Need help 13 Day itinerary!

[lugia88]

May any kind soul have a good itinerary for i will be going for a 13 day trip to japan

tokyo (6days) -
Kansai (7days) - osaka - kyoto (2Days) - nara(1Day) - kobe(1day)

that i can reference too?

places that i wish to visit includes disney sea, mount fuji/hakone!

places i went before asakusa, and small part of shinjuku (meiji shrine etc ) as last time i went to japan before !

pls advice me experts!! i been changing my itinerary alot and i cant make up my mind T_T

 

[samtcy]

Are you flying in/out of Tokyo or Osaka?

 

[lugia88]

i will be flying in from tokyo first then osaka out

i bought a 7 day JR pass, and i guess im using from the day im going to osaka

i will be basing at osaka from 22-27 May and 27May - 3 June in shin osaka

 

[evilerniex]

i will be flying in from tokyo first then osaka out

i bought a 7 day JR pass, and i guess im using from the day im going to osaka

i will be basing at osaka from 22-27 May and 27May - 3 June in shin osaka

do u mean tokyo for 22-27 may? or is ur entire trip based in osaka and shin-osaka??

since u are flying into tokyo and out from osaka, u only need one trip on the shinkansen. it may not be worth it to get JR pass actually, as the shinkansen from tokyo to osaka is about 13000yen.

there are lots of trip reports and sample itineraries in those sticky threads in this forum, maybe u can take a look at them? or u can post what u have planned so far, and we can help to refine it.

sample suggestion:
day 1: arrival in tokyo, explore area near hotel
day 2: disneysea
day 3: hakone, overnight in hakone
day 4: hakone
day 5: tokyo (odaiba, akihabara, ueno etc)
day 6: tokyo (ginza, tsukiji market, tokyo tower etc)
day 7: tokyo to osaka, explore area near hotel
day 8: kobe
day 9: nara
day 10: kyoto (kinkakuji, kiyomizudera, nijo, gion)
day 11: kyoto (fushimi inari, arashiyama)
day 12: osaka (aquarium, osaka castle, dotonbori etc)
day 13: return to SG

 

[cpuer]

wow, almost same thing as me. Though mine is in Dec, will have very short daylight and very cold.

Flying into Narita on 8 Dec, out from Osaka on 21 Dec.

My intitial itinerary:

8-14 In Kanto area, 15-21 In Kansai

Kanto is Tokyo, Hakone and Kamakura. Likely only day trip to Hakone and Kamakura. Possibly half day trip to Yokohama. Other than that all hanging around in Tokyo.

Kansai is Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Wakayama.

Will get 7 days JR pass too. Will be using JR rail as much as possible so that I get my money worth.

 

[lugia88]

do u mean tokyo for 22-27 may? or is ur entire trip based in osaka and shin-osaka??

since u are flying into tokyo and out from osaka, u only need one trip on the shinkansen. it may not be worth it to get JR pass actually, as the shinkansen from tokyo to osaka is about 13000yen.

there are lots of trip reports and sample itineraries in those sticky threads in this forum, maybe u can take a look at them? or u can post what u have planned so far, and we can help to refine it.

sample suggestion:
day 1: arrival in tokyo, explore area near hotel
day 2: disneysea
day 3: hakone, overnight in hakone
day 4: hakone
day 5: tokyo (odaiba, akihabara, ueno etc)
day 6: tokyo (ginza, tsukiji market, tokyo tower etc)
day 7: tokyo to osaka, explore area near hotel
day 8: kobe
day 9: nara
day 10: kyoto (kinkakuji, kiyomizudera, nijo, gion)
day 11: kyoto (fushimi inari, arashiyama)
day 12: osaka (aquarium, osaka castle, dotonbori etc)
day 13: return to SG

argh i bought the JR pass already!! ya i will be flying in to tokyo 22may - 27 may then 27 may to 3june will be based at shin osaka ..

and i guess i will use something like this but maybe replace day4 with tokyo cause my family just want to go for a day trip to mt fuji .. but seems like so little time in tokyo sigh .. hopefully can squeeze the best out of it.. any where else in tokyo that i can go?? just normall shopping or sight seeing im more of a street fighter fan actually .. need more arcades =XX

 

[samtcy]

To help make better use of your JR Pass...maybe something like this?
22/5 Fly in to Tokyo
23/5 Tokyo
24/5 Tokyo
25/5 Tokyo
26/5 Tokyo to Hakone. Stay at Hakone
27/5 (JR day1) Hakone (Odawara) to Osaka. Stay at Shin-Osaka
28/5 Daytrip to Kyoto. Stay at Shin-Osaka
29/5 Daytrip to Kyoto. Stay at Shin-Osaka
30/5 Daytrip to Hiroshima & Miyajima. Stay at Shin-Osaka
31/5 Daytrip to Nara in the day, then Dotonbori in Osaka from late afternoon onwards. Stay at Shin-Osaka
1/6 Daytrip to Kurashiki (Okayama) and afternoon onwards at Kobe. Stay at Shin-Osaka
2/6 (JR day 7) Spend the day at Osaka or make another daytrip to places like Kyoto or Kobe or Wakayama. Stay at Shin-Osaka
3/6 Fly out of Kansai Airport

 

[evilerniex]

wow, almost same thing as me. Though mine is in Dec, will have very short daylight and very cold.

Flying into Narita on 8 Dec, out from Osaka on 21 Dec.

My intitial itinerary:

8-14 In Kanto area, 15-21 In Kansai

Kanto is Tokyo, Hakone and Kamakura. Likely only day trip to Hakone and Kamakura. Possibly half day trip to Yokohama. Other than that all hanging around in Tokyo.

Kansai is Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Wakayama.

Will get 7 days JR pass too. Will be using JR rail as much as possible so that I get my money worth.

JR pass may not be worth it unless u are taking shinkansen and limited express trains.

from the places u listed, the only shinkansen trip u need is to get from tokyo to osaka (about 13000yen). osaka to wakayama can be done using limited express, but the time saving vs normal train is not that much. the limited express to wakayama is less than 3000yen.

for hakone, only the train up to odawara is covered by JR pass, u still need to purchase additional train tickets to get to hakone, and well as the transportation within hakone. the hakone free pass is more worth it in this case

do work out all the transport cost to see if JR pass is worth it.

 

[samtcy]

Have you already purchased your JR Pass? I assumed you might have already bought it.

 

[lugia88]

yea i bought my T_T ... maybe i should add a day trip to miyajima? during the osaka period

 

[DouBleB]

Where u buy jr pass ah?

 

[lugia88]

Where u buy jr pass ah?

online theres a website .. they will fedex to your house and its cheaper from buying at jtb ..

Japan Rail Pass - Buy your JR Pass online

and i have a question, how to go to mount fuji ah? i was thinking of a day trip

 

[DouBleB]

online theres a website .. they will fedex to your house and its cheaper from buying at jtb ..

Japan Rail Pass - Buy your JR Pass online

and i have a question, how to go to mount fuji ah? i was thinking of a day trip

Any price difference if I go to tour agency like Ctc to buy? Any delivery Charges through FedEx?? How much u paid in sgd? Thanks

 

[lugia88]

Any price difference if I go to tour agency like Ctc to buy? Any delivery Charges through FedEx?? How much u paid in sgd? Thanks

im not sure .. but it was 344$ net(includes shipping) when i bought .. i rmb buying on JTB arnd 360+ to 370?

 

[natmonster]

Any price difference if I go to tour agency like Ctc to buy? Any delivery Charges through FedEx?? How much u paid in sgd? Thanks

Most travel agencies would charge 5-10sgd on top of google conversion rate for a jrpass. Although jrpass website shows u a lower price, the conversion rate and credit card charges will inflate the cost severely. I bought 4 passes from them for 389 per pass inclusive of ard 20sgd shipping compared to 383 from price breaker. Hope the info helps.

 

[cpuer]

JR pass may not be worth it unless u are taking shinkansen and limited express trains.

from the places u listed, the only shinkansen trip u need is to get from tokyo to osaka (about 13000yen). osaka to wakayama can be done using limited express, but the time saving vs normal train is not that much. the limited express to wakayama is less than 3000yen.

for hakone, only the train up to odawara is covered by JR pass, u still need to purchase additional train tickets to get to hakone, and well as the transportation within hakone. the hakone free pass is more worth it in this case

do work out all the transport cost to see if JR pass is worth it.

My family has just decided to skip Kansai. We will concentrate on Kanto for now. With that, I wont be getting JR pass. Will "ging" those daily passes as suggested in japan-guide and jnto webby.

Since kanto only, the ladies will have a blast in all those Tokyo shopping areas. I will roam the Tokyo streets for my sightseeing while they do their shopping. hakone seems to be the better than my shortlisted Kamakura/Yokohama & Nikko.

Sorry TS, hope you don't mind I my babbling here.

 

[lugia88]

i got a question regarding the JR pass .. can it be used in osaka? and trips to kobe/nara .. abit confused lol ..

 

[samtcy]

i got a question regarding the JR pass .. can it be used in osaka? and trips to kobe/nara .. abit confused lol ..

Do you mean the 7day Nationwide JR pass (28300yen)?

There are a mixture of JR trains and non-JR trains in Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, and Nara. The JR Pass is useable for JR train lines (Shinkansen is also considered a JR line).

Eg, for Osaka station, most trains (not all though) that goes here are usually JR trains. However, the station located just next to Osaka station which is Umeda station is a non-JR line.

If you want to search to see if your train journey can be made entirely using just JR trains, you can try using hyperdia.com and when you get the search results, u will see some search conditions below the search results. Uncheck the "Private Railway" option and it will show purely trains belonging to JR.

If you plan to use the JR pass for Shinkansen journeys, remember to also uncheck the "Nozomi/Mizuho/Hayabusa(Shinkansen)" option as well...since the JR pass doesn't cover these fastest class of Shinkansen trains.

 

[lugia88]

ok cool thanks! and btw because of your pics my gf wants to go to puroland LOL...

anw i got a few more questions about some day trips regarding
1)Mount fuji - how am i able to get there and back from shinjuku (bus/train) and what r they places normal tourist should go? like etc (go to fuji 5th station/lake ashi cruise/ and the ropeway ?) -- if anybody have a precise guide can just link me thanks!

2) Tokyo skytree on 22May onwards - i went to the website and its all in japanese if you want to book .. tickets cannot be bought on the day after may22 liao @.@ .. anywhere else i can buy?

3) 1 day additional trip to either - hakone or hiroshima from osaka .. ???

4) Tsukiji Fish market - im staying in shinjuku, how early must i reach there? and how to get there @.@ too early no train!

 

[samtcy]

ok cool thanks! and btw because of your pics my gf wants to go to puroland LOL...
Hehe...sorry bro? Anyway, there's more pics yet to be uploaded though.

anw i got a few more questions about some day trips regarding
1)Mount fuji - how am i able to get there and back from shinjuku (bus/train) and what r they places normal tourist should go? like etc (go to fuji 5th station/lake ashi cruise/ and the ropeway ?) -- if anybody have a precise guide can just link me thanks!
Fuji 5th station is pretty far from Hakone (lake ashi cruise/ropeway). Would advise you to choose either the 5th stage or Hakone. Will be difficult to squeeze both within 1 day.

If you want to go to Fuji 5th station, here are some bus schedules:
Bus Timetable: Buses to the Mount Fuji 5th Station

Another link to Fuji 5th Station:
Mount Fuji: Kawaguchiko 5th Station (Yoshida Trail)

For Hakone, people usually do the Hakone Classic Round course (train, ropeway, cruise..etc)

Another popular area with a view of Mt Fuji is Lake Kawaguchi (also known as Kawaguchi-ko).


2) Tokyo skytree on 22May onwards - i went to the website and its all in japanese if you want to book .. tickets cannot be bought on the day after may22 liao @.@ .. anywhere else i can buy?
See more info on ticketing here:Tokyo Travel: Tokyo Skytree

3) 1 day additional trip to either - hakone or hiroshima from osaka .. ???
a 1 day trip to Hiroshima is do-able from Osaka. For Hakone, it's probably better to go Hakone from Tokyo though since it's much nearer to Tokyo than Osaka.

4) Tsukiji Fish market - im staying in shinjuku, how early must i reach there? and how to get there @.@ too early no train!
Depends on whether you are planning to see the tuna auction or not. If you are only there to eat, then don't have to go too early. Anytime before 10am is probably fine. But if you want to see tuna auction, then you will have to be there before train services start so people usually try to stay 1 night near tsukiji market so they can walk over to queue.

My reply in red