Please guide me as to which pass I should get if I follow this itinerary or is it best to buy tickets as we travel?
Osaka to Kanazawa - 3 nights in Kanazawa
Kanazawa to Takayama by bus - 2 nights in Kanazawa
Takayama to Okhuida onsen - bus - 2 nights
Okhuida onsen to Matsumoto - bus - 2 nights
Matsumoto to Osaka by train
Thanks
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The only pass that would cover all of these areas is the national JR Pass, which is available for 7, 14 or 21 days. You can find more information here: https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/jr-pass.
To work out if the JR Pass will be the cheapest option visit hyperdia.com:
- In search conditions, write the departure and arrival location (day and time does not really matter)
- The search will provide you the fare for this travel (check "total price" under "take time")
- Do the same for all your trips by train.
- Just compare with the price of a Japan Rail Pass 7, 14 or 21 days by checking the price here : http://www.japan-rail-pass.com/jr-pass
You want to be sure you can access to the trains for free with a Japan Rail Pass :
- In “search details”, unclick “Nozomi, Mizuho, Hayabusa Shinkansen” and “private railway”.
- The search result will show you all the trains you can access with a Japan Rail Pass.
Hope that helps.
Best regards
Japan Experience
Kindly let me know whether my understanding of the JR pass is correct below:
JR Pass Ordinary - Can take the following JR Lines, N,H,E,W,S,K
JR Green Pass 1st Class - Can take the following JR Lines, N,H,E,W,W,K and Shinkansen
Is my interpretation correct?
Thanks
The N,H etc stand for the different regional passes that you can get.
This is what is covered with the JR Pass:
- The Japan Rail Pass is valid on all the JR lines all over Japan (except the Nozomi and the Mizuho Shinkansen) other shinkansen are included.
- The pass is valid on the Tokyo Monorail, some lines of Aoimori Railways (read more about the conditions) and local JR buses.
- The Pass is also valid on the JR Miyajima ferry.
- The Japan Rail Pass is not valid on private (non-JR) railway lines such as: Hakone-Tozan, Nankai Koya, Fujikyu, Kitakinki-Tango. Some JR trains do travel over non-JR tracks and JR Pass holders are required to pay a supplement for this part of the journey (either on board or at the station).
The green ticket is first class, but covers all the same lines. With the green pass you must reserve tickets before travel, whereas the ordinary you can use the unreserved cars. The difference between the ordinary and green pass can be found here: https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/common-questions/advantages-green-japan-rail-pass.
Hope that helps
Best regards
Japan Experience