Tokyo to Osaka travel question...

[Ha_chan]

Hey, I'm going to Osaka next year around the end of March. Yay! However... I have a free frequent flyer mile ticket to the Narita airport...I'm not going to pass down a free ticket.
I need to get to Osaka...whats the best way to get from Tokyo to Osaka ? Plane, train ?

I'm a student exchange student so I'd prefer it also be the one that requires LESS talking and more simple... Not so confindent with my Japanese... hehe...yeah. *sigh*

There might be some time between me leaving Tokyo for Osaka maybe a week but, I don't know if I can get to stay with a family I know, so I might be staying somewhere in Tokyo or I might be leaving that same day.

Its so uncertain, but I'd rather have a clue what to do, rather then not...

[Jason]

I'm pretty sure this is right, but you probably want to confirm it as I've never actually been. I believe it's about 300 miles from Tokyo to Osaka. So by regular train it takes about 6 hours, 3 by shinkansen. Not sure how long by plain but certainly less. So which way is best really depends on if you want to get there faster or cheaper. Personally, I think if I had just spent 12+ hours on a plane to get to Tokyo, I don't think I'd want to spend even more time in a plane to get to Osaka.

If it were me, I think I'd splurg and take the shinkansen at least one way. Again though, you should probably listen more closely to those who've actually traveled to and in the country.

[Ha_chan]

Yeah, I was thinking along similar lines. I just have to convince my family (who will be paying for it) that thats the best route. I have never ridden a train before,not even in America, it certainly will be interesting.

Is it very expensive ?

(Thanks for giving me some advice. I'm going to need all I can get! XD )

[JonB]

If you are going to spend some time in Tokyo then get the shinkansen. For the plane by the time you have got out to Haneda, checked in etc train will be quicker.

If you want the cheapest you could take a bus. I believe there are overnight buses but I have never checked that out as I hate long distance travel buses.

One way to shin osaka on the shinkansen is about 13,000yen. For 28,000 yen you can buy a JR pass for a week and this includes all JR trains for 1 week - but you must buy it in your home country they are not available in Japan. So if you want to pop up to Kyoto or Kobe once you are there then it has paid for itself. That is assuming you are staying for only a week in Osaka.

[annie]

If you are going to spend some time in Tokyo then get the shinkansen. For the plane by the time you have got out to Haneda, checked in etc train will be quicker.

If you want the cheapest you could take a bus. I believe there are overnight buses but I have never checked that out as I hate long distance travel buses.

One way to shin osaka on the shinkansen is about 13,000yen. For 28,000 yen you can buy a JR pass for a week and this includes all JR trains for 1 week - but you must buy it in your home country they are not available in Japan. So if you want to pop up to Kyoto or Kobe once you are there then it has paid for itself. That is assuming you are staying for only a week in Osaka.

If you're coming here as an exchange student and are entering Japan on a student visa you CAN NOT use a JR pass.

The bus is cheap.... around 5000yen for the night bus. If you can sleep on buses, then it's a fine way to travel. Otherwise, the shinkansen is really your only reasonable option.

[josiah]

Yep, if you're on a tight budget then the bus is the way to go.
I took a bus from Tokyo to Osaka for around ￥８０００ return which is pretty cheap, and if you can sleep on a bus then you've got a winner.
Check out H.I.S. they can have some great discounts and they have a big office in Shinjuku
http://www.his-j.com/

[KeithH]

If you're planning to make the trip both ways within 7 days apart, then a JR pass will pay for itself. Also, I think you'll find the domestic flights out of Narita to be very expensive.

You can use this website to plan your travel via train.

http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi