34 Day Itenerary in oktober/november 2021

9 comments

1. >3 November: hiroshima
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   >4 November: shimani kaido cycling route (if the weather allows it) still doubting if we should split this up in 2 days?
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   >5 November: Beppu

   November might be a bit chilly/cold to cycle, but should still be doable. I personally think the cycling route is best done over 2-3 days, as the charm of the route (to me) is being able to go around the individual islands themselves and just chill. If you don’t spend too much time on each island and stick to just crossing the bridges, 1 day is quite doable. I would note that this route ends in Imabari, so you should account for the transportation from Imabari to Beppu. If you do this by bus/train, you end up backtracking across the Shimanami route and could easily spend 4+ hours simply doing a U-turn to get back to Honshu and travel to Kyushu. There is also a [ferry](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2355.html) (Beppu-Yawatahama) that takes 3 hours to get to Oita, but you still need to get from Imabari to Yawatahama port. I’ve been meaning to try the ferry the next time I do the Shimanami Kaido, so I can’t speak to how the ride is.

2. Oct 24th: Plan to get to Matsumoto a bit earlier in the day and explore the city a bit. In particular, see/walk around Matsumoto Castle at night. You’ll get some amazing photos and eat at [Storyhouse Cafe. ](https://goo.gl/maps/eKzEX5kFdYCj4Jyu6)I believe they have hostel style rooms too there if you want a cheap/easy place to stay the night in the historical area but you could also just do a cheap hotel near the station. [This website ](https://visitmatsumoto.com/en/area?fbclid=IwAR3SitFS1HfyyEDhFugnZbSDtiKLzO5dxKMDNV9P6AMzUrclTi_hk3mtPgM)has lots of great info on what to do in Matsumoto Area.

   Oct 26 & 27th: There aren’t many places to stay actually In Kamikochi. But Norikura is just on the other side of the tunnel and we visited there in summer 2020 (we live in Japan currently) and loved it. We stayed at [Guesthouse Raicho](https://goo.gl/maps/hJ98YAkUJUFApiNb9)
   which has its own outdoor private onsen that you reserve at their front desk. It’s a short walk to the nearby bus depot/tourist info center and the staff there were super helpful. There’s a waterfall hike a short walk from the Guesthouse and other more amazing hikes a bus/car ride away. We had a car so can’t speak to bus schedules but it is possible to get around the area fully by bus as that is what some other Japanese tourists were doing. Guesthouse staff can give advice if needed.

   See the [Alps Area page ](https://visitmatsumoto.com/en/area/alps/) of the Visit Matsumoto site for lots of helpful info.

   Oct 28 – 2 Nov: Keep in mind it’ll be too early for fall leaves there as the best time for those is late Nov/early Dec but you should have good weather for all the sightseeing. That’d be a long time to stay at a hotel just in Osaka. Try to stay in Kyoto at least 2 – 3 nights as that way you can really enjoy walking around the city at night. Stay near the Gion area rather than the station. Kyoto is also very spread out so explore it by district. Pick one site to visit abc take bus there then walk/bus around the area to see other nearby and often less well known sites. When tired, head to the next district. You can also rent bikes to get around Kyoto as it’s very flat so easy to explore that way. [This site ](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts)does a good job of outline what is in each district.

   There is a bamboo forest at Kodaiji that we liked better than the more famous one in Arashiyama. If you head up to Arashiyama area definitely take the [Sagano Romantic Train](https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-kyoto/in-arashiyama_uzumasa/article-a2000531/) and opt to take the [riverboat ride ](https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-kyoto/in-kyoto-suburbs/article-a2000037/)back. It was a highlight of our trip to Kyoto in early December.

   One thing to consider is you might not need a 21 day JR Rail pass since you’ll be spending some significant chunks of time in various regions. There are various [region specific passes](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html) that are a bit cheaper and could be used while in that area. Plug your route into a JR Pass calculator and compare whether it’s be better to buy some of the regional passes and only use the full JR for a shorter period or maybe just buy one way tickets between regions and use other local passes if needed while you’re there. See also this [helpful article. ](https://tokyocheapo.com/travel/which-jr-rail-pass-to-choose/)

3. As for where to stay in Tokyo, the most popular area for bars and such is Shinjuku and Shibuya, but that does not mean they are the only place you can find them. And when you say “not to far away”, let’s say that in less than half an hour, you can be in a lot of places in Tokyo. So the question for me is more, do you plan to get out to drink up after last train so you want to walk back to your hotel, or are you ok to leave to catch last train. It also depend in what kind of vibe you want to finish the day.

   Yes it is possible to send your luggage several days in advance, but first of all, just consider how much you will bring, as you change city several times, you will have to carry luggage at some point. I would advise to travel as light as possible, for example for cloth, plan to do your laundry.

   I would personally take time to stop by Matsumoto at least to see the castle. It would probably be possible to take the train to Matsumoto in the morning, do a quick visit and take the bus to Kamikochi in afternoon so you can start the hike next day.

   Also, you said the alpine route, but from what I know, the only place that have this name is the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine route, that is not going to Kamikochi. So not sure which route you want to use. If you go for Kamikochi, on your way to Osaka, I would take some time to check out Takayama, as you will have to go there by bus before getting in the train to Osaka, so it can simply be a stop during the day.

   For Kyoto/Osaka, yes it is possible to do it all from Osaka. I would say that staying in only one city or doing both have pro and con, it really depend on people.

   Only one day for Hiroshima, do you plan do check Miyajima too ? It it possible, but a common recommendation is to have one day for each, or to stop by Himeji on the way to Hiroshima (when you take 2 days).

   Shimanami kaido, I would personally take two days to do it. Question is, what is your goal ? Just ride your bike ? Then one day Stop at a couple of places ? Then two days. To start with, Onomichi is a lovely place, so spending the morning there could also be an option and there is several interesting places to see on the islands.

   How do you plan to reach Beppu ? One option is take the ferry at Yawatahama, but this will take time, I can tell, I did Beppu to Matsuyama and it was a bit of a challenge with the ferry and train schedule.

   I do not understand you Kyushu plan at all. Why would you rent a car if you think about the JR Pass 21 days ? If you rent a car, then you could go with a 14 days pass. If you do not rent a car, Beppu, Fukuoka, Kumamoto (in that order) are quite easy to do by train only. I am not really sure on what you want to see in Miyazaki, but it is indeed a bit longer to reach, so I would either drop it or by train, I would do Kagoshima then Miyazaki.

   November 13, you clearly made a mistake on the flight from Osaka to Kyoto. I guess you mean fly to Tokyo, but if you take the train up to Osaka, you might as well do it all the way to Tokyo, would not be longer and cheaper if you are still on your JR Pass.

   There is many airports in Kyushu, literally in all the city you want to visit. What I would personally do is check to buy a multi city ticked to land in Tokyo and leave from Kyushu (for example from Miyazaki) this just mean that you will have a connecting flight in Tokyo for example, but you do not have to return there for a day. But yes, you can also check to do a round trip, and a single ticket from Kyushu to Kyoto.

4. They haven’t announced the dates yet, but Tokyo Curry fest is always in October. It’s not a traditional festival, it’s a bunch of stores that have special menu items.

   It may be worth checking out one or two of the restaurants, especially if they are near something else you are going to.

   https://curryfes.pw/

5. 28 oct – 2 nov depends on how many days you will visit kyoto but could be nice to stay at a Japanese in for 2 or 3 nights if you plan to visit kyoto on multiple days to give you more breathing space when visiting Kyoto. Especially if you wanna visit some places early in the morning id recommend staying in Kyoto.

6. Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Inserting both the route and Kamikochi with your schedule might be difficult.

   You can’t traverse Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and get to Kamikochi on the same night, unless you rent a car in Toyama and driving 2½ in the dark will not be fun.

   My advice would be to either skip Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route entirely; or skip Kamikochi and visit Kurobe Gorge and Kanazawa before going to Kansai.

   Shimanami Kaido: Daylight hours might be your bane here, unless you do 80-100 km trips regularly. Note that getting from Imabari to Beppu would require two trains and a ferry, so I’m not really sure how feasible it would really be following a day of cycling (my advice is to do Shimanami Kaido from Imabari to Onomichi and finish your day at Hiroshima, and go from Hiroshima to Beppu via Kokura).

   Renting a car in Kyushu: If you intend to drive from Oita to Miyazaki, it’s not a good plan, really. My advice would be to rent a car in Oita, if you intend to go to Kurokawa Onsen first, followed by Mt. Aso area and Takachiho Gorge. If you want to start with Takachiho Gorge, it would probably make more sense to rent a car in Nobeoka. My advice would be to drop off car in Kumamoto, as both Kumamoto and Fukuoka are usually best done with public transport.

7. Push it back a week or two and u might get to see autumn foliage!

8. Your Hiroshima-Beppu leg seems strange. How are you handling the travel on either end of the Shimani Kaido?

   I would spend more time in Kyoto than Osaka and would stay in Kyoto.

   One option is to spend fewer days in Tokyo at the start and more at the end. You might decide to return to Tokyo earlier than the last day of the JR Pass.

   I spent 3 weeks in Japan in October 3 years ago, and experienced two typhoons as well as other rainy days. Plan for being flexible.

9. > 6 November: rent a car in Oita and drive to Miayazaki
   >
   >7 November: Miayazaki

   I was thinking of doing some driving on a future trip to Japan as well! Are you comfortable driving on the left side of the road? That’s a big one for me, and I was under the impression Belgium also drives on the right side of the road. Have you got an international driver’s license (it seems to be largely a CYA/formality, but worth the hassle)? Do you need to return the car to the same place, or are there drop offs like a car share?