Since I'm not too comfortable travelling to anywhere near Sendai/Fukushima areas right now, and I feel that Hokkaido is best enjoyed in winter, therefore I decided to explore Kyoto/Hiroshima areas this time round.
Flight details:
Singapore Airlines: 20/7 (Wed) 0120hrs depart Singapore, 0850 arrive Osaka Kansai Airport
Singapore Airlines: 28/7 (Thurs) 2330hrs depart Osaka Kansai Airport, arrive Singapore 0510hrs (29/7)
= SGD1169.60 (inclusive of surcharges, for total of 2 persons.) *cheap right?* :)
Hotels:
20/7 Green Hill Hotel, Kobe (7,000yen)
21/7 Hotel Miyarikyu, Miyajima (32,000yen)
22/7 Urbain Hiroshima Executive, Hiroshima (7,700yen)
23/7 Shin-Osaka Station Hotel Annex, Osaka (7,680yen)
24/7 Hotakaso Yamanoiori, Takayama (13,320yen)
25/7 Hotakaso Yamanoiori, Takayama (13,320yen)
26/7 New Miyako Hotel, Kyoto (8,400yen)
27/7 New Miyako Hotel, Kyoto (8,400yen)
JR pass (7days) 28,300yen per pax (SGD445 per pax)
JR West (Kansai area pass-1 Day) 2,000yen per pax (SGD32 per pax)
Itinerary: (still in midst of going through the pics, will post them soon)
20/7 (Wed) Singapore to Osaka Kansai Airport, Osaka to Kobe *stay at Shin-Kobe*
- Kitano, Chinatown, Harborland
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
- Kitano, Chinatown, Harborland
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
22/7 (Fri) Miyajima to Hiroshima *stay at Hiroshima*
- Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Park, Peace Memorial Museum, Hondori Arcade, Okonomi-mura.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
- Atomic Bomb Dome, Peace Park, Peace Memorial Museum, Hondori Arcade, Okonomi-mura.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
24/7 (Sun) Osaka to Takayama *stay at Takayama (Ryokan)*
- Takayama Preserved street.
Part 1 / Part 2
- Takayama Preserved street.
Part 1 / Part 2
25/7 (Mon) Takayama *stay at Takayama (Ryokan)*
- Morning Markets, Shirakawa-go
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
- Morning Markets, Shirakawa-go
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
Useful Links:
Kobe:
Kobe Harborland: http://www.harborland.co.jp/en/index.html
Hiroshima/Miyajima:
Miyajima: http://www.miyajima-island.com/flash/english/welcome.html
Miyajima ropeway up Mt Misen: http://miyajima-ropeway.info/en/torikae/torikae.html
JR Ferry schedule between Miyajimaguchi & Miyajima: http://www.jr-miyajimaferry.co.jp/time/
Okonomimura (Okonomiyaki-village) in Hiroshima: http://www.okonomimura.jp/foreign/english.html
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/index_e2.html
Hiroshima Tram (maps & other info): http://www.hiroden.co.jp/en/index.html
Osaka:
Takayama:
Takayama hotel : http://hidatakayama-yamanoiori.jp/index.html (somehow, booking thru this site directly is much cheaper than going thru other hotel reservation websites like Japanican.com. Although I don't understand Japanese, but I was still able to figure out how to book it by using Google Translate website.)
Bus schedule for between Takayama and Shirakawa-go (UNESCO site): http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/new/shirakawago%20_kanazawa.html
Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi village) guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5951.html
Kyoto:
Arashiyama & Sagano guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html
Sagano "Romantic" Sightseeing Train:
http://www.sagano-kanko.co.jp/eng/index.htm
http://www.sagano-kanko.co.jp/index.html
Others:
Train schedule for all parts of Japan: http://www.hyperdia.com/ (I can't do without it when planning a trip to Japan)
Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/
