Travel Plans/Winter 2009-2010

Tokyo (12/29-1/3)

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="35.622428" lon="139.69202" type="map" zoom="17" width="200" height="200" selector="no" controls="small"> 35.622222, 139.691913 Mika's Family's Apartment Building </googlemap>

We'll stay in Meguro-ku with Mika's family. Meguro is close to Shibuya, one of the largest transit centers in Tokyo.

Things to do in Tokyo:

• Kabuki-za (get tickets?)
• Jimbocho (book town)
• Osechi
• Roppongi Hills (view)
• Shibuya (easy) + Harajuku
• Meiji jingu or maybe a temple to ring the bell
• Asakusa

Train trip

Summary:

• Day 1: Travel to Hiroshima; spend day there; travel the rest of the way to Fukuoka at night
• Day 2: Stay in Fukuoka for the day; travel to Beppu do onsen in the afternoon;
• Day 3: See Beppu and its Hells; travel to and stay in Okayama;
• Day 4: Take boat to Naoshima and see the art island; Take boat to Takamatsu; Have udon. Go to Kansai;
• Day 5: Stay in Osaka; See Kyoto
• Day 6: see more kansai. go to aomori at night
• Day 7: see aomori. return at night to tokyo

Wikitravel pages to the city's we will be going through (in order):

• Hiroshima (Day 1)
• Fukuoka (Day 1-2)
• Beppu (Day 2-3)
• Okayama (Day 3-4)
• Naoshima (Day 4)
• Takamatsu (Day 4)
• Osaka (Day 4-6)
• Kyoto (Day 5-6)
• Hida (Day 6-7)

The JR East bullet train stops.

Railpass Day 1 (1/4)

Summary: Travel to Fukuoka with a stop in Hiroshima

Travel plans:

• Train from Tokyo early on first train possible (6AM or 7AM?) to Hiroshima (~5-6h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]
• Train from Hiroshima to Fukuoka on one of the later evening shinkansens (~2.5h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]

Place to stay in Fukuoka:

Things to do in Hiroshima:

• Eat Hiroshima-yaki in Hiroshima
• Explore the Peace Park and atomic bomb memorial
  • Dome
  • Transportation to Hiroshima Park
  • We could possibly walk and pass by Hiroshima Castle. Will be about 5km.
• Go to Itsukushima Shrine directly by a ferry or via Hiroshima station/Miyashimakou and then a ferry. Miyashima? (ferry details to the Shrine)

Things to do in Fukuoka:

• Meet up with Takara (mail her!)
• Figure out more options

Railpass Day 2 (1/5)

Summary: See Fukuoka and travel to Beppu for an Onsen

Travel plans:

• Train from Fukuoka' to Beppu on a mid-day shinkansen (~2.5-3h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]

Things to do:

• See Fukuoka
• Lunch in Fukuoka with Takara?
• Onsen in Beppu

Place to stay:

• Happy Neko (see WT) in Beppu

Railpass Day 3 (1/6)

Summary: See Hells in Beppu and then travel to Okayama on last train

Travel plans:

• Train from Beppu to Okayama in the afternoon or evening (~4h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]

Things to do:

• Morning: See some Hells in Beppu which open at 8:00

Place to stay in Okayama:

• ???

Railpass Day 4 (1/7)

Summary: See Naoshima and Takamatsu and then arrive in Osaka

Travel plans:

• Train from Okayama' to Uno as early as possible.
• Ferry from Uno to Naoshima (WT) for ¥600)
• Ferry from Naoshima to Takamatsu for ¥300)
• Train from Takamatsu to Osaka (WT) (Transit time: ~3-4 hours) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]

Things to do in Naoshima:

• Naoshima website
• Visit the pumpkins by the shore.
• Visit the underground museum.

Things to do in Takamatsu:

• Rent bikes at cycle rental station (¥100)
• Visit Ritsurin Park (栗林公園 ritsurin kouen), 20-16 1-chome Ritsurin-cho, Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa (about 3 minutes walk from JR Ritsurin Koen Kitaguchi Station, 5 from the Kotoden Ritsurin Koen station.
• Eat Sanuki udon (as often and as much as possible)
  • WT recommends eating at the tsurumaru (鶴丸), it's not far from kawaramachi station. Since it's quite famous, you can ask around and people will guide you. (It's open after 8pm).

Things to do in Osaka:

• Food (we'll get in late)
• Meet up with Kizu-san?

Place to stay in Osaka:

• ???

Railpass Day 5 (1/8)

Summary: See Kyoto or elsewhere in Kansai

Travel plans:

• Train from Osaka to Kyoto (~1h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]
• Train from Kyoto to Osaka (~1h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]

Things to do in in Kyoto:

• See Shrines and Temples!

Place to stay:

• See above

Railpass Day 6 (1/9)

Summary: See Osaka proper and then leave for Hida

Explore Kansai (probably Osaka) to Hida.

Travel plans:

• Train from Osaka to Hida in the evening ~5-6pm via Nagoya (~4-5h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]
  • Details on infrequent direct trains from Osaka to Hida which we might be able to take

Place to stay in Hida:

• ???

http://www.hidatakayama.or.jp/

Railpass Day 7 (1/10)

Summary: See Hida and return to Tokyo

Travel plans:

• Train from Hida to Tokyo on last train ~5-6pm via Nagoyo (~6h) [UNRESERVED SHINKANSEN]

Things

Links

• JR timetables and maps