Itinerary for 12 days Japan Trip

Hi there, I need some advice for my upcoming trip in early Dec with my husband. We will be in Japan for 12 days and have tentatively planned the following:

- Arrival in Tokyo,
- Depart from Tokyo to Kyoto on shinkasen. To stay for 3 nights
- Depart from Kyoto to Hiroshima. Have not decided to stay for 1 or 2 nights. What are the key attractions there besides Miyajima?
- Various options, head to Osaka, or back to Tokyo?

Due to my pregnancy (I will be about 5 months pregnant), we cannot decide to head further south or go back to Tokyo. Any advice that any of you can share with us?

Hi, I just answered your husband's post.

As for Miyajima/Hiroshima, I think most visitors go there for the Peace Memorial Park. I don't know if I'd want to visit the museum while I'm pregnant...but I was quite moved by the new memorial they built in 2005(?). It's beautiful.

I'd highly recommend that you stay overnight in Miyajima.

As for those extra days, what did you want to see before you get to Tokyo? More city experience, more historic sites, or did you want to kick back and relax in a hot spring resort?

Hi Aoi,

I apologize for the double posting .. :D

husband and wife doing the same thing at the same time ^^

arigato gozaimatsu! *bow* ...
will do some more research .. .

by the way, with regards to the JR pass, should i get the 7 or the 14 day pass?

is it more worthwhile to get the 7 day pass then add on accordingly? :)

many thanks for your help!

7 day JR Pass is recommended when from Tokyo via Kyoto and Hiroshima to Tokyo is within these 7 days. 14 day JR Pass is cheaper than single tickets for Tokyo Kyoto return, Kyoto Hiroshima return, Tokyo Narita airport return, so yes when Hiroshima is included in the 12 days a 14 day JR Pass makes sense.

hi Peter, thanks for your note!

With regards to hiroshima and miyajima, i intend to stay a day each.

Any good and affordable place to stay?

hi, another question i have,

i came across Arashiyama in the website (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html)

the train ride and the river cruise (is it a rough ride? need to consider because of my pregie wife) looks really nice. I read from the site that we can get advance tickets, can we get it at the JR kyoto station?
Can we get both the tram and the river cruise ticket?


cheers
Ben

I think most of the major agencies can sell you advance tickets for both. You can also go to the tour office located with the main ticket office in Kyoto JR station. It's to your left-hand side as you enter and there are chairs right in front of the counter.

The boat ride can get pretty rough depending on the weather. At least the boat would be covered and heated in December. :)

Thanks Aoi! I think my wife will really love to be on the boat ride!

Is there any suggestions for a day trip out from Osaka and Tokyo. We have some spare days and are running out of ideas.

Preferably accessible by JR pass as we are likely to get the 14 days pass.

Thank you!

keep in mind if you go directlyfrom tokyo to kyoto, it's a killer of a trip. let's assume you're flying in from USA - add 10-13 hours for that + immigration. trip to tokyo on the NEX, add 1 1/2 hours for the ride + tickets + getting to the platform. then tokyo to kyoto, add a few more.....

you're gonna be exhausted if you try that in one day, so you'll have to consider how much travelling you can handle in one day.

On the way up from Kyoto, you can also stop by Hakone if youre intersted in a lake + view.

I'm thinking that you could spend your first five days in or around Tokyo and buy one week pass instead?

Day 1~3 sight seeing Tokyo
Day 4 Day trip to Kamakura
Day 5 Day trip or overnight trip to Nikko or Hakone (why not try onsen?)

I haven't done the math but I think buying single tickets for these legs will come out cheaper than buying a one week JR pass.

Day 6~7 Kyoto
Day 8 Day trip to Nara
Day 9 ~ 11 Hiroshima/Miyajima then head back to Tokyo

I'm pretty sure you can activate the JR pass to start on a specific day in advance so you can take care of that in Tokyo.

If you really want to avoid Tokyo at all cost and are planning to to spend your time in west and southern Honshu, then 2 week pass indeed might be more economical.

My favarite "side trips" are:

Nara (prefer it to Kyoto)
Ise (calm and soothing)
Nagano (my favorite place in all of Japan; people are kind, food is great, water is pure, rich history, monkeys running around the onsen...it's great!)
Kanazawa (old town feel)

I have yet to go to:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5950.html

They both are on my list of places to go next.

Hi Aoi,

thanks for your advice. let me take a look at your well thought out email ^ ^

we really appreciate your help on this. let me digest it all and i will update again! ...

as for jet lag, we are coming from the sunny city of Singapore, so it won't be that bad... hmm.. as least i hope it won't be ^^"

hi all, thanks for the great advice and support..

here's my itinerary so far:

Day 1: Tokyo (plane arrives at 5pm)

Day 2 - 4: Kyoto

Day 5: Hiroshima (overnight)

Day 6: Miyajima (overnight)

Day 7: Osaka (been there before so just a night stop over to eat and shop at dotonbori)

Day 8 - 11: Tokyo and around ..


For Day 8 - 11, i am planning to do day trips to Hakone and maybe nearby destinations, any suggestions?

Should I get the the 7 day pass or 14 day pass just for safety sake, in case i need to make trips out of tokyo :D ?

cheers

Hi Ben,
On the way to Hiroshima,I recommend a stop over in Himeji.And do not miss the grilled oyster in Miyajima island.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html

I recommend that you spend as many days as you can in Tokyo. We always leave three days at the end of our trips to Japan for Tokyo and always wish we had allowed more time. It's so much fun to visit the different areas. You can get a book called "Footloose in Tokyo" that tells you about all the stops on the Yamanote line (green). That could keep you busy for awhile.

Hi all,

thank you for your advice over the past few weeks.

we have decided to make tokyo our base in the last 4 days ..

so my itinerary is:

Day 1: Tokyo (plane arrives at 5pm)

Day 2 - 4: Kyoto

Day 5: Hiroshima (overnight)

Day 6: Miyajima (overnight)

Day 7: Osaka (been there before so just a night stop over to eat and shop at dotonbori)

Day 8 - 11: Tokyo and around .

i have a few questions:

1. Should i get the 14th day JR pass?
.. thinking that i can use it at the remaining days for short trips out of tokyo ...

2. Any good day trips to make from tokyo?
.. i am thinking of hakkone .. any other suggestions?

Arigato Gosaimatsu! :)

Ben,
A 7 day JR Pass starting Day 2 with Tokyo - Kyoto ending Day 8 with Osaka-Tokyo would cover the long distance travel cheaper than single tickets. A 14 day JR Pass would cover your whole journey but is Yen 16800 more. What JR travel will you have outside 7 day Pass: Day 1 Narita - Tokyo can be Narita Express at Yen 3000 but a direct limousine bus to your hotel might be more convenient. Last days Tokyo based:
Day excursion to Nikko: Yen 3600 with World Heritage Pass incl entrance ticket.
Day excursion to Hakone area: Hakone 2 day Pass Yen 5000 for transport from/to Tokyo-Shinjuku and within Hakone. Last day Tokyo Narita see Day 1. So the 14 day Pass just for day excursions Tokyo based is not necessary.

we just came back from a 10 days trip to Japan.
We can't never reserve hotels for the first couple of days, for reasons too long to get into, and couldn't get a room in any of the Hiroshima Toyoko Inns when we called from Kansai airport. However we got one in Saijo, a very pleasant little town 1/2 hr from Hiroshima by frequent commuter trains (in North America, where we live, I commute everyday to work by rapid transit so this was no big deal and the scenery was great).
we visited Hiroshima and Miyajima and loved the later thought we wouldn't dream of staying there overnight. We are both over 50 but prefer the hustle and bustle of big towns in the evening, especially when travelling. In your case, with a pregnant wife, it hardly seems worthwhile to drag suitcases in the train from Hiroshima to Miyajima then on the ferry to the island then along the street from the dock to the place you are staying, as we saw many people do, just for one night. We spent the rest of the trip in the Kansai, where one of us has relatives. We visited Arashiyama last year and really enjoyed it. I hope that your wife is up to do a lot of walking as in Miyajima, Arashiyama and pretty much everywhere else there is a fair bit of walking to do.