Hello everyone! This will be my (M22) second time in the country and my friend’s (M22) first. My first trip to Japan was a guided tour during high school, so obviously this one will be a lot more self-directed. This will start in mid-June going into early July. We plan to each bring a large, carry-on sized travel backpack for easier transport.
Due to some scheduling conflicts, I’ll spend the first five days of this trip on my own before my friend arrives for the remainder. Not the original plan but it leaves me with a good opportunity to use the first few days to travel solo for my first time.
Really wanted to use a lot of trains.
**DAY 1 – NARITA → TOKYO**
4:15 pm – On my own at this point, arrive at NRT and retrieve a 1-week JR Pass with activation the next day. Arrive in Shibuya and get to the hotel.
**DAY 2 – TOKYO**
Likely just a rest day to adjust to the time zone and get familiar, using the JR Pass on the Yamanote Line to explore. No real definite plans. Staying another night in Shibuya.
**DAY 3 – TOKYO → KUROBE GORGE → TOYAMA**
7:52 am – Take the Hakutaka shinkansen from Tokyo to Kurobe.
10:24 am – Arrive in Kurobe-Unazukionsen Station.
Head east on the Toyama Main Rail Line to Kurobe Gorge and use the railway to tour through the gorge and back. Get back to the shinkansen station, then take the next available Hakutaka to Toyama Station where the next hotel will be. Will probably look out for nearby attractions like Toyama Castle or the Glass Art Museum.
**DAY 4 – TOYAMA → NAGOYA → HAKONE**
7:58 am – Catch the Hida train in Toyama Station for a long scenic ride to Nagoya with no transfers.
12:04 pm – Once arrived in Nagoya Station, visit the observation deck on the Sky Promenade or Mirai Tower, but leave plenty of time to get back to the station.
2:38 pm OR 3:31 pm – Leave on the more convenient eastbound shinkansen, either Kodama or Hikari, respectively.
Arrive at Odawara Station sometime in the late afternoon. From here, take the local Hakone Tozan Line up towards Hakone and find the booked accomodation.
**DAY 5 – HAKONE**
Sightseeing day with no set times. Will do the “Hakone Loop”, using the local cable cars and other transportation. Weather depending, go up the ropeway to Mototsumiya Shrine atop Mount Hakone. Might not be worth it if the view of Fuji is obstructed.
**DAY 6 – HAKONE → KAMAKURA → NARITA (FRIEND ARRIVES)**
Leave in the morning and head to Kamakura for the day. Will eventually end up at Ofuna Station and take the Narita Express back to the airport.
4:15 pm – Friend arrives at NRT and I aim to be there by then waiting for him in the correct terminal. He won’t be getting a JR Pass, we’ve worked out the potential costs and it won’t be worth it for him. Will be staying close to Narita Station for the night.
**DAY 7 – NARITA → CHIBA → TOKYO → SUNRISE EXPRESS**
From Narita Station in the late morning, we’ll go to Chiba Station. From here, we’ll check out the hanging monorail and get lunch before using the Keiyo Line to get to Tokyo Station. We’ll pick up our prepurchased tickets for the Sunirse Izumo and store our bags in coin lockers.
Time and weather depending, we’ll take a walk to the Imperial Palace and other surrounding areas while keeping close to the station. Might make a short trip to Akihabara for arcades, stores, etc. before returning.
9:50 pm – The sleeper train, Sunrise Izumo, departs from Tokyo Station for an overnight trip.
**DAY 8 – SUNRISE EXPRESS → YASUGI → MATSUE**
9:13 am – Step off the train at Yasugi Station. With half of the day until check-in at our hotel, we will visit the Adachi Museum of Art using the free shuttle from the station.
Head back to Yasugi Station and get to Matsue Station mid afternoon, where the hotel is nearby. Apparently as a foreigner, discounted bus tickets bound for Hiroshima can be bought with Ichibata Travel service in the station. Don’t really want to leave buying tickets until this moment because I’m not too sure if the bus(es) would be booked up, so it might be worth buying the regular price online then refunding it once the discounted ticket is bought, just for insurance.
My 1-week JR Pass expires at the end of the day.
**DAY 9 – MATSUE**
This day is to rest and sightsee. We can take our time exploring Matsue using a tourist bus called the Lakeline Bus that goes to many points of interest around the city.
**DAY 10 – MATSUE → HIROSHIMA**
TBD am – The express bus from Matsue Station to Hiroshima Station will depart.
TBD pm – Arrival in Hiroshima three hours later.
Pick up the discounted tickets for the Sanyo Shinkansen (likely bought through Klook) before heading to the hotel. After checking in, possibly visit the nearby Hijiyama Park and the museum in it.
**DAY 11 – HIROSHIMA / MIYAJIMA**
Day trip to Miyajima. Possibly explore the nightlife later on in Hiroshima in the Hondori/Nagarekawacho area.
**DAY 12 – HIROSHIMA → OSAKA**
After checking out of the hotel, head back to Hiroshima Station to store luggage in the coin lockers we take the shinkansen later. We’ll then visit the Atomic Bomb Dome along with the nearby Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Hiroshima Castle if there’s still time.
TBD pm – Using the Sanyo Shinkansen one way ticket, take an early/mid afternoon ride to Osaka. Departure time depends on what tickets are picked up earlier using the voucher.
Upon arriving in Shin-Osaka Station, get to the hotel first then explore the Dotonbori area as it is close by.
**DAY 13 – OSAKA / NARA / KYOTO**
9:15 am – Aoniyoshi train to Nara first, then Kyoto for a day trip. Probably the bullet train for the way back.
**DAY 14 – OSAKA**
Mainly an Osaka exploration day. Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan are a few places we wanted to visit. Still considering just doing Universal Studios for the day instead.
**DAY 15 – OSAKA → TOKYO**
TBD am – From Osaka Station, board daytime bus enroute to Tokyo. Departure time unknown, will book once available. Approximately a 9 hour ride, though it’s mucher cheaper than the shinkansen and it’s a chance to rest.
TBD pm – Arrive at Tokyo Station and use the Yamanote Line to get to our hotel. Near the Tokyo Tower.
**DAY 16 – DAY 18 – TOKYO**
Now that we’re back in Tokyo at this point, we do have more activities planned though there’s no more huge journeys ahead of us.
I realize that this seems a bit barebones compared to other detailed itineraries I’ve seen around this sub but we were mostly concerned with our transportation, we can find things to do once we’re where we want to be. We’ve tried to include a variety of different transport because it’s something we find so fascinating about Japan and we need to get it right, though we can be very flexible. The Sunrise Express is the one thing we probably can’t miss because it’ll be difficult/expensive to get to Matsue otherwise. Looks like tickets are easy enough to get in advance online though.
I’d really like to know how doable this is, because I’ve never planned something like this. For this trip, are there any forms of transportation that would be more convenient and/or cheap? Except for the Hida, I realize it’s probably the longest route I could take to get to Hakone but I hear it’s worth the time. And any recommendations for stuff to check out in each location would be awesome!
1 comment
Out of curiosity, why a daytime Osaka-Tokyo bus? The night buses might be a couple of thousand more than the daytime, but when you factor in the one night hotel savings it should come out ahead to do a night bus. It’d also give you an extra day in either Osaka (for USJ? or two day trips – one each for Kyoto and Nara, I don’t think you can do them together) or Tokyo.