I wanted to make sure that this schedule is possible and get some feedback on my plan. I am a huge train nerd and want to take the shinkansen as much as possible, so there are a few day trips. I am traveling from July 24th to August 1st, and here is the tentative schedule:
July 24th
* Land in Haneda
* Scope out Tokyo station
July 25th
* Shinkansen to Osaka
* Osaka Castle
* Tenmangu shrine for Tenjin Matsuri
* Dotonbori
July 26th
* Universal Studios Japan
* Super Nintendo World
* Travel to Kawaguchiko
July 27th
* Fuji Q
* Panoramic Ropeway
* Ashiwadayama park
* Travel back to Tokyo
July 28th
* Tokyo Government Building
* Meiji Jingu
* Harajuku
* Shibuya Crossing
* Hachiko Statue
July 29th
* Ginza
* Imperial palace tour
* Akihabara
* Tokyo Skytree Fireworks
July 30th
* Day trip to Hiroshima?
July 31st
* Anything we missed in Tokyo on the previous days
* Explore more around Tokyo
August 1st
* Fly back
I tried looking through info from the subreddit and other places online, but I still have a few questions:
1. What is the easiest way to see the timetables of specific Shinkansen? With the JR pass I can’t take the Nozomi trains, but that’s all Google Maps shows.
2. Do any of the things listed need advance booking? I have tickets to USJ, and I will get there before it opens to try to guarantee Super Nintendo World, or try the app otherwise.
3. Are there any major routes that I would take which aren’t included in the JR pass? I know that getting to and from Kawaguchiko will need some private lines at the end, but are there any others?
4. Are there any affordable hotels in Tokyo with rooms which can sleep 4? I am traveling with family and most of the ones I see require 2 rooms with 2 people each or are out of my budget range.
5. Is all of this possible? Am I missing some obvious attractions in Tokyo? Since the Osaka and Fuji trips will be a lot of structured travel, I was aiming to just wander around different areas of Tokyo and keep it easy going.
I know this is a lot of information, but hopefully some of you have input for me. TIA!
1 comment
I think maybe you should look at a map of the country in more detail haha…
You will have to go through Tokyo to get to Kawaguchiko from Osaka, so doing things in that order is adding unnecessary travel time. You should do Osaka > Tokyo > Kawaguchiko (departing from Tokyo). From Tokyo to Hiroshima it’s an almost 4h train ride, not including added time for moving to/from the shinkansen station to the sites. Hiroshima is not a suitable day trip from Tokyo. You can, however, do it as a day trip from Osaka. Day trips from Tokyo can include Hakone, Kamakura, Nikko, etc.
I’d try something like this:
– July 24th: Arrival Tokyo (overnight Tokyo)
– July 25th: Shinkansen to Osaka, visit Osaka (overnight Osaka)
– July 26th: Day trip to Hiroshima from Osaka (overnight Osaka)
– July 27th: USJ, travel back to Tokyo (overnight Tokyo)
– July 28th: Tokyo (overnight Tokyo)
– July 29th: Day trip to Kawaguchiko (overnight Tokyo)
– July 30th: Tokyo (overnight Tokyo)
– July 31st: Tokyo (overnight Tokyo)
– August 1st: Fly back