14 Days Itinerary: Kansai

Hi all,

Need some help with filling up the itinerary for my upcoming 14days trip in early Mar. Will flying in & out of Osaka so that would be my main base.

Currently I have the following in plan:
Osaka - 5 days
Kyoto - 3 days
Kobe - 1 day trip
Nara - 1 day trip

So that leaves me with 4 more days. Normally, the suggestion would be to cover Tokyo & Hakone. But unfortunately getting a JR pass is out of the budget.

Have done some read ups on places like Takayama, Wakayama, Nagoya & Gifu but it seems like there's nothing really special there to make the trip worthwhile. Would appreciate any recommendations of nice cities in kansai or around the region for visiting. TIA!

What are your interests?

Koyasan - overnight if possible in a temple.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html
Hikone Castle - half day trip.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7001.html
Iga Ueno - Ninja day trip
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4351.html

Another option is to buy a JR West Kansai Wide Area Pass - 4 days, 7000 yen
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_08.html

And visit places like Okayama, Kinosaki Onsen, Kurashiki, etc.

Or get a Kintetsu Rail Pass and see Nagoya, or Ise, and the Shima Peninsula, etc
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_006.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4310.html

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the suggestions! Might give koyasan a miss since I'm not Buddhist and I've a carnivore travel companion lol. Will look into the others tho :)

Hikone is well worth the day trip. Great original castle and museum. Lovely small town. Otherwise I would add a day to both Kyoto & Nara. You dont want to miss fushimi inari http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html
Also depending on when in March you are going then you may get a chance to spend a day at the Sumo in Osaka which starts on the 10th.

Hikone and Iga sure looks interesting! Btw issit more efficient to plan your itinerary around the transport passes or to plan first then decide the types of passes to be purchased later?

I think you should look at the pass and what it covers and gets you and then decide if there's enough incentive to make it worth it.

You can also get a one or two day Osaka pass (http://www.osaka-info.jp/osp/en/) that gives you free/discounted admission to most museums/ferry rids/ferris wheels in Osaka along with free subway rides. I did it one day with a couple of friends and we had fun enjoying a few museums/castle/ferries/ferris wheels all for a cheap price. It gave us a great chance to see Osaka from different ways.

If you did want to visit Tokyo or somewhere far off and are okay using night buses. You can use the Willer Express Bus Pass. You can purchase and book online and you can get a 3, 4 or 5 day pass. I've used it several times and have never had a problem with them.

You also don't have to be buddhist to enjoy Koya-san and it can be done in a day trip if you wanted.

What sort of things were you hoping to see during your trip in Japan? That might help with suggestions since there's a lot you can see or do as day trips in and around Kansai.

Have done some read ups on places like Takayama, Wakayama, Nagoya & Gifu but it seems like there's nothing really special there to make the trip worthwhile
that's sad. What on earth is going to interest you anywhere else you're going then? Your carnivore companion would adore the Hida beef in Takayama by the way....

Seems a bit backwards having so long in Osaka compared to Kyoto.

Day trips...Himeji castle is worthwhile despite the rennovations.
Koyosan can be done in a day from Osaka, don:t have to stay there over night.

You shouldnt worry about transport passes. Trains are pretty cheap in the kansai area. Plan where you want to go then try and shave off a few hundred yen savings. Dont mess up your trip for the sake of saving some tiny amount of money when getting here in the first place costs so much.

Hello!

Why would you want to spend 5 days in Osaka?
You can see almost everything there in 1 or 2 days!

And for the other question, it really depends on what you're interested in. Any of those places has something to offer!
Wakayama Prefecture has a beautiful beach in Shirahama with a few nice onsen, the famous Kumano Kodo with e.g. Nachi-san, Wakayama Castle and Tama, The Cat Station Master, at JR Kishi Station.

There are so many things to see, but as you don't have so much time, you need to decide what you're interested in! :)

If you like ninja, I would recommend Iga-Ueno!

Normally, the suggestion would be to cover Tokyo & Hakone. But unfortunately getting a JR pass is out of the budget.

Also, if this is your first trip to Japan I would strongly consider taking an overnight bus to Tokyo for a few days. The bus saves you on transportation (usually around 4,000-5,000 yen each way) and also saves you on accommodation for the night.

The other option is to fly between the Kansai Airport and Narita with a low cost carrier like Jetstar Japan for around 4,500-5,500 yen each way depending on dates.
http://www.jetstar.com/

You could skip Hakone but there is plenty to see in Tokyo, especially as you seem to like large cities.

After some considerations, we realised that kyoto has indeed so much more to offer compared to osaka. So we came up with the following schedule instead:

Day 1: KIX - Nara to catch the Omizutori Festival (1 Day JR KANSAI WEST RAIL PASS \2,000)

Days 2-7: Nara - Kyoto (1 way ticket \700, Kyoto Bus Pass \550x6=\3,300)

Days 8-9: Kyoto - Osaka (1 way ticket \550, 2D Osaka Unlimited Pass \2,700)

Day 10: Osaka (\1,000 for ad hoc subway rides)

Day 11: Osaka - Kobe (1 way ticket \890)

Day 12: Kobe - Kinosaki Onsen (activate 4D JR KANSAI WIDE PASS \7,000)

Day 13: Kinosaki Onsen - Wakayama

Day 14: Wakayama - Shirahama

Day 15: Shirahama - KIX Airport

Concerns:
1) On day 1 is it wiser to spend the night in Kyoto and make Nara a day trip after checking into the Kyoto hostel to fully maximise the JR West Pass?

2) I know that Kinosaki is closer to Kyoto than Kobe and it is a detour but Arimaonsen isn't covered by the JR Kansai Wide Pass so we decided to replace it with Kinosaki instead. Is there a better way to shuffle the orders around to better utilize the passes?

3) Since Wakayama/Shirahama & Okayama/Kurashiki are both covered by the JR West Wide Pass, which is more recommended and has more things to offer?

4) Another option to travel from Kansai airport to Nara on day 1 is to use the 'Nankai & Kinetsu Nara Access Ticket' for \1,200. Is this a better option than the Haruka on JR Kansai West Rail Pass?
ref website: http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/otoku-access/index.html

When in March 2013 will you make this journey? When is your plane scheduled to arrive?

Wakayama - Shirahama

Which sites in Wakayama Prefecture will you visit in addition to Shirahama? Kumano?

zoomingjapan: Tama, The Cat Station Master, at JR Kishi Station. ]

This station is of Wakayama Electric Railway, not JR-West or JR-Central.
A cat named Nitama may serve instead of Tama on some days.
- http://www.wakayama-dentetsu.co.jp/images/wakayama_eng.pdf

Day 1: KIX - Nara to catch the Omizutori Festival (1 Day JR KANSAI WEST RAIL PASS \2,000)
On day 1 is it wiser to spend the night in Kyoto?
to use the 'Nankai & Kinetsu Nara Acces Ticket' for \1,200. Is this a better option than the Haruka on JR Kansai West Rail Pass?
Day 12: (activate 4D JR KANSAI WIDE PASS \7,000)

If "Omizutori Festival" here refers to Shuni-e main training of Todaiji monks, that is held from 1 through 14 March and you may have a chance to see Otaimastu event in any of the 14 nights.
Omizutori event itself takes place late at the 12th night. (Todaiji uses this word for this event only.)
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4110.html

With a ticket in an ICOCA & HARUKA package, you can get from/to Kansai-airport to/from Tennoji, Shin-Osaka or Kyoto on a reserved seat (if there is vacancy) of a Ltd. Express Haruka at 1000 yen. A fare for Tennoji -- Nara is 450 yen. So, you can travel to Nara on Day 1 at 1450 yen.

A roundtrip ICOCA & HARUKA package includes two tickets for traveling from and to KIX, which are valid for 14 consecutive days. A one-way package includes one ticket for traveling from KIX, which is valid on that day.
Each of these tickets is a one-way ticket which can be used until the station at which you will exit the valid zone / from which you will travel outside it.

A JR-West Kansai Area Pass / a JR-West Kansai WIDE Area Pass / a Nankai & Kintetsu Nara Access Ticket does not cover a Ltd. Express charge when you reserve a seat.

I guess that for traveling to and from Kinosaki you will not need seat reservation, but about airport accesses I suppose it will be better to have an option of reserving your seats.

It may depend on when you can be free to travel (after immigration procedures), but if you can visit Todaiji later during the 14-day Shuni-e, you might hope to get a roundtrip ICOCA & HARUKA package, use its outward ticket until Sannomiya, tour Kobe City, Kinosaki and Wakayama Prefecture earlier and use its KIX-bound one-way ticket on Day 14 in traveling back to KIX.

Is there a better way to shuffle the orders around to better utilize the passes?

You can visit Arima and Kinosaki hot-spring resorts in this order if you pay about 1400 yen as fares for the Arima trip. You will not need to travel back to Osaka or Kyoto because you can take a Ltd. Express from Sanda.
( Sannomiya -- Tanigami -- Arimaguchi -- Arima Onsen )
( Arima Onsen -- Arimaguchi -- Sanda )
( Sanda -- Kinosakionsen: with a Kansai WIDE area Pass, on a Ltd. Express Konotori without seat reservation )
It takes about 2 and half to 3 hours to get from Arima Onsen Station to Kinosakionsen Station.

In Kobe City, tourist spots are located here and there. Kobe City Loop buses (operated by a non-JR private company) run around many tourist spots, but their routes are sometimes tricky. I recommend you would consult Kobe City Information Center (near Sannomiya Station of JR-West, which is one of the five stations in Sannomiya area) about your Kobe trip.
- http://www.feel-kobe.jp/_en/useful/information_guide/

Firstly i wanna thank you so much for the detailed reply!

When in March 2013 will you make this journey? When is your plane scheduled to arrive?

We'll be arriving on the 12th Mar. Which is the day when the torches will burn for 45mins for the Omitzutori Festival in Todaiji. That's also why we wanted to cover Nara on Day 1.

Which sites in Wakayama Prefecture will you visit in addition to Shirahama? Kumano?

I do not think that we will be covering Kumono as time might not permit. So it might just be Wakayama city for the castle & tuna cutting show.

With a ticket in an ICOCA & HARUKA package, you can get from/to Kansai-airport to/from Tennoji, Shin-Osaka or Kyoto on a reserved seat (if there is vacancy) of a Ltd. Express Haruka at 1000 yen. A fare for Tennoji -- Nara is 450 yen. So, you can travel to Nara on Day 1 at 1450 yen.

Thanks for suggesting this option. Seems a better pick compared to the JR West Kansai Pass. However I don't think that we will be getting the round pass as we're arriving on the 12th and leaving on the 26th, which is one day outside the 14 days period.

( Sannomiya -- Tanigami -- Arimaguchi -- Arima Onsen )
( Arima Onsen -- Arimaguchi -- Sanda )
( Sanda -- Kinosakionsen: with a Kansai WIDE area Pass, on a Ltd. Express Konotori without seat reservation )

Thanks for pointing this out! We have now revised to include ArimaOnsen in place of Shirahama as the latter seems to require more travelling.

So now its something like this:
Day 1: KIX -- Nara
Day 2: Nara -- Kyoto
Days 3-7: Kyoto
Day 8: Kyoto -- Osaka
Days 9-10: Osaka
Day 11: Osaka -- Kobe
Day 12: Kobe -- ArimaOnsen
Day 13: ArimaOnsen -- KinosakiOnsen
Day 14: KinosakiOnsen -- Wakayama
Day 15: Wakayama -- KIX

Does it seem sound?

If you tour Kobe quickly, you can allot your time for Shirahama, I suppose.

Day 11: Shin-Osaka -- Wakayama / Shirahama;
Day 12: Shirahama / Wakayama -- Sannomiya -- Arima Onsen;
Day 13: Arima Onsen (-- Sanda --) Kinosakionsen;
Day 14: Kinosakionsen -- Kyoto / Shin-Osaka;
Day 15: Kyoto / Shin-Osaka -- Kansai-airport.

JR-West Ltd. Express trains connecting Osaka City and KIX / Wakayama City / Shirahama Town use Shin-Osaka and Tennoji Stations.
If you stay in an area along subway Midosuji Line,
you can easily make a transfer between subway and JR-West in Shin-Osaka or Tennoji.
Namba, Shinsaibashi and Umeda areas are along this line.
Dotonbori, which is known for its food culture,
is surrounded by Midosuji, Sennichimae, Sakaisuji and Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Lines.
- http://www.kotsu.city.osaka.lg.jp/foreign/english/subway/image/map.pdf

It's alright I think we'll give Shirahama at miss as we only intended to cover 2 onsen places during the trip. But I was rather perplexed by the fact that we have to access Amanohashidate via Fukuchiyama. I've always thought that it is near Kyoto and apparently I was wrong.

It seems rather difficult to slot it into our itinerary given that we will only activate the JR Kansai West Wide Pass towards the end of the trip.

Btw it shouldn't matter whether or not the pass is activated on day 11 or day 12 in my case right?