train travel in Japan
 

Hi, We area family of 4, with 2 children age 19 and 23. We will be in Japan 12/20/14 til 1/3/15. Our itinerary is :
Hiroshima-1 night
Miyajima-2 nights
Kyoto -4 night
Tokyo 5 nights ( includes New years ,which I understand might make things a bit difficult)
several nights left ,considering Hakone,Nara
We plan to use the Japan rail pass during this time. I understand that several routes will be very popular and book up quickly. Can one make reservations ahead of time, or does one have to initiate the voucher and make the arrangements at tha time. I understand from the blog that many people have successfully done this on their own, but if I am having trouble, does anyone have a reputable in country tour agency that can help me navigate?
I sure appreciate your thoughts!
Evelyn

If you have 4 full days in Kyoto, one of them could be spent on a day trip to Nara. Nara is easily reached by train and it is worth a visit. However, there is a lot to do in Kyoto and if you really only have 3 days there, I would skip Nara. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and used taxis almost exclusively. Some of the sites in Kyoto (Arashiyama, Kinkajuki, etc.) will not be within walking distance of any place that you may decide to stay.

Are you flying into Hiroshima? If not, how do you plan to get there on Day 1?

Your travel from Kyoto to Tokyo would be on Day 8. If you are flying into Hiroshima then you can start a 7-day pass on Day 2 of your trip.

You don't need a 14-day pass.

Regarding making reservations for the trains...we exchanged our vouchers in Tokyo and went to a travel agency right in the Shibuya station, about 30 feet away from where we made the exchange. We had previously researched all of the routes, dates and times we needed on Hyperdia.com, and printed out each itinerary so that all we needed to do is hand them to the agent. They made all the reservations for the entire trip in about 20 minutes and gave us tickets for each trip for which a reservation was possible.

You can probably do this in Hiroshima as well, but you should confirm this. My JR pass package included all of the train stations where an exchange was possible, so yours should as well. My only concern is how you are getting to Hiroshima. If by JR, and if you are flying into KIX you may want to change your vouchers there, if possible. I'll defer to the Fodor's Japan experts to chime in to see if that is possible, and if there is a travel agent in the station that can help.

Have a great trip!

Hi, We took the advice of another fodorite whose trip report suggested flying into a different airport so as not to backtrack. We are flying Asiana Seattle- Seoul-Hiroshima.
We don't get in until 8 pm so I don't think we will be able to do anything at a Hiroshima station until the next day. We will take the ferry to Miyajima, not sure if Japanrail takes care of that or not.
We were also are thinking about some day trips from Tokyo, for example,going to Nikko on the train (I traveled there in 1978 and remember the multiple hairpin turns of the road very well-several family members get car sick so bus wouldn't be ideal) and Kamakura, not sure if reachable by train or bus. I have read that the train to Narita might be covered. Clearly I need to do more research on Japanrail.
What I hear you saying though is that we need to wait and get the actual reservations at the time that we turn in our voucher, right?
Thanks so much for your input!
Evelyn

Kamakura is easily reached by train:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3115.html

Check the japan-guide website for all sorts of useful information!

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html

It appears that the exchange office at Hiroshima is open quite late.
You can use the JR Pass on one of the ferry lines to Miyajima.

But you first have to make your way from the airport so it may not work the night you arrive...

I assume you know that Hiroshima airport is a long way from Hiroshima and access is not straightforward.

http://www.hij.airport.jp/english/ and click on access and bus timetables. If you are staying in Hiroshima, then the best option is probably the limmo bus to Hiroshima bus center, then a taxi. Alternatively, there's a connector bus to Saraichi station and a local train from there to Hiroshima. I've done the latter route in the reverse direction.

There's a decent (and pretty cheap) airport hotel in walking distance:
http://www.h-airporthotel.co.jp/eng/

Thanks for the Kamakura info,Kja. It appears that the facilities are open during the New Year so that is a good possibility for a visit.

Mara,it looks like the airport is 1 hour away by bus from the train station. I haven't delved into the city map to see if the train station is close to the museum or the port yet. No one on the blog has responded to my question about whether we can reserve spots on the train before getting the actual tickets. A Japanese colleague of my husbands thinks so and I hope he is correct. Since we are looking for 4 tickets and it is supposed to be a busy travel time, it would be good to get the reservations mailed down. Thanks for the info about the ferry. I thought I had read that. I have spent about 20 hrs in the last 3 days trying to get all the cities and lodgings planned and details are starting to swim in my head. Almost done though and very excited!
Evelyn

That 5th night in Tokyo would be Dec 31, so you have 2 additional nights before you depart on the 3rd.

You mention an interest in Nara. You would want to visit there before heading to Tokyo.

Which airport will you use when you leave Tokyo, Narita or Haneda?

The train is the best way to get to Nikko. You can use JR or their is a private line that actually has a better connection. If you want to avoid hairpin curves, don't plan to go to lake Chuzenji (sp?) which is often combined with visits to Nikko. See the bit about Irohazaka winding road here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3806.html