Visiting U of Hiroshima son in March
 

My 20 year old son is attending the University of Hiroshima for the '05-'06 school year. My husband and I plan on visiting him during the semester break, some time in March of 2006.
So, economy is important, and we want to sight see. But, as you can imagine we will want to go right to Hiroshima in order to see him.
I would like some recomendations from there. Do we want a JR pass, how much time do we want to spend (I'm leaning towards 2 weeks), what can we easily see in that time without rushing, etc.
Our itinerary is obviously different that it would otherwise be. We will probably spend the first night in Tokyo (we will be zombies I'm sure) and travel to Hiroshima the next day. We'll probably stay there for a couple of days (we can't stay with him as he will be housed in a dorm).
I feel entirely comfortable traveling with him and then sending him back to Hiroshima on his own while we head back to that states.
Other than that, he says we need to stay in a ryokan at least one night, and he wants us to visit an onsen.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

Kyoto and the area around it for at least a week. Then maybe some places in the mountains or Kanazawa, stop at Hakone enroute back to Tokyo for a few days.

You fly right to Hiroshima. Where are you travelling from?

All Nippon Airways has flights between Tokyo Narita airport (NRT) and Hiroshima airport (HIJ) that connect with international flights.

Japan Airlines only flies between Tokyo Haneda airport (HND) and Hiroshima, so using them would require ground transport between the two Tokyo airports. ANA also uses Haneda.

If you use the Hiroshima airport then I recommend taking the bus into the city, even if you have a JR Pass. It is quicker and more frequent than the bus/train option.

If you choose not to make a flight connection at Narita, then flying into Osaka Kansai airport (KIX) would put you much closer to Hiroshima.

emd would advise you to try okonomiyaki, a Hiroshima favorite dish. Also, I think that might still be fugu season.

For a ryokan stay, you could visit Miyajima. It is easy to get to from Hiroshima. You can take a local train and a short ferry trip to get there. There is also a boat to/from Hiroshima port.

For an onsen visit, I highly recommend Dogo Onsen. It is in Matsuyama, across the Inland Sea from Hiroshima. Matsuyama also has a great castle. You can get there by hydrofoil from Hiroshima port. This boat travels through the Inland Sea national park, so is scenic. There are some sightseeing/dinner cruise boats from Hiroshima port also.

Two weeks would be about right, if you can't stay longer. Ten days, minimum, I think.

Whether or not you need a JR Pass depends on your final itinerary after you decide where to go. For what you described, Tokyo- Hiroshima- Tokyo, a JR Pass would save money but only if you did that travelling in 7-days. The 14 day pass might be justified, but it depends on where else you would go.

You might actually save on rail fare if you fly into Hiroshima. There are other passes that may be useful to you in that case. Maybe you could fly into Hiroshima and out of Osaka, visiting Kyoto for the last 4 or 5 days of your trip before sending son back to school.

I agree that you will do best to stay overnight close to where you land (which I suppose is Narita from your post- but you do realize you can land at Kansai airport near Osaka or Centrair airport near Nagoya and be closer to Hiroshima, right?) But don't anticipate your level of jet lag. I was all prepared to be a zombie and guess what- my teen son and I had abosultely no jet lag (we stayed awake on the day of travel for 20 or so hours, and went to bed on Japan time at 11 p.m. when we go to the Tokyo hotel, adn woke up at 9 a.m. th enext day, never had any jet lag). So, you just don't know how it will go til you get there and see.
If your son has been there for awhile at that point, he may have some ideas on what he wants to do and where to go, so maybe leave yourself open to that development as well. Most hotels won't even take a reservation in Japan until 6 months before you want to go. But I know, you are looking forward to it and want to have fun now with planning (I planned our Japan trip for a year before we went...)
Some people like to settle in one place and do alot of day trips. Others like to travel around every day or few days to a different place. Which kind of traveler are you, also considering it is your first trip there?
One thought is that you don't have to rush to Hirshima, he could join you in Tokyo (if you do want to land at Narita for whaever reason) or Kyoto (if you land at Kansai or Centrair) or wherever, you could travel together, and then go to Hiroshima with him to see hsi university and that city further into the trip. Is that possible? Because it would alleviate having to go to Hiroshima right away after your long trip.

mrwunrfl, that's a good idea about flying to Hiroshima from Narita if they really want to go there first. I would have thought they would have had to fly to Hiroshima from Haneda (where most domestic flights are flown), not Narita, so that is good info you gave on All Nippon....

and yes, I thought we would get down to the food recemmendations later but you MUST try okonomiyaki!!! I have the mix and sauce that I brought back from Japan on my kitchen island right now to take on my beach vacation next week so I can finally try to make it. It is the most amazing, weird, but good, culinary experience. Just watching someone make it on the griddle is an experience.

hi emd, thought you were at the beach already. i think that i mentioned to you that there is a place in herndon that makes okonomiyaki.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I assumed a flight to Narita would be cheapest. I know they are sending Him from Narita to Hanada to fly into Hiroshima and then he is being picked up by bus - so that seems the cheapest route?? since they are paying (he got a scholarship).
He does want us to see Tokyo (he has been there before) and Kyoto.
So maybe the scenario of his meeting us in Tokyo and the three of us traveling to Hiroshima over the period of a week (because of JR pass costs), then flying out of Hiroshima seems best.
I find the train costs very confusing and it makes it hard to determine what is the best, most cost effective way to go.
Also, to answer an earlier question - I want to see stuff, but I would like a home base best.
Thanks again

I have been to Hiroshima many times. Love it. I always fly to Kix. Same price from LA as to Narita. Try Thai Air, better than JAL in my opinion. I always buy a JR pass. It has always been worth it to me because you get reserved seating for free on the shinkansen. I have always found it to be a great value.

If you get homesick for American food, try Kemby's. Not far from Peace Memorial Park and it has good prices and good food.

Be warned, most Japanese hotel rooms are small and if you are over 6 feet tall your feet will probably be sticking off the end of the bed. Hondori is great for shopping or people watching. Miyajima Island is nice. If the deer bother you, blow in their face. They will go away.

We flew in/out of Tokyo due to flight availability, and used JR passes to get us to Hiroshima. On the way there by bullet train (very comfortable and convenient) we stopped for several hours in Himeji and toured the castle -- don't miss it. It was easy stop on train, short walk to gorgeous castle, and hopped back on train to Hiroshima. While in Hiroshima, we took one overnight to Miyajima (stayed at Momiji-so and loved it), hiked around Mt. Misen, etc. Hiroshima was also good for a couple of days. Peace park incredible. I suggest you read "Hiroshima Diary" before -- really interesting book.

Enjoy!