fri 21 - Half-day or full-day in Hiroshima. Sleep in Kyoto.
Sat 22 - Full day in Kyoto. Evening train to Tokyo.
Sun 23 - 2nd Full day in Tokyo (or Mt Fuji if I missed it on the 11th due to bad weather)
Mon 24 - Day trip to Nikko
Tue 25 - 3rd Full day in Tokyo
Wed 26 - Flight at 11:10am from Tokyo Narita

Thanks
Paolo
by Paolo Romano (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: 2 1/5 weeks - crazy trip? 2012/7/15 23:33
I just got back form Japan (also a Brit) and I can tell you that going to Koyasan from Nara is not particularly complicated at all. I managed it comfortably, then continued on to Hiroshima from Koyasan afterwards (also not complicated).

I used Shinimamiya Station as my hub so that I could use my JR Pass for part of the trip, and picked up the Koyasan Heritage Pass there.

You do seem to be ricocheting around a bit and I wonder if you can't make your trip a bit more logical in terms of progression from one place to the next to cut down on time wasted just travelling?
by UK Traveller (guest) rate this post as useful

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