Sample. A copy of the travelers' planning page as published on 7 October 2026. Their page has moved on since.
RuggTRAVEL
Japan and Bali, May 2027
Fifteen days for four travellers: three days walking the old Nakasendo road through the Kiso Valley, a three-day boat through the Komodo islands, and three nights in Bali before the flight home.
The boat by Sat 31 OctA shared cabin or a private boat, so the quotes can go out. The flights get booked by the same date, and BYAKU’s May calendar opens around 19 November, so the Narai answer is needed by Thu 12 Nov.
Where the group sleepsStill to chooseTrainFlight
Coastlines and borders: Natural Earth. The walk itself is mapped in the Kiso Valley walk, and the flights across the Pacific on the flights map.
Still to choose. Each day opens its card in the itinerary.
Where this stands, in one page
What the group asked for
Four adults travelling together, sharing two rooms a night. All four have been to Japan before and know Tokyo and Kyoto, so the Japan half had to be somewhere new. Two of them have been to Indonesia, one on a recent photography trip; the other two have never been to Bali. Fit enough to walk 6 to 12 miles a day on consecutive days, but wanting the option to skip a day's walk without derailing the trip. Fifteen days in May 2027, open jaw, flying into Japan and home from Bali.
Their priorities: a village-to-village walk in Japan rather than a city trip; the Komodo islands by boat; enough Bali at the end to matter for the two who have not been. The budget rule they set is one splurge night up to about $1,000 per person, and only where nothing much cheaper comes close.
Decided
The Kiso Valley (Nakasendo) over the Kumano Kodo, for the railway alongside the trail
Dates: 13 to 28 May 2027, clear of Golden Week and of the June rains
Four nights in the valley: Magome, Tsumago, Kiso-Fukushima, Narai
Three days on a Komodo boat, out of Labuan Bajo
Three Bali nights at the end, based in Ubud
Flights: Option A, the Garuda daytime nonstop, decided 29 September
Still open
The boat: a shared cabin or a private charter, pending quotes
Narai: BYAKU as the splurge night, or Oyado Iseya at a quarter of the price
Days 1 and 2: Kyoto, or somewhere new
The last Bali night: Jimbaran, Uluwatu or Nusa Dua
Thursday 20 May: how much to fit in on the way to Tokyo
Cost, per person
About $5,250 to $7,700, everything included: the international ticket at $2,506, the domestic flights, all lodging, the boat, food, local transport and entries. The spread is mostly the boat and the Narai night.
The next three deadlines
31 Oct 2026: the boat direction; the flights booked and the Tsumago and Narai inns emailed
30 Nov 2026: boat quotes in, and the Kiso Mikawaya decision
About 19 Nov 2026: BYAKU's May calendar opens, and it books out on the day
Decisions
Whose turn is it?
As of the 7 Oct 2026 version.
The travelers' turn (5)
The boatBy Sat 31 OctA shared cabin or a private boat, and the standard route or the no-repeat version. Mark the boat section by Sat 31 Oct, so the quotes can go out and come back by the end of November. Go
NaraiBy Thu 12 NovBYAKU as the one splurge night, about $320 to $380 each, or Oyado Iseya at about $105. Say by Thu 12 Nov: BYAKU’s May calendar opens around 19 November and sells out the same day. Go
The last Bali nightBy Fri 15 JanJimbaran, Uluwatu or Nusa Dua for the night on the Bukit, and any favourite resorts from the two who have been. By Fri 15 Jan, so Bali can be booked by the end of January. Go
Everyone’s details for the innsAfter: the inns are bookedDietary restrictions and allergies (the set-menu inns need weeks of notice), how everyone feels about futons and floor seating, and swimming confidence for Manta Point. Go
Days 1 and 2OptionalKyoto, or somewhere new such as Takayama or Matsumoto. Say whenever you know. Go
Kevin's turn (3)
Book the flightsBy Sat 31 OctOption A on united.com as one multi-city ticket, on a drop back toward $2,506, and by 31 October either way. Go
Boat quotesAfter: the shared-or-private direction is setOut to three or four operators, with the return-time and permit questions in writing. Go
Tuesday 18 MayBy Fri 30 AprPin the Nojiri train times and the ryokan cutoff, and confirm whether bags can be forwarded beyond Tsumago. Go
1 Top three picks, in order, shown first; everything else, including the unlikely ones, is folded under “Other options” below them Researched, but unlikely to work; the reason is shown Your take, under every option name: 👍 interested, 🤔 maybe, 👎 pass, ❓ tell me more, 📝 a note. On this sample the marks stay on your screen, and the names beside them are made up
The boat
The Komodo islands Quotes by 30 Nov 2026
The core is a three-day, two-night boat out of Labuan Bajo, which reaches the good spots at quiet hours that day boats from town can't. Bali is a bookend: Garuda lands at Denpasar, and Labuan Bajo is a short hop from there. Bromo and Ijen were considered and dropped in favour of more islands.
Dashed boxes show the areas of the Bali and Komodo maps below.
Day 1: Taka Makassar and Manta Point, then Kalong Island at dusk for the flying foxes. Day 2: Padar at sunrise, Pink Beach, then the dragon trek on Komodo. Day 3: quieter snorkelling at Pengah and Kelor, back in harbour around midday.
A no-repeat version
For anyone who has done the standard trip: see the dragons on Rinca instead of Komodo, and swap in Gili Lawa, Siaba Besar and Kanawa for the Day 2 stops. It keeps Manta Point, which the earlier photo tour skipped. The operator sets the order.
The traveller who did the boat recently says either route would suit, and that their own trip mixed the two, Gili Lawa included. So this is a preference to hand the operator rather than a decision to agonise over: on a private boat the route is negotiable, and on a shared departure it is fixed and will be close to the standard route.
A sketch of the stops, drawn as straight lines; the boat operator sets the actual order and path.
Saturday 22 May, the night before. Most 3-day boats leave the harbour mid-morning, so the schedule needs a night in town. Labuan Bajo is small and the airport sits about ten minutes from the harbour. Rooms are cheap by the standards of the rest of this trip, and May is the cheapest month of the year here: harbour-side and mid-range hotels run about $24–66 a night (Komodo Boutique about $24, Komodo Suites $38, Harbour Komodo $42, Luwansa Beach Resort $52, LAPRIMA $66), with AYANA Komodo, Loccal Collection and Katamaran at the upper end. Pick something within walking distance of the harbour so the morning boarding is a stroll, and confirm the hotel holds the big bags during the boat trip rather than hauling suitcases aboard. The afternoon is enough for Batu Cermin cave near the airport, the craft market and viewpoints above town, and dinner at the harbour-front grills. The last ATMs before the park are here.
Tuesday 25 May, after the boat. The boat is back in the harbour around midday, which leaves the afternoon flight to Denpasar as the one unbooked leg of the trip. Batik Air and Indonesia AirAsia fly the route nonstop in about 1 h 20 m, with one-way fares from roughly $53 to $103. The boat is the least controllable part of the trip: a late start, weather or a mechanical problem is a different order of risk from missing a train in Japan. Book this flight only after the operator has confirmed in writing what time the boat actually returns and how late it has run before, take a later departure rather than the first workable one, and pay for a changeable fare.
Boats
Every option includes the boat, crew, chef, all meals, snorkel gear and Labuan Bajo transfers; park fees are extra. A cabin on a shared phinisi runs from about $220 per person to about $370 for a premium cabin, and a private boat starts around $2,616 for the whole vessel. May availability is excellent: the harbour doesn't fill until mid-June, though the Indonesian holiday week ending Sun 23 May will add domestic demand. The comparison is below.
Booking the boat: shared cabin or private charter
Two ways to do this: buy cabins on a boat sailing a fixed route with other guests, or charter a whole boat and set the route. Small private boats sit between a shared cabin and the luxury phinisi charters, and at four people they are closer than they look. Prices are whole-trip, 3 days and 2 nights, from operators' published 2026 rates; park fees are extra on all of them, and per-night figures divide by the two nights aboard.
Format
What it is
Per person
Per person per night
Total for four
Route control
1Shared, mid-range cabin the planning baseline
Air-conditioned cabin with private bathroom; example rates IDR 4.7M–5.4M ($260–300) per person on a deluxe phinisi
about $260–300
about $130–150
about $1,050–1,200
Fixed
2Private standard boat
The whole boat, crew, chef, guide and gear, on a simpler vessel than a deluxe phinisi
about $654
about $327
from about $2,616
Yours
3Private small phinisi
Whole-boat charter of a 4- to 6-cabin wooden phinisi: Lalunia $2,892, Pesona Bajo $2,974, Segara $3,263, Barakati $3,709, Carnaby $3,787
about $725–1,060
about $360–530
about $2,900–4,250
Yours
Other options: 3 more, 2 of them unlikely
Format
What it is
Per person
Per person per night
Total for four
Route control
Shared, premium cabin
Upper-deck cabin, balcony or bathtub; IDR 5.9M–6.65M ($330–370) per person
about $330–370
about $165–185
about $1,320–1,480
Fixed
Shared, budget cabinUnlikely: fan cabins, shared bathrooms, up to 24 other guests
Fan or basic cabin on a phinisi with 8–24 other guests
from about $220
about $110
about $880
Fixed
Luxury phinisi charterUnlikely: about $1,500 to $2,100 each, well past the budget rule
Large cabins, jacuzzi, and 10 or more berths the group wouldn't fill
about $1,500–2,100
about $750–1,060
about $6,000–8,500
Yours
Private rows are whole-boat prices, so the per-person figures are the boat divided by four and fall as the group grows.
Against a mid-range shared cabin, a private standard boat costs roughly $1,500 more for the group, and a small private phinisi $1,800–3,200 more. In exchange: the route and the clock are the group's own, which suits the mix-and-match Komodo route; Padar at sunrise without waiting for a larger group; and no boat full of people on a different schedule. Against a premium shared cabin the gap is smaller still, about $1,100–1,400 to the cheapest private boats.
A standard private boat is a plainer vessel than a deluxe shared phinisi: smaller cabins, simpler food, sometimes no air conditioning below deck. Ask for photographs of the actual boat, the cabin count, and whether the bathrooms are en-suite.
Timing. Shared departures are scheduled, typically leaving Labuan Bajo about 10:30 am and returning to the harbour around 12:30 pm on day three, which fits the plan's Sunday-to-Tuesday shape. Operators run them on set days, so the Sunday 23 May departure needs checking against whichever boat is chosen. A private charter sets its own departure time.
Park fees, a discrepancy to settle. This plan budgets about $21 per person per day from the April 2026 regulation. Several operators quote a single dated entry ticket of IDR 650,000–700,000 ($36–39) per person for a 3D2N trip, and others quote IDR 400,000–650,000 ($22–36). Ask for the fee in writing with the quote, and whether the operator registers the SiOra permit.
Nothing above can be booked from a price list: every operator quotes by message, usually WhatsApp, and replies the same day. The practical route is to send the same enquiry to three or four operators, compare what comes back, and judge the answers as much as the numbers.
What to send them: dates (board Sunday 23 May 2027, return midday Tuesday 25), four adults in two cabins, the stops the group wants (Manta Point and Gili Lawa kept, dragons on either Komodo or Rinca), and whether the quote is for a shared cabin or the whole boat.
What a good quote itemises:
The vessel by name, with its year of build or last refit, cabin count, which cabins are being sold, and whether bathrooms are en-suite.
Air conditioning hours. On budget boats the generator often runs only 18:00–06:00. Ask directly whether it runs 24 hours if anyone wants a cool cabin in the afternoon.
Park fees as a separate line. Operators quote IDR 650,000–700,000 ($36–39) per person for the trip, and the fee is charged on top of the boat price.
The SiOra permit. Since April 2026 the park admits 1,000 visitors a day and permits are pre-booked through the SiOra system. Reputable operators lock the slots when the booking is confirmed, so an early deposit secures park access.
Safety equipment, named: life rafts, emergency oxygen, EPIRB or satellite communications, and life jackets. Operators who don't list it should be asked directly.
The guide's park licence and the vessel's safety certificate. A licensed guide is mandatory for the dragon trek, and operators who have the papers show them without fuss.
Payment and cancellation in writing. The standard is a 50% deposit with the balance 14 days before departure, settled in rupiah by bank transfer, Wise or similar.
What happens if the group arrives a day late. Garuda flies Narita to Bali once a day, so a missed Friday flight puts the group into Labuan Bajo on Sunday morning rather than Saturday. Ask whether the boat can wait for a 7:05 am arrival, and what the operator does if it cannot.
What happens if the boat cannot sail. Weather closures are decided by the harbourmaster, not the operator. Ask what is refunded, whether the trip can be re-cut as day trips from Labuan Bajo, and who pays for the extra hotel nights.
The return time, in detail. What time this boat normally reaches the harbour on the last morning, the latest it has returned on comparable trips, whether the advertised midday arrival is a guarantee or an estimate, what happens to the schedule in bad weather, whether guests can be put ashore early if a flight is at risk, and what the operator does if a guest misses an onward flight.
Park fees and permits in writing: the exact fee for foreign adults, whether it is charged per day or per trip, what is extra (conservation, ranger, harbour), whether the boat price includes the SiOra reservation, whether the permits are booked in the travellers' names, what happens if a site is full, whether Rinca can substitute for Komodo, whether Padar carries its own timed slot, and what is refundable if the boat cancels.
Red flags: a price well under the market, no written cancellation policy, no mention of safety equipment, and boats rented in from elsewhere rather than owned and maintained by the operator.
The safety answers are worth treating as a go/no-go rather than a comparison: a boat that cannot name its life rafts, oxygen, communications and the guide's licence is out, whatever the price or the category. At four people the gap between a good private boat and four premium shared berths is small enough that the specific vessel matters more than the label on the package.
Shared trips are typically booked about three months out, and the group's dates sit at the end of Indonesia's holiday week, so the domestic market will be competing for the same boats. A private charter for late May should be held sooner than that.
The nearest hospital is in Labuan Bajo and is a basic regional facility, with a hyperbaric chamber at the Siloam hospital; on a boat trip the group may be hours from shore, which is an argument for travel insurance that covers boats and remote areas. On drones, one operator quotes the BTNK permit at about $135 a day against the IDR 1M–2M ($56–111) in the fees section above, so that number needs confirming with whoever runs the boat.
Park fees and rules
Since April 2026 the entrance fee is a flat IDR 250,000 ($14) per foreign visitor per day, plus a conservation fee of about IDR 100,000 ($6) and a harbour fee of IDR 25,000 ($1): about IDR 375,000 ($21) a day, or IDR 1.125M ($62) for three days. Budget $70–90 per person to cover extras, and confirm what the boat price includes. Entry must be pre-booked through the SiOra system, usually by the operator. A daily cap of 1,000 is split by site (roughly 350 Komodo, 300 Rinca, 200 Padar, 150 Manta Point), Padar runs in timed sessions, and night sailing is banned in some zones. If Komodo Island is full, Rinca often has space.
Drones
Casual drone flying is prohibited. A SIMAKSI permit from the park authority in Labuan Bajo costs about IDR 1M–2M ($56–111) a day for personal use, with one to two weeks' lead time. It needs a passport copy, the drone's model, weight and serial number, a flight plan and a purpose statement. Even with a permit, there's no flying over dragon-trekking areas during visitor hours, and Padar summit flights need ranger approval on the day. Enforcement is real, so confirm with the boat operator.
May in Komodo
May is a good compromise rather than a clear best: the start of the dry season, with water settling from the April chop and visibility improving, and crowds and prices low ahead of the July and August surge. Manta sightings are worth treating as variable, since local operators put the strongest concentrations at different points in the year. The islands are still green rather than the golden brown of the June to September photographs.
The Torii Pass trail comes in at the south end of the main street, and the station is at the north end, about half a mile apart. Every inn is on or just off the one street. Narai fills up in spring and autumn, so book early for May.
Wednesday 19 May 2027: only La Terra is bookable so far; BYAKU opens about six months out (checked 19 Sep 2026). BYAKU's own engine is the useful signal: its calendar is loaded through mid-March 2027 and empty from April, so 19 May should appear around mid to late November 2026, and November 2026 is already nearly sold out, which says book on the day it opens. None of the minshuku has a calendar to poll; Iseya takes an online form and cards, Shimada a form, Echigoya and Ikariya phone or email only. La Terra is on Expedia for the 19th at about $723 for a room for two (about $795 with fees). Narai-juku Tourism Association: 0264-34-3160. Two more inns not mapped here: Toge-no-yado Aoki and Minshuku Kato (phone via the association), and Misatoya, a house on Airbnb.
About ¥50,000–60,000 (about $320–380) per person with two meals
Bathrooms
Private bath in every room (semi-open-air in most, open-air with sauna in the top suites); spring-water bath (not onsen)
To Narai Stn
1480 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026). Own 489ban engine loaded through mid-March 2027, so expect May to open around late November 2026; November 2026 already shows one room free on most nights. 16 suites (23–89 m²) across the Toshiyoshiya main house and the Ueharaya, Shimamoya and Kanekamiya annexes. Book on the engine or phone +81 264 34 3001; guests with children must phone.
Adults only. 16 rooms across 4 restored buildings; the annex (Ueharaya) is a few minutes' walk from the main building.
Dinner at Kura, next to the revived Suginomori sake brewery, is the highlight.
From ¥16,500 (about $105) per person with two meals; +¥1,000 ($6.40) on weekends and holidays; the booking is for a Wednesday
Bathrooms
Shared toilets and washbasins; two private baths, no reservation needed
To Narai Stn
2100 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); no calendar to poll, but the easiest Narai minshuku to book: online form on its English site (confirmed by reply email), cards and e-money accepted. 9 tatami rooms (5 in the main house, 4 in the annex), about 25 guests. Check-in 15:00–18:00, out 10:00. Moved up to first choice in Sep 2026.
Opened 1818 in a former wholesaler's building; rated 4.7 on Google.
Has a drying room, which helps after a wet Torii Pass crossing.
From ¥22,000 (about $140) per person with two meals; owner cooks; a recent review described the menu as pescatarian
Bathrooms
No in-room facilities; family baths; shared toilets
To Narai Stn
2030 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); no calendar. Phone, fax (both 0264-34-3011) or email naraijyuku-echigoya@ninus.ocn.ne.jp, in Japanese. 2 rooms, one family bath, closes irregularly (不定休). Moved to backup in Sep 2026: dearer than Iseya for a plainer room, harder to book, and a single closure day sinks it.
The only inn in Narai operating continuously since the Edo era, run by the same family for 9 generations.
Takes at most 2 parties / 6 guests, so two rooms would fill the house.
About ¥10,000 (about $64) per person with two meals
Bathrooms
Shared onsen-style bath in time slots
To Narai Stn
980 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); no calendar. Online form on its English site or phone 0264-34-2678. Three room grades; +¥1,000 (about $6) per person for street-facing rooms or rooms with a private toilet and basin, and on weekends. Check-in 15:00–21:00, dinner needs arrival by 18:00.
An older couple who have lived in Narai for 60+ years; very generous dinners.
Upscale; one reviewer paid ~$580 incl. dinner and breakfast
Bathrooms
Private
To Narai Stn
2760 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Open. Expedia showed Wed 19 May at about $723 for a room for two ($795 with fees) on 19 Sep 2026; also on Booking.com. The only Narai inn bookable today.
Takes 2 groups at a time; Italian–Japanese fusion food rather than kaiseki.
Reviews are mixed (3.9): design praised, service and practical details criticised.
The group agreed on two extra Bali nights after the islands, on top of the buffer night, so the trip ends with three: Tue 25, Wed 26 and Thu 27 May, flying home Friday 28. The two who have been to Bali say the resorts are very good and inexpensive; for the two who haven't, this is the chance to see the island properly.
The group lands from Labuan Bajo on Tuesday afternoon with boat legs, so Tuesday is best left as a travel-and-pool evening. That leaves two full days, Wednesday and Thursday, plus Friday morning before the airport. Three shapes work:
1. Ubud, then a last night on the coast Suggested
Two nights in Ubud, then one on the Bukit peninsula (Uluwatu or Jimbaran), close to the airport for the flight home. It is the classic first-timer's mix of culture and coast, in the right order: Ubud first, finishing on the coast. After three days at sea, Ubud's rice terraces, temples and cooler hills are a real change of scene, and the final evening gives the sunset Kecak fire dance on the cliffs at Uluwatu temple (sessions around 6 and 7 pm, about $11–17 a ticket). The cost is one hotel change and a drive of roughly two hours from Ubud to Uluwatu, so leave outside the morning and late-afternoon rush.
A variant of the same shape: keep Wednesday in Ubud and leave Thursday unscheduled at the Bukit resort, with the Kecak as the only fixed point. It trades the market and temple morning for a pool day before the flight home.
2. Ubud for all three nights
No hotel change and the most relaxed pace. Ubud is inland, with no beach, so this suits the group if the boat was enough sea. The trade-off is the longest airport run on Friday.
3. One beach resort for all three nights
Nusa Dua or Sanur: calm swimming beaches, big resort pools, short airport transfers and almost no driving. The easiest option, but the least "Bali" for first-timers; a day trip to Ubud would help if the group chooses it.
Option 1: two nights in Ubud, one on the Uluwatu cliffs near the airport. Beach-resort alternatives marked at Sanur and Nusa Dua.
Three nights gives one full day and two half ones. The shape below puts the driving early, keeps the middle of the day slow, and ends each evening with something worth staying up for. Entry fees are 2026 rates and small: the whole two days come to about IDR 300,000–350,000 ($17–20) a person.
When
Plan
Cost
Tuesday 25 May: off the boat, into Ubud
afternoon
Land at Denpasar from Labuan Bajo; the driver meets the flight and runs north to Ubud, about 1.5 hours depending on traffic
airport transfer IDR 300–450k ($17–25)
evening
Check in, swim, dinner in town. After three days on a boat, an evening with nothing scheduled
—
Wednesday 26 May: the full day
6:30
Tegallalang rice terraces, about 30 minutes north. The terraces face the morning light, and the tour coaches and swing queues arrive from about 9
IDR 25–50k ($1.50–3)
8:30
Tirta Empul, 20 minutes further on. A thousand-year-old spring temple where you can join the purification line through the bathing pools. A sarong is required and is lent at the gate; bring a change of clothes if anyone plans to go in
IDR 75k ($4)
10:30
Optional stop at Goa Gajah, the 11th-century Elephant Cave, on the way back
IDR 50k ($3)
12:00
Lunch in Ubud, then the slow part of the day: the Sacred Monkey Forest, which the group's returning traveller rates, or a spa. A 60- to 90-minute Balinese massage runs about IDR 150–400k ($8–22), which is the island's best-value hour
IDR 100k ($5.50) weekdays
17:00
Campuhan Ridge Walk, an hour there and back along a grass spine between two rivers, best in the last light
free
18:45
Walk to Ubud Palace for the Legong at 19:30, in the palace courtyard with a live gamelan. Seating is unassigned, so arrive 45 minutes early for the front. Dinner after, about 21:00
IDR 100k ($5.50)
Thursday 27 May: morning in Ubud, afternoon on the cliffs
8:00
Breakfast at the villa, then Ubud Market and the lotus pond at Saraswati Temple, both a few minutes' walk from the palace
market free, temple IDR 50k ($3)
11:00
Check out; the driver runs south to Uluwatu or Jimbaran, 2 to 2.5 hours with a lunch stop
full-day rate
afternoon
The cliffs, and the pool at whatever the group books for the last night
—
18:00
Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu temple as the sun goes down, then grilled seafood on the sand at Jimbaran
about $11–17
Driving shown as a sketch along the main roads north and east of Ubud; the town stops are all within a short walk of the palace. Blue squares are the resorts under consideration.
An alternative Wednesday: swap the temple loop for the Kintamani downhill cycle: a drive up to the crater rim, then 3 to 3.5 hours rolling downhill through villages and rice fields to finish near Ubud, with lunch, about $30–40 a person. It is the day the returning traveller liked best in 2014, and it covers the same landscape from a bike instead of a car. Tirta Empul can be added on the drive back.
Not included above: the Mount Batur sunrise trek means a 2 am pickup, two days after the boat. Tegenungan and the other waterfalls near Ubud (IDR 25–30k, about $1.50) are easy add-ons if the group would rather swim than shop on Thursday morning. A cooking class or a morning of rafting on the Ayung both fit the Wednesday afternoon slot in place of the Monkey Forest.
Two full days at IDR 500,000–900,000 ($28–50) each cover the Wednesday loop and the Thursday transfer with waiting time included, so nobody is standing at the roadside ordering cars between stops.
Where to stay in Ubud
Recent listed rates for two adults, per room per night, taxes included. May rates will differ.
Resort
Feel
About
Alaya Resort Ubud
Central, walkable to town, two pools
$130–145
Maya Ubud Resort & Spa
Peliatan, just east of town, two pools
$150–165
Padma Resort Ubud
Payangan, in the hills north of town, three pools
$180–200
The Westin Resort & Spa Ubud
Full-service resort with spa, south of town
$195–215
Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
The splurge: riverside villas in the Ayung valley
from IDR 16M ($890)
Villas, pools and a driver
The two who have been to Bali rate Ubud highly, and what they remember is the value: a room with its own pool, and a driver on call. Both are ordinary here and neither is expensive by US standards. The choice between hotel rooms and a villa is worth making before booking.
Format
What it is
Per night
For four, per person per night
Resort room
The hotels in the table above: pools shared, breakfast included
$130–215 a room
about $65–110
Boutique hotel-villa, 1 bedroom
A private plunge pool off the room, down a quiet lane; two villas for the group
IDR 2.4M–4.8M ($150–300) each
about $75–150
Resort pool villa, 1–2 bedrooms
Private pool within a full-service resort, so spa, restaurant and staff on site
IDR 4.8M–9.6M ($300–600) each
about $150–300
Private staffed villa, 3–5 bedrooms
A whole house with its own pool, housekeeping, often a cook and a butler; the four share one place
IDR 6.4M–24M ($400–1,500) the villa
about $100–375
Flagship resort villa
The valley-edge names: Mandapa, Four Seasons Sayan and the like
$700–2,000+ each
$350–1,000+
Bali villas usually quote "++", so add about 21% for tax and service before comparing. Rates also swing with view and season.
The shape worth pricing first is a three- or four-bedroom staffed villa for the two Ubud nights. It puts the four in one place with a shared pool, daily housekeeping and often a cook, and at $400–600 a night it lands close to two resort rooms while feeling like the thing the others remember. The trade-off is that meals and the pool are at the villa rather than a resort restaurant, so it suits a group happy to have breakfast cooked at home and go out for dinner.
A car with an English-speaking driver runs about IDR 500,000–900,000 ($28–50) for a full 8- to 10-hour day, including fuel and parking, and is priced per car rather than per person: about $8–15 each per day for four. A half day is IDR 300,000–600,000 ($17–33), and an airport transfer IDR 300,000–450,000 ($17–25). The same driver can cover both Ubud days: Tegallalang and Tirta Empul in one loop, the Uluwatu transfer the next day, with waiting time included rather than metered.
Two of the four did a two-week Bali trip in September 2014. What they sent back:
The Mount Batur downhill cycle was a highlight: mostly downhill and flat, through rice fields and villages. It is still easy to book, at about IDR 550,000–700,000 ($30–40) a person including hotel pick-up and a buffet lunch, with roughly 3 to 3.5 hours in the saddle and a finish near Ubud.
Ubud works as a base. Asked again in September 2026, both said Ubud is the right place to sit for the Bali nights.
Munduk Moding Plantation was the stay they remember, for the infinity pool and the guide who looked after them, but they don't think it is worth the extra driving on a trip this length. It is in Also considered.
Amed, on the east coast, also came back strongly: a quiet fishing village where you can go out on the outriggers and rent mopeds.
The Monkey Forest is worth doing. Their temple memories are vague, so one temple done properly, Tirta Empul, may beat three in a row.
West Bali National Park was "meh".
Where the nights could go
The areas in play, with typical drive times rather than best-case ones; Bali traffic moves slowly and the mountain roads more slowly still. The trip lands from Labuan Bajo on Tuesday afternoon and flies home at 13:20 on Friday.
Area
From the airport
From Ubud
What it is
Ubud
1–1.5 h
—
Culture, rice terraces, temples, spas, the dance at the palace
Uluwatu or Jimbaran
15–60 min
2–2.5 h
Cliffs, surf breaks, the Kecak at sunset, seafood on the sand
Amed, east coast
about 2.5 h
about 2 h
Quiet fishing village, outrigger boats, snorkelling and wreck diving, mopeds
A driver is $28–50 for a full day in any of them.
What a night costs, by area
The north is the cheapest part of Bali where five-star properties exist, which is why Munduk Moding's private-pool villas sit at a price that buys only a resort room in Ubud. Recent nightly rates for two:
Area
A good room
A private pool
To the airport
Munduk and the north highlands(not in this trip)
$104–159
included at the top of that range at Munduk Moding
2 h 30 m
Ubud
$130–215
$150–300 boutique, $300–600 resort
1–1.5 h
Uluwatu cliffs
$200+
Anantara $281–388; the marquee names far higher
45–60 min
Jimbaran
$90–160
Four Seasons $712+
15–20 min
Labuan Bajo
$24–66
rare
10 min
The saving in the north is real: Munduk Moding rates 9.8 on Expedia and has a 300 m² two-bedroom private-pool villa, which on the Bukit would cost several hundred dollars a night. Nearby villas run about $104–114, and a decent four-star down on the Lovina coast is about $40. What pays for it is distance: few visitors get that far, and the roads are mountain roads. With a driver at $28–50 a day, two long transfers eat into the saving.
The last night: Uluwatu or Jimbaran
Thursday night is the one before the flight home, so the airport run matters as much as the view. The two areas are 20 to 40 minutes apart and feel nothing alike: Uluwatu is limestone cliffs, surf breaks and sunsets, reached by steep stairs; Jimbaran is a calm bay with the seafood grills set out on the sand, and it is the closest resort area to the airport.
Area
Examples and recent nightly rates
To the airport
Suits
1Jimbaran Bay the practical pick
The Open House $90, Le Meridien $102–136, Mövenpick $148, InterContinental $157, AYANA and RIMBA $169–258, Jimbaran Puri (Belmond) $334–340, Four Seasons $712–803
15–20 minutes
An easy last morning, a swimmable bay, and dinner on the sand
2Uluwatu clifftop
Anantara Uluwatu $281–388; the marquee names (Six Senses, Bulgari, Alila) run far higher; boutique villas from about $200; surf camps from $25
45–60 minutes, or about 25 via the toll road in light traffic
The sunset and the cliffs, if the group would rather spend the money on the view than the transfer
3Nusa Dua or Sanur
Big resorts on calm beaches, generally $150–300
20–30 minutes
The fallback if the group wants pure resort time instead of the Bukit
The Kecak at Uluwatu temple starts about 18:00; from there it is 25 to 50 minutes down to Jimbaran for a late seafood dinner on the beach. Staying in Jimbaran means one drive out to the temple and back rather than a cliff-road transfer with luggage the next morning. Uluwatu's beaches are reached by long flights of cliff stairs.
Friday morning. The flight home leaves at 13:20, so check-in opens mid-morning. From Jimbaran that means leaving about 10:30; from Uluwatu, closer to 9:30, with the caveat that sunset and temple traffic can stretch the cliff roads.
The two who have been to Bali can also name resorts they liked.
Choices already made, folded with everything that was compared.
Flights: Option A, the Garuda daytime nonstop, decided 29 September
Closed
Options not chosen
Options that were open for reactions and are now closed. The buttons still work and the ids are unchanged, so a change of mind has somewhere to go.
Flights: Option A, decided 29 September
The five options priced on 20 September 2026 for four adults, and what the chosen one costs against them.
Option
Into Japan, Thu 13 May
Japan to Bali
Home, Fri 28 May
Per person
For four
1A: Garuda nonstop Decided 29 Sep
United 35 nonstop to Kansai
Garuda 881 nonstop, Narita Fri 11:00 to Denpasar 17:25
Jetstar 88 + United 28, 2 h 35 m in Singapore
$2,506
about $10,024
Other options: 4 more, all unlikely
Option
Into Japan, Thu 13 May
Japan to Bali
Home, Fri 28 May
Per person
For four
C: Kansai + red-eyeUnlikely: not chosen
United 35 nonstop to Kansai
ANA 843 Haneda 12:30 am Fri (Thursday night), 1 h 40 m in Singapore, Bali 11:00
Singapore Airlines 939 + United 28, 4 h 30 m in Singapore
$2,038
$8,152.52
B: Narita, Changi overnightUnlikely: lands Saturday with little margin for the Labuan Bajo flight
ANA 7 nonstop to Narita
Narita Fri 6:25 pm, overnight in Singapore, Bali Sat 8:55 am
Singapore Airlines + United
about $1,800–1,950
about $7,200–7,800
D: Narita + red-eyeUnlikely: not chosen
United nonstop to Narita
Same red-eye as C
Same as C
$1,918
$7,672.52
E: Cheapest possibleUnlikely: three separate tickets, 1 am departures, two stops home
China Airlines via Taipei, leaves SFO 1:05 am
Vietjet via Ho Chi Minh City, leaves 2:00 am
Korean Air + Delta, two stops, 30 hours
$1,311
about $5,244
A, C and D are firm united.com "Total due" prices for four adults. B is soft and was never rechecked for four. E is three separate tickets with bags extra on Vietjet.
Option A against Option C
Both land at Kansai on Friday 14 May and both come home on Friday 28 May. The difference is the Japan-to-Bali leg and what it does to Thursday 20 and Friday 21 May.
A: Garuda nonstop
C: red-eye via Singapore
Ticket
$2,506 per person, about $10,024 for four
$2,038 per person, $8,152.52 for four
Hotels
Adds a Tokyo night on Thursday (two rooms)
No Thursday hotel
Real gap
About $468 per person on the ticket, about $1,870 for the group, plus two Tokyo rooms: well over $2,000 in all. A also runs about $250 per person over the original flight budget of $1,450–2,250; C sits inside it.
Thursday 20 May
Narai, Matsumoto and Kami-Suwa at an easy pace; evening in Tokyo; a bed
The same two stops, then Shinjuku around 6–7 pm, dinner, and Haneda by about 10 pm. A very long day
Thursday night
Hotel by Tokyo Station
On the plane: 7 hours to Singapore, then a 1 h 40 m connection
Friday 21 May
Narita Express at 7:30, daytime nonstop 11:00 to 17:25 (7 h 25 m); evening in Bali
In Bali by 11:00, tired, with the afternoon there
Beds
A bed every night of the trip
One night on a plane
Flight home
Weaker: Jetstar to Singapore allows carry-on only on that segment; 21 h 15 m total
Better: Singapore Airlines, two checked bags each; 23 h total
If something goes wrong
Garuda flies this route once a day; a cancellation means rebooking through Southeast Asia
A missed Singapore connection costs about an hour: the next flight lands at noon
Big bags
Courier to Narita
Courier to Haneda
What each comfort costs
The comfort
Per person
For four
Garuda daytime nonstop to Bali instead of a one-stop via Singapore
about $460–470, plus a Tokyo night
about $1,850–1,900, plus two Tokyo rooms
Landing at Kansai instead of Narita
$120 on the ticket, about $25 net of the shinkansen
about $100 net
Everything between a comfortable ticket and the cheapest possible one
about $600
about $2,400
One ticket instead of the same flights booked separately
saves about $1,030
saves about $4,100
One stop home instead of two
about $20
about $85
Shifting dates a day or two either way
under $60, usually nothing
under $250
The map with both Japan-to-Bali routes
Option A flies Narita to Denpasar nonstop. Option C left Haneda on Thursday night and connected in Singapore.
Great-circle paths. Option A flies Narita to Bali nonstop; Option C leaves Haneda on Thursday night and connects in Singapore.
decided Option A; the ticket is booked by 31 Oct. See Flights and Thu 13 May.
Still to decide
Open questions
Bali: which of the three shapes, and which resorts. The two who have been to Bali should have favourites.
Days 1–2: Kyoto or Takayama.
Garuda paired with the Singapore Airlines return: worth pricing before the ticket is bought, since it would fix the carry-on-only Jetstar segment on the way home.
Return from Labuan Bajo on Tue 25: find and price an afternoon flight.
Traveller details nobody has collected yet: dietary restrictions and allergies (the set-menu inns need weeks of notice), how everyone feels about futons and floor seating, and swimming confidence for Manta Point, where there is current.
The long walking day: Tsumago to Nojiri is 11.2 miles with 1,640 ft of climbing, the day after a 5.6-mile day. Worth checking everyone is happy with that before it is locked; Junikane and Nagiso stations cut it short if not.
How much of Bali should be scheduled: Wednesday and Thursday as written are two fairly full days after three days on a boat. The alternative is to keep Wednesday and leave Thursday almost empty at the last resort.
Thursday stops: both Matsumoto and Kami-Suwa, or just one for an easier afternoon in Tokyo.
Lodging decisions (see the booking plan): BYAKU as the splurge, Daikichi's two-per-room rule, and whether to lock Kiso Mikawaya now.
Komodo route: standard, or the no-repeat version.
Boat: a mid-range shared cabin at about $1,050–1,200 for the group, or a private boat from about $2,616 that makes the route the group's own. Quotes needed either way.
Luggage forwarding beyond Magome–Tsumago: which village pairs, which days.
Rooms: configurations at the shortlisted inns, futon or bed, and whether anyone wants a splurge night.
Drone: is anyone bringing one?
Booking order
In date order. "Opens" is the earliest the thing can actually be done; "due by" is when an answer or step is needed, after which it starts costing money or options.
The fare has run between $2,506 and $3,123 and is at $3,123 today. Four seats on a daily Kansai flight and a daily Garuda, so waiting past October costs more than the swing
Ask about thisUsual in the valley: around 70°F by day, high 40s at night
7:00 to 8:00 am
Walk Magome to TsumagoSuggested5.6 miles, 980 ft of climbing, 3 to 4 hours, over Magome Pass and past waterfalls. Starting early on a Monday beats the tour buses.
morning
Bags forwarded between the two townsSuggestedThrough the tourist information offices, for a small fee.
Roughly 8 days in Japan and 7 in Indonesia, flying open jaw: into Osaka Kansai, out of Denpasar. The route runs west to east across Japan with no backtracking, then south.
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
9
10
11
12
13 Day 0Fly SFO to KansaiPlane12 h travel$30
14 Day 1Arrive Kansai, to KyotoKyoto (or Takayama / Matsumoto)$165
15 Day 2KyotoKyoto (or Takayama / Matsumoto)4 h active$170
16 Day 3To MagomeMagome$137
17 Day 4Walk to TsumagoTsumago4 h active$96
18 Day 5Walk to NojiriKiso-Fukushima6 h active$145
19 Day 6Torii Pass to NaraiNarai3.5 h active$355
20 Day 7Matsumoto, Suwa, TokyoTokyo, near Tokyo Station4.5 h travel · 3 h active$280
21 Day 8Fly Narita to BaliNear Denpasar airport10 h travel$120
22 Day 9Fly to Labuan BajoLabuan Bajo4 h travel$135
23 Day 10Boat day 1On board6 h travel · 4 h active$121
24 Day 11Boat day 2On board5 h travel · 6 h active$121
25 Day 12Boat back, to UbudUbud5 h travel$372
26 Day 13UbudUbud5 h active$205
27 Day 14Ubud to the BukitUluwatu or Jimbaran$165
28 Day 15Fly Denpasar to SFOHome21 h travel$40
29
The night shown is where the group sleeps; figures are per person for the default plan.
Day by day
Day
Date
Plan
Travel
Active
~$ pp
Sleep
0
Thu 13 May
United 35, SFO 10:45 am nonstop to Osaka Kansai
12 h
—
$30
Plane
1
Fri 14
Land at Kansai (the dateline takes a day); train to the first stop
2 h
0.5 h
$165
Kyoto (or Takayama / Matsumoto)
2
Sat 15
First stop
—
4 h
$170
Kyoto (or Takayama / Matsumoto)
3
Sun 16
Train to Nakatsugawa, bus to Magome. Evening in the village after the day-trippers leave
4 h
1.5 h
$137
Magome
4
Mon 17
Walk Magome to Tsumago, 5.6 miles, starting early
—
4 h
$96
Tsumago
5
Tue 18
Walk Tsumago to Nojiri, 11.2 miles, then five local stops north by train
—
6 h
$145
Kiso-Fukushima
6
Wed 19
Train to Yabuhara. Walk over Torii Pass to Narai, 5.6 miles
—
3.5 h
$355
Narai
7
Thu 20
Narai to Tokyo by train, stopping at Matsumoto Castle and the Kami-Suwa sake breweries (see Thursday)
4 h
3 h
$280
Tokyo, near Tokyo Station
8
Fri 21
Narita Express from Tokyo Station around 7:30 (53 min), then Garuda GA881, Narita 11:00 to Denpasar 17:25 (Option A)
10 h
0.5 h
$120
Near Denpasar airport
9
Sat 22
Fly Denpasar to Labuan Bajo (1 h 20 m); afternoon in town, board the boat in the morning
4 h
2 h
$135
Labuan Bajo
10
Sun 23
Boat day 1: Taka Makassar and Manta Point, then Kalong Island at dusk
6 h
4 h
$121
On board
11
Mon 24
Boat day 2: Padar at sunrise, Pink Beach, the dragon trek
5 h
6 h
$121
On board
12
Tue 25
Morning snorkel, back in harbour around midday, fly to Denpasar and on to Ubud
5 h
2 h
$372
Ubud
13
Wed 26
Ubud: rice terraces and Tirta Empul early, the Campuhan ridge at dusk, the Legong at 19:30 (see three nights in Bali)
2 h
5 h
$205
Ubud
14
Thu 27
Ubud market and Saraswati Temple, then south to the Bukit; Kecak at sunset, seafood at Jimbaran
2 h
2.5 h
$165
Uluwatu or Jimbaran
15
Fri 28
Fly Denpasar to SFO via Singapore, arriving 9:20 pm the same day
21 h
—
$40
Home
Estimates for the default plan: flight Option A, BYAKU in Narai, a mid-range shared cabin on the boat, an Ubud villa and one night on the Bukit. Active hours count walking, hiking and snorkelling. Daily cost is per person and covers lodging, food, local transport and entries; the international ticket ($2,506) and the two Indonesian domestic flights sit outside it.
Most 3-day boats leave in the morning, and a morning flight from Denpasar usually misses them, hence the night in Labuan Bajo. The first Bali night doubles as a buffer between the domestic flight and the long haul home; the two nights after it are the Bali days the group added.
Magome to Tsumago is the busiest walk in the valley. Arriving Sunday and walking Monday morning, from 7 or 8 am, puts the group on the trail on a weekday and ahead of the tour buses.
Timing
Why mid to late May
The Kiso Valley is a low-elevation historic route, not an alpine one. Its seasons are April to May and October to November; summer is hot and humid. May is also the start of Indonesia's dry season, so both halves work. October would suit Japan, but it pushes Indonesia into the wet transition.
Golden Week (Thu 29 April – Wed 5 May 2027) is the worst week for this trip: Shinkansen seats sell out, rural inns book out at peak rates, and the post towns fill with domestic tourists. Anything from about 10 May is clear of it and still ahead of the June rainy season.
Indonesian holidays in May 2027: Ascension Day Thu 6 May, Idul Adha Mon 17 May, Waisak Thu 20 May (Islamic and Buddhist dates are tentative). The official 2027 calendar, published 15 September 2026, also makes Tue 18 and Wed 19 May collective leave days, so Indonesia is off from Mon 17 to Thu 20. Friday 21 is an ordinary working day rather than official leave, but anyone taking it off joins the weekend to the block, and Indonesian media have described the result as a nine-day break from 15 to 23 May. The group arrives on Fri 21, at the tail of that break: expect busier Denpasar–Labuan Bajo flights on Sat 22 and more domestic visitors at Komodo that weekend, so book the domestic flights and boat early. It is also the reason for not moving the Indonesia leg a day earlier. Nyepi (9 March) and Idul Fitri (10–11 March) are well clear.
Typical weather in mid-May
Place
Day
Night
Rain
What it means
Kyoto
72–75°F
54–55°F
about 12 wet days in the month
Warm and pleasant, ahead of the June rainy season
Kiso Valley, Narai at about 3,000 ft
around 70°F
high 40s
showers likely on any given day
Comfortable walking weather; cold enough after dark for a layer, and the inns are not centrally heated
Labuan Bajo and Komodo
88–91°F
73–77°F
7–14 wet days in the month
Hot and humid at the start of the dry season; sea about 86°F
Ubud
around 86°F
around 70°F
about 5 in for the month
Afternoon showers are normal even in the dry season; cooler than the coast at night
Long-term averages rather than a forecast. The spread between the valley at night and the boat in the afternoon is about 40°F, which is the packing problem in one line.
Getting there and back
Flights Book by 31 Oct 2026
The long-haul flights are one United multi-city ticket, decided 29 September: United 35 to Osaka Kansai on Thu 13 May, Garuda 881 Narita to Denpasar on Fri 21 May, and Singapore back to San Francisco on Fri 28 May. $2,506 per person, $10,024 for four, priced on united.com on 20 September 2026. The tracked fare has moved since then and sits higher today, so see the price watch below before buying. The options that were on the table are in options not chosen.
Great-circle paths: San Francisco to Osaka, Narita to Bali nonstop, and home through Singapore.
Worth pricing before the ticket is bought: Garuda paired with the Singapore Airlines flight home, which would fix the carry-on-only Jetstar segment on the way back.
Flight details
Leg
Flights
Times (local)
SFO to Kansai
United 35, nonstop
Thu 13 May 10:45 am to Fri 2:50 pm, 12 h 05 m
Narita to Bali
Garuda 881, nonstop (also sold as JAL 5013)
Fri 21 May 11:00 to 17:25, 7 h 25 m
Bali to SFO
Jetstar 88, then United 28
Fri 28 May 3:05 pm to 9:20 pm, 21 h 15 m. Jetstar originates in Australia, so an upstream delay eats into the 2 h 35 m Singapore connection; check which terminals it uses at Changi
Inside Indonesia
Denpasar to Labuan Bajo, Sat 22 May: nonstops at 7:05, 7:55, 11:25 and 11:45 am, 2:20 and 4:45 pm, about $83–86 each. Schedules this far out are placeholders. Labuan Bajo to Denpasar, Tue 25 May: not yet priced; it needs an afternoon departure after the boat returns around midday. Both legs fall around Indonesia's nine-day holiday break (15–23 May), so book them soon after the long-haul ticket.
Pricing traps
Read "Total due" on united.com. It also shows a "Total After Statement Credit" that subtracts a $400 card offer. Google Flights hides the ANA and Singapore Airlines combinations ("price hidden because it might be incorrect"); the real number appears only after clicking through to united.com. Don't split the long-haul legs: a one-way nonstop to Japan costs as much as a round trip, so the multi-city single ticket is the cheap structure. Price for four: Google defaults to one passenger.
Before booking
Confirm the fare is standard Economy, not Basic Economy, using the fare rules link in United's cart, and read the change and cancellation terms. United allows cancellation within 24 hours for a full refund, which gives time to lock the fare and confirm with the other three.
Price watch
Google Flights is tracking this bundle. It has moved between $2,506 and $3,123 per person since the ticket was priced, and today it is at $3,123. Nothing this far out has gone below $2,506, so that looks like the floor for now. Watch the alert and buy on a drop back to $2,506 rather than taking today's number, with 31 October as the point where waiting costs more than the difference.
When to buy
The averages say to wait, and this trip is a reason not to. Studies of millions of bookings put the cheapest window for international economy at roughly three to five months out, and Expedia's 2026 data found bookings 31 to 45 days ahead saved about $190 a head against booking six months out. Those are averages across every route and one traveller at a time. This booking is four seats on one ticket, Kansai has about one flight a day from SFO, Garuda flies Narita to Bali once a day, and the Indonesian legs fall in a national holiday week.
Standard Economy (not Basic) carries no change fee, and united.com will reprice the same flights itself if the fare drops. The difference comes back as a United future flight credit rather than cash, and that credit expires about 12 months from when the ticket was issued. On top of that, US law gives a full cash refund for a cancellation within 24 hours of booking, as long as departure is 7 or more days away.
The plan: book the long-haul ticket in standard Economy in the next month or two, use the 24-hour window to confirm with the other three, then keep watching the fare. If it drops, reprice the same flights and take the credit; the flights are held either way. Avoid Basic Economy, which cannot be changed at all.
Watching the fare: set a Google Flights price alert on the multi-city itinerary and on each leg separately, and recheck united.com's "Total due" for four every few weeks. The booking day of the week barely matters: Google's own analysis found midweek booking saves about 1.9%, and Expedia's 2026 data makes Friday the cheapest day by about 3%.
Ways to bring the price down
In rough order of how much they are worth on this itinerary:
Keep it on one ticket. Option A's flights cost $2,506 as a single United ticket against $3,536 booked as three, a saving of about $1,030 per person.
Land at Narita instead of Kansai: $120 per person off the ticket, though the shinkansen to Kyoto eats most of it, leaving about $25 net.
Shift the dates a day or two: under $60 per person, and usually nothing. 11 to 15 May out and 25 to 29 May home all price within a few dollars.
Buy the Japan-to-Bali leg separately only if something is badly wrong with the through fare. A same-day one-stop on Scoot was $305, but splitting the ticket removes United's responsibility for rebooking if a connection fails.
Check the card offer. United's checkout showed a $400 statement-credit offer tied to its cards. Read "Total due" rather than "Total After Statement Credit".
Seats and upgrades, roughly
Exact prices show up only in the seat map for a specific flight, so treat these as ranges.
United Economy Plus (3 to 6 inches more legroom, same seat and service) runs about $29 to $299 per person per segment, and one transpacific example quoted $205 and up. On a 12-hour flight it's the upgrade that matters most.
United Preferred seats (standard legroom, further forward) were $9 per person on a transpacific flight, which is a low price for sitting together.
United Premium Plus is the premium economy cabin: wider seat and better food. The gap over economy varies enormously, from about $50 to $2,400.
An Economy Plus subscription is $599 a year for one person, or $799 with a companion, so it only makes sense for frequent United flyers.
The ANA, Singapore Airlines, Garuda and Jetstar segments are sold on the United ticket but seated by the operating airline, usually on its own site after the booking is issued. Their extra-legroom and exit-row charges are separate and vary by airline.
Checks still to run
These need a live booking screen, so the numbers go in here once the cart is open.
Refundable versus non-refundable on Option A for four. That premium is usually steep, and it is the alternative to relying on free repricing.
Economy Plus on the two long legs: United 35 (SFO to Kansai, 12 h) and United 28 (Singapore to SFO), priced per person for four, and whether exit rows cost more.
Premium Plus on the same two legs, for comparison. If the gap is small it could change the choice.
Extra-legroom seats on Garuda 881 (7 h 25 m to Bali).
Jetstar's checked-bag and seat fees on Option A's flight home, since that segment is carry-on only as sold.
Garuda paired with the Singapore Airlines return, which would fix that bag problem and show what the Garuda nonstop really costs on its own.
Two bookings of two against one booking of four, in case the fare buckets differ.
Background
SFO flies nonstop to Tokyo Narita (about 120 flights a month), Tokyo Haneda (about 89) and Osaka Kansai (about 30, roughly one a day), so the thin Kansai route sits on the inbound leg, where a cancellation costs least. Garuda is the only nonstop from Japan to Bali, and only from Narita, and GA881 flies once a day. If the Friday flight slips, the group lands in Bali on Saturday and can still reach the boat by taking the 7:05 am Denpasar to Labuan Bajo flight on Sunday, provided the operator has agreed in advance to hold the cabins and wait.
The walk
The Kiso Valley walk
The old Edo highway between Kyoto and Tokyo, through preserved post towns in a forested valley in Nagano and Gifu. It won over the Kumano Kodo on flexibility: the JR Chuo Line runs alongside, so anyone can skip a stretch and ride to the next village, deciding at breakfast and changing their mind at lunch.
Rail legs drawn as straight lines between stops; walking days in green dashes; the Kiso Valley detail map is below.
Magome to Tsumago. The famous one: over Magome Pass, then mostly downhill on forest path and stone paving, past waterfalls. 3–4 hours.
5.6 miles
980 ft
5
Tsumago to Nojiri. The long day, mostly uphill through forest, about 6 hours. Junikane and Nagiso stations cut it short.
11.2 miles
1,640 ft
6
Yabuhara to Narai. Over Torii Pass at about 3,940 ft. Very quiet; the section that feels remote. About 3 hours.
5.6 miles
850 ft
Where the group sleeps
Night
First choice
Backup
Magome (Day 3)
Tajimaya
Sakanomichi
Tsumago (Day 4)
Daikichi
Matsushiroya, or the O-Tsumago inns three quarters of a mile south
Kiso-Fukushima (Day 5)
Onyado Tsutaya or URARA Tsutaya
Iwaya; Kiso Mikawaya is bookable today
Narai (Day 6)
BYAKU (the one splurge night) or Oyado Iseya
Echigoya
What lodging costs
Post-town minshuku run about ¥10,000–15,000 ($64–96) per person with dinner and breakfast, and nearly all share bathrooms. The Kiso-Fukushima ryokan cost more and give every room its own. BYAKU in Narai, the trip's one splurge night, is about ¥50,000–60,000 ($321–385) per person with two meals; Oyado Iseya is about ¥16,500 ($106). The group allows one splurge up to about $1,000 per person, so Zenagi, at ¥750,200 ($4,809) a night for four, was dropped. Fujioto in Tsumago has closed.
The villages
Magome is stone-paved and steep, rebuilt after fires, with the valley opening out below. Day-trippers arrive mid-morning. Tsumago is the preserved one: wires buried, no cars by day, and empty by 4 pm. Kiso-Fukushima is the valley's main town, with the old checkpoint quarter, riverside onsen ryokan and the widest choice of beds. Narai is the longest post town and a working village, and few walkers get that far north.
Crowds
Magome to Tsumago is on every Japanese hiking list, but it is a time-of-day problem: tour buses arrive mid-morning from Nagoya and Matsumoto and leave by late afternoon. Sleeping in the post towns and walking from 7 or 8 am gives an empty trail, and the Monday start helps too. The rest of the valley is quiet anyway.
Luggage
The tourist information offices in Magome and Tsumago forward bags between the two towns for a small fee, dropped in the morning and collected in the afternoon. Several inns help arrange it. Still to confirm: forwarding from Tsumago on to Kiso-Fukushima and Narai, and which days it runs.
Days 1 and 2
Kyoto is the easy default from Kansai: the Haruka gets in about 75 minutes after landing. Takayama would be new ground, but it is another 4.5 to 5 hours beyond Kansai, so after a 12-hour flight landing at 2:50 pm the group would arrive around 10 pm; it really wants a first night in Kyoto or Osaka and the move north on Saturday. Matsumoto is now covered on Thursday, on the way to Tokyo. Still open.
Lodging: the booking plan Requests by 31 Oct 2026
One row per night. Prices are per person with dinner and breakfast unless noted, at ¥156 to the dollar. Nothing is booked yet; the Status column is where that changes.
Night
Village
First choice
Backup
Price
How it books
Status
Sun 16 May
Magome
Tajimaya
Sakanomichi
About ¥9,900 (about $63)
Own vacancy calendar, or phone 0573-69-2048
Not booked
Mon 17 May
Tsumago
Daikichi
Matsushiroya, or Maruya / Koshinzuka in O-Tsumago
¥12,500 (about $80); rooms are 2 people max
Google Form on its site; confirmation by email in 2–3 days
Not booked
Tue 18 May
Kiso-Fukushima
Onyado Tsutaya or URARA Tsutaya
Iwaya; Kiso Mikawaya is bookable today
About ¥18,700–25,300 (about $120–160); Mikawaya ¥18,200 (about $116) per room with breakfast
BYAKU's own engine; Iseya by online form, cards accepted
Not booked
Two things for the group to decide
BYAKU as the one splurge. About $320–380 each for the Wednesday night in Narai, against about $105 at Iseya. It sells out and has to be booked the day May opens, around late November, so this needs a yes or no before then.
Lock Kiso Mikawaya now? It's the only inn on the route with May 2027 open, about $116 a room with breakfast. Booking it costs nothing until the day of, and it guarantees the Tuesday night while the ryokan calendars stay closed.
Sunday 16 May: the night before the walk
Magome
Sleeping here means climbing out of town toward Magome Pass on Monday morning, before the tour buses arrive. The main street is a steep, car-free stone path; the bus stop is at the bottom and the trail leaves from the top.
Sunday 16 May 2027 isn't open yet at any Magome inn (checked 19 Sep 2026). None of the inns below had rates loaded for mid-May 2027 (checked against 17 May; the 16th will open on the same schedule) on their own sites, Booking.com, Expedia or DirectBooker, and Expedia's nearest inventory was down in Nakatsugawa city, 25 minutes away by bus. It's a calendar-not-open situation, not a sold-out one: Tajimaya's booking engine only runs to 31 Dec 2026, and Magome Chaya has May 2027 scaffolded but marked 準備中 (in preparation). Expect these inns to open May 2027 between mid-November and February. When Magome Chaya's May calendar switches from 準備中 to prices, the others usually follow within weeks.
Shared (men's/women's baths, bookable in 30-min private slots); one room has its own toilet
To Magome bus stop
590 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026). Own-site calendar runs to 31 Dec 2026 only; also on Booking.com. Two plans: a room for 2–5 and a solo plan. Phone 0573-69-2048.
Run by the same family for eight generations; sunken irori hearth where the host prepares tea.
Guests rave about dinner, breakfast and the host's traditional dance lesson.
On the steep, car-free main street, a few minutes up from the bus stop.
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026). Booking.com is its only channel and shows no dates at all, even this autumn, so the owners keep the calendar closed until they open it. Message them through the Booking.com listing to ask when 2027 opens.
Renovated by hosts Ken and Yuki; the highest-rated inn in town on Google (5.0).
Handles vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets; hosts help with buses and luggage transfers.
Close to the upper end of town where the trail to Tsumago starts.
Official-site rate ¥9,240–10,780 (about $59–69) per adult with dinner (rooms of 6–10 tatami for 2–5 people); dorm bunks ¥4,950 (about $32) without meals
Bathrooms
Shared, plus two private shower stalls
To Magome bus stop
790 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026), but closest to opening: plans are on sale through 31 Aug 2027 and the May calendar exists, with every date marked 準備中. Re-check the calendar link below every few weeks.
Dorms and private rooms; dinner is served in their restaurant across the street.
Reviews are mixed: sparse rooms and firm futons, but staff are helpful.
Tsumago village has only two inns now, each with about five rooms. The O-Tsumago hamlet, three quarters of a mile south on the trail from Magome, has four more, passed on the way in; they add about 15–20 minutes to the Tuesday start.
Monday 17 May 2027 isn't open yet at any Tsumago or O-Tsumago inn (checked 19 Sep 2026). None of the six inns below is on Booking.com, Expedia or DirectBooker at all, so there is nothing to poll; every one books direct by phone, email or its own form, and none states how far ahead it opens. Tsutamuraya is the only one with a public availability calendar (a Google Calendar on its booking page). For the rest, the move is an email or phone call in November asking to hold two rooms for the 17th. Two things to know for four people: Daikichi caps every room at two and takes no two-night stays, and Matsushiroya won't take a direct booking from overseas guests, so it goes through the Tsumago Tourist Information Centre (0264-57-3123, nagiso@ju.kiso.ne.jp, 8:30–17:00). Two further village inns not mapped here take phone bookings only: Shimosagaya (下嵯峨屋, 0264-57-3124, about ¥9,100 (about $58) with meals) and the minpaku Uechoujiya (上丁子屋, 090-8734-2880). Fujioto remains closed since 1 June 2024 with no reopening date (notice).
¥12,500 (about $80) per person with two meals, ¥9,900 (about $63) room only (tax in; +¥500–1,000 (about $3–6) on peak dates; +¥200 (about $1.30) lodging tax from June 2026)
Bathrooms
Shared; lockable family bath, western toilets with washlet
To Tsumago bus stop
490 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); no advance window published. Books by Google Form on its site (confirmation by email in 2–3 days), or phone 0264-57-2595. 5 rooms, 10 guests, strictly 2 per room, so two rooms for four is the natural fit. One-night stays only. Check-in 15:00, check-out 9:30. Cancellation 30% at 2–3 days, 50% day before, 100% same day.
4–5 small tatami rooms (about 10 guests max), all with valley views from the top of the hill at the north edge of town.
English website and English-speaking host. Not on booking platforms, so reserve direct.
Closest inn to the trail north toward Nagiso, which suits the Tuesday start.
¥12,100 (about $77) per person with two meals (2025 rate); cards accepted for the room, lodging tax in cash
Bathrooms
Shared, down the hall; bath open evenings only
To Tsumago bus stop
1150 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); no advance window published. Phone only, 0264-57-3022, and overseas guests are told to book through the Tsumago Tourist Information Centre or Emilia Travel rather than direct. Up to 15 guests. Closed Wednesdays as a rule; the booking is for a Monday. Check-in 15:00–18:00, out 10:00.
About 200 years old, run by the 9th generation; no clocks or TVs in rooms.
Hard to book direct: the inn's own site says overseas guests must go through the Tsumago Tourist Information Centre (0264-57-3123) or Emilia Travel, which phone the inn on the guest's behalf.
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); no calendar and no advance window published. Email preferred, phone 0264-57-3029 otherwise. Also on DirectBooker with no rates loaded.
Smallest of the O-Tsumago inns (up to 13 guests). Host Masa-san tells stories and sings around the hearth.
Some rooms have balconies over a koi pond and the river.
¥12,000 (about $76) per person with two meals, ¥8,000 (about $51) room only; cash only
Bathrooms
Shared, including two private baths
To Tsumago Honjin
0.9 miles as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026). The only inn here with a public availability calendar (Google Calendar on the booking page), plus a reservation form that takes 1–5 rooms. Up to 20 guests. Check-in 15:00, out 9:00; dinner 18:00, breakfast 7:00. May close December to March.
Meals use the family's own rice, vegetables and fish, with home-brewed sake.
Thin walls; bathrooms are all on the ground floor.
About ¥11,500 (about $73) per person with two meals
Bathrooms
Shared, with private shower stalls and a sauna
To Tsumago Honjin
0.8 miles as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026); phone 0264-57-3106. The largest inn in the Tsumago area (new cypress building plus the old annex), so the easiest to get two rooms at. Also on DirectBooker with no rates loaded.
Family-run for eight generations in a 300-year-old building.
Reviews are the most mixed here (3.9 on Google): noise and thin futons come up.
The walk ends at Nojiri; the local train runs five stops north through Okuwa, Suhara, Kuramoto and Agematsu. Kiso-Fukushima has the valley's largest choice of inns and the only ones with private bathrooms as standard. Two of the picks stand along the river in the old town, about half a mile from the station; the third is at the station door.
Tuesday 18 May 2027: Kiso Mikawaya is already bookable; the three ryokan aren't open yet (checked 19 Sep 2026). This is the one village on the route where the inns behave like hotels: all four sit on Jalan and JTB, and three run their own booking engines on reserve.489ban.net, so availability can be checked online rather than by phone. Mikawaya has May 2027 loaded and showed a room for two on the 18th at ¥18,200 (about $116) with breakfast, the first open night anywhere on the trail. Onyado Tsutaya, Iwaya and URARA Tsutaya had nothing loaded for May 2027 (or for November 2026, so they load late); expect them to open in the winter. With 11 to 26 rooms each, two rooms on a Tuesday in May shouldn't be tight once the calendars open.
Listings show from about ¥50,600 (about $320) for a room for two with two meals; the open-air-bath rooms cost more
Bathrooms
Private toilet in every room; two room types (Moon Light with beds, Moon Glow tatami) have a private open-air bath
To Kiso-Fukushima Stn
2690 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026) on its own engine, Jalan or DirectBooker. 26 rooms: 8- to 12-mat tatami rooms, two open-air-bath rooms, and an annex (HATAGO) with a twin and a double. Book on its 489ban engine or phone 0264-22-2010. Check-in 15:00, out 10:00. Station shuttle by advance request.
Indoor and outdoor onsen overlooking the Kiso River; tattoo-friendly.
In the old town, not at the station (about half a mile). They run a station shuttle.
Ask for the main building: the annex across the street has no elevator.
Listings show from about ¥37,400 (about $240) for a room for two with two meals
Bathrooms
Private toilet in every room; three room types have a semi-open-air bath (not onsen water); the onsen is a shared 24-hour bath on the ground floor
To Kiso-Fukushima Stn
160 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026) on its own engine, Jalan or DirectBooker. 11 rooms: 8- and 10-mat semi-open-air-bath rooms, a suite, a twin, a 6-mat tatami room and a two-room 12-mat family room. Book on its 489ban engine, Jalan or JTB, or phone 0264-22-2145. Check-in 15:00, out 10:00. Jalan guests rate it 4.7 from 370 reviews, the best in town.
Moved up to first choice in Sep 2026: best guest rating in town, semi-open-air bath rooms, and the station at the door after the long Nojiri day.
Right in front of the station, which is the easiest option with luggage.
Recently renovated; staff speak good English; dinner gets strong reviews.
From about ¥13,650–15,400 (about $87–98) per person with two meals; premium beef dinner if booked 30+ days out
Bathrooms
Private bath and toilet in every room; rooftop onsen
To Kiso-Fukushima Stn
2660 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Not open yet (19 Sep 2026) on Jalan or DirectBooker. 14 rooms (singles, doubles, tatami, suites). Book on Jalan or JTB, or phone 0264-22-2015; the official site (kisoji-iwaya.com) wouldn't load from here. Check-in 15:00, out 10:00. Bus stop at the door, 10 min walk from the station. Jalan guests rate it 3.9, lower than the other three.
About 350 years old, the oldest inn on the Kiso road; 12 rooms, many facing the river.
Handles vegetarian menus well, per reviews.
Moved to backup in Sep 2026: still the historic choice with private baths, but Jalan guests rate it 3.9 against 4.7 for URARA Tsutaya.
¥18,200 (about $116) for a room for two on 18 May 2027, breakfast buffet included on every plan; dinner plans from ¥7,600 (about $48) per person
Bathrooms
Tatami rooms with beds and a private unit bath; singles share; onsen (Nihongi no Yu) and barrel sauna
To Kiso-Fukushima Stn
3120 ft as the crow flies
May 2027
Open. DirectBooker showed Tue 18 May available at ¥18,200 ($116) for two, direct rate (19 Sep 2026). Book on its 489ban engine or phone 0264-24-3332 (10:00–23:00). Check-in 15:00 (until 23:00), out 10:00. 100% charge for same-day cancellation or no-show.
Simple onsen hotel across the river and the easiest to book in town.
Book direct, early. Most post-town inns aren't on booking sites; reserve by their website, email or phone. None of the Tsumago or O-Tsumago inns is on Booking.com at all. If an inn only takes phone bookings, the Tsumago Tourist Information Centre (0264-57-3123, nagiso@ju.kiso.ne.jp, 8:30–17:00) will call on a guest's behalf, which is how overseas visitors book Matsushiroya and Shimosagaya. Travel Arrange Japan (Emilia Travel) and Kiso Adventures also broker these inns; see Other ways to book below. Kiso-Fukushima is the exception: its ryokan are on Jalan and JTB and run their own online engines, so that night can be booked from a browser.
Budget. Ordinary inns run ¥10,000–16,500 (about $64–105) per person with two meals. The group allows one splurge night up to about $1,000 per person, but only where nothing cheaper comes close; BYAKU Narai at about $320–380 per person is that night, and Zenagi at about $1,195 per person is out.
Calendars open late. The post-town inns load rates only three to six months ahead, so for mid-May 2027 expect their calendars to open between mid-November 2026 and February 2027; "no availability" on Booking.com before then means the dates aren't loaded, not that they're sold out. Booking.com has no public API or feed for this, so the reliable moves are the inn's own vacancy page, a message to the property through its Booking.com listing, or a phone call. Tawaraya (旅籠 俵屋), a whole-house rental in Magome not listed above, books through tabichat.jp if the group wants one house.
Shared bathrooms are the norm. In Magome, Tsumago, O-Tsumago and Narai, expect shared toilets and a bath used in turns or booked in a time slot. Only the Kiso-Fukushima ryokan, BYAKU, Yanagiya and Zenagi give every room its own.
Bring cash. Tsutamuraya and Maruya are cash only, Matsushiroya takes cards for the room but not the new ¥200 (about $1.30)-per-person lodging tax (from June 2026), and Nagiso and Narai stations sell paper tickets only.
Forward the bags. The Tsumago tourist information office arranges luggage transfer between Magome and Tsumago; inns such as Sakanomichi also help arrange it. On Wednesday in Narai, send the big bags by courier to the Narita airport counters for Friday, so Thursday's stops and the Tokyo night need only day bags; confirm timing with the inn.
Dinner matters. Book two meals wherever it's offered. Village restaurants close early, and some inns (Nedoko, Yanagiya) help reserve dinner elsewhere.
Other ways to book the inns
Three services can take some or all of the booking off the group's hands. The trade-off is price: one charges a small fee per inn, the other two sell a packaged walk at a large premium. The baseline for comparison is booking direct, using the picks above: about $370 per person for the four nights with two meals if Narai is Iseya, or about $600–650 with BYAKU, plus roughly $40 of luggage transfers and $30 of local trains and buses.
Service
What they do
Cost against booking direct
Best for
Travel Arrange Japan (Emilia Travel, Osaka)
A licensed Japanese agency that books individual inns by request, and will build a custom itinerary. Three of the shortlisted inns are on its list today: Tajimaya, Matsushiroya and Hanaya. An earlier check counted four; only these three could be re-confirmed on 19 Sep 2026. It also takes requests for inns it doesn't list.
About ¥1,100 ($7) per person per night. Matsushiroya is from ¥13,200 ($84) through them against ¥12,100 ($77) direct.
The phone-only inns, especially Matsushiroya, which tells overseas guests to book through them or the Tsumago Tourist Information Centre.
Kiso Adventures (nakasendo-kisoji.com, based in Narai)
A small local operator selling self-guided walks: inns with dinner and breakfast, English route notes and maps, luggage coordination and phone support. Luggage fees are paid locally. Taking inquiries for December 2026 and 2027; no solo travellers.
The 4-day walk (3 nights, with Kiso-Fukushima) is from $800 per person, sharing. Booked direct, those three nights cost about $300, so roughly $500 per person more.
A fallback if the post-town calendars fill before the group gets in. They say they can secure inns that are hard to book independently.
Oku Japan
The established self-guided walking operator. The 5-day Nakasendo package has 4 nights on the trail with meals, rail tickets from Kyoto or Tokyo and back to Tokyo, maps and phone support. Luggage transfer is extra. Its route differs from ours: no Magome night, and it finishes in Karuizawa.
An earlier check put it at about $1,600 per person against about $600 self-booked, a premium of roughly $1,000 per person. A current listing puts the 5-day package at up to £1,315.
Travellers who want everything handled. Not this trip: the premium is about $4,000 for the group.
Recommendation: book direct wherever an inn has a form, email or online engine. Use Travel Arrange Japan for Matsushiroya or any phone-only inn, where $7 a night is cheap for a Japanese-speaking agent. Keep Kiso Adventures in reserve in case the post-town calendars fill first.
Everything needed to make the calls, in one place. From the US dial +81 and drop the leading 0. Japan is 16 hours ahead of Pacific time, so a 9am call from the US west coast reaches an inn at 1am; call between 4pm and 11pm Pacific to land in their morning and afternoon.
After the Narai night, the way to Tokyo is a local train to Shiojiri, then the Azusa limited express to Shinjuku, about 3 hours 40 minutes with no stops. Two worthwhile stops sit on or next to that line, and a night in Tokyo instead of at Narita makes room for them. Narita is about an hour from Tokyo Station on the Narita Express, so the 11:00 Friday flight still works.
When
Plan
~9:00
Leave Narai. Local train north through Shiojiri to Matsumoto.
~10:00–12:00
Matsumoto Castle, a National Treasure and one of Japan's few original castle keeps, 15 minutes' walk from the station. Open 8:30–17:00, adults ¥1,300 ($8). Free volunteer English guides are near the entrance from 10:00 to 15:00. Lunch in town.
early afternoon
Azusa from Matsumoto, where it starts, to Kami-Suwa.
~2:00–4:00
Suwa Gokura: five historic sake breweries (Maihime, Reijin, Honkin, Yokobue, Masumi) along 500 m of the old Koshu Kaido road, about 10 minutes' walk from the station. The Gokuraku Set pass gives a glass and tasting tokens for all five, about ¥3,000–4,000 ($20–25); the price was recently revised. The platform at Kami-Suwa has a hot-spring footbath.
4–5 pm
Azusa on to Shinjuku, about 2 hours 10 minutes, then across to the hotel.
Fri, ~7:30
Narita Express from Tokyo Station, 53 minutes to the airport, for the 11:00 Garuda.
Send the big bags by courier from Narai on Wednesday to the Narita airport counters, and travel Thursday with day bags; confirm the delivery timing with the inn. Stay at or beside Tokyo Station so Friday morning is one walk to the Narita Express, not a rush-hour subway ride with luggage. For a lighter day, pick one stop: the castle for sightseeing, or Suwa for a relaxed tasting.
Point-to-point tickets come to roughly ¥24,000 ($155) a person for the whole Japan leg, which is why no rail pass is worth buying: the nationwide Japan Rail Pass is over ¥50,000 ($320) for seven days. Two of the trains are all-reserved, and the Kiso Valley locals are infrequent, so the day plans need to be built around timetables rather than the other way round.
Leg
Train
Fare per person
Notes
Kansai Airport to Kyoto
Haruka limited express, about 75 min
¥3,060 non-reserved, ¥3,590 reserved ($20–23)
Every 30 minutes. A foreigner-only one-way ticket sells at ¥2,200 ($14); a late arrival can fall back on the airport bus, last departure just after 23:00
Kyoto to Nagoya
Tokaido Shinkansen, 36–37 min
Hikari ¥5,440, Nozomi ¥5,900 ($35–38)
Both run several times an hour
Nagoya to Nakatsugawa
Limited express Shinano, about 50 min
a little under ¥5,610 ($36), which is the reserved fare to Kiso-Fukushima further up the valley
Reservations required on the Shinano during all-reserved periods
Nakatsugawa to Magome
Bus, 30 min
¥570 ($3.70)
Not covered by any rail pass
Inside the valley
JR Chuo Line locals: Nojiri to Kiso-Fukushima (five stops), Kiso-Fukushima to Yabuhara (three), Narai to Shiojiri (five)
a few hundred yen each
One-man trains with paper tickets; Nagiso and Narai stations are cash only. Tsumago to Nagiso station is a ¥300 ($2) bus or a ¥2,000 ($13) taxi
Shiojiri to Shinjuku
Limited express Azusa, about 2 h 20 m
about ¥6,300–6,620 ($40–42)
Every seat is reserved, with no unreserved cars, and it runs about hourly
Shinjuku to Tokyo Station
Chuo Line rapid, about 15 min
¥170 ($1.10)
Thursday evening, with the bags already sent ahead
Tokyo Station to Narita
Narita Express, 53 min
about ¥3,100 ($20)
All reserved; bookable from one month ahead. The Shinjuku service takes about 84 minutes for ¥3,330
Seats on the Azusa, the Narita Express and the Shinano open one month before departure, through Eki-net or JR Central's site, or at any staffed ticket window. Four seats together on a Thursday afternoon Azusa in May is worth booking the day the window opens.
Luggage
The walking days need day packs only, and the inns are small, so the plan is to move the big bags separately rather than carry them into the valley.
Magome to Tsumago, Monday. The two tourist information centres forward bags for ¥1,000 ($6.40) per item. Drop between 8:30 and 11:30, collect at the other end between 13:00 and 17:00. The service runs 20 March to November, so the May dates are covered.
City to city. Yamato's takkyubin moves a large suitcase hotel to hotel for about ¥2,510–3,170 ($16–20), next-day standard. Hotels arrange it at the front desk; convenience stores accept suitcases up to 160 cm.
To the airport. Narita has no same-day service, so anything sent to the airport counters needs at least a day, and two from rural Nagano. On the plan below the big bags are already in Tokyo, so the simplest version is to take them onto the Narita Express on Friday rather than courier them again. Airport counters add a ¥660 ($4.20) handling fee if they are sent.
What never goes in the forwarded bag: passports, medication, chargers, a change of clothes, and anything for the next 24 hours.
A workable shape: send the big bags from the Kyoto hotel to the Tokyo hotel on Saturday so they skip the valley entirely, carry four nights of overnight things in day packs, use the village service for the Magome to Tsumago walk, and collect the big bags in Tokyo on Thursday evening. They then travel with the group on Friday's Narita Express.
Two things to confirm before relying on it: that the Tokyo hotel will hold four suitcases for about five days before check-in, which most will but not all; and, if the group takes flight Option C, the maximum storage period and fee at the Haneda counters, since under that version there is no Tokyo hotel at all.
Know before you go
Time
Japan time
Japan is 16 hours ahead of California in May. Bali and Komodo are an hour behind Japan.
To call an inn, ring between 4 pm and 11 pm Pacific.
Weather
Around 70°F by day in the valley and high 40s at night, with showers likely; 88–91°F on the boat. About 40°F between the coldest night and the hottest afternoon.
Fill in Visit Japan Web before leaving for the immigration and customs QR codes.
Pseudoephedrine and stimulant ADHD medication are banned; check every prescription and cold remedy against the current list.
Entering Indonesia
Three separate things: the e-VOA (about $28–35, apply 48 hours or more ahead), the All Indonesia declaration (only in the three days before arrival), and the Bali levy (about $9–10).
Passport valid six months beyond arrival, two blank pages, an onward ticket.
Money
Cash in the valley: several inns are cash only, and Nagiso and Narai stations sell paper tickets only. An IC card works for city trains, not the rural Chuo Line.
Yen at ¥156 and rupiah at IDR 18,000 to the dollar (Sep 2026).
Power
Japan: US plugs fit, at 100 V. Indonesia: 230 V with two-pin type C and F sockets, so an adapter, and dual-voltage chargers only.
Health
Travel insurance that covers boat trips, remote areas and evacuation, bought with the flights. A travel-clinic visit for hepatitis A and typhoid; a plan for seasickness.
Ambulance and fire in Japan; police 110. In Indonesia, police 110 and ambulance 118 (112 in Bali).
Before leaving
Money, documents and health Due 10–20 May 2027
Nothing here is difficult, but several items have lead times and one of them is easy to confuse with another.
Indonesia: three separate things
e-VOA (visa on arrival), IDR 500,000, about $28–35 each. Apply online through the official immigration portal before flying. Processing is usually 1–3 business days; apply at least 48 hours ahead. It gives 30 days. Fake visa agents are a real problem, so use the government site only.
All Indonesia arrival declaration, free. Since 1 October 2025 this single platform replaces the old arrival card, the customs e-CD and the health declarations. It is submitted at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id or in the app, and only within the three days before arrival, so it belongs to the week of travel. Each traveller gets a QR code; screenshot it, since airport wi-fi is unreliable.
Bali Tourist Levy, IDR 150,000, about $9–10 each. Paid through the official Love Bali portal, separate from the visa and from the arrival declaration, and scanned on landing. Official guidance is to pay before travelling to Bali rather than at the airport counter.
Also needed: a passport valid six months beyond arrival with two blank pages, a confirmed onward ticket, and the address of the first night's accommodation.
Japan
Fill in Visit Japan Web before departure for the immigration and customs QR codes. Carry cash: the post-town inns want it, several are cash only, and Nagiso and Narai stations sell paper tickets only. An IC card handles city trains and convenience stores but not the rural Chuo Line.
Medication into Japan
Japan restricts drugs that are ordinary elsewhere. Pseudoephedrine decongestants and stimulant ADHD medication are prohibited outright, and some prescriptions need an import certificate (Yakkan Shoumei or Yunyu Kakunin-sho) arranged weeks ahead. Each traveller should check their own prescriptions and any over-the-counter cold or allergy medicine against the current list before packing.
Insurance and health
Buy travel insurance that explicitly covers boat trips, remote areas and medical evacuation. Waivers for pre-existing conditions usually require buying within about 14 to 21 days of the first payment for the trip, so the policy wants buying when the flights are ticketed rather than later. A travel-clinic visit is worth booking for routine vaccines plus hepatitis A and typhoid for Indonesia, and anyone prone to seasickness should have a plan for the boat. The hospital in Labuan Bajo is a basic regional facility, with a hyperbaric chamber at the Siloam hospital, and the boat may be hours from shore. Check that the policy covers trip interruption too: the weakest links in this itinerary are the Tuesday flight out of Labuan Bajo and the Friday long-haul home.
Practical odds and ends
Two climates in one bag. Narai sits near 3,000 ft and is cold after dark in May; the boat and Bali are tropical. Layers for the valley, quick-dry clothes for Indonesia.
Footwear. The Nakasendo is stone paving and forest path, slippery when wet. Shoes with grip matter more than boots.
Bears. Bells are standard on the Kiso trail and the villages sell them; the trail has bear bells mounted along it to ring as you pass.
Connectivity. An eSIM for each country is cheaper than roaming, and there is no signal on the boat for three days, so anyone who needs to be reachable should say so in advance.
Laundry. Fifteen days without a wash means overpacking. The Kyoto and Tokyo hotels and the Ubud villa are the natural points; coin laundries are everywhere in Japan.
Day bags on Thursday. Coin lockers at Matsumoto and Kami-Suwa stations if anything is being carried.
Lead times
Drone permit, if anyone is bringing one: one to two weeks, arranged through the boat operator, with passport copy, drone serial number, flight plan and purpose statement.
e-VOA: a few days before flying.
Bali levy: any time before flying. All Indonesia declaration: only in the three days before arrival, so 18–21 May.
Rail reservations: one month before each train.
Cash: yen before leaving the city for the valley; rupiah in Labuan Bajo before boarding.
Background
Budget
Rough cost per person
Item
USD
International flights, one United ticket: Option A
$2,506
Japan rail and buses (point to point, see rail tickets)
about $155, plus luggage forwarding
Japan lodging, 7 nights, two rooms (BYAKU or a splurge pushes to the top)
$900–1,500
Denpasar to Labuan Bajo, return
$150–250
Komodo boat, 3 days: shared cabin to private charter
$260–1,060
Komodo park fees
$70–90
Bali and Labuan Bajo nights (5), two rooms
$500–1,000
Food, entries, drivers, incidentals
$700–1,050
Total
about $5,250–7,700 with Option A; $4,800–7,250 with C
May is shoulder season in both countries.
Booking order
What to do, in order
Lock the dates. The 13–28 May shape, with the three Bali nights at the end.
Book the inns as their May 2027 calendars open. As of 19 Sep 2026 only Kiso Mikawaya (Kiso-Fukushima) and La Terra (Narai) have May 2027 loaded; the post-town inns load three to six months ahead, so expect them between mid-November 2026 and February 2027. BYAKU should open around late November and needs booking that day. Tsumago inns take email or phone requests, so ask in November to hold two rooms for the 17th. The lodging sections above have the status, booking channel and contact for every inn.
Book the long-haul ticket on united.com as one multi-city ticket, Option A. Check it is standard Economy and use the 24-hour free cancellation to confirm with the group. Then book Denpasar to Labuan Bajo (Sat 22) and back (Tue 25) soon after, since both fall around Indonesia's holiday week.
Book the Komodo boat once dates are fixed; confirm SiOra registration and the Padar session.
Book the Bali hotels once the group picks a shape; refundable rates are easy to find.
Drone permit, if wanted, a few weeks out through the boat operator.
Entry paperwork a few weeks out: Indonesia e-VOA and Bali levy, Visit Japan Web.
The road not taken
Also considered
Options weighed and set aside, kept here so the reasoning isn't lost and nothing gets re-litigated by accident. As further choices are made, the rejected side moves down here too.
Kumano Kodo instead of the Kiso Valley
A thousand-year-old pilgrimage route across the Kii Peninsula, UNESCO listed, linking three grand shrines, with onsen villages and far more solitude: one first-hand account reports seeing about 15 walkers in a full day, sometimes three. It lost on two practical points. Opting out of a day's walk is an all-or-nothing decision made at breakfast, because the road follows the valley while the trail crosses ridges, whereas the JR Chuo Line runs beside the Kiso trail and allows a mid-morning change of mind at an intermediate station. The inns are tiny family houses, so four beds in one village on one night is hard to arrange; booking runs through Kumano Travel, which opens about six months out and can take up to 30 days to confirm. The Kii Peninsula is also one of the wettest parts of Japan. Reversing the decision would mean starting with Kumano Travel, which opens about six months out.
Munduk and the northern highlands
Munduk Moding Plantation, a five-star property with an infinity pool and private-pool villas at about $141–159 a night, was the favourite stay of the two who did the 2014 trip. Asked in September 2026, they said Ubud is the better base and Munduk is not worth the extra driving on a trip this length: it sits 2 h 30 m from the airport and about two hours from Ubud, so a stay there costs roughly five hours in the car across the two transfers. It is the cheapest part of Bali where five-star properties exist, which is the argument for it if the Bali leg ever runs longer.
West Bali National Park
The two who have been call it "meh": a long drive from the south, and thin against what the Komodo leg already offers.
Bromo and Ijen in Java
Dropped in favour of more islands. Bromo is a flight plus a long drive, and the traveller who had recently been to Indonesia preferred to spend the time on the Komodo archipelago.
Flight options B, D and E
B (Narita evening departure, overnight at Changi, Bali Saturday morning) is cheap but lands with little margin before the Labuan Bajo flight, and a missed Singapore connection would put the Komodo boat at risk. D is Option C with a Narita arrival instead of Kansai: $120 per person cheaper, but it means a shinkansen to Kyoto at about $95 each and a 9 pm arrival, and it breaks the west-to-east run across Japan. E, the cheapest possible at $1,311 per person, uses three separate tickets, 1 am departures, two stops home and extra bag fees; about $600 per person separates it from a comfortable ticket.
A daytime Tokyo–Bali one-stop
Not rejected, just unpriced: a late-morning departure connecting in Singapore and landing Friday evening would give a bed every night at close to Option C's price. One more search before booking would settle it.
Zenagi, the Kiso Valley splurge villa
Over budget. The group is comfortable with one splurge night up to about $1,000 per person, and only where nothing much cheaper comes close. Zenagi works out to about $1,195 per person for four, and BYAKU Narai delivers the one-splurge idea at a third of the price, so Zenagi is off the list. Kept here for the record.
A 300-year-old farmhouse in Tadachi, about 15 minutes' drive from Tsumago, rented to one group at a time. It has three suites with private cedar tubs, a private chef and butler, and one guided experience per night (a guided Magome–Tsumago walk, canyoning, a lacquer craftsman, and more). It would have replaced the Monday or Tuesday night.
Guests
Per night, incl. tax, service, 2 meals, 1 experience
2
¥399,300 (about $2,540)
4
¥750,200 (about $4,780, or about $1,195 per person)
Cancellation: 30% from 90 days out, 50% from 60 days, 100% from 30 days. Published agency commission is 3% of the base rate for 1–2 groups a year.
Three kinds of statement appear here, and they are not equally solid.
Checked live, with a date. Anything carrying a date stamp: "checked 19 Sep 2026" against an inn's booking engine, "priced 20 September 2026 for four adults" on united.com: was looked at directly on that date. Availability and fares move; the stamp is there so a reader knows how stale a number is.
Published rates and schedules. Hotel and boat prices, entry fees, train fares and drive times come from operators' own sites, booking platforms and public timetables. They are accurate as quoted and will drift.
Not yet verified. Anything marked as open in the text: the park-fee discrepancy, luggage forwarding beyond Magome and Tsumago, the exact Tuesday train times, the Labuan Bajo return flight, and May 2027 performance schedules.
Prices are snapshots, not quotes. Nothing here is booked or held.
Indonesian 2027 holidays and collective leave: the joint ministerial decree issued 15 September 2026, as reported by Indonesian media.
Entry paperwork: the All Indonesia declaration at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id, the e-VOA through the official immigration portal, and the Bali levy through Love Bali.
Fare timing: Expedia's 2026 Air Hacks report and Google Flights' own booking-window analysis, both averages across all routes rather than predictions for this itinerary.
Park fees, the daily cap and the SiOra permit: operator guidance, which disagrees between operators. The figure has to be confirmed in writing before a deposit.
Flights and rail
united.com, priced for four adults on 20 September 2026; Google Flights for comparison
Expedia's 2026 Air Hacks report and Google Flights' booking-window analysis, both averages across all routes
JR fares and timetables; pass pricing for the comparison that ruled a pass out
Bali and entry paperwork
Resort and villa rates from the properties and from Expedia and Booking.com, September 2026
The All Indonesia declaration (allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id), the e-VOA through the official immigration portal, and the Bali levy through Love Bali
The Indonesian 2027 holiday and collective-leave decree of 15 September 2026, as reported by Indonesian media
Trip mapCoastlines and borders from Natural Earth (public domain), read 7 Oct 2026
Questions and ideas
Ask anything, suggest something for the trip, or comment on any part of the plan, and Kevin answers here. Everyone on the trip sees the conversations. To ask about a particular day or open choice, use the “Ask about this” link on it.
The posts here are examples, and anything you add stays on your screen.