osnabuluru

Thank you for answering my questions! I appreciate it;

osnabuluru

Here is why I'm confused. Looking at the Hyperdia website, I chose april 25 at 9a to go from Tokyo to Takayama. I left all options selected, except I de-selected "Private Railway" as I may choose the JR Pass.
It shows a Shinkhansen Nozomi train, departing at 9a, changing trains at Nagoya to a LTD Exp Wide View at 10:41 and arriving in Takayama at 13:10.

Because it's a Nozomi train, I figured I can't use my JR Pass.

HyperDia | SearchResult

Then I downloaded the app and put in the same route. No 9a train is listed. The closest is 9:03, arriving in Takayama at 14:18. Just to be sure I covered the 9a train on Hyperdia, I changed the o/b time to 8:45a. Still, no 9a departure or 13:10 arrival. As a matter of fact, the arrival is not even close.

Additionally, the app says "JR Pass". It is a Shinkhansen Hikari and it changes in Nagoya, too. The connection is a Tokaido Line Special Rapid svc, not a Hida Wide view.

All this time, I was saying I couldn't use the JR Pass because the schedules on all my routes showed trains that I couldn't use the pass for.

How do I know which is correct? It is a Hyperdia app!!

Thanks.

Mara

When I use your dates and stations I get the same exact schedules from Hyperdia on my PC and on my cellphone app......both with Nozomi checked and unchecked.....??

However, sometimes for more confusing routes Hyperdia may or may not give the best route - for example I am planning to go from Yamagata to Niigata this winter. When I checked using Google Maps I got another choice which looked more roundabout but was actually about the same duration....when I redid Hyperdia adding the other station as 'Pass 1' I did get the Google route....but I wouldn't have known about it otherwise....

thursdaysd

mrwunrfl

what thursdaysd said

Ok, what are your dates of travel for the whole trip? Do it like other posters:
Day 1: arrive NRT at xPM, night in Narita
Day 2: travel to Takayama, night in Takayama
..,.

mrwunrfl

Look at this search and see that the first result (departing at 9:33) arrives at the same time as the 2nd result (dep 9:03) which you mentioned.
both itineraries use the same limited express train.

tt7

As already discussed, if you're using a JR Pass, you also need to de-select/untick the "Nozomi / Mizuho / Hayabusa (Shinkansen)" box.

If you look at the search results from your search, you'll see underneath the name of each train a "Train timetable" and an "lnterval timetable". If you click on those links, it will give you a schedule of when and where that train stops and a schedule of all the trains for the day on that route. If you look at the Interval timetable link for Tokyo to Nagoya, it will give you all the Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama trains for the day. Similarly, if you look at the Interval timetable link for the "Ltd. Exp. (Wide View) Hida 7" (the second train in the first result of your search), you'll see the times of those trains for the day from Nagoya to Takayama. There are 9 Wide View Hida trains for the day - at 8.43, 9.39, 10.48, 11.43 etc. Decide which of those you want to take - and then go back and look at the list of Hikari Shinkansens from Tokyo to decide which of those you need to take for an optimum connection time in Nagoya (whatever 'optimum' may be for you).

If you re-run your search with the Nozomi box unticked, the 9.00 Nozomi train disappears (as expected) and the first suggestion is the 9.33 Hikari .... and the second is the 9.03 Hikari. Note that the 9.03 train takes 20 minutes longer to reach Nagoya than the 9.33, so Hyperdia suggests (correctly) that the 9.33 is a better bet for the connection to Wide View Hida. For the 9.03, it tries to be helpful and, rather than having you hang about in Nagoya waiting for the Wide View Hida, it suggests taking a couple of other trains (so you do the extra hanging about in Gifu and Minoota) before the Wide View Hida catches up with you at Minoota.

The Hikari is usually every 30 minutes or so ... so just look at the times of the Hikari and the times of the Wide View Hida ... and figure out which is the 'optimum' combination for you. Do you want a tight (but do-able) connection in Nagoya or one that lets you stroll from track to track, stopping for a cup of coffee on the way?

Hikari - Tokyo to Nagoya
6.26 - 8.18
7.03 - 9.07
7.33 - 9.17
8.03 - 10.07
8.33 - 10.17
9.03 - 11.07
9.33 - 11.17

Wide View Hida - Nagoya to Takayama

8.43 - 10.56
9.39 - 12.23
10.48 - 13.10
11.43 - 14.18

If you want to arrive in Takayama at 13.10, it leaves Nagoya at 10.48 ..... so you need to take the 8.33 Hikari from Tokyo, arriving at 10.17, giving you a leisurely 31 minutes to get from track 17 to track 11, with plenty of time for a cup of coffee on the way....

mrwunrfl

Keep it simple. For Tokyo to Takayama you should uncheck Ordinary Train and uncheck Private Railway. Then you can search with or without Nozomi being checked.

Unchecking Ordinary Train means that your results will just show the shknkansen and limited express options. You don't want local trains on that trip. And the best routing is on JR.

The same applies for Takayama to Kyoto.

osnabuluru

Duh. I wasn't using the Hyperdia app. I downloaded the wrong one. Something called Japan Travel. I have the right one downloaded now.