Hi,

I'm flying into Tokyo on February 10th and out of Osaka on February 22nd. While I'm in Japan, I plan to spend four nights in Tokyo with the possibility of a day trip to Nikko (2/10-2/14), visit Nagoya for the Toyota museum and nearby Inazawa City for Hadaka Matsuri (2/15 - may leave Tokyo for Nagoya the night of 2/14), experience Kyoto for three nights (2/16-2/19), visit Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama (2/19), tour Hiroshima for a day (2/20) and, finally, visit Spa World and eat at a couple of restaurants in Osaka (2/21) before departing Osaka for the U.S. February 22nd.

What trains would you seasoned travelers recommend that I catch between cities? Or is more efficient to fly or catch a bus in some cases? At this juncture, the only absolutes are that I must begin my trip in Tokyo and end it in Osaka, and I must be in Inazawa City February 15th for Hadaka Matsuri. I can visit Hiroshima, Kyoto and Matsuyama at any reasonable time during this 13-day period.

Please advise! (But don't try to persuade me to limit my experience of Japan to two or three cities; that's just not me!)

Thanks. ;-)

Www.hyperdia.com for trains. You will be spending a lot of your time moving from place to place, which will limit what you will be able to see.

I know, Kim - I'm an American office worker with limited vacation time and I make do with what I have. The truth is that in order to see as much as I'd like, I'd have to quit my job! Thanks for the link.

What I'm saying is that in spite of limited time, you can see a lot. By limiting your time spent traveling from place to place you will see more than if you spend time every couple of days checking in and out of hotels and riding trains. You only have 12 nights if you arrive on the 10th if you depart the US on the 10th you get here the 11th.

So 11 or 12 nights. 4 in Tokyo then five more destinations in 7 or 8 days. I wouldn't recommend trying to pack it that tightly. You will miss more than you see.

If you do all those trips from Tokyo-> Nagoya-> Kyoto-> Matsuyama-> Hiroshima-> Osaka within seven days, a JR Pass should save you some money but it is an awful lot of territory to cover. And I am a person who stayed in eight places in twelve days last Spring... ;-)

In 1979 we spent less than a week in Japan. We visited Kyoto, Nara. We flew into Tokyo, had half a day there, and took the train to Kyoto. We were on a tour, so from there we traveled by bus to Nara and Osaka, where we caught a plane to Hong-Kong. Japan was not the main object of our visit, but we saw quite a bit within that limited area. A day trip to Nikko is very feasible by train. That's what I did on my own in 1981.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623059085760/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622934984643/

If you really want to do this itinerary you could start with a 7 day JR Pass http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html which would be activated in Tokyo in time for your trip to Nagoya. From Nagoya take the shinkansen all the way to Hiroshima and spend night there. Explore a little more in the morning and take the fast ferry from Hiroshima to Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5504.html Switch the toggle at the top to say To/from Hiroshima and the ferry routes will be revealed. In your case I would use the fast(turo) ferry as not to waste time.

From Matsuyama you can take the JR train to Kyoto and stay there until you have to leave visiting Osaka from there or stay in Osaka and day trip to Kyoto. Both cities have easy access to KIX. You can read some of my trip reports in my screen profile that covers all the areas you will be traveling in. Use the www.hyperdia.com site above that KimJapan so kindly left for you to figure your train schedules. Come back with any logistic questions.

Aloha!

Another option is to purchase a Willer Japan Bus pass, and travel overnight to various cities. The Relax seats are bookable with the pass, and recline to 140 degrees with a convenient hood.

http://willerexpress.com/x/bus/dynam...a.html?aid=184