JR PASS AND ITINERARY

Old Aug 18th, 2014, 04:15 AM
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JR PASS AND ITINERARY

Hello everybody,
Can you please help me with my itinerary and the use of 7 days JR pass. Am opened to ideas and suggestions to perfect my first trip to Japan.
26 Mar, Arrive in Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
27 Mar, Visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
28 Mar, Visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
29 Mar, Go to Manza Onsen, sleep in Manza (this is an all inclusive trip from Shinjuku station) If you know better trips, please let me know.
30 Mar, Back to Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
31 Mar, Go to Takayama, sleep in Takayama
1 Apr, Go to Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
2 Apr, Visit Kyoto, sleep Kyoto
3 Apr, Go to Nara for day trip, sleep in Kyoto
4 Apr, Go to Koyasan, sleep in Koyasan
5 Apr, Go back to Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
6 Apr, Last day of shopping, sleep in Tokyo
7 Apr, Fly back to Sydney.
Thank you in advance for your comments/suggestions/ideas. Was thinking of using JR Pass on 31 March.
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 08:13 AM
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That's right, 7-day pass on the 31st for that itinerary.

The pass won't cover about Y2500 worth of travel on Nankai trains and cable car that you will use to get to/from Koyasan.

If you go to Takayama I recommend staying a second night.

You don't have very much time in Kyoto.

Do you have a link for the Manza Onsen trip? Why did you choose it?
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 04:32 PM
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I agree with mrwunrfl that Takayama deserves at least one more night.

I also agree that Kyoto deserves MUCH more time.

Do you already have your flights? If not, try to fly into Narita and out of Kansai or vice versa.

My understanding is that the specific temple at which one stays in Koyasan makes a huge difference. I recommend Shojoshinin:
https://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/...n=Shojoshin-in

Hope that helps!
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 11:41 PM
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Thank you both for taking the time to reply.

After a few days in Tokyo, I thought we would have had enough of "big cities" hence less time in Kyoto. Will organise trip to Nikko from Tokyo as well. I cannot remember where I saw the Manza Onsen all inclusive trip from Shinjuku station advertised but I heard that Hakone was so touristic that I was not really interested although i understand that wherever we go it will be "busy".
Will definetely book an extra day in Takayama on your recommendation. Do you have any accommodation in mind?
I will check the temple in Koyasan. I heard some of them have fire rituals after morning prayers and I would like to to see that.
With the changes in my itinerary, is a 7 days JR pass enough or should we go for 2 weeks pass?
Again thank you for your time. I appreciate your help.
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 08:07 AM
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Adding a night in Takayama means this:
30 Mar, Go to Takayama, sleep in Takayama
31 Mar, Takayama, stay in Takayama
...
5 Apr, Go back to Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo

or
31 Mar, Go to Takayama, sleep in Takayama
...
6 Apr, Go back to Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
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Old Aug 21st, 2014, 12:18 AM
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Thank you very much for your input.
I think I have finalised my itinerary now.
Going to Takayama on 31 March until 2 April then to Kyoto until 5 April.
If we use our JR Pass on 31 March, we can use it until we come back to Tokyo on 6 April. It seems to work.
Again, thank you
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Old Aug 21st, 2014, 12:38 PM
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Christine -

I would fly into Osaka (not much more expensive to fly there) and start in Kyoto. It's much less intense than Tokyo, even if it is a large city.
26 Mar - fly into Osaka-Kyoto
27, 28, 29, 30 Mar Kyoto (I'd say 5 nights in Kyoto is a minimum if you want to see Nara - we had 5 nights and never made it to Nara)
31 Koyasan
1, 2 April Takayama (Associa Takayama Resort has a huge hot bath complex - so you could drop the trip to Manza to save time)
3 4,5,6, Tokyo (if you want to go to Nikko, I'd suggest overnight as it would be a long daytrip.)
7 April fly home

If you follow this itinerary, it might be cheaper to buy separate tickets > pass as that is only 2 days train travel (Kyoto to Takayama; Takayama to Tokyo).
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Old Aug 21st, 2014, 04:50 PM
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Sue_xx_yy is giving you a good option IMO.

As she says, even though Kyoto is a large city, it doesn't always feel that way -- I spent most of my 6 days in the area (4 in Kyoto and 2 in Nara) at temples, shrines, palaces, gardens, and very small sections of the old city. The only real ways in which the fact that Kyoto was large affected me were that (a) it had a public transportation system that worked well for my needs and (b) it did take a while to get from one area of the city to another. .

I also like the idea of staying overnight in Nikko -- that would give you enough time there to see Lake Chuzenji and the stunning Kegon-no-Taki.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2014, 05:08 AM
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Thank you all for your input. Will now enquire with travel agent about fare and open jaw tkts.
Will check Associa Takayama Resort.
You have given me so much more to think of. Is it still worth buying a Jr Pass even if only for convenience?
Thank you.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2014, 08:21 AM
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Not necessarily. Using the JR Pass limits the shinkansen that you can take. Not having a pass means you can use the more frequent Nozomi trains. That is, there can be an advantage to not having a pass but it doesn't apply to your original itin.

For the itin that Sue_xx_yy suggested you might use a 7-day pass starting on the 1st. Kyoto to Takayama to Tokyo would be around ¥25,000.

Cost is ¥29,110 for a 7-day pass, so the difference is about ¥4,000

If you do go to Nikko during that time (April) then the pass will save money - and give you convenience (the Nikko trip would cost well over the ¥4,000 difference). Tokyo to Narita Airport on the JR Narita Express is about ¥3,000.

Here is what your Kyoto-Takayama-Tokyo trip would look like: http://tinyurl.com/ozdd77o
I did the search to make the trip in one day just to get the fares.
The typical trip would go via Nagoya twice and the connection times between the Hikari shinkansen and the Takayama Line are reasonable (15 to 25 min). Point being that there would be no advantage to using the Nozomi.

One thing about that search result that I didn't expect was Route2 which goes via Toyama to Tokyo. It is only 10 min longer than going via Nagoya. I've read that Takayama-Toyama is a scenic trip.

You won't need a 14-day pass.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2014, 11:40 PM
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Again thanks to both.
I think I should have mentionned that I don't recover from long flights as quickly as I used to so I think we should stay 2 nights in Osaka on arrival. My family is coming from France to meet us in Japan. So here is my new itinerary.
26 March, arrive in Osaka evening. Sleep in Osaka
27 March, visit Osaka, sleep in Osaka
28 March, go early to Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
29 March, visit Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
30 March, visit Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto. Maybe a day trip to Nara to see the deers.
31 March visit Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
1 April go to Koyasan early, sleep in Koyasan
2 April, go to Takayama, sleep in Takayama
3 April, visit Takayama, sleep in Takayama
4 April, go to Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
5 April, visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
6 April, visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
7 April, visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo. Maybe a day trip to Nikko.
8 April, last shopping day in Tokyo
9 April, fly out to Sydney
I am really impressed with your helpful and patient comments and ideas, so please let me know if this is maximising my short trip to Japan and if we still should get a 7 day Jr pass. Thanks again. I appreciate it all
So much to do and see ans so little time!!!!!!!
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Old Aug 24th, 2014, 09:00 AM
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For that itin, you could get a 7-day pass for April 1-7 or 2-8. If you don't go to Nikko then your rail costs would be about ¥26,000 (including a JR train on the way to Koyasan). That is close enough that I would get a 7-day pass and then have the option of going to Nikko for no additional cost.

I assume you would arrive in Japan at Osaka Kansai Airport (KIX). There is limited express JR train that goes from KIX to Shin Osaka in 51 minutes. That same train gets you to Kyoto 24 minutes later.
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Old Aug 24th, 2014, 09:10 AM
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So, you could just go to Kyoto on arrival day. If you want to day-trip to Osaka from there then it would be only 28 minutes and ¥560 each way on a JR rapid train.

There would be many ways to get from the airport and it would depend on where you stay, but the train I mentioned above is a starting point at planning.

Your ability to use that train depends on how late you arrive. Here is the timetable for that train: http://tinyurl.com/qdgj9z5
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Old Aug 24th, 2014, 09:20 AM
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>> ... your rail costs would be about ¥26,000 ...
By that I mean your Japan Rail costs.

Be aware that:
Koyasan to Takayama is a 6-hour trip
Nara to Takayama would be 4 hr 12 min
Kyoto to Takayama would be 3 hr 12 min
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Old Aug 24th, 2014, 09:30 AM
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one more thing is that April 7 is a Tuesday, not a weekend day, so good a good day to go to Nikko.
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Old Aug 24th, 2014, 10:38 AM
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Much better!

I agree with mrwunrfl that going straight from Kansai to Kyoto would make more sense than going to Osaka, unless you have a real interest in seeing Osaka. And there is MORE than enough to do in Kyoto and Nara and in that area (e.g., Uji, Ohara) to justify the extra time there.
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Old Aug 25th, 2014, 12:22 AM
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Ok let us try this.
26 March arrive late in Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
27 March visit Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
28 March visit Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
29 March daytrip to Nara, sleep in Kyoto
30 March visit Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
31 March go early to Koyasan, sleep in Koyasan
01 April go to Takayama early, sleep in Takayama
02 April visit Takayama, sleep in Takayama
03 April go to Tokyo early, sleep in Tokyo
04 April visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
05 April visit Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
06 April daytrip to Nikko, sleep in Tokyo
07 April shopping day in Tokyo, sleep in Tokyo
08 April fly back to Sydney
Is it worth using Jr pass from 28 March till 3 April? I get so confused with that pass!! Or should we just pay as we use.
I hope you are all happy with my new itinerary. You have all been so helpful in making it nearly perfect. Thank you again
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Old Aug 25th, 2014, 09:18 AM
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Should be a great trip!
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Old Aug 25th, 2014, 04:07 PM
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In Nara, consider a brief visit to the Kufukuji treasure hall, which holds some of the most expressive statues I saw anywhere in Japan. In Koyasan, don't miss Okunoin at dusk or dawn (or both). Takayama has some exquisite Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass, as well as a complete room by Macintosh. In Nikko, the Art Museum of Nikko Toshogu holds an astounding collection of painted screens.
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Old Aug 28th, 2014, 02:31 AM
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Thank you kja. I am very excited about this trip.

Love glass works of art. Can't wait
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