This sub has been so helpful as I am in the beginning stages of planning a spring trip. I have many ideas for the first half of the trip and would like to hear any critiques/suggestions.
Arriving in Osaka on 4/10, departing from Hokkaido 4/23
4/10- arrive at KIX around 8pm. Travel to hotel in Osaka (dotonbori)
4/11- explore Namba by day, Dotonbori by night, maybe Shinsekai/Umeda depending on how jet lagged we are
4/12- Nara Park, as early as possible. Possibly bring all belongings as I want to carry on to Kyoto and stay there for the weekend (4/12 is a Friday). I also wanted to avoid visiting the park on the weekend. Could also stay back in Osaka and keep the same hotel for the first 3 nights.
4/13- Explore Kyoto, possibly ryokan stay
4/14- Travel to Tokyo via Shinkansen, explore/stay in Shinjuku
4/15- Travel to 5 lakes region in the afternoon, possibly spend 2 nights here
4/16- 5 lakes, Fujiyoshida
4/17- ??
4/18- travel back to Tokyo/Shibuya- stay here for weekend
4/19- teamlabs, various Tokyo things
4/20- (Saturday) variable Tokyo, fly to Sapporo/CTS in the evening
4/21- explore Hokkaido- might rent car- Airbnb or similar around Shikotsu National Park
4/22- explore Hokkaido, Jozankei Onsen, relax for last full day
4/23- Depart CTS at 2pm
​
​
Specific questions:
​
1. Sakura maps seem to be overwhelming and variable. We will be covering a lot of ground and I hope to be near peak in some of these locations. Any suggestions there? I’m thinking Hokkaido might be our only shot as much of southern Honshu seems to be mid March.
2. JR pass- I’m thinking about buying a 7 day pass but would require activating immediately or on the 2nd day to get to Kyoto/Nara. Since the prices went up, I don’t think we’ll get our moneys’ worth for a 14 day pass, especially since we’ll fly to Hokkaido from Tokyo. Is it easier to have a JR pass for the duration of the trip for more localized travel in and around Tokyo, Sapporo for the 2nd half of the trip?
3. Leaving the midweek travel to Fujiyoshida variable is kind of on purpose, I want to relax here and hopefully get some good visibility of Fuji. Planning on renting e-bikes and just exploring. Any recommendations for a mild splurge accommodation?
​
​
I’m sure I’ll have more questions but thank you for taking the time to review my itinerary!
​
​
4 comments
This would change your itinerary quite a bit, but the 7-day [Osaka-Tokyo Hokuriku Arch pass](https://m.jrpass.com/regional-passes/osaka-tokyo-hokuriku-arch-pass#regional_pass_type) is much cheaper than the 7-day full pass. You’d need to go to Tokyo through Kanazawa. Basically you’d probably swap 5-Lakes for Kanazawa or other areas on the route, which may be a non-starter for you. I think your back-and-forth between Tokyo and the lakes area is throwing me a little. Why not do that on the way (which might even negate the usefulness of the JR Pass on that route, though I haven’t done the due diligence on that)?
I would personally make Osaka, Kyoto, or Nara your base. It’s about an hour to each from each, depending of course on where exactly you stay. Much more convenient than juggling luggage and looking for storage or dropping it off at your hotel, and possibly a wash on time spent commuting or looking for storage.
As for Sakura, it’s much too early to get a decent forecast. It depends so much on what kind of winter Japan has. But I’m sure you’ll enjoy it no matter what!
National JR Pass isn’t worth it for what you’re doing. You’d probably only get about 25000 yen of fares out of it. Traveling between Osaka/Kyoto/Nara is not expensive.
The expensive passes are also not worth it for inner city travel. Haven’t considered if you’d save any money getting any of the regional Hokkaido passes but I’m leaning toward “no” considering that you’d have to spend over 9000 yen in fares in your few days there.
Sorry to say this but this itinerary is absolutely nuts.
1 day in Osaka
0,5 day in Nara
1,5 days in Kyoto
then 1,5 days in Tokyo (what for if you are coming back to Tokyo again anyways?)
2 days Fuji area
2,5 days in Tokyo again
2 days in Hokkaido
Waaay too many locations for such a short timeframe. You should write down how many hours you will realistically spend each day getting from A to B, arriving early at stations, waiting for busses, buying tickets, hotel check-ins, eg. Google Maps public transport tool is actually a good resource for that. Then reconsider if every location is really worth the transit times.
At least group the two Tokyo legs together and consider staying either in Osaka or Kyoto for the entire time in Kansai.
And no – get single tickets and and IC card for local transportation. JR pass wouldn’t make any sense for you. I don‘t know why people so obsessed with passes. Even if you would use a lot of local trains (lots of trains in Tokyo and Kansai are operated by private railway companies anyway) you will likely pay half of what the JR pass would cost you.
2. Forget the JR Pass and just fly from Osaka to Tokyo. ITM airport and Haneda airport are the two airports you’re looking for.
The Japan Airlines World Explorer Pass is only 7,700 JPY per person between ITM and HND and includes two checked bags. You don’t have to fuss with luggage reservations on the shinkansen or standing tickets. ITM and HND are both very convenient to where you will be (ITM being in the city center of Osaka, and Haneda being closer to Fuji than Tokyo Station or Narita).
[https://www.jal.co.jp/aul/en/world/japan_explorer_pass/lp/](https://www.jal.co.jp/aul/en/world/japan_explorer_pass/lp/)
In all honesty, your trip is pretty rushed for less than two weeks. I would cut Tokyo/Mt Fuji and do that on a future trip…. you’re going to be back again sometime in your lifetime, and Tokyo is a major hub for flights. Then you can put a lot more of the newfound time into Hokkaido, and explore more with the rental car so that you feel more satisfied with your Hokkaido explorations.