Itinerary: 1 week in Japan with the JR Pass

A week is simply not enough time to explore all that Japan offers, but unfortunately many of us don’t have the luxury of time and will have to pack it in. Here is an itinerary that helps you get a taste of what Japan has to offer while maximizing the use of the Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass). If you are not familiar with the JR Pass, check out this post to see if a JR Pass is right for you.

A few notes about this itinerary:

• This assumes you are flying in and out of Tokyo.
• To minimize moving around, you would stay only in Tokyo and Osaka as home base and take day trips from those locations. Itinerary would be similar if you decide to base yourself in Kyoto (~15 min from Osaka by shinkansen).
• Since I have been to both Osaka and Tokyo before, I focused on using the JR Pass to travel to other cities. If you want more time in these cities, you can substitute one of the travel days or add in additional days. For my trip I used the evenings to explore Osaka (known for its food and nightlife scenes) and had additional days in Tokyo (after my JR Pass expired) to explore locally.

Day 1: Travel Day. Fly into Tokyo, take the train to Osaka

Fly into Tokyo NRT and activate your JR Pass at the JR ticket office at the airport. From the airport you can take the Narita Express to go to Shinagawa station in Tokyo and then from Shinagawa to Shin-Osaka station via the shinkansen. The fastest shinkansen to get to Osaka with the JR pass is the Hikaru train (be careful not to take the Nozomi train – that is not included with the JR Pass). Settle into your accommodation in Osaka. If you decide to stay in Tokyo first, you may not want to activate your pass until you are ready to go to Osaka.

If time allows, explore the Osaka food scene at Dotonbori district (5 min walk from JR Namba station).

Day 2: Day trip to Himeji Castle and then Kobe

Go to Himeji Castle in the morning. With the JR pass, go to Shin-Osaka Station and take the shinkansen on the Sanyo Shinkansen line to JR Himeji Station. This is the fastest way and takes ~30-40 minutes. Alternatively you can take the local train from Osaka Station to Himeji Station which will takes ~1 hour. At the station take the North Exit it will be ~20 min walk to the castle (you will see it!).

At Himeji, visit the Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Koko-en garden nearby. A combined ticket only costs 50 yen (~$.36 USD) more to get into Koko-en along with Himeji Castle. During the maple leaf season, it is so beautiful inside, so I would recommend checking it out if your schedule allows.

From Himeji go to Kobe in time for lunch. With the JR pass you can take the train from Himeji Station to Shin-Kobe station.

What’s there to do in Kobe?

Well, Kobe beef of course! If you are able to make a reservation, I highly recommend going to Tor Road Steak Aoyama for Kobe beef. It is a small family run steakhouse, and you can try the world famous Kobe beef without breaking the bank (~$45 USD). The chef is also quite entertaining and you can watch your meal cooked on the grill in front of you.

Other points of interest in Kobe if time allows:

• Visit Ikuta-jinja Shrine, one of the oldest shrines in the country
• Go sake tasting in the Nada district. I visited the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum, which offers free entry to the museum and free tasting.  There are also others in the area.
• Visit the hotsprings in the Arima area (you will need to buy additional bus/train pass to get there).

Maybe you liked Kobe beef so much that you decide to stay in Kobe for dinner. If so, good for you! If you decide to return to Osaka for dinner, there are also plenty of food and places to explore in Osaka! Besides the Dotonbori district in Osaka you may also want to check out the Tenjinbashi district by the Tenma JR station – it’s full of bars and restaurants as well as some shopping.

Day 3: Day trip to Miyajima and Hiroshima

This is a long day but will be well worth it (and getting good mileage out of your JR pass!). Set out as early as you can so you can maximize your day. Though you can get to these places in either order, I recommend starting with Miyajima in the morning to avoid the crowds and to see the famous Itsukushima Shrine and its Torii Gate at high tide (so it looks like it is floating in the water).

How to get to Miyajima with JR Pass:

• From Shin-Osaka station take the shinkansen to Hiroshima Station (depending on which train you take, it can take 1.5 hrs to just over 2 hours)
• From Hiroshima Station, take the JR Sanyo line train going to Miyajimaguchi Station (~30 minutes). Exit station and follow signs (or the people) to go to the ferry port nearby.
• At the ferry terminal, find the JR Ferry area and use your JR Pass to get on (you may only need to show your pass when you get to the island). Take the short boat ride and you will be on the island.

Miyajima One-Day Itinerary

• Visit the Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site and see the floating Torii Gate
• Visit the Daisho-in Temple nearby
• Get to the top of Mount Misen (via ropeway or a 90-minute hike)

• See wild deer – they are all around!
• Eat and shop at the Omotesando Shopping Street
  • Eat fresh oysters
  • Try the famous Momiji Manju, maple-leaf shaped cakes with sweet filling
  • Sample street foods such as fish sticks
  • Taste local beer at the Miyajima brewery
  • Shop for souvenirs

After Miyajima, take the JR Ferry back to Miyajimaguchi Station and take the train back to Hiroshima Station.

What to do in Hiroshima?

From the Hiroshima Station, find the sightseeing bus stop right outside the station.

Show your JR Pass to the bus driver when boarding and take the bus to go to the Atomic Bomb dome and the Peace Memorial Park and Museum. The two are very close together so you can get off at one stop and walk to the other instead of waiting for the bus. Those are the two key sights to visit if you are pressed on time. There are other sites on the sightseeing routes if time allows.

For dinner try Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at Nagataya, conveniently located nearby the Peace Memorial Park.

To return to Osaka, go back to Hiroshima Station and hop back onto the shinkansen to Shin-Osaka.

Whew! What a day!

Day 4: Day trip to Nara and explore Osaka

After such a jam-packed schedule, Nara was a much-needed change of pace and scenery. By JR train, it is only about 45 minutes away (take Yamatoji rapid train from JR Osaka Station to JR Nara Station). Nara is known for its 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites, with its many temples and shrines and wild deer all around. It is very walkable so additional transportation passes will not be needed to explore Nara.

Nara One-Day Itinerary

• Todai-ji Temple and visit Japan’s largest buddha inside (must do)
• Kofuku-ji temple, one of the oldest and most famous Buddhist temples in Japan
• Isuien Garden
• Deer park & feed the deer with official crackers sold by stands around the park (200 yen per pack)
• Try local foods
  • Kakinoha-sushi, a persimmon leaf wrapped sushi @ Hiraso
  • Yomogi mochi from the famous mochi shop @ Nakatanidou
  • Chagayu, a tea rice porridge famous in the Nara prefecture
• If time allows: sake tasting at Harushika Sake

Once you are done exploring Nara, take the JR train back to Osaka to spend some time in Osaka.

What to do in Osaka?

• Osaka Castle
• Try local foods
  • okonomiyaki
  • takoyaki
  • street foods
• Explore and eat at Dotonbori, find the “running man” billboard
• Night life at Tenma

Day 5: Day trip to Kyoto

Kyoto is one of my favorite cities in Japan. It is gorgeous in November during the maple leaf season. Kyoto is ~15 min from Osaka on the shinkansen. From Shin-Osaka station, take the shinkansen to Kyoto Station.

Kyoto One-Day Itinerary

• Start your day early at the Arashiyama bamboo forest. You can get there by going to the JR Sagano Line Saga-Arashiyama Station. Get there as early as you can (before 8 if possible) to avoid the crowds.

• From the bamboo forest, go to the nearby Tenryu-ji Temple. It has a beautiful garden area where you can view and take pictures of all the changing leaves.
• Optional: Near the JR Saga-Arashiyama Station you can find the Saga Torokko Station to take the train on the “Romance Train” that takes you on a sightseeing route along the Hozugawa River. It gets really busy so I recommend getting a ticket online in advance to get the ticket for the timeslot you want.
• Head to Yamazaki Menjiro Ramen for a bowl of Michelin star ramen
• Walk off your lunch by hiking through to Torii gates at the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine
• Watch sunset at Kiyomizu-dera Temple
• If you want to grab dinner before heading back to Osaka, there are many restaurants and shops along the route to Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

Day 6: Travel from Osaka to Tokyo

Hop on the train from Shin-Osaka Station and go to Shinagawa Station or Tokyo Station. Don’t forget to make your free seat reservation!

Explore Tokyo!

What to do in Tokyo?

• Get sushi and street food around Tsukiji and Toyosu fish market areas. For those with more time in Tokyo, wake up early and go to Sushi Dai for breakfast (Daiwa Sushi is a second choice if you cannot get into Sushi Dai).Try to go on a weekday so you don’t have to wait in line for too long.
• Check out the fish auction which starts at 5:45 am. For those who are able to plan ahead, you can apply for the lottery here. For those who did not get a ticket there is also a public viewing area. Keep in mind the fish market is closed on Wednesdays!
• Check out TeamLab. It is an out-of-this-world immersive experience unlike museums anywhere else. The larger “Borderless” exhibit is being moved to another location and won’t be available until 2023. For right now you can go to “Planets” near Toyosu.

• Check out Tokyo Station. It’s not just a train station…it’s almost like a city of its own, with shopping areas like “Character Street” and a large selection of restaurants including Rokurinsha, the famous tsukemen ramen shop at “Ramen Street” in the station.
• Walk around Shibuya

• Walk around Shinjuku. Grab a bite at Omoide Yokocho and go bar hopping in Golden Gai.

• Get in touch with your childhood at the Ghibli Museum (reserve tickets in advance)
• And so much more!

Day 7: Go to Hakone

It is the last day for the JR Pass, so why not use it to go to Hakone?Although the JR pass doesn’t include the Odakyu line to get into Hakone, it can get you as far as Odawara. From there you purchase a local train ticket to get to Hakone-Yumoto Station (additional 720 yen round trip or ~$5.25 USD), which is the gateway to Hakone.

For those wanting to explore the Hakone area, it may make sense to purchase the Hakone Free Pass, which can get you into Hakone directly to/from Shinjuku and access to local transportation including the cable car and ropeway.

However, if you have been to Hakone before you may want to spend a day relaxing at the onsen. There are many options in the area, including those around Hakone-Yumoto Station. I decided to visit the Tenzen onsen, which is a quick bus ride away (240 yen or ~$1.75 USD) or a 30 minute walk from the Hakone-Yumoto Station. I preferred to walk so I could see the sights along the way. Some stops around Hakone-Yumoto include:

• Shopping street right outside the train station – check out the food and souvenirs on this street and try the Hakone maju which are spongecakes stamped with the Hakone characters
• Get a view of the hotsprings and resorts at the Ajisan Bridge nearby the train station. There is a better view at the end of the shopping street (turn left after it ends)

• Try the amazake (non-alcoholic sweet rice wine) matcha at Amazake-chaya tea house on the shopping street

Onsen Tips

• Bring a small towel to use at the onsen. If you don’t have one you can purchase one at the onsen
• Use the small towel to dry off when you get out of the onsen but do not let the towel touch the water as it is seen as dirty
• Also bring a large towel to be used to dry off at the changing room
• For those with long hair bring a hair tie to tie up your hair. Hair should also not touch the water
• Shower before you get into the water. Some places like Tenzen provide soap and shampoo. Bring your own if you have personal preferences
• Bring indoor clothes that you can use when walking around inside in the co-ed areas. You can also rent yukata at Tenzen

Final words

This itinerary only gives you a taste of what Japan offers while maximizing the use of the JR Pass. If you have more time I recommend spending more time in Tokyo and exploring locally. There is so much more to do!