Okayama Day Trip

hi,
Always love the recommendation- any idea for an extra day in Okayama? Can�ft head to Hiroshima or more west with my regional pass

Spend 2 hours this afternoon in Himeij and now wonder what to do tomorrow (visit Okayama & Kurashikishi today). Plan is to head to Naoshima and then onwards to Takamatsu after that.

Would Takahashi be a good idea even without a hike up to the castle? For the afternoon possible Kibitsu-Shrine with a walk to Kibitsuhiko Shrine?

Thanks!

I think that Kibitsu Shrine is a very nice place to visit. Combined with a walk on some paths in the area, it could make for an enjoyable half-day trip. You�fre going to want to check the train schedules and plan accordingly or else you could have a longish wait for a train in either direction.

Apparently, riding a rental bicycle around the Kibi plain is a lot of fun (on a nice day, of course). I have never done this myself.

I have gone to Adachi Museum twice as a very enjoyable day trip from Okayama. (Once, I got a nobi-nobi seat on the Sunrise Izumo on the outbound and thought it was a swell experience. Trying to sleep on that train would be a different matter, but it was a very pleasant ride to start a day trip, with coffee and breakfast items purchased at the station.) But most people would find the transit time to be excessive. Besides the scenic but long train ride, you have to take a bus from Yasugi JR station to the museum area. I would only do it if I had a rail pass covering the train fare. (And it works for me because I actually enjoy riding trains in Japan.) But it is important to be aware that some people do not like the gardens at Adachi. I love them myself, and I think it�fs wonderful that they don�ft let people wander around in them. But you surely wouldn�ft want to to to all the trouble of getting out there and be disappointed. The art at the museum is nice, but the gardens are the real draw there. They are not everyone�fs cup of tea. Also, it�fs a good idea to plan in advance what you are going to do about lunch. The last time I went there, there was a terribly long wait at the cafe in the museum and I wished I had eaten outside the place (although the options in the areas around the museum and train station are fairly limited). I would have been more than happy to wait and have lunch after leaving, but I was with another person who insisted on having a sit-down meal there.

As always great idea ! I love taking trains in Japan (and it�fs always nice to have a rail pass for that - was one the fence to get one for this part but it paid well off and is nice to not have to get a ticket beforehand)

Seems like trains are hourly - so with the walk and stopping should be possible to do in a 2 hour or so time window, let�fs see what I�em up to.

I really love Kibitsu Shrine, and the times I have been there I spent at least an hour at the shrine itself, plus it takes maybe 10 minutes or so each way to walk from the station. I haven�ft taken the walk to Kibitsuhiko shrine, but I have walked some on the forest path that you come to if you follow the main covered walkway at Kibitsu Shrine to its end and then turn left on the road (you will come almost immediately to a trail), but I didn�ft go too far on that. Anyway, I would plan on 3 hours myself if I were to add in much walking. But I usually go slowly, and spend time taking a lot of pictures. I think Kibitsu Shrine is really wonderful, and I never like to rush my visits to places like this. Many tourists seem to do that so they can go to more places in a day, but I would rather have leisurely visits at shrines and temples in order to enjoy the ambience and the many special details. If you do go to Kibitsu, be sure to read the story of its history on its web site beforehand. I think it is delightful�c

As for rail passes, I think that the usual approach to making rail pass decisions (look at pass price versus point-to-point tickets for a cast-in-stone itinerary decided on in advnace, and pick the cheapest option) can be very short-sighted. For people who want to make itinerary choices or changes on short notice, rail passes give you enormous flexibility. And for people who enjoy riding trains, especially if they are not averse to longish day trips, I think it is almost a no-brainer to get some sort of rail pass. I usually get the most expensive one (21-day nationwide) myself, and have never, ever regretted it. There are so many memorable excursions that I never would have undertaken without a rail pass�c The JR West passes are also very attractive, but I find some of their requirements and constraints to be incompatible with my style of travel. (There is almost nothing that I hate more than standing in a long line at a Midori no Madoguchi in order to make a seat reservation, and a lot of the limited express trains in JR West territory do not have nonreserved seats. A limit of six online or machine reservations would frustrate the hell out of me, even within a one-week pass duration.)

Anyway, I�fm glad you are happy with your rail pass! I hope you have a fun day trip tomorrow, wherever you end up going.

Totally agree that it�fs the only downside with the JR West Passes - and they had so many limited express with only reserved seating

Yesterday I was in time for the train at the station but too late to get a reservation with the cut of times

But the JR pass on total didn�ft work out for me and the three separate regional ones are much better value

The nationwide pass costs too much for most people these days. But I am pretty much constrained to Tokyo airports for my flights, and the JR Pass is the only one that will get me to and from Kanto plus around to various places. I just structure my trips around it, often make spontaneous decisions, love the unlimited free online reservations and changes, and always save money. But I have definitely looked at the JR West passes. Being able to just hop on the Nozomi would be nice�c I think those passes would be great for people who plan their whole trip out in advance and don�ft ever do anything on the spur of the moment or make changes. They can go to a staffed ticket office and get all their tickets at one time. Not my style, but it makes sense for some people.

The 19 minute trip to Himeij yesterday was very nice ;) - I do like the JR kyushu passes better as at least in 2023 I could ride the sightseeing trains with them

I also don�ft have many other options in flying into Japan for direct flights - did Finnair to Nagoya this time which was nice and quick (service more like a budget airline) and did via HGK the last times

If I would have known i had time for those spontaneous trips I would have reserved my first set of trains in person (since I also needed to exchange the pass in person as my pass wasn�ft able to be scanned)

Let�fs see how it goes in Shikoku since it�fs all unreserved only and I have a QR code as pass

Change of plans as it�fs not covered up - just taking the nazomi to Kobe for a bit ;)