comments on my itinerary

[petty blue]

will be going to japan (8d7n) next jan
appreciate if the experts can give some feedback on my itinerary.

will be buying a 7 days JR pass which i will activate on 26 Jan to 1 Feb 2013)
and 1 day R West Rail Pass Kansai Area .

thanks.

1st day arrival
Day trip to Nara
Dinner @ Namba

2nd day (use of JR pass)
Use JR Pass on JR Yamanote Line (Yellow Color)
to visit Ueno Park (AM) followed by Akihabara
Shopping @ Shinjuku and Harajuku (PM)
Dinner @ Shinagawa

3rd day
Purchase a Kyoto City Bus One Day Card (500 yen)
to visit the following places.
Kinkajuji
Kiyomizudera
Gion

4th day
Arashiyama
Tenryuji

any advice for the next 3 days?

5th day

6th day

7th day

8th day

 

[purpleberry]

You're visiting Tokyo just for a day only and then back to Kansai?

 

[evilerniex]

u are planning to travel from osaka to tokyo and back within the same day in day2? that is going super rush coz it takes about 3hrs by shinkansen to get to tokyo. furthermore, harajuku and shinjuku each can take half day or more to explore.

i suggest u drop tokyo for this trip and just focus on the places in kansai such as osaka, kyoto, nara and kobe. and u will save a lot coz u wun need the 7-day JR pass if u are not going tokyo

 

[hoshiyume]

Erm y u need 7day jr? U mainly based in where? Jr in Kyoto useless imo, I love e bus in kyoto

 

[petty blue]

Erm y u need 7day jr? U mainly based in where? Jr in Kyoto useless imo, I love e bus in kyoto

based in shin-osaka

 

[petty blue]

u are planning to travel from osaka to tokyo and back within the same day in day2? that is going super rush coz it takes about 3hrs by shinkansen to get to tokyo. furthermore, harajuku and shinjuku each can take half day or more to explore.

i suggest u drop tokyo for this trip and just focus on the places in kansai such as osaka, kyoto, nara and kobe. and u will save a lot coz u wun need the 7-day JR pass if u are not going tokyo

or maybe 2 days enough for tokyo?

 

[samtcy]

8D7N is barely enough for Kansai region. If you want to add Tokyo as well, it's going to be really rushed. Plus, 1 day at Tokyo is not enough...

If you choose to omit Tokyo on this trip, then you won't need to spend 28300yen (about S$380) on the 7day JR pass.


1st day arrival (unless you arrive really early, otherwise you won't have much time at Nara. Give enough time to clear immigration, wait for luggage, buy train ticket, then the 1hr train journey from airport to Osaka, then go hotel put bag, then about 40mins from Osaka to Nara)
Day trip to Nara
Dinner @ Namba Dotonbori

2nd day (use of JR pass)
Use JR Pass on JR Yamanote Line (Yellow Color) Yamanote line is light green color.
to visit Ueno Park (AM) followed by Akihabara
Shopping @ Shinjuku and Harajuku (PM)
Dinner @ Shinagawa
The very first Shinkansen (Hikari/Kodoma) departs Shin-Osaka station at 0608hr and arrives Tokyo station at 0910hr. The very last Shinkansen (Hikari/Kodoma) departs Tokyo at 2003hr and arrives Shin-Osaka at 2316hr. Therefore, if you make this a daytrip to Tokyo, the max you have is from 0910hr to 2003hr. 11hrs. You probably could cover Ueno Park, then Akihabara for awhile, then Shibuya. But you won't have time for Harajuku as well. Plus you will have to find time to eat lunch and dinner, as well as the train transport between these places so you will end up having much less than 11hrs at Tokyo to be spent at those places you want to visit.
Not worth it.

3rd day
Purchase a Kyoto City Bus One Day Card (500 yen)
to visit the following places.
Kinkajuji
Kiyomizudera
Gion

4th day
Arashiyama
Tenryuji
You can probably add 1 more place to this day. But if you are thinking of going on the scenic train at Arashiyama, I believe they stop for operation during winter season.

any advice for the next 3 days?


Also, bear in mind that for Jan, the sun will set around 4pm, and many attractions/shrines will close earlier than normal during winter.


This is what I recommend:
Day 1: Arrival at Kansai. Explore Osaka. Stay at Osaka.
Day 2: Explore Kobe. Stay at Osaka.
Day 3: Explore Nara. Stay at Osaka.
Day 4: Daytrip to Okayama and Kurashiki (take Shinkansen). Stay at Osaka.
Day 5: Osaka to Kinosaki onsen. Stay at Kinosaki onsen
Day 6: Kinosaki onsen to Kyoto in the morning. Explore Kyoto. Stay at Kyoto.
Day 7: Kyoto. Stay at Kyoto.
Day 8: Kyoto. Kyoto to Kansai Airport via Haruka Express.

Get the Haruka Express + ICOCA package to cover the Haruka Express trips on day 1 and day 8: 4000yen.
Also get the 4 day JR Kansai Area Wide Pass to cover day 3 to day 6: 7000yen.

 

[evilerniex]

or maybe 2 days enough for tokyo?

2 days is enuf to cover the places u listed for tokyo.
but the thing is, it is not very worth it to travel all the way to tokyo just for 2 days. there are many other places to visit in tokyo, and 2 days is not going to be enuf. it will take about a week to cover tokyo properly. furthermore, there are many interesting places in kansai as well, and that will fully occupy ur 8 days.

 

[petty blue]

2 days is enuf to cover the places u listed for tokyo.
but the thing is, it is not very worth it to travel all the way to tokyo just for 2 days. there are many other places to visit in tokyo, and 2 days is not going to be enuf. it will take about a week to cover tokyo properly. furthermore, there are many interesting places in kansai as well, and that will fully occupy ur 8 days.

i've been to kansai 2yrs back, those places that i mentioned also been there just that i wanted to revisit these places again because they are so nice.

tokyo i 've not been there b4 hence thought of making 1 or 2 day trip in this upcoming trip.

beside, i can't think of any other places to visit
hence hoping that the experts here will give some suggestions.

8D7N is barely enough for Kansai region. If you want to add Tokyo as well, it's going to be really rushed. Plus, 1 day at Tokyo is not enough...

If you choose to omit Tokyo on this trip, then you won't need to spend 28300yen (about S$380) on the 7day JR pass.


1st day arrival (unless you arrive really early, otherwise you won't have much time at Nara. Give enough time to clear immigration, wait for luggage, buy train ticket, then the 1hr train journey from airport to Osaka, then go hotel put bag, then about 40mins from Osaka to Nara)
Day trip to Nara
Dinner @ Namba Dotonbori

2nd day (use of JR pass)
Use JR Pass on JR Yamanote Line (Yellow Color) Yamanote line is light green color.
to visit Ueno Park (AM) followed by Akihabara
Shopping @ Shinjuku and Harajuku (PM)
Dinner @ Shinagawa
The very first Shinkansen (Hikari/Kodoma) departs Shin-Osaka station at 0608hr and arrives Tokyo station at 0910hr. The very last Shinkansen (Hikari/Kodoma) departs Tokyo at 2003hr and arrives Shin-Osaka at 2316hr. Therefore, if you make this a daytrip to Tokyo, the max you have is from 0910hr to 2003hr. 11hrs. You probably could cover Ueno Park, then Akihabara for awhile, then Shibuya. But you won't have time for Harajuku as well. Plus you will have to find time to eat lunch and dinner, as well as the train transport between these places so you will end up having much less than 11hrs at Tokyo to be spent at those places you want to visit.
Not worth it.

3rd day
Purchase a Kyoto City Bus One Day Card (500 yen)
to visit the following places.
Kinkajuji
Kiyomizudera
Gion

4th day
Arashiyama
Tenryuji
You can probably add 1 more place to this day. But if you are thinking of going on the scenic train at Arashiyama, I believe they stop for operation during winter season.

any advice for the next 3 days?


Also, bear in mind that for Jan, the sun will set around 4pm, and many attractions/shrines will close earlier than normal during winter.


This is what I recommend:
Day 1: Arrival at Kansai. Explore Osaka. Stay at Osaka.
Day 2: Explore Kobe. Stay at Osaka.
Day 3: Explore Nara. Stay at Osaka.
Day 4: Daytrip to Okayama and Kurashiki (take Shinkansen). Stay at Osaka.
Day 5: Osaka to Kinosaki onsen. Stay at Kinosaki onsen
Day 6: Kinosaki onsen to Kyoto in the morning. Explore Kyoto. Stay at Kyoto.
Day 7: Kyoto. Stay at Kyoto.
Day 8: Kyoto. Kyoto to Kansai Airport via Haruka Express.

Get the Haruka Express + ICOCA package to cover the Haruka Express trips on day 1 and day 8: 4000yen.
Also get the 4 day JR Kansai Area Wide Pass to cover day 3 to day 6: 7000yen.

thanks samtcy for your valuable inputs.
but i have booked my hotel in shin-osaka throughout the trip.
hence, won't be making another accommodation at other places

 

[cancer81]

TS been to Minoo park? granted January wun be THAT beautiful

Osaka Travel: Osaka Tenmangu Shrine and Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street
I could have spent more time when I went there in June. Too bad the rain changed our plans. The shopping arcade is still worth the visit imo

 

[evilerniex]

i've been to kansai 2yrs back, those places that i mentioned also been there just that i wanted to revisit these places again because they are so nice.

tokyo i 've not been there b4 hence thought of making 1 or 2 day trip in this upcoming trip.

beside, i can't think of any other places to visit
hence hoping that the experts here will give some suggestions.



thanks samtcy for your valuable inputs.
but i have booked my hotel in shin-osaka throughout the trip.
hence, won't be making another accommodation at other places

since u have already booked ur hotel in osaka, it is even more difficult to travel tokyo. it is gonna be very tiring to travel tokyo and back within the same day, worse if u wanna do a second day of it.

if u cant change ur hotel bookings, there are still some places u can consider for day trips, such as kobe, nara, himeji, amanohasidate, wakayama city and maybe ise (havent been before, so cant say for sure). koyasan is possible as well, but it may be a bit rush, and the main draw of the place is actually the temple stay.
there are ppl who make day trips to hiroshima and miyajima as well, although i personally find it too rush to properly cover the place

of course u can also spend more time to explore the places in osaka and kyoto. there are always something new to be discovered, something that u may have overlooked in a previous trip. so take ur time to explore and uncover hidden gems in these cities

 

[James Tang]

May I know how many days you spent in Kansai area with your last trip? I believe there are more to explore without going all the way to Tokyo. It is really far. 4 years back I did a 4 days Tokyo and 4 days Kyoto and found it slightly not enough.

Osaka alone will take out 2 days at least without exploring nearby places such as Nara and Kobe.

By the way, Miyajima to me was just nice, going in the morning and come back at night as there is a limit to ones stamina. But the travel alone takes 3.5 hours one way so beware.

 

[cpuer]

Even though booked hotel in Osaka, you still can stay in Tokyo if you dont want to make the daily route. Just find a cheap hostel or an capsule to spend the night. I think its a worthwhile investment considering how much time you get back and rest you gain.

 

[James Tang]

Even though booked hotel in Osaka, you still can stay in Tokyo if you dont want to make the daily route. Just find a cheap hostel or an capsule to spend the night. I think its a worthwhile investment considering how much time you get back and rest you gain.

This is a good idea. Leave your main luggage back in Osaka and travel light, and experience capsule hotel stay......

 

[cpuer]

This is a good idea. Leave your main luggage back in Osaka and travel light, and experience capsule hotel stay......

I wish they have something like Korea's jimjibang
Jjimjilbang - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[petty blue]

thanks to all for your suggestions.
i have decided to concentrate kansai area and give up tokyo for this trip.

attached below is my revised itinerary.
pls feel free to give me your valuable inputs and suggestions again.

i will also be buying the JR West Rail Pass - Sanyo Area (8 days).

1st day arrival
a) Day trip to Nara
b) Dinner @ Namba

2nd day
Purchase a Kyoto City Bus One Day Card (500 yen)
to visit the following places.
a) Kinkajuji
b) Kiyomizudera
c) Gion

3rd day
a) Arashiyama
b) Fushimi Inari Shrine
c) Tenryuji

4th day
a) Hiroshima Downtown
b) Hiroshima Castle
c) Peace Park

5th day
a) Kurashiki
b) Canal Area

6th day (buying 1 day Kobe City Loop Bus tix)
a) Kobe City Museum
b) Chinatown

7th day
a) Umeda Sky Building
b) Namba
c) Shinsekai

8th day
Home sweet home!

 

[skysj4]

do visit miyajima if you are going to hiroshima.
its just a short ferry away and its beautiful during sunset

 

[evilerniex]

base on ur itinerary, it is not going to be worth it to get the 8 days sanyo area pass. JR pass is expensive and it is only worth it to use it for long trips on shinkansen and ltd express trains. so for u case, jsut get the 4-days sanyo area pass to cover the trip to hiroshima and to kurashiki. u can shift hiroshima and kurashiki towards the end of the trip so the 4 day pass covers the trip to the airport as well.

 

[petty blue]

assuming i changed hiroshima and kurashiki towards the end of the trip . so u're saying for the rest of the days,its better that i buy the single trip tix when i'm there?

 

[evilerniex]

assuming i changed hiroshima and kurashiki towards the end of the trip . so u're saying for the rest of the days,its better that i buy the single trip tix when i'm there?

yup, just get single trip tickets.

for the 4 day sanyo pass, u can use if for:
hiroshima
kurashiki
shin-osaka to KIX
nara (since getting to nara from shin-osaka is more expensive compare to kobe or kyoto)