Which JR Pass

vdn20

Hi everyone,
I'm planning to be in Japan for about a week or so. With the short time, will probably stay in the Tokyo area, probably just seeing some places around the Yamanote Line. With that being the case, is it necessary to get the the complete JR RAil pass, or would a regional one work?
Thanks

Tenjin

It's never "necessary" to get the JR Pass - it's whether you save money on one or not. For just staying in Tokyo, the full JR Pass would be a COLOSSAL waste of money. The Pass is made for long distance travel, and you especially save money with a lot of bullet train usage.

If you are only staying within the city, the best pass you could get is a 2-3 day subway pass.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03

There is a rail pass for using JR lines within the city like the Yamanote line, but it's very hard to make worthwhile and requires a lot of daily riding.
If you are in Japan for a week though, it would be tragic if you only spent all that time in Tokyo. There are many good day trips you can take to places like Karuizawa, Kusatsu, Izu, the Hitachi Seaside Park, Takao, Mitake, Nikko, Yokohama, Kamakura/Enoshima, and the Mt Fuji Area.
The Tokyo Wide Pass is an excellent way to see nearly all of them and easy to recoup the costs.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html

If you're flying through Narita, the cheapest way in/out of Tokyo is the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/

Hope that helps.

vdn20

Hi Tenjin,

Thanks for the information. I don't mind going to other places that are farther, but prefer not to sit on the train for half the time. I'll take a look at that link later on. Are there any places you recommend as a place to go too for my first time to Japan? I'm going with a friend, and the only place he wanted to go to was the fish market.

Thanks

Tenjin

Hi,
If you are only going for about a week, I'd say that 3-4 days in Tokyo are quite enough. For the rest of the time, take some good day trips. If you take one every day for the 3 day Tokyo Wide Pass to the farthest places you can, you could rack up over 20,000 yen in savings.
As to which to see, it depends on when you go and your interests - you know yourself best.
Try looking at the ones I listed above on www.japan-guide.com and see which appeals to you most.

For Tsukiji though, if you want one of the morning tours, they start lining up hours before sunrise, and it's first come first served. Once the daily limit is reached, that's that. If you're not near the area, public transport isn't running then and you'd need to get a taxi.
https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/9-things-you-should-know-before-visiting-the-tsukiji-fish-market-tuna-auction/

For Kamakura and the Fuji area though, one of the Odakyu passes works best.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/

Good luck.

vdn20

Thanks for all the help and information Tenjin. I have one more question, haven't been able to find it. On the japan-guide link you gave, I saw some Winter Illuminations, but the dates was mostly from late last year to the beginning of this year. Do you know where I can find a link for the ones in November of this year?

Thanks

Tenjin

I am not sure which illuminations you are referring, so I have no further information.