My March Japanese journey

Hi guys,
together with my wife and child we are going to drive around Japan with the car for 23 days. Please check it and give advice what to add/remove. My trip, starting from Tokyo:
1) Kusatsu, Snow Monkey, Nagano
2) Matsumoto
3) Takayama, Hida folk village, Shirakawa
4) Kanazawa
5) Harayama tea field
6) Nara
7) Okunoin cemetery
8) Osaka
9) Himeji
10) Hiroshima, Ōkunoshima, Miyajima
11) Kyoto
12) Magome, Tsumago, Narai-Juku
13) Fujikawaguchiko
14) Tokyo (if time allows we go to Nikko)
Thank for your advice, any comments are welcome.

For most of your itinerary, driving will be slow and expensive, and parking will be something between annoying and a flatout nightmare.

Unless you have some powerful reason to drive, you could do that itinerary happily and way more easily, and probably more cheaply, by train.

For my taste your itinerary is a bit fast-you'll spend a lot of time traveling rather than enjoying what you're hoping to see-and some of the order is a bit confusing. For instance, Nara and the tea fields can easily be done as day trips from Kyoto. I wouldn't stay at both Osaka and Kyoto, pick one and do those local things from there.

I hope you enjoy your trip to Japan!

Too fast paced and no need to drive as all locations have good public transport.

This honestly looks more like a driving holiday than an actual holiday. For example - day 1! It's 286 km's which will take 5 1/2 hours in ok traffic. Also - which season are you going in and how good is your driving on tight and windy roads in snowy/icy conditions in winter if that's the season you are traveling.

Some locations it's worth hiring a car if it's a bit more remote - some it takes longer to find a car park than it does to get to the location

I took under considerstion all fees - petrol, parking and road fees (I am going to use highways which are not slow) and it will cost us around $150 more for all of us (2+1). If we skip highway 2-3 times the cost are roughly the same as JR Pass with metro. From station you always need metro ticket (remember 3 persons) and time to reach hotel. Car is extremely convenient with a child who won't be able to walk as much as adult. For past 15 years I rented a car in every country we went and it was always great to stop or go whenever and wherever you liked so please skip the transportation method in your opinions. We spent 2 weeks counting and deciding what to choose - JR Pass for 2 weeks or car but last moment I found coupon for car rental -40.000 yen, do that outweighed.
I thoughht about staying in Osaka for 4 days but it doesn't make sense to go back each day from Nara and Koya so we will move. It's not a problem to put a luggage in a trunk and just go to the next city.
Above 1,2,3... points are not days.
We won't be in a rush as we spent 2 days in some cities like Kanazawa and Hiroshima, 4 in Kyoto, 6 in Tokyo. We left Kyoto at the end (could do it with Osaka, Nara etc) as the probability of sakura in Kyoto is highest around 31 of March (and we want to be in Kyoto then very badly). Tokyo at the very end - beginning of April.
Please advice of any other cook places you know on our way or what is worth skipping. Thanks!

We are in Japan for 23 days but renting a car for 17 days - we give it back before staying in Tokyo as obviously there is no sense of driving in the city.

As PPs said, train in many places of your itinerary will be easier, faster, cheaper. I would maybe looking in hiring a car occasionally in some specific region. Eg around Takayama if you want to see a bit more remote places a car could be a good option. But Osaka- Hiroshima for example has a perfect Shinkansen Line. Really no need/use for a car.

Judging your itinerary as a whole is also difficult as we don�ft know how many days in each location and where you�fll be staying the night.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

So just checking - are you going to use your car to drive around Kyoto during Cherry blossom season or use public transport?

We park the car for free in Kyoto and leave it of course :) and we give it back before Tokyo.
If we are finished with discussion about the car I'm still waiting for advice what to see on the way or what to skip :) thanks

Hi!

How old is your child? I ask this as a parent of a child who has been to Japan 4x between the ages of 5-8.
Some activities are great with kids and some are not. You could not pay me to take my soon to be 9 year to Shirakawa Go. She would spend the entire time complaining she was bored or asking me to purchase schlock. No thanks! My child is able to do the walking I require of her on our trips, but I also plan my trips to make sure the walking is something she could handle. If your child is under 5 (and free on all Japanese public transit) then I would be planning a slower itinerary because at 3 or 4 my child could not handle, even with a car, long trips without breaks. You know your child best, but be realistic. The time change is killer, and I know my kid is up between 5-6:00 am most mornings our first week in Japan.

While I think driving in Japan can be great, I think you underestimate parking issues. I cant imagine where you are going to park in Kyoto. I also would never want to drive there, it's just unpleasant. The same goes for Osaka. Very few accommodations in Kyoto offer parking unless they are pretty far out of town and then you will need to find parking at the actual tourist sights, which is going to suck and not necessarily be all that close. In 2016, I met a friend in Kamakura on a Summer week day, he lived in Japan so met us by car because afterwards we were going to his house which was out near Hadano. We spent more time driving around looking for parking than actual visiting sights, do you really think Kyoto is going to be better? Some places also limit how long you can park there, so even if the price seems reasonable it might not be long enough for what you want to do.

If your child counts as an adult in Japan, they should honestly be able to handle the amount of walking in your trip. It's not like you're planning to climb all the steps of Kotohiro-Gu in Takamatsu. And even then, if you take it with lots of breaks it is doable. Start getting them out and practicing walking now if they are 7+ and you are concerned about the amount of walking.

Perhaps, it would be best if you give your exact itinerary (4 night in Kyoto, 1 night in Nagano, 2 nights in ??) so that people can look at it and really give more constructive criticisms.

Another question what size car are you getting for 40,000 yen, particularly for 2 weeks. I just rented a compact for my 2 night driving adventure in Tohoku. It was just me and my kid, so no one was in the other front seat. We had plenty of room for bags, but we also didn't have anything bigger than a carry-on. We could have fit a check-in, but we were also only 2 people. Are you getting a JEP Pass? If so, you're going to have to get off the expressway before the ETC reader for exits in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and get on outside those exits for the JEP to give you the discounted rate. If you're paying out of pocket I'm honestly impressed with your skills at navigating the website for calculating tolls. I tried to do it for my trip from Koriyama and Ononimachi, and I actually calculated higher than what I paid because of the times I was traveling.

I also have no idea what lots are like to catch the ferry to Okunoshima and Miyajima. I know there are car ferries to Miyajima, but driving around Miyajima might actually be worse than driving in Kyoto since the streets are very narrow and chock full of pedestrians and deer, neither of which is always looking for cars.

A 14 day pass might not make the most sense for your itinerary, so it might not be a fair comparison. You will also find that say going from Kyoto to Hiroshima is faster via shinkansen. The shinkansen goes considerably faster than cars are allowed to travel on the expressway. I am thinking of renting a car in Koriyama and slowly working my way up Tohoku and then back down, but I know if I was just staying along the Tohoku line it is MUCH faster than a car would be. Koriyama to Morioka is about 94 minutes by trains or 3.5 hours by car.

Good luck!

Good luck!

rkold, thanks, finally some nitty-gritty advice :)
1) my child is 7 years old, so unfortunatelly she requires dicount JR Pass
2) I will remember to plan as little time as possible in Shirakawa-go :D
3) we had jet lag few times but it didn't last longer than 2-3 days, but thanks for advice
4) my child can walk 10 km in Polish mountains for whole day but only 3-5 km on boring city concrete :)
5) I'm going to park in Kyoto in hotel and use public transport/bikes
6) exact itinerary: Fuji (car, 1), Kusatsu (1), Snow Monkey, Nagano, Matsumoto (1), Takayama (1), Hida folk village, Shirakawa, Kanazawa (2), Harayama tea field, Nara (1), Koya (1), Osaka (2), Himeji, Hiroshima nad Miyajima (2), Ōkunoshima, Kyoto (4), Magome, Tsumago (1) Narai-Juku, Fuji (car back, 1), Tokyo (6) (if time allows Nikko)
7) I didn't write I rent a car for 40000 yen but I found a coupon -40000 yen (minus 40) :) the car is Honda Fit/Mazda Demio/Suzuki Swift, not the smallest anyway
8) I don't know yet if I will get JEP, need to calculate
9) I didn't write we are taking a car ferry to Okunoshima and Miyajima. Okunoshima is on our way, for few hours; Miyajima is whole day trip (with trek to Mount Misen) and the car will stay at free parking at our Airbnb host.
10) thank you for any advice considering car rental but it's already decided and book and we are not going to change it.
Please, please focus on places we should visit, you guys are missing my point. :)

Hi!

This is the best site for calculating tolls in Japan: https://www2.kumagaku.ac.jp/teacher/~masden/tolls/

It does matter when you travel. In my case, I was traveling in the middle of the day to a rural location and then was heading towards the main city around 17:00 which is the opposite of what someone commuting would do. I used a TEP Pass for my second rental. I rented from Ichinoseki, so while their English and my Japanese made renting take longer, I never had any real traffic or difficulties on the road. I used the free GPS on my rental. I have no idea if yours will have that as well. I was driving only in Tohoku so I didn't have any traffic and the roads were mostly empty. You are not, so your experience I expect will differ dramaticlly.

Here is the US a FIT is considered a very small car, but I know standards are different in Japan and in Europe.

You need to look at your kid and realize what they like. I enjoyed Matsumoto Castle, my child did not. They did enjoy the art museum though and getting drinks from the free fountains around town. We're going to try the monkey park probably next trip, in the past, we went to see the monkeys in Kyoto. That was very popular. As of 2017, Nara still had deer crackers for sale but Miyajima did not My child still really enjoyed Miyajima though we didn't climb Mt. Misen. She much more enjoyed walking out to the torii and watching all the crabs on the sand. I have been up Mt. Misen. It's OK? My kid loved Hida no Sato village. They had a lot of organized activities. We were there in the Summer, I've no idea what March will be like.

My child usually has no issues adjusting to Pacific time from Eastern time (about 3 hours) and after a few days adjusted to Hawaii which is 5 hours off, but has a hard time with Japan because it's a good 13-14 hours ahead of Eastern time, I'm a bit nervous about the 16-17 for Pacific. We have taken my child to Europe (in August) and the 5 hours ahead made for lots of late nights. It worked well because it fit our relative's schedules better.

I think by car you are seriously underestimating how much time you are going to have in certain locations, particularly your Hiroshima days. If you leave Osaka, it is going to take you a minimum of 1.5 hours to get to Himeji. You then need to find parking. You then visit the castle which might be quite crowded since we're talking close to sakura season. You then have another 3-4 hours drive with no traffic to Hiroshima. You then have 1 day the next day to try to see Miyajima and Hiroshima? And then the day after you are trying to see Okunoshima and then drive 4.5 hours at a minimum to Kyoto?

I know my kid hates long days of travel. Multiple days close together of 5+ hours sitting in a car (or train) is not something that mine likes. Maybe yours does, I don't know... but I now try to keep trains or driving to no more than 3 hours if I can help it and if we do longer, the next day is shorter. Be prepared to pay more for ferries. It would be 450 yen for all 3 of you to take the ferry to Miyajima. With our car, it will be 1060, and again, even if you are just driving your car to park it be very very careful. The deer are not terribly wild and will wander everywhere. I have seen them in the ferry terminal. They are not going to run out of the way of your car. People will not be looking at cars. The speed limit will be low, but hitting a person or deer is just going to not be fun. The same is probably true for Okunoshima and the tourists and bunnies there.

You will also need to find a lot for visiting Magome and Tsumago since I believe the whole point of the area is to make you feel like you've slipped back in time.

I would not spend 2 days in Osaka. Outside of shopping it's pretty similar to Tokyo. I mostly go to see my friend who lives there.

Spend some time making sure you can find someplace with parking in Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. None of those places are really car friendly. I very very rarely see hotels offer parking, even paid parking, the sorts of hotels that offer paid parking are not likely to be super budgetary, since the most budgetary places don't have the space to offer parking. If you pick somewhere further from town, you will need to commute in which will take time.

Reading this itinerary makes me sad. You are trying to cover way too much if this is all to be done by car. You will spend your days driving and have no time for proper sightseeing or real enjoyment of the places you'll visit. Others have tried to point this out but it seems that you are fixed on this plan and say that any suggestions otherwise are 'missing the point'.

OK, clearly we're missing the point. Personally, I lived in Japan for 16 years and have been working as a specialist in Japan travel for 12 years. I've travelled all around the country and have driven extensively. I know that what you are trying to do is unwise but you don't want to listen so ok. Do your thing... I wish you luck.

Bottom line; 2 weeks driving around Japan is a great idea but your plan isn't.

ok thanks :)