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First timers itinerary in Honshu 2019/1/22 02:53
Hello,
we r a couple in late 50-th, and planning to visit Honshu on April 8 to April 22, and our appx schedule is:
Apr 7- get to Narita airport, hotel ,rest
Apr 8-12 Explore Tokyo+side trip to Kamakura
Apr 13-trip to Hakone -over night at ryokan
Apr 14-17 -train to Kyoto-4 nights,side trips to Nara and Himeji
Apr 18-train to tokyo
Apr 19-20 trip to Nikko with overnight stay
Apr 21-visit good bye Tokyo
Apr 22-evening, train to Narita, fly back to Canada
Considering this itinerary, please come with some suggestions, as we r first timers in Japan.
Q1-is it worth it to get JR pass?If yes,7 or 14 days?
Q2-is better to stay in Hakone and Nikko, or just take day trips?
Q3-side trips are better be booked in advance or when we get to Tokyo?
Q4-commute to Narita, is better with train or bus?
Thank You in advance,Florin
by FLORIN FLOREA (guest)  

Re: First timers itinerary in Honshu 2019/1/22 11:15
A1: You can make a good use out of a 7-day pass. If you rearrange your itinerary a little, you can do Kyoto/Himeji trip and Nikko trip all within the 7 day period.

A2: I think both places are worth staying overnight.

A3: There is no holiday during your trip, so you don't have to worry about reserving trains. Hotels you should reserve ASAP.

A4: Are you staying in Narita the first 6 nights? I don't recommend that - that's too much time wasted commuting. For transport from and to the airport, I like taking the bus (it's cheaper and no transfers required).
by O92 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: First timers itinerary in Honshu 2019/1/22 14:05
Q2-is better to stay in Hakone and Nikko, or just take day trips?
Q3-side trips are better be booked in advance or when we get to Tokyo?
Q4-commute to Narita, is better with train or bus?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q2 - overnight in both places is better, if you have the time.
Q3 - side trips, if you mean day trip to Nara, Kamakura, no booking needed, unless you want a hotel there? Or do you want to join an organized tour with a guide? It is really easy to do the trip on your own, but if you prefer a tour guide, then I guess you need to pre-book, but I have no experience with that
Q4 - it depends where in Tokyo you want to go and if "better" is defined by "faster" or "cheaper". As PP said, dont stay in Narita and commute to Tokyo every day. Its a long ride and expensive. Get a hotel in Tokyo. There are different options regarding train, e.g. NEX, Keisei trains, local JR trains, even a train that links into a subway in Tokyo as well as different types of buses. I find the limo buses that go straight to different hotels and other major places in Tokyo quite expensive, but there is a cheap option that goes to Ginza (I think 1000 Yen). I haven't taken that ever though. The normal way to go is either NEX or Keisei. If you go NEX and you have a JR pass you can ride it for free.

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

Re: First timers itinerary in Honshu 2019/1/22 16:00
My first question would be: Do you have a particular reason to stay near Narita at all. Tokyo is only about an hour away you will spend some of the next day moving between hotels rather than starting the holiday.
by Stan Norrell rate this post as useful

Re: First timers itinerary in Honshu 2019/1/23 03:37
Oh, thank u to everybody, and apologise for Narita, comma in the wrong place.
I ment Tokyo hotel, 6 nights, will rearrange the schedule, the only confusing thing for me is the transportation option and side trips, but will read more and figure it out.
Thank U everybody, nice talking with you,cheers, Florin
by FLORIN FLOREA (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: First timers itinerary in Honshu 2019/1/23 16:01
Ah. That makes much more sense. My answers would be
1, I would buy a 7 day JR Pass for the convenience alone. You will probably save money as well.
2, I have never been to Hakone but if I was I would probably overnight there but take a day trip to Nikko.
3, If you are not planning to join an organised party then see what the weather is like on the day for the side trips.
4, Train to Narita every time. It's so quick & easy
by Stan Norrell rate this post as useful

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