Hello , I will be visiting tokyo for the first time from the 29 March until the 6th of april . we are a group of 12 (3 families ) i am lost of how to plan. i need help how to book the tickets for the trains. We will be staying in chiboya and planning to visit around and outside tokyo but always coming back to our hotel in tokyo same day. I am looking at the fastest ways to go from tokyo to :
kyoto
osaka- side nara
hakone and mt fuji
miyajima
we have kids and we need the most comfortable way and in every area what we should do and what to visit . Thank you so much
Hi Christine
happy to try help out.
Firstly, it might be useful to know if you have a JR pass or not?
In addition, please note that going to kyoto from tokyo takes 2.5hours minimum one way.
Miyajima is even further (maybe 5-6 hours one way), and I don’t think it’s feasible for a daytrip.
Hi Christine,
A few hygiene issues first. You probably mean Shibuya and not Chiboya. If you want to cover all the places mentioned by you you will have to stay out of Tokyo for a few nights. If you are lucky you will view Mt. Fuji from Hakone(have not been there myself, though) and possibly on a day-trip from Tokyo. For rest of the places,suggest you get into a Shinkansen(that’s bullet train for you) and head to Kyoto. You can do Nara from Kyoto as day trip. Miyajima is near Hiroshima which is about 4 hours by Shinkansen from Kyoto.Osaka falls between Kyoto and Hiroshima and you can probably break the Shinkansen journey at Osaka. Best to stay in Hiroshima for a night and see the city and do Miyajima ex-Hiroshima.
Regarding the train tickets, you will have to work out if a 7-day JR pass is worthwhile or not. If not , you can purchase the Shinkansen tickets once you reach Japan. If JR pass is better(I have never purchased a JR pass), you can purchase it in your own country.
Hope I have been useful.
Best.
Dhiraj