travel from Kanazawa to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Osaka

Hi Anja,

Probably the fastest way of going from Kanazawa to Tokyo will be to travel down to Maibara and then up to Tokyo on the bullet (sample itinerary, but by far the most scenic is through the Alps via Takayama (sample itinerary. The simplest way to get from Tokyo to Osaka is via the Tokaido bullet train (sample itinerary - here there are no realistic alternatives as the bullet train service is so good.

By the way, you may have a better trave experience if you go Kanazawa > Osaka > Tokyo. This route will mean you spend much less time on the train and as much time as possible exploring Japan!

You can look up precise train timetables and costs at the Hyperdia travel planning website and learn how to use Hyperdia through our video blog.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot for your help! My other questions: is it possible to use JR pass in Shinkansen Max Toki or shinkansen Hikari? what kind of shinkansens I can use in JR pass?I wait for ansewer:)

Hi again! :)

Yes, you can use the JR Pass on Max Toki and Hikari shinkansen. The only shinkansen you cannot use the JR Pass is the Nozomi and Mizuho shinkansen. All other shinkansen are valid.

Hope this helps!

Just as an update, you can now take the new bullet train line from Tokyo to Kanazawa.
But if you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as Dotonbori, plus the night views from the Umeda Sky Bldg, and Abeno Harukas Bldg are wonderful.

Nara is often neglected by some tourists, which is a shame. Missing the Todaiji in Nara is like going to India and skipping the Taj Mahal. Nara Park has a lot of great places. A few other great places missed out even by those who go to Nara though are the Isuien and Yoshikien Gardens. They are gorgeous and not crowded at all.

In addition, there are other numerous great places you can visit in the area. Okayama is not far and it is famous for its castle, plus Korakuen, one of Japan's Top 3, and also the Handayama Garden. If you'd like to get off the beaten trail for a while, the half day hike up to Konpirasan in Kotohira is stunning. Going to Takamatsu is also nice - it has one of Japan's finest gardens also, called Ritsurin.
Hiroshima also has a number of good places. Miyajima is the most famous, and aside from Hiroshima itself, Onomichi with its temple tour and Kosanji Temple is spectacular. Just beyond Miyajima also lies Iwakuni with its historical bridge and castle on top of the mountain.