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JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/28 19:50
Hi There,

I will be going to Japan for a 7 days trip on the 1st November 2018. This is my 3rd visit and I will be based in Sumida Tokyo (unfortunately I have paid for the hotels in advanced changing would incur costs). I don't really have any ideas this time around and wonder if anyone would help out with my itinerary. Roughly it would be like this:-

Day 1- Arrive in NRT around 8pm.
Day 2 - Thinking of doing Yokohama for the entire day inclusive of Ramen Museum. any other suggestions? I've been here before and this is my fave city of all Japan.
Day 3- Thinking to catch an early train to Akita and spend the whole day there and then come back to Sumida by 11.30pm.
Day 4 - Thinking of doing Hakone the whole day, what do you think? and do Mount Takao
Day 5 - I'd like to go to Aomori, probably will catch an early train and come back by night fall.
Day 6 - I was thinking of doing Sendai/ Yamadera.
Day 7 - Flying home in the evening. Will do Roppongi , Ginza and maybe some shibuya.

Any suggestions would be amazing
by Aishteru85  

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 12:30
Hi!

Many other posters would say I am a fast traveler, but I am unsure how you are going to get to Mt. Takao and Hakone on the same day. November is pretty deeply into Fall, so you're not going to have as long hours as you would have had in June or July. I mean do you really want to get up and get moving early after getting back late the night before?

I personally think your trip sounds exhausting and while you mention places like Akita or Aomori, you've not mentioned what you might want to do there other than take advantage of the fact you have a JR East Pass.

If this was my trip, I would probably not have gotten a JR East Pass. You only have 5 full days in Japan and part of the 6th when you fly out. I would still consider turning in my pass for a refund because even losing the 10% fee is better than spending money I don't need to spend to go places I am lackluster about visiting. I might consider getting a Tokyo Wide Pass but probably wouldn't even do that. I've been to Japan many times, but it's easy enough to keep yourself entertained in the Kanto region without a rail pass when you only have 5 full days.

Good luck!
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 12:59
Hi RKGold,

Thank you for your response. I realized the foolishness of purchasing the JR East Pass after purchasing it. But alas, I've decided to march on with the plan. Since I've done a bit more research. I was actually interested to go to Akita Prefecture to visit Kakunodate, and go to Aomori for Lake Towada and Oirase Stream for Autumn foliage. But I'm actually considering not going to Aomori but instead leave for Miyagi Prefecture to visit Naruko Gorge.

So my new itinerary is as follows:-
Day 1- Arrive in NRT around 8pm.
Day 2 - Thinking of doing Yokohama for the entire day inclusive of Ramen Museum. any other suggestions? I've been here before and this is my fave city of all Japan.
Day 3- Thinking to catch an early train to Akita- Kakunodate and spend the whole day there and then come back to Sumida by 11.30pm.
Day 4 - Thinking of doing Mount Takao and then cruise around Ginza, Roppongi in the evening. After reading blogs, I see that it takes about a total of 3 hours up and down Mt Takao, so I think this itinerary is a bit free and easy.
Day 5 - I'd like to go to Aomori- Lake Towada, probably will catch an early train and come back by night fall. /Hakone full day
Day 6 - I was thinking of doing Yamadera/Naruko Gorge.
Day 7 - Flying home in the evening. Will do Akihabara and Shinjuku.

I've always been an early riser, I usually start my day as early as 6.30 am (if I'm catching an early shinkansen I usually rise earlier, and usually catch the 6ish am shinkansen), and usually turn in by 11.30pm. This has been my pace whenever I go to Japan. I usually maximize sleeping time on the shinkansen! I'd be glad if you could give a little feedback on this new itinerary.
by Aishteru85 rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 13:31
Naruko Gorge and Yamadera from Tokyo on the same day perhaps too ambitious maybe not quite possible considering low frequency of local trains. Double check on Hyperdia.com
by CDY (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 13:33
Hi CDY,

Thanks, I'm not thinking of doing them on the same day, I was not sure whether to do Yamadera/Naruko Gorge. Still undecided at the moment.

Thanks for your feedback!
by Aishteru85 rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 14:57

You might want to consider doing the Oirase, Kakunodate, Akita as well as Naruko in the first few days of your trip, and stay either in Morioka or Sendai rather than doing a long trip from Tokyo for each trip.
by . (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 15:13
Hi,

I was thinking that but I have fully paid the accommodation and canceling this late and booking new room in new town is going to incur greater costs. Thanks for the suggestion though.
by Aishteru85 rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 15:57
I wonder why you post a question. You seem to realize that your itinerary makes no sense. I understand that you donft want to loose the money of the accommodation but giving back the jr pass is a relatively small cost and your return would be an actually enjoyable vacation.
Also you donft seem to take any of the advice. Eg PP suggested to take for 1 night an additional hotel in Tohoku. Somewhere between Kakunodate and Akita. Yes, this is additional cost, but just one night and again would make your trip just a little bit more reasonable.

There is no need to take advice from random people (or even non random people) but if you ask for it you should at least consider the advice.
If you simply came here to get our g blessing g for this itinerary thatfs not likely to happen.

Try to enjoy your trip to Japan!
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 17:51
Hi LikeBike,

Initially I realized it was too short of a time with the JR Pass but after doing more research. I actually DO want to visit Tohoku, that is why I do not want to return the pass and I've done Tokyo and Kanto area a lot in the past and do not want to be circling the same place, so, I do want to move away from the Metropolitan area and explore the Tohoku Region. I'm here looking for suggestions of places to visit in the Tohoku Region, taking into account that I am based in Sumida Tokyo (which has been stated in the first post). And Yes I am not willing to change the place of accommodation, but I'm looking for other suggestions within the Tohoku Region that is more doable (less travel time) if my itinerary "does not make any sense" as you put it.

In conclusion, I'm seeking for suggestions within the Tohoku Region that is more doable taking into account that I AM BASED in Sumida

Not changing the JR Pass and the accommodation is after all my prerogative.







by Aishteru85 rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 19:53
You don't have to cancel your Tokyo hotel, but you can add a hotel in Tohoku. Just take an overnight bag.
by John B digs Japan rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/29 21:51
You can not do Oirase and Hakone in one day that is impossible. Even if you started in Tohoku, you can not do Oirase and Hakone in one day. Since you have the pass, do Oirase as it is covered and Hakone must be paid for out of pocket from Odawara onwards. And if you you're spending 3000-4000 on travel within Hakone, you might as well pay for a second hotel in Tohoku for 1 night. A lot of cities up there have cheap business hotels for 4000-5000 yen or less. You will need to spend some time looking at buses from either Hachinohoe or Aomori to figure out which is better. Aomori has more buses than Shin-Aomori. Hachinohoe has fewer buses but is several stops before Shin-Aomori. You need to do this now, as buses from any of these destinations are limited and if you miss the last bus, you will be paying a small fortune to get anywhere by cab.

Again, what do you actually want to do in Aomori or Akita. Kakunodate is in Akita prefecture, but Akita is a separate city. Towadako is on the border of Aomori prefecture and Akita prefecture, but is not Aomori.

A lot of these places, everything is closed up and done by 17:00. They're very much day time only destinations unless you are staying at a ryokan there. So on the bright side, you can take a ~17:50 back to Tokyo from Kakunodate and be there at 21:04. Places like Towadako really close down since there are just limited facilities as is. Look at bus times!



by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/30 03:13
I didn't bother to read all the responses as I am short on time, and it looks to me to be mainly about people defending their positions.

For what it's worth, I understand that to many people, it's simply insane to take day trips involving a large number of hours on trains, in many cases with much more time spent on trains than at the destination itself. I will just say that to me, it isn't insane at all. My limit is roughly 3 to 3.5 hours of train time each way (for a total of 7 hours), but I like to get back to my hotel fairly early in the evening and go to sleep by 9 or so. If I were younger and didn't mind staying up until midnight, I might be happy to expand the train riding to 4 hours each direction. If I had a hotel in Tokyo and a JR Tohoku Pass, I would have no problem getting several times the face value out of the pass, and I am sure I would have a marvelous time.

So I honestly don't see any need for the OP to return his rail pass or pay for double accommodations. It's a matter of picking suitable day trips, is all. Obviously, you have to plan things out very carefully including any local transportation at your desination, opening and closing times of venues, time of the sunset, etc. But why should he return the pass? It sounds like something I might buy myself for a week of travel based in Tokyo, and not as a mistake. I would just plan everything out before buying the thing (I might go for a different pass instead--but I might not).

I am actually looking at day trips from Tokyo on my next trip. One of them will probably be to Kyoto with a brief stop in Nagoya (put that in your pipe and smoke it), but that isn't an option with the JR Tohoku pass. Another one I'm looking at is a day trip to Aquamarine Fukushima, possibly visiting some other sites in that immediate area. (That would actually be a very easy one.) Also, I recommend Yamadera as a day trip from Tokyo, and this could be combined with a visit to Ichinobo at Sakunami Onsen and/or possibly a visit to the Nikka distillery. The timing of all that has to be carefully planned (Ichinobo has a limited window for day use, and it looks like they are closed once a week or something). I once did a loop from Tokyo to Yamagata and then Sendai and back, and it was fairly enjoyable. Sendai has some excellent restaurants. (I have gone up there from Tokyo just to have lunch at my favorite. In fact, I've done that a couple of times.) Matsushima is a nice day trip from Tokyo, although I can't say it is my favorite. I've done Morioka as a day trip but that was for a festival. (Otherwise I can't say Morioka is the most exciting destination. Nice town, but... )

I also think Kakunodate would be a good day trip from Tokyo. (I have only done it as a day trip from Sendai but I would seriously consider doing it from Tokyo. ) Personally I would not combine it with Akita; that does sort of seem like too much. Aomori I would do but probably stay in one place and pick some interesting sights for about 4-5 hours of sightseeing (there is a historical museum/site I was looking at once but I've forgotten the details and don't have time to look them up).

It sounds like the OP is trying to balance some closer day trips with longer-distance ones, and that sounds like a good idea to me. On my last trip, I had about a week where I took rather long day trips every day for about a week and I have to admit that I got kind of tired (but not tired of riding trains). I wouldn't have changed a thing, though. It was just fabulous. I love having a home base to return to every night.

Another suggestion is to look into some of the neat limited express trains and simply enjoy them for the recreational train riding experience. Look at JR's page on "Joyful" trains and see if any of them might be options (I don't have time to see if they are within the zone covered by the Tohoku pass). It is not an exhaustive list of LEX trains, though. https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/joyful/index.html?src=gnavi

So the bottom line is that everyone is different, and there are some people for whom long day trips are not a bad idea. I don't think it's necessary to jump all over someone who is considering that, and I don't blame the guy for getting a little defensive. If he was proposing an itinerary where he changed hotels every night, people would jump all over him for that...
by Kim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/30 04:01
I agree with @Kim; everyone is different, some don't like to travel much on trains and be at one/two location at a time, others like to travel non-stop. I am a crazy fast traveller, many would think I am insane when organizing my itineraries (I made a day trip to Pompeii from Rome once, many people thought I was crazy but I thought the journey was amazing, sure not many hours to explore but it was enough to experience it).

I think if you bought the JR East Pass then use it to the maximum, don't return it. I bought myself a JR West Pass (Sanyo Sanin) and I'm going on a killing spree on trains, doing many day trips while in Japan. And believe me, the pass cost me 150€ (170 US$), and through research on Hyperdia, without the pass I would pay 400€ (455 US$)!!! Look at how much of a bargain that it!!! So if you have the pass already, use it a lot, and if you are planning on doing day trips everyday from Tokyo even better.

Now, just an advice, to enjoy your days and not to do impossible things, just organize everything well, with possible day trips from Tokyo. Pick a map, look for distance travels, search for transportation (train/buses), timetables, museum/restaurants/cafes/temples/etc opening and closing times and the sunset times. Tokyo is a city that never sleeps, so I would recommend to wake up with the sunrise, go to your day trip and return in the sunset, and enjoy Tokyo at night/dinner/entertainment. I believe that it will be quite fulfilling trip.

Enjoy!!!
by catiasmteixeira rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/30 16:22
Based in the hotel in Sumida, it is not a bad idea to go around Japan.
Especially if you have JR PASS, it is perfect for full use.

On the fifth day, if you are lost in Aomori and Hakone, i recommend Aomori.
(Because you'll get your money's worth with JR PASS)
Autumn colors of Oirase stream will be peak colors in Nov.3rd-5th.

On the sixth day, you'd better focus on one of Yamadera .
My recommendation is to visit the distillery of Nikka Whiskey after going to Yamadera.
https://www.tripadvisor.jp/Attraction_Review-g298249-d1424698-Reviews-...

Have a wonderful trip!
by LinaLisa rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/30 16:43
Hi all,

Thank you so much for the feedback. Yes I am someone who doesn't mind riding a train each way 4 hours or more for traveling as I usually start very early and retire around 11 ish pm. To me that would be sufficient time to reach my desired destination around 10 am-ish and start heading back by 6-7pm. I usually spend 2-3 hours max at one destination/site, some even shorter (unless I'm truly smitten by it e.g Ghibli Museum) so the scheduling usually works well for me. I am also trying to balance out short distance travel with long distance one on alternate days so that it doesnt get too tiring.

For Day 5 and 6 the "/" is actually either one, not both at the same time. My bad for not writing clearly. Gomene! And I'm choosing either Kakunodate or Akita not both at the same time but have decided to do Kakunodate for the whole day, And I've also decided to choose Lake Towada and Oirase Stream on day 5 and Yamadera on Day 6 together with the distillery on day 6.

Thank you for everyone's recommendations. Very very helpful! Couldn't have planned well without your helpful suggestions. I hope to have a great trip! Thank you everyone!
by Aishteru85 rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/30 18:15
The itn is too tough even for young people as too much hrs on transportation. And at this time most if not all will be dark at around 4pm some even earlier at 3pm like recently I went to Nikko after 3pm all dark hard to see/photo. Also the bus jam can be up to 2 hours or more ... U need a hotel in Sendai or higher north ...
by EP (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) 6 Day Itinerary 2018/10/30 18:29
Recently (18Oct-25Oct) I had been to Aomori -Nakano Momijiyama, Naruko George, Nikko, Yamadera and Karuizawa. The Nikko and Karuizawa was the best. Naruko still need 1 week whereby your time is right while Yamadera is too early may be mid-Nov. all these refer to Autumn color. I would suggest Karuizawa and Nikko as rather easy access from Tokyo with Day trip. Also start early as most of time by 2-3pm no good photo can be taken.
by PTS (guest) rate this post as useful

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