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Best option for my travels

Hi we are 4 adults and 2 kids (8 and 5 years old) spending 2 weeks in japan. We are doing tokyo (7-11 dec), sapporo (11-15 dec) and Osaka 15-20 dec), and flying back via tokyo(21 dec). Would it be best to get a two week JR pass or alternatively just a 1 week pass ( activate it in Sapporo on the 14th), and buy a separate Hokkaido regional pass during our stay in Hokkaido. Does that work out more economical? Because we are planning on taking the bullet train back from Osaka to Tokyo on the 20th, so the 1 week pass will still be valid. Does the JR pass cover tokyo metro?

Hope this is not too confusing. Thank you

Regards

Ravi

Comments

  • Hi,
    First off, city subways are *not* covered by the pass.

    Honestly if I were you, I would fly from Tokyo to Sapporo, and Sapporo to Osaka. There are dirt cheap carriers like Jet Star and Peach.
    http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home
    http://www.flypeach.com/pc/en
    As for a Hokkaido Regional Pass, it depends on where you are going - it may or may not pay off for you. Going from Tokyo to Sapporo in one day will take you over 8½ hours, and from Sapporo to Osaka close to 12 hours. Your kids will be pulling their hair out, going beserk sitting on trains that long.

    If you still insist on taking the trains, then the 2 week pass more than pays for itself.
  • Thanks for your reply. I did forget to mention we are flying between Tokyo, Sapporo and Osaka. The railing option would have been a challenge with the kids as you said. :). I decided to purchase a 14 day pass anyway for my journey. However I have yet to receive the confirmation email, despite my credit card having already been charged. How long does it take to send a confirmation email by the way?
    Regards

    Ravi
  • Hi,

    Well that is reassuring. Getting back to your original question, it is still impossible to tell if a 14 day pass will pay off for you, since I still don't know where exactly you are going with it. It's very doubtful though that just using it in Hokkaido and one way from Osaka to Tokyo will make it pay off.
    You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
    http://www.hyperdia.com
    Under "More Options", be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box since you can't ride that train using the pass.
    You can add up the total fares of all the train rides you'll take and see.

    For the confirmation, I'm afraid I wouldn't know. I suggest you contact them directly on:
    https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/about-us/contact

    Have a great trip.

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