Hiroshima and Tokyo in 4-5 days

Hello!

I`m planning to fly to Japan in May. I have never been there before and I`d like to know if my itinerary is realistic.

Day 1
Landing at Hiroshima airport. I will arrive there between 8-9 pm. My hotel will be near Hiroshima train station. What is the best way to go from the airport to the hotel?

Day 2 (Friday)
I`m planning to visit the atomic dome and the peace park/museum by foot. After that I would like to go to Itsukushima Shrine. What is the best way to go there and back again to the Hiroshima train station/hotel (in the evening because I`d like to see it in sundown)?

Day 3 (Saturday)
Early in the morning (maybe 7 am) I will take the Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Tokyo. I will arrive in Tokyo at around 12 am. Is there anything to bear in mind?

After that I will check into my hotel near Shimbashi station. I plan that I will be there at around 2 pm so I can leave it again for seightseeing at around 3 pm.
First I would like to see the imperial palace by foot. After that I will go to Shibuya crosswalk and after that maybe to a night dance club (no gogo-stuff!).

Day 4 (Sunday)
In the morning (maybe 9 am) I would like to go to Enoshima and stay there for maybe 2-3 hours. At around 2 pm I would go back to Tokyo and head for the Tokyo Tower. In the evening I want to go to the Skytree and see the sundown.

Day 5
Just leaving the hotel and heading for Haneda. ;-)

I would be happy about some comments or tips concerning my plan. Did I maybe forget some sightseings that I should definitely also visit? Maybe the Tokyo water bus?


P.S.: Sorry for my bad English

There is a bus that takes you to the Shinkansen Exit of Hiroshima Station
http://www.hij.airport.jp/timetable/access/timetable.pl?mode=en

There is tram line 2 of Hiroden that takes you from the Atomic Bomb Dome station to the end of the line right next to Miyajima ferry, but it takes some time to get there. Otherwise a return to Hiroshima Station and the local train to JR Miyajimaguchi Station would be necessary.

Have you considered Kyoto/Osaka instead of Tokyo? There's nothing you are really planning to visit in Tokyo that you couldn't experience in a similar way in Kyoto/Osaka. Your planned itinerary is not unreasonable, it is just that your really only have 3 days of sightseeing and you are burning nearly a whole day (7am - 2pm) just getting from Hiroshima to Tokyo. If you were going instead to Osaka, you could be on the ground sightseeing by 8:30 am instead of 2pm, giving you the whole day instead of just an afternoon.


Enoshima is nice, but since you plan to visit Miyajima Island, that's already much more impressive and a similar experience.
Kyoto and Osaka both have towers. Osaka has many skyscraper viewing decks as well
Himeji (or even Osaka castle) are more impressive than the Imperial palace.

I would agree that you seem to see only a few glimpses in each place, but as you have only limited time this is kind of unavoidable.

A few comments in addition to PPs:
1) checkin in hotels in Japan is strictly 15:00. You can go to your hotel in Shinbashi at 14:00 but you will be leaving it at 14:05, without your suitcase.
2) why Tokyo Tower and Skytree? Yes, view from both will be somewhat different but not so dramatically different to warrant two visits.
3) I would use the time you planned for Tokyo tower for a rapid visit to Kamakura. (Close to Enoshima)
4) For Skytree make sure to reserve tickets upfront. They can sell out quickly.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Thank you so far!

No, I definitely want to go to Tokyo because it`s bigger. ;-) And I really wanna ride Shinkansen and pass mount Fuji on high speed.

How much time would I need from Hiroshima (station) to Itsukushima Shrine and back including 1 hour stay there?

Actually I want to go to Enoshima only because I want to see the Pacific. And near Hiroshima there are rather some bays and not the "real open" Pacific (open sea side)?

Seeing only some glimpses is ok for me.

Only view from the Skytree. Tokyo Tower just from the ground.

Train takes about an hour in one direction and ferry is about 15 minutes in one direction. If you catch all connections perfectly, then your round trip travel time would be about 3 hours.

Mount Fuji is not that well visible from the Shinkansen and chances are you will miss it.. because you will be going fast. Plus you need to be lucky having a seat near the window on the right (actually left) side. I've travelled this part 7 times and missed Fuji all but the last time and it was not a good view.

The view from Osaka's Abeno Harukas building is better than the Tokyo Sky Tree.

I've been to night clubs in Tokyo (Feria, Roppongi) and Osaka (Pure). I've considered both to be not essential because it feels like you're in any other club not in Japan. Lots of foreigners. Maybe I missed the best spots.

Nevertheless Tokyo is awesome if you like huge, flashy and weird.

Hiroshima Airport to Hiroshima Station is around 40 minutes by bus - best way. Getting to/from A-Dome is by tram. Return to Hiroshima Station to get to Miyajima.
Hiroshima to Miyajima is around an hour for the train/walk/ferry combined. Doing Peace Park/Museum in the morning allows much more than just an hour in the afternoon on the island.

Hiroshima to Tokyo is only four hours by Nozomi service so leaving around 7 am you will be able to drop your cases at your hotel before noon and go sightseeing. Imperial Palace doesn't have much to see (East Gardens are ok but there are better ones.) Shibuya crossing takes ten minutes. You have a 1/2 day you can do more than that. You could do Tokyo Tower (close-ish to Shimbashi) and go to Asakusa where you can see Skytree when visiting Sensoji Temple.
Getting around Tokyo use the trains (both JR and subway are the main providers in the central city).

Enoshima is nice, but since you plan to visit Miyajima Island, that's already much more impressive and a similar experience.
I disagree - quite different experiences and both are worth visiting. Enoshima also have Fuji views on a nice day. Combine with Kamakura (because you skipped Nara). The Great Buddha and Hase Dera temple are worth visiting.

Mount Fuji is not that well visible from the Shinkansen and chances are you will miss it.. because you will be going fast.
While the mountain is often covered in cloud, the train is not so fast you couldn't see Fuji. You also do not need to be sitting on the left hand side of the train (seats D&E) - if it is visible/clear, you can see it from the other side too. And, you can go the the space between cars to look at he appropriate time.

If weather is on your side then you get clear view of Mount Fuji for 2-3 minutes. Otherwise you don't even know you have passed it.

Your schedule is horrible. Going to Japan for the first time and only staying 3 days? Anyway, whatever, even if you want to do that, you don't want to spend the travel time from Hiroshima to Tokyo. You completely underestimate how much time it takes.

Either go to Tokyo for 3 days, to Hiroshima/Okayama for 3 days, or to Kyoto/Osaka for 3 days. It's ridiculous to travel 500km's on a 3 day holiday.

Thank you for your tips and comments yet and a happy new year!

I changed my plans a little bit because the flight directly to Hiroshima would be too expensive. Btw. some background information:
-I plan to buy the JR Pass now so I can travel JR trains for free (as far as I understood?).
-I don`t tavel to Japan just because of Japan. I`m having holiday in south east asia and so I plan to make a little stop in Japan on my trip back to Europe.
-I will have a hotel room next to Tokyo train station from Thursday to Monday.

Day 1 (Thursday)
Landing at Narita airport. I will arrive there around 1 pm. Then I will go to my hotel by train. After hotel check in I will leave it around 4 pm and go for around one hour to the imperial palace and after that to the Skytree to see the sundown.

Day 2 (Friday)
Very early in the morning I will take the first Shinkansen to Hiroshima.
Here I`m planning to visit the atomic dome and the peace park/museum by foot. After that I would like to go to Itsukushima Shrine to see the sundown.
After that I will have a one night hotel room in Hiroshima because I think the Shinkansen doesn`t drive late in the evening back to Tokyo? Btw. it`s ok for me sitting 5 hours in the train so I can see lots of Japan surroundings. Btw. I saw youtube videos when people passed the Fuji with Shinkansen and it was a fine view in my opinion.

Day 3 (Saturday)
Maybe do a boat tour in the harbour and Sensoji Temple and Kamakura and Tokyo Tower. In the evening I will go to Shibuya crosswalk and do some shopping.

Day 4 (Sunday)
Enoshima and the government district.

Day 5
Just leaving the hotel early in the morning and heading for Haneda.

What do you think?

I guess we all think that your itinerary just got worse as you now have Tokyo-Hiroshima twice.

There is also a day with Kamakura and next day in Enoshima. This just doesn�ft make any sense. Yes, JR trains will be free for you, but it will still take TIME!

My advise is to plan it out in detail when you need to take which train, bus, ferry etc in order to be at what time at the destination and how much time you�fll have at each destination. Right now your ratio of travel vs destination time is bad.

Also still no checkin to hotels before 15:00!

And look up hour for sunset in Tokyo in May. In Japan sunset is generally early. I haven�ft looked it up, but the day you arrive it seemed slightly unlikely to me that you�fll be able to complete your trip in schedule for sunset as currently planned.

No one on this page is going to stop you from doing this crazy trip. But don�ft hope for my blessing ;-)

Anyway, enjoy your trip to Japan!

You can check in to your hotel at any time, but you won't be allowed in your room until after 3pm. If I arrive to a city in the early morning, I go straight to the hotel, check-in and pay, and leave my luggage there until I return in the evening. I will take my day bag and camera with me and have the hotel hold my luggage in the lobby until my return. People say you cannot check in until 3pm, but you can! You just cannot have access to the room until that time....

If Hiroshima is that important to you, it isn�ft anybody�fs business to treat you like you are stupid or crazy. It is logistically possible. The rail pass will not cover the fastest shinkansen (Nozomi) but it will make the cost of the round trip a relative bargain conpared to buying individual train tickets. Returning to Tokyo will take up a complete morning, so it is unlikely you can realistically do anything in Tokyo if you intend to stop in Kamakura on the way back (don�ft go to Tokyo and then backtrack to Kamakura). Look at the train times on Hyperdia and you can figure out the details, but be sure to allow enough padding before and between trains so you don�ft miss a connection. When you are new to the train system there, it takes a little extra time to find the right platform, etc.

A better idea if Hiroshima is absolutely essential might be flying there. It could cost less than a rail pass, and possibly save you some time.

In the U.S an equivalent trip might be trying to see San Francisco and the Grand Canyon in three full travel days plus a partial day on either end. Just because the two places are in the same country and you have invested the money to get to the country doesn�ft mean it will make for a comfortable trip. But theoretically you could do it...

Regarding the view of Mt. Fuji from the shinkansen, the problem is that the mountain is often (at some times of year, usually) obscured by clouds. If the visibility is good, yes, you can get a good view for a few minutes (be sure you are looking in the right direction at the right time). But if you are counting on it, there is a very good chance you will be disappointed.

If you are okay mainly riding trains plus doing a little sightseeing, then visiting Hiroshima on a short trip from Tokyo is feasible. People on this forum tend to treat train travel as a necessary evil, much like I see air travel (ugh!), to be minimized as much as possible. I myself am planning to take one more likely two day trips to Kyoto from Tokyo during a five-day stay there on my next trip to Japan, and I know exactly what I am doing. (It isn�ft for everyone, but neither is it for anyone to get nasty just because it doen�ft fit their view of what travel is supposed to look like.)

By the way, if you depart from Shin-Yokohama, there is an earlier first shinkansen that you can use with a JR Pass. (I am planning to use it to get to Kyoto.) But you would want to stay in Yokohama or possibly Kawasaki the night before, and would have to get up very early. Still, it would buy you a little extra time at your destination. You can sleep on the train...

@OP, day 2 is VERY full but barely doable with a late finish. With 4.5 to 5 hours to Hiroshima you can get there around noon. From Hiroshima station, park and museum return to the train station a visit could be three hours. Then your "quick trip" to Miyajima another 3-4 hours. Sightseeing at pace might be a tick-the-box exercise, but these are places worth visiting longer (although I know some people do it this quickly, and I've had a guest that had had enough of Miyajima after just 40 minutes.

Day 3 - how did you add Kamakura into that - looks like an obvious mistake.

Yes, busy, but not unreasonable. Plus 5 hours on a shinkansen is not too long for a day, people do longer all the time.

(Not sure where @LikeBike read you have Hiroshima twice - currently just once.)

You can check in to your hotel at any time, but you won't be allowed in your room until after 3pm.
That is not true - some hotels you can register early, others refuse. I encountered an unhelpful hotel in Kanawaza that refused check-in/registration at 2:55 p.m. I stood in front of the desk until 3 p.m. with a queue growing behind me. At 15:00 the previously irritating member of staff was "all smiles" as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Many other hotels I use refuse early registration check-in procedures, but many do or simply provide luggage/cloak service.

I agree with Kim-you do you-but be aware of the pros and cons.

Staying in a hotel room next to Tokyo Station doesn't guarantee you a quick or convenient path to any particular train line that goes through Tokyo Station. It is enormous, complicated and can be insanely busy. If you're intent on going to Hiroshima first thing you might be better off staying at a hotel at either Shinagawa or Shin Yokohama and taking the train from there-way smaller, easier to navigate stations.

For tickets to Hiroshima, you can choose to buy as you go; or to get an offer through Japanican, or to get a JR Pass.

For trains to Hiroshima, the Nozomi is faster and way more frequent, and you won't have to change trains, so it will definitely save you some time. You can't use the Nozomi with a JR pass.

Buying tickets as you go is fine, but the most expensive option.

Japanican is good because you get a discount on the ticket for the Nozomi and a package including a hotel room.

JR pass is good (if you don't care about the benefits of the Nozomi for the Hiroshima trip) because you can use it on all trains for your entire trip. My husband always likes to get a JR pass because then you can always just take the next train, no worries.

If you want to go to Kamakura and Enoshima you can do that in one long-ish day, perhaps don't choose a weekend if you have a choice. There's probably a pass with Odayku that might suit.

It might be that people don't put the videos of all the times they didn't see Mt Fuji from the shinkansen on YouTube? I've seen it from the train twice-once between Yokohama and Tokyo, and once between Matsumoto and Tokyo. Never from the shinkansen despite having done that trip many times.

Enjoy your holiday!

Hi!

I've seen Mt. Fuji *MANY* times from the shinkansen and from Tokyo as well. I've even seen Mt. Fuji from the shinkansen in late June which is generally considered a low probability time to see it. I saw Mt. Fuji from the Tokyo Disney monorail on June 30 in the middle of the day. I was not expecting to see it then, but there you go. I didn't take pictures of Mt. Fuji during this past trip because I have plenty of pictures already. (Though honestly my favorite view of Mt. Fuji I ever got was when I flew out of Centrair/Nagoya Airport.)

I personally love Tokyo Station. I don't find it hard to navigate at all and this past Summer they even had an obviously foreign person working there to give out information. I guess getting to the Keiyo line is a little complicated (or at least long) but you're not taking the Keiyo line and getting from outside Tokyo Station to the shinkansen lines is really pretty easy. It's particularly easy if you stay on the Yaesu side, as that is the same side as the shinkansen.

Presumably, you know how to pack light and if not I would highly recommend leaving your large suitcases in the left luggage storage area of Tokyo Station since that will give you a lot more freedom to move around, since your trip is a lot easier to do without a big suitcase getting in your way.

The earliest Hikari you can take (and yes I know train times will change before May but they usually don't vary that much) will leave Tokyo Station about 7:03. At Shin-Kobe you would transfer to a Sakura which will leave at 10:23 and get you to Hiroshima at 11:34. There is an earlier shinkansen at 6:26 but based on Hypedia it won't get you to Hiroshima any earlier. If you don't get a rail pass and pay out of pocket you can take a Nozomi at 6:00 and get to Hiroshima by 9:49. It will also help you considerably when coming back.

Are you going to Enoshima and Kamakura to see the Pacific still or because you want to go there specifically? If you are still just looking to see the Pacific with unobstructed views one idea is to visit Atami. It's a stop on the shinkansen line and would be super easy to stop at or to stay the night. Another idea is you could go to Kamakura and Enoshima on the way back from Hiroshima (and remember you are taking the train back so you won't be back in the Tokyo area until around 11ish again unless you use a Nozomi. ) and then spend the night in Kamakura or Enoshima before returning back to Tokyo. That way you get that little extra bit of time. I would not do Atami unless you have a rail pass. Without a rail pass, I believe this is the package people were talking about:

https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/HPT2JV01E1MYS/?typecd=TOU&dep...

These are the other tours in question:
https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/list/?typecd=TOU&typegrpcd=TPA&deptc...

Disclaimer I am not a travel agent nor affiliated with JTB nor have I ever personally used this package. But overall, it might save you money and allow you to take a much faster train.

Good luck!

For what it�fs worth, there is apparently a Hikari that leaves Shin-Yokohama at 6 a.m. and goes all the way to Hiroshima without requiring a change of trains, arriving in Hiroshima at 9:56. The problem is, leaving from Tokyo Station and getting to Shin-Yokohama in time to catch that train would be very risky for a newcomer. You have to take a couple of commuter trains in order to get there. Staying in Yokohama or possibly Kawasaki the night before would make it quite feasible as long as you don�ft mind leaving around 5 a.m.

If there is a point in this thread, it is that �gpossible�h and �gdesirable�h often differ in meaning, and that some things that would be just crazy for some people could be fairly acceptable to others. Successful Japan travel (however you define it) requires a lot of research in advance, and if you have rather unusual intentions, it tends to take considerably more research, as information in English tends to be geared toward the �gaverage�h tourist.