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7 Day JR pass or not?

HI
We are travelling from Narita Airport to Hakone in March,for one night, 2 nights in Kyoto, 1 night in Gifu, 2 nights in Takayama, 1 night in Matasumoto, then final night in Chiyoda-ku Kanda near Haneda Airport.
The trip section between Takayama and Matasumoto will be by bus.

We can get the airport express from Narita and perhaps get the JR Pass validated to start from Hakone to Kyoto.
Or are we better off just getting regional passes or daily tickets? As we'll be using the metro in Kyoto.

Comments

  • Hi,
    If I'm counting right you are traveling for 7 nights or 8 days. If so, get your pass validated for use just before going to Hakone. You should be fine if you leave and return in 7 days or less. In all, you can get some good savings from a pass. Remember that a day starts and ends at midnight, not 24 hours later. The day you designate as Day 1 will get you to Odawara - from there, JR can't help you, but you can get a Hakone Free Pass to see the many sights in the area.
    The Loop course is a typical way to see it all and takes a full day.
    https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
    https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html

    Be sure to put in at least half a day to see Nara as well - it was a former capital also, and has some of Japan's best sights. Missing the Todaiji Great Buddha would be a tragedy. Most of the best is in the Nara Park area and about 20 minutes on foot from the JR Nara Stn.

    For Kyoto, the metro doesn't go to many popular places. You might consider the 500 yen bus day pass - but rush hour can be pretty slow.
    http://bit.ly/2DDwjhC

    If you still have some energy after a day of Kyoto sightseeing, you can also go over to Osaka in the evening. Dotonbori is a lot of fun and has great food, plus the night views from atop the Umeda Sky Bldg and Abeno Harukas Bldg are breathtaking.
    http://bit.ly/1kBhgtv

    On another evening, you can also go see Kobe.

    To get from Narita into Tokyo, the cheapest way is the 1000 yen bus to Tokyo Stn or Ginza.
    http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/

    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 if you are using the JR pass.

    You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
    https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos

    There are also loads of other tips on
    http://www.thejapanfaq.com/the-best-japan-travel-tips/

    Best wishes.
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