From Kyoto/Osaka to Hokkaido
 

Hi, I am headed to Japan in December and will be travelling from Tokyo to Hiroshima, Kobe, Nara, Osaka and Kyoto.
I am planning for Hokkaido to be my final destination. Does anyone have suggestions as to how I can get from either Osaka or Kyoto to Hokkaido in the quickest time possible yet least expensive mode of transport?

Should I get the 14 days or the 7 days JR pass since I would be in Japan for 16 days? I am inclined to get the latter as I am thinking that I would be not be moving around that much in Hokkaido such that it would require me to get a JR Pass or might I be wrong, given that travelling to Hokkaido from Kyoto/Osaka would almost cost as much as the 7 days JR pass.

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

How many days are you going to be staying in Tokyo/Hiroshima/Kobe/Nara/Osaka/Kyto? Chances are, you will be traveling between these cities for more than 7 days, so the JR pass will be convenient and cheap to travel across these cities and take you to Hokkaido as well.

Your only bet is to take the shinkanzen to Aomori, and then change to ferry or stay on train, it will be a LONG trip and it will cost you a fortune if you don't have the JR pass

BTW, I just did a quick check, one way from Kyoto to Sapporo will cost you over US$300 already. If your JR pass is only good for 7 days, chances are you will need still be around kyoto/Osaka then, which means you need to pay for local transportation first

I am thinking of staying in hiroshima/kobe/nara/osaka/kyoto areas for like 8 days as I've been to Kyoto and Osaka before.
Hence, I was also thinking of using local transportation for the first few days and then only using my JR pass after my 2nd or 3rd day in Japan.
However, I know that travelling from Tokyo to Hiroshima on local will cause me to lose quite a bit of sightseeing time. In addition, I am not too sure if that would incur more costs on my side, instead of wanting to save more money..:p
Would I be correct to assume that?

My plan was for me to travel directly from Tokyo upon reaching Japan, to Hiroshima and then work my way back. I am not too sure if that's too silly a plan?
What would you make of my plans?

Sounds like it should work, either way, you have to travel to one spot and travel back, unless you are going to land in Kensai, and just visit your way to hiroshima that way

hope you can enjoy your visit in Japan.. :D

Hi..thanks for the reply.
Just want to double check, do ya think that I would incur greater costs if I were to travel on local for the first few days, as compared to using my JR pass once I touch down?

hehe..thanks. hope so too.
if you have any must see(s) in the places that I mentioned,do let me know.
thanks..:)

It really depends on how much traveling you will be doing, and how much of it will be on the Shinkansen. If you first trip is to travel from Narita to Osaka, then you might as well get yourself a 14 day pass. Single trip from Narita to Tokyo is around US$30-45 (If I remember correctly), then from Tokyo to Osaka is going to be around US$150. Then you have your other local ones which will cost you around US$20 a day. That with a 7 day pass will be well over US$400, while a 14 day pass is just little over US$400

We need MMM, Nagoyankee and a few other locals to confirm the numbers, but I think they should be close to accurate