a lot to see for 21 days...

Hi there,

Wow NICE trip you are planning and taking green cars will really top it of!
I can see that you have been planning with a lot of enthusiasm and it all works out very nicely, I feel that maybe a day extra in either Takayama or Kanazawa would be nice or a visit to Nagasaki, since you plan going to Kyushu for Beppu and Aso.

The Kiso valley has a small number of stations that you can visit (Nakatsukawa, Nagiso, Kiso-Fukushima, Narai and Kiso-Hirasawa) I think Narai is a popular station to stay at and explore the valley as you like from there. It can be reached from Nagoya, I would also recommand traveling back to Nagoya when you visit Fuji and take the Shinkansen to one of the stations (Mishima, Shin-fuji or Odawara) and take a bus from there to see Fuji.

About night trains, I see that you are wondering about them a lot. It the past you could literally go everywhere by night train in Japan, however once the Shinkansen where put into service, they almost all disappeared due to the fall of passengers. These days there are few trains left. Most of the places you plan to go to don't have a night train connection but what I would recommend is to take the Sunrise express the last day when you travel back to Tokyo from Okayama. It truly is a great experience. I would recommend reserving the tickets the moment that you arrive in Japan as the train is rather popular and can sell out quickly, the most type basic of accommodation is free with the JR Pass on the train and is called Nobi Nobi seat.

Hope this helps,
-Daniel

To add: Hiroshima -> Yakushima is not a simple trip. You'll have to go to Kagoshima first, and then get the hydrofoil (non-JR) to Yakushima itself. This is not a night service, and is also not that cheap! :)

How about heading to Sakurajima, or Ibusuki near Kagoshima instead? These are easier to get to than Yakushima, though admittedly don't have the same amount of hiking. For Yakushima I recommend spending at least 4 days, so I think you'll be hard pushed to fit it in your current itinerary.

Also - for Beppu, I'd order the steps:

Kagoshima > Aso > Beppu rather than the other way around. This will be mean less doubling back on yourself. You can check out all your destinations on our JR Pass map to help you get orientated!

Hola,

Thank you very much!

We did know that our list was a little bit too enthusiastic :-)

i have checked some connections with hyperdia, but did not find them all.

• How do i find the Sunrise express or a timetable for the Sunrise express on hyperdia? i didn't find it. How much would it cost? for 2 peoples f/m?

• If we want to go from Kakunodate to Takayama, there is only the same way back as we went? by Tokyo?

• We dont know if we "cancell too" go to Mt Fuji. It seems that the possibility to see the Mt Fuji is not so good in May?????

muchas gracias

Hi there,

Here you can find a great blog post about the Sunrise, including a time table and fees.The prices depends on what kind of apartment you wish to travel in but the normal carpeted seats are free :)

Yes you will travel via Tokyo, this because the Shinkansen always go via Tokyo, so it is the fastest way by train.

About Fuji, there no need to cancel it at all! Fuji looks great year round and always has some snow on the top! Going to see Fuji does not have to take a lot of time, you could plan in a hour or so at the Shinkansen stop Shin-Fuji and enjoy the view from there, you need a little bit of lucky with the weather though.

Enjoy the ride!
-Daniel