Cheapest way to Kyoto from Misawa? (It's a Trip Part 1.0)

Cheapest way? I think I found it! Through LOTS of research I found a pretty reasonably priced way to get us to and from Kyoto and Hiroshima...or perhaps I should say "more reasonably priced than the other options"? Details of my price comparisons are at the bottom of the post for those that might be interested in how we saved some major money!

This is the first post in my "It's a Trip" series which covers our travels to, from and in Kyoto and Hiroshima.

So our travels to/from Kyoto & Hiroshima went something like this, just 8 totally simple easy to follow steps, of course these weren't all back to back as we did actually spend a few days vacationing!
    Step 1: Drive to Sendai (spend the night)
    Step 2: Fly from Sendai to Osaka
    Step 3: Local train from Osaka to Kyoto
    Step 4: Shinkansen from Kyoto to Hiroshima
    Step 5: Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Kyoto
    Step 6: Local train from Kyoto to Osaka
    Step 7: Fly from Osaka to Sendai
    Step 8: Drive back to Misawa

So here's a little about our pit stop in Sendai...and our adventure getting to the airport...

Our hotel, right downtown. Probably about
a 5 minute walk to Sendai Station.

Dinner at an Italian place called Yomenya Goeman (we'd been there before and liked it)...GPS coordinates: 38.261892, 140.879616. The sign is blue and orange, no English.

Shrimp and avocado with cheese cream sauce.

Chicken and broccoli with 4 cheese cream sauce.

Creme brulee for dessert!

Stopped by a little Asahi bar within the covered shopping street area. According to Keenan it's only open seasonally. There were no chairs, standing only, but we did get a spot by the window so we could people watch. From there we went to another bar, One More Time. I'd read somewhere that it was an American style bar...whatever that meant...we thought we should find out!

Why yes, that is a dried fish in our snack mix!

Passed this Mister Donut sign along the way...
could be interesting to try, sandwiches using
donuts instead of buns! Fruit or sausage!

There was a beautiful corvette inside the bar!

Drink coupons...since we're American.

Free treat...since we're American.

So why was One More Time described as an American style bar? Well, there was a corvette, all the decor was retro Americana (John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Daniels, etc), and the owner loved the United States and has visited a few times. Though we couldn't understand each other very well we did have interesting conversations! He was very kind and offered us each a free drink which we gratefully accepted (after politely refusing at first). Once again we were overwhelmed by generosity in our host nation.

So getting to the airport the next morning was...an adventure? No, that's not right. A stress-inducing, sweaty palms, verge of tears, edge of seat and I wasn't even driving...experience. That's what we'll call it. No, it had nothing to do with the previous nights libations. We got up plenty early, got on our way, plenty early, were within 10 minutes of the airport, with plenty of time to spare...and then my phone GPS failed us, we didn't know which fork to take in the road...our quick pick was wrong. We ended up having to go 15 km the wrong direction, exit the toll road, sit in bumper to bumper traffic to get back on the toll road, sit in bumper to bumper traffic while on the toll road for 15 km because of construction-that-wasn't-even-going-on-causing-2-lanes-to-merge-into-1-at-rush-hour...crap. I really didn't think we would make it in time. We had over an hour, then just 45 minutes, then 30, then 10. Finally we got out of the traffic, Keenan put a little stress on the ol' Suub, used some "tactical" driving skills, dropped me off at the terminal so I could run (literally) inside to check in while he parked. I checked in with 2 minutes to spare...which was only 32 minutes before our scheduled departure...whew! Had we missed the flight we would have taken the shinkansen from Sendai to Kyoto, voiding out all my money saving research. Words of wisdom...look at the map before you start driving so you know the interchanges, Y's and exits, no instinctive guessing involved.

This scooter was awesome!
Who cares if it's raining?

Approximate round trip cost of Misawa-Kyoto + round trip Kyoto-Hiroshima*:

Option 1:
Driving Misawa<-->Sendai, flying Sendai<-->Osaka (Kansai Int'l) using Peach Air (flypeach.com) and local train from Osaka (Kansai Int'l)<-->Kyoto + Shinkansen Kyoto<-->Hiroshima (includes: tolls, 1 night hotel in Sendai, airfare, trains, parking, gasoline): 
~¥50,000 per person.

Option 2:
Shinkansen Misawa(Hachinohe)<-->Kyoto + Shinkansen Kyoto<-->Hiroshima: 
~¥75,290 per person.

Option 3:
Flying Misawa<-->Osaka (Itami Int'l), local train Osaka (Itami Int'l)<-->Kyoto + Shinkansen Kyoto<-->Hiroshima: 
~¥76,420 - ¥96,420 per person.

*To compare prices without including trip to/from Hiroshima subtract ¥22,500 per person from each option.

By going with Option 1 we saved over ¥50,000 ($500) for our 2 person trip!!!


Leave a comment to let me know if this information was helpful or if you have any questions!