Hello,
I am currently planning a 12 day trip to Japan from July 10th to 21st 2016.
I will be arriving in Tokyo at Narita and will be departing from Fukuoka. Please see below for detailed itinerary:
July 10th - 12 th - Tokyo
July 13th - Mt. Fuji / Hakone
July 14th - Osaka
July 15th - 16th - Hiroshima
July 17th - 18th - Beppu
July 19th - 21th - Fukuoka
I was wondering if it be more economical to buy the 14 day pass vs. 7 day pass? If the 7 day pass is more economical, which day should we start the pass?
Thanks!
0
Comments
You leave out a few details like where you plan to stay on the night of July 13- if you'll stay in Tokyo, Hakone, or continue on to Osaka. But basically, if you can complete your long distance travels in 7 days, then the 7 day JR pass would give you the most savings.
If you use the JR Pass for Days 13-19, you would do fine.
To see Hakone though, a JR Pass won't help into Hakone - look into getting a Hakone Free Pass from Odawara Stn.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/freepass/hakone/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5206.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
It's also unclear why you'd choose Osaka, since it's a clone of Tokyo - instead, Kyoto is the cultural jewel of the nation, and well worth a lot of your time. You could see Osaka in the evening though - 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.
July 17-18 - 2 days may be too much for Beppu, although you can enjoy the Hells Tour, hot springs, and Takasakiyama Monkey Park. For one day, you might go to nearby Yufuin.
For Fukuoka, there are some good places to see. One of the finest is almost unknown to most of the world - go see the Nanzoin Temple, about 25 minutes by train from Hakata Stn. One of the best websites for seeing Fukuoka is at:
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html
Many of the best places are near a subway station, and a day pass is just ¥620 (¥520 on weekends).
You could also take a day trip to Dazaifu and Yanagawa - the latter has canal boat rides that are famous.
We will be staying in Hakone on July 13th.
The reason why we have chosen to omit Kyoto and Kobe this trip is because both my travelling partner and I have already visited those cities in prior visits to Japan! You're right Kyoto is definitely a cultural jewel.
We will look into Yufuin!
Cheers,
Wilson