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Should i get 7/14 JR pass

Hi, my boyfriend and I will be going to japan on 6-17 Dec.

Will be staying in Tokyo first, from 6-11 Dec.
Places to cover: Hakone & DisneySea (1 day ea)

Then travel to Osaka and staying there from 11-16 Dec. But will be travelling to Kyoto and Nara for a day trip.

Intending to take sunrise izumo overnight train from Osaka on 16th night to narita airport.

Kindly advise whether should we get 7 or 14 days JR pass to save cost? :)

Comments

  • Hello, Kehuii.

    For your plans I would only get a 7-day JR Pass, with a suggestion to do your Hakone day trip on the 10th. Your JR Pass should be active starting on this day. The JR Pass cannot cover the entirety of a trip to Hakone, nor is it of any use to get around the Hakone area. However, you could use the pass to quickly get you to Odawara (on your way to Hakone) on the Shinkansen.

    A few important notes about Sunrise Izumo.

    You need to reserve this service in advance. This service only has one seat category available to you at no additional cost with your JR Pass. It's called the Nobinobi floor space.

    The problem is that these Nobinobi berths typically sell out weeks in advance. If you had intended to reserve any free seats with your JR Pass, you may have no chance at all, unfortunately. This means that you should be ready to either A) Pony up for any upgraded seat category that might be available on that day, or B) Simply not take the Sunrise and get back to Tokyo by Shinkansen.

    Also please note that the Sunrise Izumo has Tokyo as its terminal station. You will need a transfer to Narita airport. Also note that the service only makes its stop at Osaka station past midnight.

    Also consider spending more time in Kyoto and Nara, as opposed to Osaka. With the JR Pass, I would suggest adding a day trip to Himeji.

    I hope this helps.
  • Hi Faiyez, thank you for your recommendation :)

    Shinkansen is not cover by JR pass, right?
    If I active the JR pass on 10th then it is valid till 16th only, correct?
  • edited October 2018
    Hey.

    With very few exceptions, your JR Pass will cover usage of Shinkansen trains, including seat reservation at no additional cost.

    A 7-day JR Pass is active from midnight of the first day to midnight of the seventh day. You would indeed be covered from the 10th until the 16th.

    Your itinerary suggests you'll be spending your first days within Tokyo, in which case a 14-day JR Pass wouldn't be necessary. You could just pay your train fare for each trip, or you may purchase and load up a contactless IC card such as Suica or Pasmo.
  • Hello :)

    Yes I'm intending to stay in Tokyo first before heading out to other areas.

    So your suggestion is that I should get back to Tokyo on 16th since my JR pass will be expiring on that day too. And head to Narita airport on 17th. My flight is actually is the morning 1045 (GMT +8)

    *Ps: I'm trying to save as much as possible for accommodation and transport ;)
  • Hello again.

    If your flight is on the 17th, my advice is to book your last night's stay around Narita Station near the airport. The idea is to make sure you can use JR Pass all the way to Narita, rather than staying in Tokyo and paying train fare the next day.

    There are some reasonable hotels in the Narita Station area, and free shuttle services to the airport.

    Good luck.
  • Hello Faiyez

    Thank you for your recommendation :)
    Have a good weekend ahead!
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