Short day trips Tokyo

[WideRanger]

I'm planning on a two week stay in Japan next year, with a 14 day JR pass. So far I'm planning on these places to visit:

Tokyo (several times)
Sapporo
Kyoto
Osaka
Hiroshima
Nagasaki

Any other suggestions?

Your choices suggest a Shinkansen focused trip - and it's quite urban. Try to get out into the countryside for a more varied experience. If you are going to Hokkaido by train, try to stop off in Toyako to see the town half-submerged by the volcano (which is still smoking). And try to get to the Ryukyu islands if you are willing to use a ferry. Yakushima is magical and the Okinawan islands (the smaller ones) are wonderful for beaches and jungles if you go when it is not a Japanese holiday.

 

[Shinkansenfan]

If you're a mileage/new trackage collector, consider riding some of the rural branch lines which are at risk of closure.

The countryside of Japan is experiencing population losses, and young people tend to move to the big cities. This is causing many rural branch lines to lose their ridership base. As if that was not depressing enough, many of these lines--some spun off from JNR--have assets (trains, tracks, bridges, etc.) that are nearing end of life and will require significant funds to renew. To add to the pain, while the rail lines are expected to turn a profit, there is still an active new highway building program that is further encouraging roadway use. I recently saw many such highways under construction from the train window.

And because Japan is buffeted by a plethora of natural disasters (earthquakes, landslips, tsunami, etc.)--any one of those could cause a line to close suddenly. Forever. On a random basis.

To that end I spent two weeks this past May using a two week Japan Railpass to cover as many rural lines as I could, eschewing the big cities this trip. This took me from the southern most station in Japan (in Kyushu) to Aomori in eastern Honshu. The prior year I mopped up the last of the endangered rural lines in Hokkaido.

Also consider riding the "Joyful Trains"-- a term for specially decorated or specially designed trains that promote a memorable travel experience. These trains have a variety of names, and some only operate during weekends/holidays. Here's an example of East JR's line up of Joyful Trains: https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/joyful/index.html

Other railways have different trains.

Happy travels! Japan has in my opinion some of the world's most imaginatively designed trains.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Cheers both, will look into these. I am already hoping to use the last sleeper in Japan but as you say most of my travels are Shinkansen focused

 

[HankyuDentetsu]

To add to the excellent responses by WideRanger and Shinkansenfan, I'd also suggest the Hida Express from Osaka, Kyoto, or Nagoya to Takayama - a gorgeous ride through the Hida mountain range, close to the northern Alps. There are plenty of very pleasant places to stop off, including Gero (historic onsen town), Shirakawa-go (beautiful mountain village famed for it's thatched roof houses), Takayama (historic, mini-kyoto style city), and then heading up to the coast (albeit not on the Hida Express), Kanazawa which has some of Japan's best seafood, one of their most beautiful gardens, and is directly linked to Tokyo by the impressive Hokuriku Shinkansen.

The Toyama Chihou line from Toyama (where the Hida Express often terminates) to Tateyama in the northern alps is also really nice (mountains, rivers, and green fields). The cable car ride from Tateyama station to Bijodaira is cool too, good views from the top.

 

[johnnychips]

I would suggest you don’t try to do too much unless you really like to be on trains all the time. I stayed at Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagasaki on a 14-day pass and I’m glad I didn’t attempt more. Sure I went on a lot of trains, but had time for sightseeing too.

 

[HankyuDentetsu]

A very good point johnny, best to select a small handful of the suggestions above so that you leave time to actually enjoy the destinations, too!

Nagasaki is tremendous; more interesting IMO than Hiroshima and more beautiful too.

 

[Beebman]

Agreed with all the suggestions so far. The local Enoshima Railway in and around Kamakura is well worth travelling on, but it's gotten super touristy so pretty much no chance of a seat.

I love this line, I've ridden on it three times in total but yes it can get crush-loaded with tourists. My advice is to go by JR to the far end of the line at Fujisawa and travel back from there, you've more chance of getting a seat. The line was featured last year on NHK World's 'Japan Railway Journal' and it's definitely worth watching as it includes many interesting facts such as how some local residents can only access their homes by walking along the track:

One other Tokyo area line which hasn't been mentioned yet is the Tsukba Express Line in the north of the city. It's a modern commuter line (it opened in 2005) with a terminal station deep underground in Akihabara and the fastest speeds I've experienced on a commuter line in Tokyo. However it doesn't really go anywhere very interesting! I only used it because I was attending a music event at Kashiwanoha Campus which is served by the line.

As johnny says you really do need to leave time for sightseeing. I find on my trips to Japan that I spend more time visiting places and less time travelling by train than I do in other countries because there is just so much of interest. One suggestion for combining rail travel and sightseeing if visiting Hiroshima is to go to Miyajima Island. The ferry goes from a place called Miyajimaguchi and you can go one way by JR train and the other way by Hiroshima tram line 2. The tram takes twice as long but I can recommend the experience of the long 16km interurban line with its views of Hiroshima Bay. The island itself is reached by a ferry run by JR (Rail Passes are valid on it) and it's a very beautiful and historic place with tame deer roaming everywhere!

 

[Three-Nine]

Miyajima is indeed fantastic, though you have to balance your expectations a little bit - I would try and and get there a bit early, as later in the day it will be absolutely swarming with tourists. If you decide to go up the mountain, theres a cable car. In theory you can walk up it, but its... a mountain. Last year I took the cable car up to the second highest station, walked for a good 30 minutes or so up some fairly awkward paths to the top - where the views are incredible in clear weather - and then decided to walk down the mountain.

Which turned out to be a trek involving the worlds worst set of rocky steps, all the way down, for about an hour. Was it worth it? Yes. Was I completely knackered by the time I got to the bottom? Yes. And I met several people going up the same way... make sure to take food and water because the top may just be about the only place in Japan you won't find a convenience store!

You don't have to take the JR ferry, though if you have a JR pass its obviously an advantage to do so, but you can also catch a smaller boat from a dock a short walk from the A-Bomb Dome.

I will second what others have said about allowing for time to see things between trains. Kyoto you could spend your whole time around and still not see everything, so make sure to have a "highlights" list!