Japan itinerary/Fall 2023 - I think I’ve got it!
 

We’re going to Japan for the first time in the fall of 2023 and will be there for 26 nights. Given a million reasons, starting with our ages (we’ll both be in our 70s), it will also likely be the only trip to Japan. We travel relatively slowly and will do this entirely by public transportation. We try to avoid 1-night stands (though in this iteration, there is one, which I’m fine with). We like mixing smaller places with larger places but since we’re traveling by public transportation, there is really no “off-the”beaten path locations, though some are less trodden than others! I’m just waiting for M to give me the final okay. As of now, about half the places still haven’t opened for booking yet, but they should be available by the end of this month, beginning of next.

We also try to keep our travel between places to relatively simple changes and/or not too long.

I have discovered that there are regional passes which may be an advantage for us at the end of the trip. For this iteration, I see that the JR All West pass will work nicely for us. As of now, there aren’t any price increases on the regional pass that I can find. The disadvantage of this pass is that it can only be ordered a month before we use it, but it covers some of the Shinkansen trains not covered by the regular JR pass. As I see it, the trip from Kanazawa to Kyoto will be covered and still active for a couple of days in Kyoto.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_west.html

This itinerary changes slightly from my prior “final” itinerary in that we go directly from Kanazawa to Hiroshima. Initially, I didn’t want to do such a long trip, but with only 2 trains, it seems pretty manageable even though it’s about 4 hours. So I can go back to ending in Kyoto and eliminate the last night in Osaka (a waste of a night) and will use that “extra day” for a night on Miyajima.

So, the latest (and hopefully, last🤞) itinerary:
Arrive Haneda 3:20pm
Tokyo - 6 (I plan 1-2 day trips)
Matsumoto-3
Okuhida -2
Takayama-3
Kanazawa -4
Hiroshima -2
Miyajima -1
Kyoto - 5

Any gross errors or misses? I clearly can’t see it all, but I think this covers a good representation.

Looks good. Great idea just to go from Kanazawa to Hiroshima, 4 hrs flat, or even 3h 57m.

That pass will provide great value. Could use it for a day trip from Kanazawa (Wakura Onsen, Kaga Onsen, Kurobe Gorge). Or Kyoto, day trip to Nara and/or it can be used to get to Arashiyama.

Going north, you would get off the shinkansen at Shin Osaka and can then take the limited express or rapid train to Kyoto. (Shin Osaka to Kyoto is Tokaido shinkansen which is operated by JR Central, so you would have to take a JR West train with that pass).

Thanks, mrwunrfl! Nice to get your thoughts! Overall, I’m quite pleased, and though there are always places I’m going to want to see and won’t get to, this feels like a good “taste”.

Coincidentally, I just learned about the regional passes this past weekend and realized how good they can be for travel. Then I just watched the video you posted and realized how largely undiscovered these passes are. I’ll comment on that thread, too, but am so pleased to have “discovered” this as an option.

I recommend 4 nights Takayama and three Kanazawa.

Thanks, HappyTrvlr,
I appreciate your comments and, for quite a while, that was my plan. But after really looking at the places, I think Kanazawa will be worth the 4 nights. Besides, we’ll likely have a good part of the day that we arrive in Takayama.

Thanks so much, LeanDeva! Your description is exactly what I’m aiming for, so I’m hopeful it will be a great trip!

I think you'll have a lovely trip - all the best! I know almost nothing about the regional passes, but the great thing about the JR Pass (and passes in general) is that it gives you so much flexibility when you travel. You may be in Kyoto, for example, just having had lunch, and discover that you've had it with temples and would like to check out someplace completely different like Himeji Castle (about 45 minutes away). Trains are incredibly punctual and frequent in Japan -- you've got very comfortable shinkansens going back and forth ALL THE TIME. It's not a case of having to plan your day around the trip; you can show up at the train station and see, okay, great, there's a train leaving in 8 minutes and another one in 20 minutes. (And JR passes used to include the ability to reserve seats for free which was also such a great asset. Not sure if that's still the case though. And reserving a seat might mean standing in a line to do so, which, if it's not a busy train, is not necessary.) And the train stations are almost always located right in the center of town, like in Europe. Anyway, if you had to spend extra to go somewhere, you might not be bothered, but when it's all included in a JR pass, it really is a fantastic plus. Have a great trip!

Thanks so much, Jean! I appreciate your thoughtful comments!

The JR Passes no longer include reserved seats. That needs to be purchased separate if wished.

susannatan, Thank you for your information. It doesn't appear likely that we'll benefit from a JR pass, as we'll be traveling within relatively contained regions.

A slight update, folks. I've revised my 'Final itinerary' and I believe I now have a FINAL 'Final itinerary' and am very comfortable with it:
Tokyo-6
Matsumoto-3
Okuhida onsen -2
Takayama-3
Kanazawa-4
Kaga onsen (Yamanaka onsen)-2
Kyoto -6

Though I imagine there will be many who will feel my decision to eliminate Hiroshima and Miyajima will be a mistake, I never felt quite comfortable with it. We are slow(er) travelers and I'd like to experience both larger and smaller cities and towns, with balancing the big sites with smaller ones. And this feels right to me. We will be using public transportation throughout.

All accommodations are now booked. I used Rakuten travel for the ryokan in Okuhida and the hotel/ryokan in Yamanaka but ran into some technical conflicts using the app, which kept changing the dates that I wanted to reserve. The company acknowledged the problem and is, hopefully, working on it. I was able to use the web-based site without a problem.

Now I'm starting the fun part of figuring out the details!

Curious to know, if you are going to Takayama and Okuhida why are you not visiting Shirakawa-go? I have the same itinerary at those three areas this coming winter. Am mulling over if I should stay 1 nite in Shirakawa before making our way to Okuhida as I've got an extra nite tho..I booked our Ryokans via Agoda and Booking dot com. Whilst Agoda have some of the lowest prices booking dot com sometimes have a different range of hotels than Agoda. Is it worth exploring Rakuten? Thanks!

Very glad that you've finalized an itinerary that you're happy with. There's no right or wrong and it's impossible to do everything. I look forward to some of your insights as you continue planning. My itinerary remains a work in progress as well.

We may stop over between Takayama and Kanazawa but I didn’t want to make a 1-night stop.

As far as booking, I use booking.com a lot and many of our reservations are through that site. I’ve booked directly with 2 separate accommodations. I was directed to book with Rakuten by one of the ryokans and, in booking another, that’s the reservation site that came up. It was a bit of a pain but eventually worked out. Rakuten does seem to have some places not listed in booking.com.

I learned to check a number of sites before booking and went with whichever seemed to provide the best offer.

I like to use japanican and agoda or sometimes the lodging's website, or booking. Might give Rakuten a look next time.

This final itin looks good: two onsen visits, a very fine castle, big city, natural beauty, and no long travel days. Your only shinkansen opportunities would be Toyama to Kanazawa and, not advisable: Maibara to Kyoto. A part-day trip to Himeji could be done on a shinkansen at least one way (there are less expensive options)

The Hokuriku Area Pass is worth considering for Inotani to Kanazawa. That trip would be 5380 yen (per jourdan) on the Hida L'Ex and shinkansen. That would include reserved seats, I think. The more I read the less I like this idea, but will leave this in. The pass doesn't include reserved seats and you definitely don't want to pay up for one. It excludes the Kagayaki shinkansen train which is all reserved. Going unreserved is not a problem. The pass does have other benefits, though, that could add up. The Kansai WAP or KAP might be worth considering.

You could consider stopping at Hikone to visit the excellent castle. It would be on the way to Kyoto.

This is just an FYI for anyone considering a regional or national pass.

Paying up for a reserved seat while using a pass that doesn't include reserved seats involves paying a surcharge as well as the reserved seat fee.

Here are prices that hyperdia show for Kanazawa to Kyoto on the Thunderbird Ltd Exp. The use of the term "Seat Fee" is unfortunate, problematic, wrong.
Total:¥ 7,020(TicketFare:¥ 4,070 Seat Fee:¥ 2,950) <-reserved
Total:¥ 6,490(TicketFare:¥ 4,070 Seat Fee:¥ 2,420) <- unreserved

These means:
- the base fare, if you took ordinary trains, is ¥ 4,070
- the limited express surcharge is ¥ 2,420
- the reserved seat fee would be ¥ 530

Using a pass that doesn't include reserved seats on that trip would mean paying an extra ¥ 2,950 to get a reserved seat. For that trip a reserved seat is a nice to have and not necessary (outside of peak times like Golden Week, Obon, Christmas to New Year's Day).

Japanese regular train tickets (japan-guide.com)
Rail Passes in Japan (japan-guide.com)

>> mulling over if I should stay 1 nite in Shirakawa
susannatan3264, you mean: Ogimachi, Shirakawago. I had a wonderful 1-night stay there in January several years ago. There was "only" four feet of snow on the ground, The Koemon gassho zukuri where I stayed had snow boots available for guests. i was the only guest. Pretty much a barebones room with futon on floor.

mrwunrfl,
I thought Japanican was pretty good, too, though I ended up not using it as I was either able to book directly or through booking.com, which gives me lots of incentives.

I used Rakuten because one ryokan directed me to it for their bookings in English and another ryokan’s booking engine took me directly to that site. But I did see that there were other places of interest listed on that site.

Nice. Yes, it would be nice to have a little more time there experiencing the magic at nite and to see what its like fresh in the morning... but the Ryokans there are booked out. Guess it's alot more well-known and touristy now. We decided to move on to Okuhida and have booked a nice Ryokan there with onsen. So I'll use that extra day/nite to visit Noboribetsu in Hokkaido before we head back from New Chitose Airport. Wonder if there's transport direct from the New Chitose airport to Noboribetsu?? As we will be at Chitose on 22 Dec and flying back on 23 Dec. Just discovered that its nearer to go to Noboribetsu from Chitose rather than from Sapporo. We already planned to be at Chitose a day earlier than our flight date anyway.

>> Guess it's alot more well-known and touristy now.
That is true, but it is too early to book for December or later. If you check later on, no sooner than June, then you might not find availability. My guess is that would not be because they were fully booked but because some of the gassho zukuri could be closed. I booked Koemon at Kanazawa station with KimJapan being a translator with the travel agent. That agent called a couple places that were closed before landing on Koemon. IDR if I went to S-go that day or the next. Yes, that was 20 years ago, but it was low season January. So, it would be possible, but you have a v good alternative.

>> Wonder if there's transport direct from the New Chitose airport to Noboribetsu??
There is a bus. I took it last November from the bus stop that is sort of in front of Daichi Takimotokan to the airport. There were a few stops in N.O. and then at some town off the freeway. Maybe another stop. Painless. You do need to book in advance. It is not frequent - I want to say they are scheduled around lodging check-in and check-out times.

There are a couple of other bus routes that go elsewhere in that area. Pretty sure you can find one that can get you to a JR station well east of Sapporo, maybe even to Noboribetsu station.

Worst case is that you get a bus from CTS to a rail station on a line that goes to Sapporo and then you get on the Hokuto Limited Express to Noboribetsu station.

There is a bus from Noboribetsu station up to N.O. or the taxi is not expensive and would take you to the front door of your lodging.

I enjoyed staying at Takimotokan. It is a large tourist hotel. I stayed at a small place on a previous visit to N.O. and tried the terrific onsen baths at Takimotokan. This time, I wanted to stay there. The meals were great. Didn't need to leave the hotel.

>> we will be at Chitose on 22 Dec
Do you mean you are staying in Chitose city or near the airport the night of the 21st? Or you are flying to CTS on the 22nd, or what?

I could have just posted this link: Shin-Chitose Airport to Noboribetsu: How to get to and around Noboribetsu - Access, Transport and Orientation (japan-guide.com)

There is a rapid train from the airport to Minami-Chitose, 3 min, where you can get the Hokuto L'ex bound for Hakodate. Get off at Noboribetsu station and then bus or taxi up to N.O.

and this: Express Noboribetsu Onsen Airport-go｜Donan Bus Co., Ltd.

It says "4 rows of reclining seats" but it means "rows of 4 reclining seats". I thought there was more than one bus per day. There is a link for reservations on the above page. It goes here:

Highway bus / night bus from Hokkaido to Hokkaido Jun 2023｜WILLER TRAVEL (willerexpress.com)

Reservations open a month in advance.

Hi Thank you! for the detailed information..I've tried replying many times even subscribing just to be able to reply but it just doesn't seem to get posted. Hope this one does 😊 🙏