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After a night at Kinosaki, I plan to spend a day in Amanohashidate before going to Kyoto in the evening. I hope I'll make the best out of the destination thanks to your advice! I'm just worried that I may not find coin lockers or any service to store my luggage, do you know if there's any at the station?

Excelent video... It gave a whole different perspective about dates and seasons in Japan

thank you for this! im already planning my next trip (next yr) and im purchasing this pass. i also saw a comment on klook where they rode the Nozomi from Hiroshima to Kyoto with additional 1,500yen fare adjustment. i was wondering if that can be done through the machine or ill have to go to the ticketing office, cos I plan on coming back and staying in kyoto too.

Thanks for the video! Can you make another video for 5 days plan to use this hokuriku pass? I followed ur itinerary for kansai wide area pass last may and its a great help.🎉

Great tips! I've been in Japan once and now creating a trip for myself and a few of my friends. Having experienced my first 10 days in the land of rising sun I want to tailor "The mega life-changer 3000" trip for my friend, but I want to minimise that "mainstream" experience. Your advice has been very helpful. Thank you again and keep doing those videos.

Hi Andrew, Thank you so much for this extremely helpful information . It has helped me enormously best wishes from Australia ❤❤

Our very first trip to Japan last year, we booked JR Pass Green for 14 days. At that time I was hesitant to do it because of the price. Best decision I've made for that trip considering how much the JR Passes are now. But you're right, Green seats will absolutely spoil you. In planning our next trip in 2025, I''ll still be getting individual green seat tickets on the Shinkansen even without JR passes (works out to be much cheaper).

do you know about the nohi bus pass

Are any of these wheelchair accessible?

Great tip about learning basic phrases. Definitely helps if you know a few basic words like please and thank you. The people are more willing to help you and will be friendlier than usual because you showed interest in their culture.

Thanks to your videos, it helped a lot. I just want to ask what is a good pass with my itinerary below. Kyoto is my base. - Kansai >> Kyoto - Kyoto >> Nagoya >> Kyoto - Kyoto >> Hiroshima >> Kyoto - Kyoto >> Tokyo Station

Last time I accidentally reserved the non-green sheet. Then all the way from Shinagawa to Kyoto, two foreign people was talking, I was very tired and it was quite annoying. The green car is confy, less people, almost no noise from the surrounding people. Totally worth it for me.

Thank you for a very good information about Kansai Wide Pass. I already booked my trip to Osaka for middle Januari 2025. Around 8 days in Osaka, but in my first arrival planned to Shirakawa for 2-3 days. I planned to buy this Pass and exploring Kansai area. This would be my very first winter trip experience. Do you have any recommendation about skiing area can be explored by this Pass?

We land in Tokyo take limousine bus to hotel area Shinjuku stay 4 days get train to Toyama stay overnight and keep the hotel for 3 days in the morning its bus to Shirakawago stay overnight then back to Toyama next day train to mt Fuji stay four days then back to Tokyo asakusa area by train 4 days home We will use cash suica and debit card and digital esims I’m loving some of your tips Unfortunately we are skipping the snow monkey tour as I have opted for no rush travel

does that mean i can't use it for a round trip from kyoto to nara? i'm not sure I understood this part..

I came across your video as I'm passionate about Japanese culture and I would LOVE to visit there! One of the things that got my attention really quick was the Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Is there really a place in Kyoto where you can print your own? Would you mind sharing the link if they have a website? Thank you!

Great suggestions here! Just arrived home recently from my first Japan trip, and I wish this had come out before I got there. My biggest take away from my trip was to DO THE GUIDED TOUR! Allot of people (myself included), only show up to the land marks to take pictures. I'm not very photogenic, so after taking pictures of the scenery I was done, while allot of tourists around you have full-on photo shoots, which is fine, but I felt like I was missing so much context to everything around me. If you want to do more than just take pictures, for sure do the guided tour!

Thank you, Andrew, for highlighting this pass. We (myself and two teenage sons) stayed in Kyoto for five nights and then Osaka for six. Last full day in Osaka we activated the pass and went to Amanohachidate for the day. Transit day, we rode to Shin Osaka, lockered our bags, then took the Shinkansen to Himeji for the day before finding our new digs after checking time. Next day, boys went to Round 1 and I rested! Yesterday, we rode the Shinkansen again to Okayama and Kuradhiki. Today, we went to Nara and rented three bikes for free for the day. I think we got pretty good value - but will be happy to just mooch around for a few days now…

The JR wide pass and the Hokuriku Arch pass is great. I'm going to use the JR Wide pass to go to Kuzawa, Nikko and Kawaguchi for my day trips at only 15000 yen, its a no brainer. It also provides you access to the JR lines in Tokyo! I heard people even buy 2 JR Wide passes back to go because it provides coverage all the way to Izu Peninsula and Chiba!

My partner and I are planning a 30-day journey through Japan in November 2025. We’re learning basic Japanese so we can visit places off the beaten path. From Brazil, we want to thank you for the wonderful content your channel provides, Andrew!

Number 8. Google maps for directions is awesome in Japan. So much better than the UK. Tells you the entrance/exit for stations. Where to board a train for the quickest transfer and exit. And the price.

Thank you so much for posting this. I had so many questions about it that weren't available on google searches. You also gave me a few ideas too. subscribed.

I didn't know about the e-sim! :) We used pocket wifi both times and we were very happy with it (though, yes, we needed to carry a power bank with us to give it a boost during the day).

Would this itinerary work during winter season, early Feb?

Eikando is beautiful. so glad I saw it

Local flights > Shinkansen. Faster and way cheaper.

With this pass, will we incur any additional fees, such as express fees or seat reservation fees?

Nice vid! Thought I'd also share, as a frequent traveler. Absolutely agree with focusing on just a region. Each prefecture has so much to offer, that the big three of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are at the bottom of my list. Having to travel from one region to another multiple times in one trip is a waste of time. I think it's also worth mentioning that people might have a misconception that Japan is highly urbanized everywhere - it's not. You might find yourselves in areas with no internet connection, where hotels are few and far in between, and it's just rice fields from horizon to horizon. It's still beautiful but expectations might need to be tempered. I would not do Nagasaki if Hiroshima is my port, though - there are are closer options like Shimane or the Seto Inland Sea. I would reserve Nagasaki for a Kyushu trip. I would suggest identifying your port and hub city based on your plans: for example in my country, we have direct flights to Tokyo and Osaka and they may restore the Nagoya route soon, too. Whenever possible I'd avoid connecting flights so I tend to plan for the nearest port from my target region. I have a love-hate relationship with guided tours. On one hand, that's one day off what I have to plan and it's true that the transportation is convenient. On the other hand, I feel like there's an equal amount to stress to have: there's a good chance you'd be grouped with tourists with crappy behavior (haha yes, I don't care for connecting with other travelers), and a good chance of having to spend a chunk of your time in places you don't really care for (you might not care for shopping in Gotemba in a Hakone tour), and most likely you'd be hitting those places at their most crowded times, too. The skill of the guide is an unknown too, sometimes you'd get a very good one (and as mentioned, learn a lot of cool things from them), other times they'd just be focused on herding the group. I still insert a tour once in a while, but as much as possible, DIY tours are my preference. That said, Biei is a good example as it might not be as bad as guided tours for more popular and crowded places. Re: pocket wifi, it works well for me since we travel together as a family and nowadays battery life isn't a problem. We also carry at least 1 power bank so it's not so bad, and when you're riding express trains or Shinkansen you can charge while on the move. Pick up and drop off at the airport takes less than 5 minutes, so I don't mind that too. If you're traveling solo or with a group that tends to split every now and then, then yes, eSim is better. Re: Limousine bus, something for me to look into. We always use the trains but then we travel light so the luggage hasn't been a problem. So maybe it depends on the price and travel time. As for traveling light, a tip: take advantage of your hotel's laundry area or nearby coin laundry. Do 1-1.5 hours of laundry once or twice during your trip (I prefer late evening, prior to going to bed so it doesn't take away valuable trip time) - this goes a long way in saving you from having to carry your entire closet.

Hello

some extra tips for staying connected: A wifi hotspot is still a great option for a group. HOWEVER, you need a battery bank. Keep it in your bag hooked to the battery and it should last you all day no problem (I used a 10k one).

can you give some advice on the kansai thru pass....who is it good for....doubt we will make any really long halls using osaka as our base

Really helpful, thanks!

Thanks Andrew! I'm glad I came across this video. I'm planning a trip now and it's definitely a bit stressful weighing all options. Tokyo for 5 nights, then, Osaka for 4, Hiroshima for 1, Miyajima for 1, Kyoto for 3, and finish with Hakone for 2. Any other passes make sense for this route?

Hi Andrew, is there any website provides details of Shinkansen trains - such as no. of cars, start & end station, smoking-non-smoking, and reserved only - non-reserved allow?

can i use this to get into osaka from the airport on my first night?...staying at osaka hilton close to osaka station.....also can i use it on the osaka loop line.....thank you just subscribed

Is there additional fees for Mizuho or Nozomi bullet train? 😮.. I read some web that there is for jrpass but upon searching, it seems this pass and the Sanyo north Kyushu is exceptional to this rule

Hi Andrew I plan to use this pass from Osaka to Hiroshima and various stops before stopping at Kyoto. Any idea which pass or route to take to go to kusatsu onsen. I plan to use the Tokyo wide pass to go to kusatsu onsen. Is it the only way using a Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo then purchase the pass and activate, head to the onsen? I wanna take the earliest train. I saw some ppl taking from ueno and shinjuku station to kusatsu onsen. All under 2 to 2and a half.

Hi Andrew I’ll be heading from Kyoto straight to kasatsu onsen. Wanna start using the Tokyo wide pass immediately upon collection. Where can I collect the pass; any station like Osaka will do? Or I need to head to Tokyo first to get my pass from the machine?

Have you been to Kamikochi? I really recommend it.

What if i need to get from Kawaguchiko on Day 1 to Nagoya, then from Nagoya to Kyoto on Day 4? Would the basic fare + limited express method still work?

Can I buy this if I’m already in Japan? Klook said it must be mailed…

This will be my 7th trip to Japan...with 7 years since the last eeek can't wait....and this time I'm hiring a car and going to really enjoy the scenic drives through Wakayama and the Izu Peninsula....yes will need a shinkansen to get up there but also staying with a good friend who lives an hour out of Tokyo so looking forward to a more local pace :) Think We'll also drive between Kinosaki onsen and Amanohashidate and Ine

Thank you, I'm gonna try all this 🎉😊

Does the limousine bus put luggage tags on your luggage?

Nooooo!!! Don't mention Amanohashidate! Apart from Osaka and Tokyo at the start and end of my trip, I already expect Amanohashidate to be the most touristy bit of my upcoming November trip, I don't want any more tourists there! Gotta checkout those E-sim.....getting a pocket wifi has been no-brainer for about 10 years now since regular sims were more of a hassle, but maybe it's about time to step up the game.... As for itineraries that make me sad.....recently saw an article on a reputed Japan website (one I've even wrote a few articles for myself) with a 1 week itinerary generated by AI. Not only was it the most unimaginative itinerary you could think of, it was also full of outdated info and just downright bad choices. And "inspired" by this nonsense I tried a bit of ChatGPT to spice up my own plans.....and it just starts making up places that if you ask long enough don't happen to exist 🤬

Always love your videos! All the little tricks really helped make our first time in Japan smooth and easy. KuroNeko was a life saver, especially.

Nothing lame about going to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka on your first japan trip. Seeing and doing all the things youve seen others do. This will instill some familiarness and check off some boxes for many. Same as a first time to the US trip usually is New York City. If its your second time or more, I agree check out other cities or places and youll have a different experience.

Andrew you've done it again 10/10 🥇🏆 Absolutely sound advice that every traveller to Japan should consider. 1. Yes yes yes, Bus Transfer for sure 💯 - Trip-6 before I wised up 🫣 🚌 2. SIM Card - I buy a SIM in my country before my trip and it's live when I land on the tarmac 🛬 3. Regional rail passes are the go, research for the area of your stay. 4. Guided Tours 🤔 ... BUT make sure you're with an English speaking guide and listen to the guide NOT the tour group members 🙉 😂 5. Stay in the city, get the heck out of the city 😎 👍 6. Luggage forwarding 🤔 ... being that I travel with my folding e-bike I'm still reluctant. Keep bringing this type of excellent Japan travel information 👍 well done 😊 I'm 4 weeks out from trip #11, I'm spending 12 days in Shirahama Wakayama (& region) after an overnight stay close to KIX/Osaka airport due to my late night arrival. 1 night - I passed thru 2 nights - I was there for a day 3 nights - for a weekend 4+ nights - I experienced the area 😊

Hi Andrew, thanks for this amazing video, refer to your video - I cannot use this Kansas wide pass , 0r + Hiroshima to ride local Osaka loop line… correct? If I want to use local line I need to get Kansas mini pass or Kansai Area Pass…

Are you ok? The way you talk in this vid is really weird. You're not coming down with a cold or something? Take care of yourself!