Hi,
Can someone advise on what I should do on whether my group of 15 should buy a JR Rail Pass for our trip from July 24th to Aug 9th, 2017?
Landing in KIX Airport on July 25th
Staying in Osaka from July 25th - July 29th; while we're there...
- 1/2 Day to Kobe on July 26th
- Day Trip to Nara on July 27th
Heading to Kyoto on July 29th - Aug 2nd from Osaka's Shinsaibaishi Station
-Visiting attractions in Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, etc.)
- Day Trip to Uji
Heading to Ikebukuro's Hotel on Aug 2nd - Aug 9th from Kyoto (Plan to take Bullet train back to Tokyo)
-Visiting Tokyo Attractions (Shinjuku, Harajuku, Akihabara, Meiji Shrine, Asakusa, etc.)
-Day Trip to Hakone (not sure what day yet)
Heading to Taiwan on Aug 9th from Haneda Airport.
So far that's our tentative itinerary for the 15 days we'll be in Japan. Since we're arriving in Kansai Int'l Airport and leaving from Haneda Airport, do we really need to purchase the JR Rail Pass before we arrive since we only need one way fast bullet train back to Tokyo from Kyoto?
I'm really not sure what our group should do. Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help in advance. It's greatly appreciated!!
Karen
0
Comments
A JR Pass would not pay off for such a one way itinerary.
You should get a Hakone Free Pass to see Hakone though to save money.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
A 3 day subway pass in Tokyo can save money too.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
We are a group of 8. 4 teenagers, 3 adults and 1 senior. We'll be arriving at Haneda airport. Below is my draft itinerary. Can we please have your opinions/suggestions on it? Thanks much.
7/4 - from Haneda to Tokyo. (We haven't booked the place yet. Thinking of staying in Shinjuku but don't know any family-friendly hotel. Not sure if we should do airbnb). Train or limousine bus to Shinjuku area? We will have one luggage each person.
7/5 - Tokyo station (the kids love anime and shopping)
7/6 -Shibuya/Harajuku/Meiji Jingu Shrine.
7/7 - Mt. Fuji five lakes (not sure what transportation).
7/8 - Explore Shinjuku
7/9 - 7/12 - Don't know where to go
7/13 - Take Hikari shinkansen to Kyoto.
7/14 - Explore Kyoto - Kifune shrine
7/15 - Kyoto - Arashiyama/Bamboo Grove/Kimono forrest
7/16 - Gion festival/Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honkan
7/17 - Osaka day trip
7/18 - no plan yet
7/19 - Take Hikari shinkansen to Shinagawa station. Take Keikyu airport rapid limited express train to Haneda airport to go home.
Do you think the JR 7-day pass would be good if we activate the pass on 7/13 - 7/19. It should cover the trip back to Haneda airport, am I correct? Is it better to put money in the Suica/Pismo card to use while we're in Tokyo? What about Mt. Fuji? By bus or train? Do you think it would be possible for us to visit Hokkaido? Should we cancel the Kyoto/Osaka and replace it with Hokkaido? Please give us your ideas/suggestions and as much info as you could because this is our first trip to Japan. We're so excited and want to do as much as we could while we're there. Thank you in advance for your help.
I am not sure what your definition of "best" is. The easiest would be to take the JR Haruka train to Tennoji, then get on the subway (Midosuji Line) and go straight to Shinsaibashi. You can't take non-JR trains on the Kansai Thru Pass though, so you might look at a Icoca & Haruka discount ticket.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_icoca_haruka.html
It's actually pretty hard to make the Kansai area passes pay off without a lot of long distance travel.
I'd also recommend that during the day, you go see Nara instead of Kobe - it has some of Japan's best sights, especially in the Nara Park area. You could also see Kobe in the late afternoon or evening after Kyoto or Nara when the temples/shrines close down around 5 PM.
You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos