Getting to/from Hiroshima
 

I may need to be in Hiroshima for a week in early November. Probably flying AA. It looks like Hiroshima is not an easy place to get to from the U.S. :D. Most routes go US to NRT, then an overnight, then HND-HIJ. One alternative possibility might be ORD-NRT on AA, which gets in early enough to connect to the NH 5:25 NRT-HIJ (although I'd have to overnight at ORD for that). Other options? Maybe fly to another city that is an easy train ride to Hiroshima?

Are you departing from San Diego? How important is it to fly with AA?

If you are flying AA, there is a 19:30 HND-HIJ on JL that you should be able to catch. But HIJ is in the middle of nowhere. Taxi from HIJ to JR Hiroshima cost about Y15,000 or by limo bus.

I would suggest flying into KIX then JR to Hiroshima by Haruka to Shin-Osaka + Shinkansen to JR Hiroshima.

First time I flew into HIJ, the taxi driver asked me three times to confirm I really wanted to go to JR Hiroshima. When a highway sign of Saijo went by, I thought I landed on the wrong island and the taxi was headed for the bridge. Fortunately that was a different Saijo.:eek:

I pretty much agree that this is not going to be easy. The best international airport to connect by train to Hiroshima is KIX but AA does not fly there and their partner JAL is going to make you do that nasty NRT/HND link. By far the best connections from the west coast to KIX are via UA, SFO-KIX, but from your profile I suspect you would rather walk. ;)

Seriously, if I were doing this (and I freely admit to my UA-dom) I would connect SFO-KIX and then take the airport deluxe train (the Haruka) to ShinOsaka and connect to the shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima Station. Unlike the airport, Hiroshima train station is right downtown.

Barring a trip on the blue side, you might check AA partner JL for connections to KIX, ITM or even NGO, although the latter will involve over 3 hours of trains to Hiroshima. Or, just suck it up, spend the first night in Tokyo and make the HND-HIJ connection in the morning. That still leaves you with the long cab or bus ride into town.

Once you have an idea of how you are going to get to Japan, we can probably help with the most efficient train connections. We do that a lot. :p

Connecting through Seoul is also an option, though you wouldn't be able to take a Oneworld carrier that way (you would be looking at a UA/OZ or KE trip).

I'll be starting out in San Diego, so I'd have to connect somewhere (LAX, ORD, DFW). AA has a good [b]I[/i] fare, plus I get bennies and points. (The TA mentioned that SQ has a sale now that matches AA's fare, but when I looked in the SQ forum, people don't much like their 747 J product.)

Neither AA nor EF show the 19:30 HND-HIJ flight as an option for the AA flight (LAX-NRT lands at 16:40), instead showing an overnight.

Y15,000 -- yikes! HIJ is that far from Hiroshima?

Checking the JR search site, it looks like two hours and fifteen minutes to get from Osaka airport to Hiroshima (bus then train) at a cost of Y10,440. Of course, since AA stopped flying to KIX, I'd have to take JL or another carrier over the water, or fly HND-KIX.

There are three airports in metro Osaka. International would be KIX. Then it would be train+train (Haruka+Shinkansen) and not bus+train.

AA may not show the 19:30 HND-HIJ JL flight but you should be able to book it. The HIJ-JR Hiroshima limo bus is not that bad. It should go to other downtown location too. Just remember not to jump into the first cab you see.

The HIJ is built on top of a hill with a runway extension over a cliff, kind of like flying into SAN. It will be dark by the time you get there.

People over there are just spoiled rotten. Any SQ product will be better than UA or AA and even better than NH. Haven't been on JL for a long time. SQ flight attendants have a mandatory retirement at 35.

Regardless, there are no good NRT connection to HIJ so your choices will be via HND or KIX.

If you want to make it really simple, take the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, spend the night in one of the hotels in that vicinity, and hop onto an early Shinkansen the next morning.

I don't know where in Hiroshima you have to be, but the Shinkansen will take you to the center of the city.

Or, as others have said, fly to KIX on UA, take the Haruka to Kyoto, spend the night in the vicinity of that station, and enjoy a significantly shorter Shinkansen ride to Hiroshima the next morning.

Actually, the NRT-HIJ flight on ANA (NH3129) appears to leave NRT at 5:25pm, unless I'm missing somthing. Most of the AA transpac flights should get you to NRT in time to make that connection.

Interesting, didn't show up on Expedia but sure enough on ANA's own website. Looks like a good flight.

Right. Even President Ford gave up visiting there.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-...909150178.html

5:25 is what I meant, I accidently typed the time the ORD flight lands instead of when the NH flight leaves (sorry about that). I corrected the post.

The AA LAX-NRT flight arrives at 4:40 PM and doesn't show as a valid connection, but the ORD-NRT, arriving at 3:15 does. (Per EF and AA.com.)

That's kind of how I'm leaning: SAN-ORD, overnight at the airport Hilton, then ORD-NRT-HIJ, then I'm not sure the best way to get to the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima Hotel. For one thing, it avoids a too-early flight SAN-LAX to make the 11:40 AM LAX-NRT. On the other hand, doing an overnight in Tokyo gets me in to Hiroshima earlier in the day.

If you take the LAX-NRT and arrives at 16:40, you can take the train via Tokyo or Shinagawa stn to Hiroshima and still make it there before 23:00. Just remember to pickup a bento at the bento shops at Tokyo or Shinagawa stn.

I'm curious as to why the OP thinks he has to fly to Hiroshima.