Getting around
Maps & logistics
Trains & the JR Pass
A 21-day JR Pass (Ordinary) is ~¥100,000/person (rising to ¥105,000 from 1 Oct 2026). Since the 2023 price rise it’s no longer a no-brainer — for this multi-base route with some non-JR legs to Fuji, price the pass against point-to-point shinkansen tickets (a regional pass + individual tickets may win).
- Reserve shinkansen seats together — a group of 7–10 needs early reservations (free with the pass).
- Suica/PASMO IC cards for local trains, buses and convenience stores.
- The Fuji Five Lakes area uses Otsuki + the Fujikyu line (not all JR) or a direct highway bus from Tokyo.
Transit links, leg by leg
Each opens in public-transit mode for real train/bus times:
- Tokyo → Nikko
- Tokyo → Nagoya (shinkansen)
- Nagoya → Ghibli Park
- Nagoya → Magome-juku
- Magome → Tsumago (walk)
- Tsumago → Matsumoto
- Matsumoto → Kamikochi
- Kamikochi → Kyoto
- Kyoto → Nara
- Kyoto → Osaka
- Osaka → Hiroshima
- Hiroshima → Miyajima
- Hiroshima → Lake Kawaguchi
- Kawaguchiko → Tokyo
Build your own Google My Maps (≈2 min)
A personal My Map lets you pin every stop, colour-code by theme, and share one live link with the group. Google needs you signed in, so it takes a couple of taps.
- Open google.com/mymaps → Create a new map.
- Search each place below and click Add to map.
- Use layers/colours to group by theme (red anime, green hiking, gold food).
- Share the live map with your five friends.
Places to pin:
- Senso-ji (Asakusa)
- Akihabara
- Ghibli Museum (Mitaka)
- Ghibli Park (Aichi)
- Magome-juku
- Matsumoto Castle
- Kamikochi
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Kinkaku-ji
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
- Todai-ji & Nara Park
- Dotonbori
- Universal Studios Japan
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial
- Itsukushima Shrine
- Chureito Pagoda
- Mt Fuji 5th Station
Money, connectivity & etiquette
- Carry cash — rural areas, huts and small eateries are cash-first; 7-Eleven ATMs take foreign cards.
- eSIMs or a pocket Wi-Fi unit or two for the group.
- Luggage forwarding (takkyubin) between bases saves hauling suitcases — ideal for the hiking legs.
- Etiquette: quiet on trains, no eating while walking, carry your own rubbish, remove shoes where indicated.