Japan Honeymoon itinerary / JR Pass Final Help!

Basically we are thinking of the following itinerary to also maximise the use of the JR pass

Maximize your vacation, not the JR pass. Trying to maximize the savings on the pass usually leads to ruining your vacation. "I didnt get to see anything but I saved $150 with the JR pass!"

I think you might be better off with a 5 day JR west Kansai Hiroshima pass.

And do you know if all of the routes mentioned are available on the JR pass?

They are available but they arent nessisarily the best option. Remember that with the JR pass you will be limited to taking JR trains and unable to take the Nozomi(the fastest trains).

Tokyo to Takayama can be done much cheaper if you take a bus, or much more scenic if you take a train from Tokyo to Matsumoto and then a bus from Matsumoto to Takayama(Matsumoto has a lovely castle). The train from Tokyo to Takayama goes via Nagoya, bland and uninteresting then a transfer and then gets a little scenic going to Takayama. But you will get to see that scenic part going to Kyoto 2 days later. The bus is not covered by the JR pass.

I might even consider adding a night in Matsumoto. August is HOT and HUMID everywhere in your itinerary other than Takayama. It is oppressive. For me I would add more time in the alps and cut down on the sweaty lowlands.

Aug 18 - Aug 20 - 2 nights in Miyajima
*visit Hiroshima

This could be 1 night, even with visiting Himeji. Hiroshima only takes a couple hours and Miyajima is not huge.

When I was in Takayama I took the bus on one way, and the train on the other way, and the bus was definitely much much more scenic than the train journey. From Shinjuku the bus took about 5 hours, including 3 stops, and it was direct and very comfortable.

Again, thank you both so much . OK, we may try and get the bus from Tokyo > Matsumoto for 1 night then Matsumoto > Takayama for 1-2 nights then Takayama > Kyoto. These 3 buses work out around £72. Then we can pick up a 5 day West JR Pass for the other parts, sound a plan?

Looking at possibly the following. Anything you would change? I know Nathalie2 you suggested 2 nights might be best for Miyajima as it is quite far to go for just 1 night.

Aug 8 - FLY INTO TOKYO

Aug 8 - Aug 14 - 6 nights Tokyo
*visit Mt. Fuji / 5 lakes

Aug 14 - 1 night Matsumoto

Aug 15 - Aug 17 - 2 nights Takayama
*visit Kamikochi

Aug 17 - Aug 21 - 4 nights in Kyoto
*visit Nara, Arashiyama, Himeji Castle

Aug 21 - Aug 23 - 2 nights in Miyajima
*visit Hiroshima

Aug 23 - Aug 24 - 1 night Osaka

Aug 24 - FLY HOME FROM OSAKA

You are most welcome.
And yes, I would stick with 2 nights in Miyajima. Besides the fact that it is quite far away to go there for only one night, I really liked it there. There is more than enough to keep you busy for 2 nights, and its a lovely small island, with great sea food and with a very relaxed atmosphere and it makes for a really nice break from big cities (which I also like a lot).

Perfect! OK, so do you think 1 night in Matsumoto and the 2 nights in Takayama is a good plan?

Ideally we could like to go to Kamikochi whilst we are there!

It is a shame there is no 3-4 day bus pass we could get for Tokyo>Matsumoto>Kamikochi>Takayama>Kyoto, unless you guys know of any?

Thanks

Perfect! OK, so do you think 1 night in Matsumoto and the 2 nights in Takayama is a good plan?

Sure. You can also check out the Kiso Valley, south of Matsumoto. It's a great walk between centuries old post towns on the Nakensendo trail.

It is a shame there is no 3-4 day bus pass we could get for Tokyo>Matsumoto>Kamikochi>Takayama>Kyoto, unless you guys know of any?

There are bus passes, but really the price of tickets isnt that high. Passes tend to assume you are going to be using the fastest type of transit in their limited offering, so are often more expensive than just paying for individual tickets for what you need.

Tokyo to Matsumoto can be done by train for 4000 yen (£26) although it is about an hour slower than the faster Azusa Lt express(6380 yen £42)

Matsumoto to Takayama can be done for 3000 yen(£20).

Takayama to Kyoto by train can be done for 4100 yen(£26), but again it is over an hour slower than the 6900 yen £45 option which to me is better than the bullet train(10,000 yen but only 40 minutes faster or the bus which is a little cheaper but also an hour slower)

So I would do Train, bus, train. Only using the bus between Matsumoto and Takayama if you are going to stay in Matsumoto. And the bus from Matsumoto to Takayama can let you off right at Kamikochi.

If you arent staying in Matsumoto then it does make sense to take the bus all the way from Tokyo.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.