7-day Itinerary

Hi everyone,

I came up with a 7-day itinerary for my one-week stay in Osaka. Can you please take a look at it on my blog below and let me know if my visits to Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo are possible within that time period?

http://www.thetravelingcs.com/2012/02/itinerary-v10.html

What kind of train pass should I buy that would be cost-effective for my trip? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
BJ

The trip is busy and very specific. I believe that this trip is planned during golden week, so you should expect delays and booking problems, because many Japanese will also be traveling during your stay.

Since you are planning on going during golden week, I would suggest that you include a festival or two in your plan, or a hot spring. This would involve cutting something out, and I have no idea what your priotities on your list are.

It looks like you are going to need a 7-day JR "All Japan" rail pass. It will probably be the most cost effective way to travel. You will need to purchase an exchange order before traveling to Japan. You might consider paying the extra for a GREEN pass, (1st class), because there will probably be more 1st class seats available when you go to reserve a seat.

I would advise you to limit yourself to the Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area, You can get more limited rail passes for this area, and save some money. Since your trip plan is so specific, my guess is that you need to at least attempt to go to each spot listed.

If you are going to Hiroshima, try to also go to Miyajima Island.

My final advise would be to stay in Osaka and make every day a side trip. Hiroshima is only a 90 minute bullet train away, and Tokyo is 150 minutes from Shin-Osaka Terminal. This means that you will get off the plane and unpack your bags once, and only have to dress and prepare a day pack for each day.

You can substitute Akihabara, Imperial Palace and Meiji shrine in Tokyo for Den Den town, Osaka Castle and more historic shrines in Kansai area unless your purpose is to visit Tokyo itself or ride a bullet train for many hours.

I think you were asking the question about Maidcafe in Osaka. I am not able to give you some specific advice but I could find many websites about maidcafe in Osaka in English.

It's waste of money to leave Kansai and visit Tokyo for historical attractions.

and get JR West Sanyo area Pass and utilize it from KIX to Osaka and daytrip to Hiroshima & Miyajima if you skip Tokyo.

ebaychucky311:

I totally forgot that Golden Week is around that time. When I bought my plane tickets here in Hawaii, the roundtrip airfare was US$498 from Honolulu to Osaka. I think I know why the airfare was so cheap. It was probably because to attract foreigners to visit Japan during Golden Week.

I will definitely check out a festival when I'm over there, and I added Miyajima to my list of places to visit.

Thanks!
BJ

You will be traveling Japan during Golden Week.
In this year 2012, the 9 days from April 28 to May 6 will include only two weekdays, May 1 and May 2.

the roundtrip airfare was US$498 from Honolulu to Osaka

You might consider flying out from Haneda [HND] or Narita [NRT] in order to save time and money you will spend in Japan for transportation.
(Hawaiian Airlines is operating HND - HNL flights. Delta Air Lines is operating NRT - HNL flights. Japan Airlines is operating the both.)

Flying directly between Honolulu [HNL] and Kansai [KIX], you will arrive to and depart from Japan in the evening.
So, you had better not plan to tour north and south in Osaka City on the 2nd day, and you can tour Osaka City on the last day.
Among the places in the city on your list, Umeda in Kita district is nearest to Shin-Osaka Station and Shinsekai seems to be nearest to KIX.

let me know if my visits to Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo are possible within that time period?
I added Miyajima to my list of places to visit.

You had better stay overnight either in Hiroshima City or in Miyajima island,
because transportation in a roundtrip between Kita district in Osaka and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park / Miyajima may require 4 hours / 6 hours in total.

I recommend allotting the two weekdays for Kyoto City; a one-day trip from Osaka sounds not enough for Kyoto.

From Osaka or Kyoto you can head to Tokyo in the night using a late Shinkansen train or an overnight highway bus.
The three places in Tokyo can be visited in one day if you find a nice hotel with a good access to the subway network or Yamonote Line of JR-East.
Shinjuku / Shibuya / Ikebukuro can be a good place to stay on the previous night if you begin with Meiji Jingu shrine.

What kind of train pass should I buy that would be cost-effective for my trip?

Your current itinerary requires four times of inter-regional moving (between Kansai and Chugoku, between Kansai and Kanto).
If you use Shinkansen trains in the three or all of the four, a 7-day Japan Rail Pass can result in a good choice.
If you use highway buses in the two or more of the four, a Japan Bus Pass can result in a good choice.

My suggestions might revise your itinerary to be something like the following.
April 28: Saturday: Arrival to KIX in the evening;
April 29: Sunday & holiday
: Osaka trip (incl. Minami district and Den den town),
: Heading to Tokyo in the night;
April 30: Substitute holiday
: Tokyo trip (incl. Meiji Jingu shrine, Imperial Palace East Gardens, Akihabara district);
May 1: Weekday
: Reaching Kyoto in the morning,
: Kyoto trip;
May 2: Weekday
: Kyoto trip;
May 3: Holiday
: Reaching Miyajima around noon,
: Miyajima trip;
May 4: Holiday
: Moving to Hiroshima City in the morning,
: Hiroshima trip (incl. Peace Memorial Park),
: Heading to Osaka in the night;
May 5: Holiday
: Osaka trip (incl. Kita district and Shinsekai),
: Departure from KIX in the evening.

Good luck!

I just wanted to add some additional information about going to Miyajima Island. I checked the lonar calendar, and there is a full moon on May 6th. The high and low tides are highest and lowest near a full and new moon, due to the sun/earth/moon allignment.
On May 5th. The High tide will be +3.18 meters at 8:40AM at, and the low tide is +0.20 meters at 3:00PM. This is a three meter difference, and would make for great pictures. At low tide, the floating Tori gate is out of the water, and the last time I went, I joined in with the Japanese tourists who were putting 5-yen coins between the barnicles. If you are lucky, a barnicle will attach over your coin, and your prayer will become part of the floating tori gate.

Once again, good luck.