Hello,
My family, boyfriend and I (5 of us in total) are going to Japan for the first time, and I’m having a hard time trying to decide which transportation is better. The trip is for 2 weeks and the places we want to go are Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima.
My parents are insisting to use a rental because our family friend said the benefit is having good stop overs on the way to traveling to places, like from Tokyo to Osaka. But my Japanese friend is concerned since she thinks it’s better to travel by train and bus because the roads are different and the parking is a hassle especially in the major cities (also other additional expenses like fare and gas).
Another thing to add is that my family will leave Japan earlier than me and my boyfriend, so after they leave my boyfriend and I would have to take the train and bus for sure. So before my family leaves, I’m thinking we’d stay longer in Osaka (since Kyoto and Nara are close to Osaka) than in Tokyo and Hiroshima (we’d only spend a day roaming around in Hiroshima and try to take the bullet train going back to Tokyo for my family to back to the airport, but that is if it’s possible to drop the rental car in Hiroshima instead of driving all the way back to Narita International airport which I’m trying to research about that).
What do you think is best in your opinion? If you think renting a car is better, can you share some recommendations on where to rent a car in Japan? If you think taking the train is better, can you share some tips I probably don’t already know for train tickets, etc?
I’m not gonna bother reading replies that are just plain rude so I’m only looking for advice please and thank you!
by Routine_Goat4569