ord100

I have air/hotel reservations and JR pass and am just filling out the day trips. Ideas/suggestions appreciated!

start: ORD-NRT. sleep in Narita town 1 night (10 minutes from NRT by Keisei)
day 1. take shinkansen from NRT to Hakata, 2 nights. Day trips?
day 3. go to Hiroshima, 2 nights. Go to Miyajima and...
day 5: Kanazawa. 2 nights. return via Takayama
day 7. Go to Tokyo/Shinjuku. 2 nights
NRT-ORD

Have already been to Kyoto/Nara/Toba/Ise this year so those are out.
Thanks in advance!

jib71

deleted

abmj-jr

When are you going? Since you have the Rail Pass, I assume pretty soon.

Day 1 - There is no shinkansen from Narita-shi to Hakata. If you insist on staying in Narita on arrival, you will need to use local or airport trains to get into Tokyo where you can catch the shinkansen. I'd suggest a first-night hotel in Tokyo near Tokyo or Shinagawa Stations but YMMV. From Narita-shi, you can take a Keisei local or Skyliner to Ueno (Tokyo) but Keisei is not covered by the Rail Pass. I'd guess the easiest would be to take the hotel shuttle back to NRT and catch the Narita Express to Shinagawa to catch the shinkansen. There also might be a few N'Exes that stop at Narita Station, saving the short backtrack to NRT.

That run all the way from NRT to Tokyo to Hakata is a loooong ride, well over 7 hours with changes. Since you are going to Hiroshima/Miyajima, why not stop there on the way to Hakata and break the trip up. Then, the shot from Hakata to Kanazawa is long trip too but no quite as long, about 5-1/2+ hours. Again, YMMV. You might want to get the long rides out of the way early.

Depending on when you will be in Hakata/Fukuoka, the Kyushu Basho sumo tournament may be running. It starts November 15 and runs 2 weeks. I will be there part of that period and might see you at the Kokusai Center. From Hakata, I'll be doing at least 1 daytrip down to Kumamoto which should be nice for fall color.

Tmnrt

I dont understand going from NRT to Hakata...thats a whole day!

ord100

Thank you for many ideas. I think there are a few N'Exes that stop at Narita Station or I can backtrack to NRT. NRT-Hakata is long but lets me get over jetlag. I go to the Rainbow Plaza International Association in Tenjin Fukuoka when I am there (http://www.rainbowfia.or.jp/en/institution/01.html). I will check out the Sumo.

If you go to Kumamoto, you can also visit Aso-san (the volcano). After taking the train east from kumamoto station, there is a bus. You can walk along the edge of the caldera and feel/smell/see the steam from the bubbling cauldron. It is the closest I have been to an active volcano. It is as active as Sakurajima in Kagoshima, but you can get closer.

thank you again for being helpful!

Ichinensei

You can try basashi in Kumamoto.

Hakata is also famous for ramen so make sure you try some. Or maybe take the train to Beppu for onsen. If you can, I would stay one night on Miyajima island.

ord100

thank you for many inputs....

arrive: stay in shinjuku
day 1. take shinkansen from tokyo to Hakata, 2 nights. bike hakata or go to sakurajima or nagasaki
day 3. go to Hiroshima, 2 nights. Go to Miyajima & rent bike at JR station, eat oyster udon w/cold sake
day 5: shiga ken Otsu, biwa-ko.
day 6: Kanazawa. 1 night. return via Takayama
day 7. Go to Shizuoka, Tokyo/Shinjuku. 2 nights
Mt Takao on the Keio line
NRT-ORD ...

thanks for tips

jpatokal

That's kind of crazy -- you'll be spending all your time on trains. Why do you want to go to Fukuoka in the first place? Aside from ramen, it doesn't have much to distinguish it from any other city, and 2 nights is way too short to explore the rest of Kyushu.

YMMV, but Biwa-ko is among the most disappointing places I've been to in Japan, and my expectations were not very high. I found only Hieizan interesting, and even that is better accessed from Kyoto.

ksandness

Yes, a couple of trips ago, armed with a JR Pass and plenty of spare time, I decided to go from Kyoto to Nagoya the long way around: along the northern shore of Biwa-ko, lunch in Tsuruga, and south to Nagoya.

The day was pretty much of a snooze. The scenery around Biwa-ko is nothing special, and Tsuruga looked as if everyone had gone home for a summer siesta.

If you want a glimpse of Japan's largest lake, start from Kyoto, take the train and funicular to the top of Hieizan (read up on its history and the role it played in the politics of the medieval period), and after seeing your fill of temples, take the bus back to Kyoto. The bus route travels along a ridge that affords a view of Lake Biwa much better than the one you get by actually traveling along its shore.

O Sora

How about another way to enjoy Biwako ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUwlb6P_9s

ord100

thanks for the song! Otsu also has the Lakestars basketball team and ....
http://www.lakestars.net/cheer/cmember.php

There is also hiking... and the lake is pretty... and it is close to kyoto without the tourists (like me)