Kansai -> Himeji -> Hiroshima Help

I'm currently an exchange student here and I'm planning a trip before I go home. I'm based in the Yokohama area.

Since I am an exchange student, I can't get JR Pass since my visa is not for tourism. Is there any type of discount I can get for being a student? Or other passes that don't need tourist visa?

Any way, I really only have between Aug 8 - Aug 14(want to be back in yokohama by then) for this trip, so I am going to do main travel by shinkansen as i can't sit in a bust for 9 hours.

So, right now my plan is to take an early shinkansen from shinyokohama to kyoto on the 8th. (do i have to make reservations? it's more expensive and i don't see why) Find and drop my bags off and spend the rest of the day looking at things.

I'm not quite sure how long I should stay in Kyoto, but I feel like two full days should be enough to see most things with out being rushed. So, then on Aug 11 I was going to do a half/most day trip to Nara then spend the rest of the night in Osaka and go back to Kyoto to sleep.

Aug 12 Go twoards hiroshima, and stop at Himeji on the way. Arrive in Hiroshima and spend what time I left.

Aug 13. Go to Miyajima, come back and do more hiroshima.

Aug 14. Go back to shinyokohama

Does this sound reasonable? Or am I packing in too much stuff? Also, when I travel, I want to bring a roller bag (one that fits on airplane overhead compartments). will i be able to find an empty locker at himeji to store it?

thanks for any help and suggestions.

Suggest you try to stay a night at Miyajima. So much better when the tourists have gone home.

my plan is to take an early shinkansen from shinyokohama to kyoto on the 8th.

Being the first day of this year's Obon holiday season, this day is expected to be very busy. So, I strongly recommend to make seat reservations in order to secure a seat. Otherwise, there is a high risk that you won't find a seat in the unreserved car (especially when boarding at Shin-Yokohama) and will have to stand during the entire trip. Seat reservations for August 8 went on sale this morning at 10am.

do i have to make reservations?

No, but for the above reasons, I strongly recommend it for this particular trip.

it's more expensive and i don't see why

The price difference is just a few hundred yen.

Also, when I travel, I want to bring a roller bag (one that fits on airplane overhead compartments). will i be able to find an empty locker at himeji to store it?

Himeji Station has many coin lockers. I am not sure whether they are prone to be filled up on busy days. But you do travel during the Obon season...

As for the pace, I think it is okay, unless you are a person who like a slow travel pace and/or are very interested in Kyoto, in which case I would consider dropping Hiroshima from your travel plan.

I didn't even know it was obon season then! Thanks for the warning! I will go to the ticket office today then to make a seat reservation. I hope it's still open by the time I can get there...

You do not need a reservation for the shinkansen. There are some unreserved cars and it is highly likely that you will get a seat without any difficulty.Having said that a reserved seat is just a couple of hundred extra so probably a good investment.
Two days in Kyoto should more than cover the things that you 'should' see.
Nara is fine but if it were me I'd prefer to see some of Osaka and get back to Tokyo and maybe go to Nikko.
By all means go to Himeji on the way to Hiroshima. I think that Himeji is a must see if you are in Japan.
Miyajima is nice but as a personal opinion it is highly overrated as an attraction. I'm an Aussie and spoiled for choice when it comes to beauty spots.I would put the time to use elsewhere.
I would also re-schedule
by going straight to Hiroshima ( you could be there by 10AM ) and then work my way back. I like Hiroshima but it doesn't take long to see the 'must sees'in the city area.

: So, right now my plan is to take an early shinkansen from shinyokohama to kyoto on the 8th.

If you surely take either of the two earliest trains to arrive at Kyoto around 08:00, I guess you can have a non-reservation seat; because the first train (HIKARI 493) is to start from Shin-Yokohama, the second train (NOZOMI 99) from Shinagawa (I mean, neither from Tokyo) and it falls on the early morning on the last Saturday before August 13 - 16, which is the o-bon period for many areas.
If you hope to depart from Shin-Yokohama around 08:30 for example, I strongly recommend reservation.
- Timetables
- - Westbound
http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/_pdf/wes...
- - Eastbound
http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/_pdf/eas...

: do i have to make reservations? it's more expensive and i don't see why

JR reservation charge for train rides on August 8 - 14 (except those within JR-Kyushu) includes busy-time surcharge of 200 yen, added to basic charge of 510 or 500 yen. And reservation charge is set higher for NOZOMI than for HIKARI and KODAMA.
As to a non-reservation ticket for Tokaido / San'yo Shinkansen, a passenger can take one train of NOZOMI, HIKARI or KODAMA at the same charge, regardless of seasons.

A pair of JR round-trip fare tickets for Shin-Yokohama - Kyoto - Hiroshima - Miyajimaguchi is valid for 12 days and costs 20,400 yen (with round-trip discount of 2,280 yen in total). This doesn't cover your short trip to drop by Nara and Osaka, for which maybe you get on non-JR lines.

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Let me supplement my explanation.
JR Group doesn't adopt an idea of reservation charges, but practically a Ltd. Express charge for a seat not requiring reservation is of course higher than that for a reserved seat. As to an ordinary class seat, the gap in basic prices is 510 yen for HIKARI / KODAMA but that's larger for NOZOMI.

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Thanks everyone for all of your help.

I got my reservation today for the shinkansen to kyoto. I feel stupid, but, since i never rode on a shinkansen, where in shinyokohama do i present my reservation ticket?


if i want to take the "speical rapid service train" from kyoto(or is it?) to himeji, how do i get a ticket for this? i assume it's different because it's "special", but it saves me a lot of money not taking the shinkansen to himeji.

Due to obon, do you reccomend that when my other dates to use shinkansen are a month away, that i make reservations?

thanks so much

You can find discounted train tickets at discount ticket sellers near almost all train stations.

: if i want to take the "speical rapid service train" from kyoto(or is it?) to himeji, how do i get a ticket for this?

JR-West Special Rapid requires no additional charge, no special ticket.
You go into JR Kyoto Sta. through a non-Shinkansen gate with your fare ticket, then you can take a Special Rapid train leaving from Track 4 or 5.
(For your information: JR Kyoto Sta. has Track 0 instead of Track 1.)

: i assume it's different because it's "special"

Yes. From Kyoto to Himeji, Rapid trains cost about 2 hours and 15 minutes, Special Rapid trains cost about 1 and a half hour;
the fastest Shinkansen NOZOMI trains cost about 45 minutes.
(Just to get on a non-reservation car of a Shinkansen train from Shin-Osaka to Himeji, a charge of 1,680 yen is required.
If you have enough time, Special Rapid sounds to be a good choice.)

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: do you reccomend that when my other dates to use shinkansen are a month away, that i make reservations?

Your Shinkansen rides on the other dates will be... Himeji to Hiroshima on August 12 and Hiroshima to Shin-Yokohama on August 14.
I should say I recommend you make reservation early, because it's not so easy to foresee the crowdedness at daytime due to o-bon and you will be the first-time Shinkansen traveler.

- JR-East: Examining Tickets
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/ticket/examining.html
(Regular tickets for JR-East, JR-Central, JR-West are about the same.)

You can purchase long-distance fare tickets and Shinkansen tickets in advance.
Even when you get on a non-reservation car, you need a Shinkansen ticket specifying the section of your ride.
With your regular JR fare ticket and/or Shinkansen ticket, I think you can utilize gate machines at JR stations conceivable for your itinerary.
If you use a pass instead of a regular ticket, check whether gate machines can accept the pass. If they can not or you are not sure, show a station attendant your pass (and Shinkansen ticket) to get through a gate.

: since i never rode on a shinkansen, where in shinyokohama do i present my reservation ticket?

There are two types of Shinkansen gates.
- Shinkansen gates separating Shinkansen zone from outside a station.
- Shinkansen gates inside a station for transfer between Shinkansen and conventional lines.
According to a station map of JR Shin-Yokohama Station (in Japanese),
- Shinkansen East Gate and Shinkansen West Gate seem to be outer Shinkansen gates through which you can directly step into Shinkansen zone;
- if you go into the station through non-Shinkansen gates such as North Gate and Shinohara Gate, you need to get through a Shinkansen transfer gate to step into Shinkansen zone.

As far as I know, Shinkansen gate machines check both a fare ticket and a Shinkansen ticket.
To step into or step out of Shinkansen zone, a passenger lays face up one of them on the other, puts them into a gate machine, then the machine check and get out them.
Also on your Shinkansen train, a train conductor may ask you to show your fare ticket and Shinkansen ticket together.

Be sure not to forget to pick your long-distance fare ticket from a gate machine, except when you exit JR at the end of the route covered by the fare ticket.
When you exit JR before reaching the end, maybe it's better to show a station attendant your fare ticket and ask him/her like "machine, OK?"
Recently I had my long-distance fare ticket unexpectedly collected by a gate machine. If the same thing happens to you, call a station attendant and ask him/her like "Where is my ticket?" pointing at the gate machine.

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