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Is the JR Pass the most worthwhile for our travel?

Greetings from Malaysia,

Would appreciate greatly your advice if the below itineraries will make the 7 days JR Pass the most worthwhile for our travel?

7/4/18 ETA Narita Airport at 7.40am. We planned to take the Narita Express (using the JR Pass) to Tokyo Station and thereafter to take the Shinkansen to Osaka. 3 nights stay in Osaka ie 7-9/4/10

10/4/18 To Kyoto for 3 nights stay ie 10-12/4/18

13/4/18 Kyoto to Tokyo and enroute to Chiba for 3 nights stay
ie 13-14/4/18

15/4/18 Stay in Tokyo for the rest of the trip till departure on 21/4/18
While in Tokyo we intend to go to Yokohama and Hakone too.

Additonal query:
1) Should we buy a Pasmo or Suica card?

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards
Shirley




Comments

  • Hi,
    There are 2 ways you can do it. One is with the 7 day JR pass. Since you are using the N'Ex from Narita, you do make the pass pay off.
    If you did the day trip to Hakone along the way to Osaka, then you would save a little time.
    For Hakone, you can take the bullet train to Odawara, and then use a Hakone Free Pass.
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
    The Hakone Loop Course
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
    is a common way to see the area and takes a full day.

    There is another way that is cheaper though, if you don't mind a slightly longer trip from Narita. You can use the japanican ticket from Tokyo to Osaka - it is faster, and way cheaper than the JR Pass.
    http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJOPENTK1/
    http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJOPENTO1/
    It does not include the fares between the Kansai cities, but it can still turn out cheaper.
    For getting from Narita, there is the 1000 yen bus.
    http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
    For Hakone, you can use the Hakone Free Pass that leaves from Shinjuku in Tokyo.

    Since you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5 PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as Dotonbori, plus the night views from the Umeda Sky Bldg and Abeno Harukas Bldg are wonderful.
    On another evening, you could also go and see Kobe.

    Instead, I suggest you take at least half a day and see Nara - it was also a former capital and has some of Japan's best sights. Missing the Todaiji Great Buddha would be a tragedy. Nara Park has a lot of other great places, such as Kasuga Shrine, Kofukuji Temple, the Isuien and Yoshikien Gardens, and feeding the many deer in the area.

    It's up to you.

    You can see regular rail 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 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.
  • Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply.

    1) Doing Hakone on the way to Osaka is not feasible for our agenda. we can only do the trip to Hakone on the way back.

    2) Nara and Kobe seem interesting. Can we utilize our JR pass for travel to these two places?

    3) If I want to order the Sim Card, is there enough time for me to receive it as my travel date is 6/4/18 (less than 2 months)

    4) Also if I want to buy the JR Pass & Hakone Free Pass, is the delivery time enough based on my starting travel date on 6/4/18

    Thanks again
  • Hi,
    Yes, you can use the JR Pass to Nara and Kobe.
    I believe you have enough time to get the JR Pass and a SIM card if you want. It's sent by express courier like Fedex. You should contact them on their form if you have other questions.
    https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/about-us/contact

    As far as I know, you can only get the Hakone Free Pass in Japan at an Odakyu office, like in Shinjuku or Odawara Station.
    http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/
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