Lately, I can’t seem to get out of this trip from my head. It’s been a while since I started making a list of places or trip that I wanted to go, but the train trip across Japan is always on top of everything else (well right next to the Trans-Siberian Railway actually).

I made this trip plan map using Rome2Rio, here’s the complete link if you want to see all the stops on the map.

And here’s the table of all the stops (you can click it to make it larger).

Here’s a list of all the stops including the link that guide mostly to Japan Guide website (my ultimate go-to resources when it comes to Japan).

Jakarta-Osaka → Koshien & Kobe → Hiroshima → Fukuoka → Nagasaki → Yamaguchi to Tsuwano → Iga Ueno → Gujo → Kyoto → Nagoya → Kanazawa → Tokyo → Nikko → Sendai → Hakodate → Sapporo → Tokyo → Hakone → Osaka → Osaka-Jakarta

The trip will cover South, Central, and North part of Japan. It will take about 22 – 23 days including flight trip from and to Jakarta. I choose Osaka as the first stop since the plane ticket is cheaper and it’s closer to Nagasaki (the most southern city in my plan). I made a lot of planning about this trip since 2 years ago I guess. I made Excel file of how much each ticket will cost and the list of all the trains, I even made a PowerPoint file of what places I want to visit. It’s an ambitious trip I would say and I’ve been wanting it for a long time. At first, I included places and cities that I want to revisit, but considering the cost will be blown up too much, I crossed up some places and added new cities to make the trip more possible. I also added some free & easy time at big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka between the trips to rest for a bit.

The usage of JR Pass is a must since it will reduce the cost of all Shinkansen train (including the use of Hayabusa Shinkansen which is still in the Top Ten Fastest Trains in The World). I guess the most exciting leg for me would be the Yamaguchi to Tsuwano trip using the SL Yamaguchi Steam Train. The train is seasonal train which only operated between Summer and Fall and fully covered by JR Pass. Too bad that all Overnight Train is already stopped its operation :( But the long trip to Hakodate and Sapporo will be all worth it considering that I have never been to North part of Japan.

When I think about this trip, it always makes me excited to the bone. I wasn’t sure there will be other people who will enjoy this trip as much as I do, so I guess traveling solo will be the best option if I really want to make this one comes true someday. Though it will cost a lot, both financially and physically, I just want to keep this trip close to my heart. Because I’ve been dreaming about it a lot lately :)