Since Nara and Kobe can do day trip. I’ll be moving until the day I go to Kyoto. But seems like I need more days at Kyoto

buy on the spot either at kyoto station or saga-arashiyama station...

1. You don't really need 14 day JR Pass and it will be a waste of money. Also, is your return flight from Tokyo or Osaka?

2. Are you planning to visit Japan again next time? If yes, consider splitting Osaka/Kyoto and Tokyo separately. From Kyoto, you can actually travel onwards to Kanawaza, Shirakawago, Takayama, and Nagoya before returning back to Osaka for return flight.

3. If not, you can still cover both but you might need to drop certain activities in order not to feel rush going from one place to another place. Tokyo can easily take up to 6-7 days alone including side-trips to Mount Fuji

1) thinking Kansai Thru Pass but afraid a lot places are not accessible? USJ, bamboo forest, deer park, dontobori etc? Return flight is tokyo tho

2&3 I have bought tokyo for return

1) If you fly in Osaka and fly out from Tokyo, you actually not need 7-day JR Pass because you only travel one way via Shinkansen. For Osaka/Kyoto-Tokyo, you need to at least have a return Shinkansen trip to make your JR pass worthwihile

2) JR Pass mostly covers Shinkansen and JR railways. It doesn't cover private railways, subways or metrolines.

3) Plan your route first before deciding to get any special pass and see whether is there any savings. For travel around the Kansai area, I find that you generally don't need to buy special passes because the saving is not much, if any.

No need to so fast decide which pass yet. Just plan ur itinerary first then count the transportation expenses and see if worth the money.

oh almost same timeline. me is 10th nov to 25th nov.

try to get 7 days JR pass instead since most of your trip is concentrated in either kansai area or kanto area. then from day 9 to day 4 can get the 72 hours subway tix.

finalize where you really wanna go first. if you get jr pass just to move from city to city, why not take the domestic flight? it could be cheaper than buyer pass for the shinkasen. pass is usually only recommended if you travel to a place far from city and not accessible by airport

thanks. will try to find the hotels first then. Then will determined the places to visits and trains or buses to take along the way. Will consults the experts here after i prepare my own lists.

tbh, not all places is only JR.

1. I can go Kobe with Hanshin line just 400 yen
2. Go Kyoto also with 400 yen without using JR.
3. Osaka subway can goto almost all attractions.
4. Airport Express by Nankai is just 1000 yen to Namba but if you take JR Haruka to Osaka station but stay Namba u need pay subway fees.

So really depends on where you stay. JR =/= Cover all destination.

JR pass is only worth when you taking JR line from Tokyo to Kansai and back*
But do consider flying from KIX to Tokyo its only RM150++ per pax. Still cheaper than buying 7 days JR pass.

This post has been edited by mugenz: Mar 26 2018, 05:07 PM

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I'm thinking of getting the 7 day pass, not sure about 14 days pass as it costs RM 600 extra per pax. Will have to make some consideration.
Hyperdia is pretty useful. I've bookmarked it

No, me and my wife have been to both Osaka and Nara previously. So I think this round will skip it and just concentrate on Kyoto + Hakone + Kawaguchiko
I enjoyed Nara though

Thanks for your time and feedback.
Wow, the water bus is interesting. Never knew about this. I've put this into my Itinerary To-Do list. Seems appropriate to add into Day 3 since I will be visiting Odaiba on Day 3 also.

Guys im planning a 16 day itinerary for Japan during the end of this year/early next year. Travel dates are 28 December to 13 January.

Im planning to go skiing either in Nagano prefecture or Niseko in Hokkaido. I have 3 options and i need some advice on my choices. Onsen is also a must for all 3 options.
Port of arrival and departure will be NRT.

Option 1 - Tohoku - Hokkaido (Jr East Tohoku Pass will be purchased) Total days spent (12-13 days)
Will be using Jr east rail pass if going to Hokkaido and planning to stop by in Tohoku area namely miyagi(sendai) & aomori before continuing in Hokkaido.
Will spend the remaining days in tokyo area before coming back to Malaysia.

Option 2 - Nagano, Toyama, Kanazawa, maybe Chiba? Niigata? Nagoya? (Jr East Niigata & Nagano pass MAY be purchased if its beneficial financially) Total Days spend (12-13days)
Will be focusing around Central Japan and going for Ski & Onsen at Hakuba/Shiga Kogen/Nozawa Onsen. Will be going for snow monkeys etc. Will visit Shirakawa Go.

Option 3 - Hakata(Fukuoka), Hiroshima, Himeji, Kanazawa, Nagano - Tokyo. (Jr West Sanyo SanIn pass will be purchased) Total Days spent around 12-13 days.
This option would be utilising my airmiles to fly to Hakata and travel back to Nagano area within 7 days hence using the Sanyo SanIn area pass and then going to Nagano area for Ski before heading back to Tokyo for departure. Will visit Shirakawa Go.

Would like to allocate around 2-4 days in tokyo for some food and minor shopping.

Is there any other recommended sites that i should be going ? Are my options feasible ?

These are only preliminary and would further elaborate on the plan after selecting 1 of my possible options. I have also excluded Hakone, Kobe, Nara, Kyoto and Osaka from trip (unless for transit) because I've been there and would like to visit other places.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

This post has been edited by lazarus7247: Mar 26 2018, 07:27 PM

I'm planning for my first solo trip, first visit to Tokyo & first time planning for oversea trip as well

I just booked my flight impromptuly today without having an idea what to do in Tokyo for 9D8N, but I'd say I'd like cover some places in the cities & do some hikes hopefully to witness autumn foliage during this trip. Haven't really sure what're the places worth to check out and where should be the right place to stay, don't even mention the transportation. Do you think something like this is possible?

Wed Oct 24th
- Morning: touch down
- Stay: Shinjuku
Thu Oct 25th
- Shosenkyo Gorge
- Stay: Shinjuku
Fri Oct 26th
- Mt. Fuji (hike from 5th station to 6th station)
- Stay: somewhere with Mt. Fuji view
Sat Oct 27th
- Stay: Shibuya
Sun Oct 28th
- Stay: Shibuya
Mon Oct 29th
- Mt. Mitake
- Stay: Ryokan somewhere around Mt. Mitake
Tue Oct 30th
- Stay: Shinjuku
Wed Oct 31st
- Mt. Takao (cable car/chairlift then hike up to top via Trail #3, hike down via Trail #4)
- Stay: Shinjuku
Thu Nov 1st
- Evening: depart to Haneda Airport

lazarus7247 Niseko has the best powder in Japan, but also tends to be crowded and westernized. Honshu ski areas tend to have a more traditional / village vibe so they feel more 'authentic.' Depends on what you want I guess, and whether skiing is your main focus or just side trip plan.

In Honshu I've skiied Nozawa Onsen (paired with snow monkeys) and Zao Onsen (paired with juhyo and Koyo Ryokan at Kaminoyama Onsen). Both of these are great for intermediates, and I adore that they are onsen villages and not purpose-built ski resorts, so there are no towering concrete ski hotels anywhere in sight.

(On the flip side, ski-in/ski-out acccoms are not common, and a bit of walking / shuttle busing required).

There is a recommended itinerary on Page 1 Post #1. You can use it as reference.

In terms of your Mt Fuji - what does it mean "hike from 5th to 6th station"? What is there @ 6th station? The climb is usually from 5th to 10th station if i'm not mistaken and you can only climb it in Summer (usually July). Or is this a hike via the Yoshida trail?

Good idea on Mt Takao, it's very beautiful and it'll be a refreshing hike. I recommend to take the chair lift as it's pretty fun.

Your itinerary is very concentrated in Shibuya and Shinjuku only. There's a lot of places you can visit.

I saw people mentioned they did a short hike from 5th to 6th station since the climb to the top is not allowed after September, yes I think it's referring to Yoshida trail.

Those are just places I'll be staying, I will do day trip away from Shibuya & Shinjuku. Depending on where I'm going, prolly will change again.

This post has been edited by vondeland: Mar 27 2018, 12:12 PM

I'll most probably be staying near Kyoto Station (haven't booked a hostel yet) and I plan to explore the east side for a day (Higashiyama, Kiyomizudera, Yasaka shrine, Ginkaku-ji) wearing kimono.

The shop that I plan to rent the kimono is Wargo and it is in front of Kiyomizuzaka Bus Station (near Chawanzaka) and about 5 min walk from Kiyomizudera. It opens at 9am and I must return the kimono latest by 5.30pm.

Assuming I start walking about 10.30am, would I be able to complete the areas and return the kimono to the store before 5.30pm?

What is the recommended route sequence that I should walk from beginning until back to the store?

I know it could be challenging walking on slopes, stairs wearing kimono and the geta (slippers) but since I am used to wearing slippers and flip flops so hopefully it's not very difficult for me lah..

Please advise, thank you!

This post has been edited by sugarbaby: Mar 27 2018, 02:23 PM

Hi All,

Just a noob question, can I use hair curler in Japan. My gf want to bring it. As I know the voltage is different right?

japan is 100V, need make sure your hair curler adapter input voltage can support in 100V

Wow thanks for the feedback! I just saw your trip and its kinda what i had in mind. It would be really helpful for the planning of my trip.

Will probably skip hokkaido and do Nagano + Tohoku. Skiing is definitely my main focus but the snow monkeys and foxes were also part of my plan.

Was there anything about your trip that u didn't like ?