Hello -
I would like some advice on what type of transportation would be appropriate with the places that I plan to visit. Also, would it be necessary for me to purchase the JR 7day pass if I was traveling from East region to Kansai and West regions?
If I purchased a 7 days JR Pass and land in Narita airport, do I have to activate the pass then or can I wait to activate it until I plan to use the JRpass to travel to Osaka or Hiroshima? I believe the 7 day pass is purposed to be used in consecutive days.
On our last day we plan to use the JR pass from Kyoto to go back to Narita airport. What do think?
My itinerary:
10/07 Arrive at Narita Airport - best public transportation to get to Sagamihara? would it be Keisei limited express?
10/07-10/10 Stay in Sagamihara. Visit Mt. Fuji, Hakone, Five Fuji Lakes, Nagano (Hot springs)
10/10-10/13-Shibuya, Tokyo Japan. ( from Sagamihara to Shibuya) Best transportation to do this?
10/13-10/15 Ebina, Kanagawa. (leave from here to Osaka stay)
10/15-10/18 Visit around Osaka, Hiroshima & Kobe
10/18-10/22 Kyoto 京都 (from Osaka to Kyoto stay)
10/22 return to Narita Airport from Kyoto.
Thank you.
-Anne
0
Comments
Well, if you used a 7 day pass from Tokyo all the way down to Hiroshima and back, you'd get some huge savings. However, if you wanted to use it on your last day all the way to Narita, your first day of use would be Oct. 16.
Please remember also that the day you activate it for counts as Day One - which starts and ends at midnight. So if you activate it to use it at 6 PM, your first "day" is just 6 hours long.
You can also exchange your order for the pass and designate a future date to start on it - so for example to start using your pass from the earliest train possible (sometimes departing before the office even opens) or to leave from another station where you can't exchange your order for the pass, you can set the first day as tomorrow, or 3 days from today, or whenever.
The list of places with exchange offices is at:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/exchange.html
Regarding getting into Tokyo, the Keisei stops at Ueno which is the other side of Tokyo. It is unclear what you mean by "best". The cheapest is the 1000 yen bus which goes to Tokyo Stn.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
The other alternatives are the Narita Express which you could take as far as Yokohama:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/
and then transfer to another train for the 25 minute ride to Sagamihara Stn.
and the last option is the orange Limousine Bus:
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/
The N'Ex may be the most hassle free, but I don't know all the details of your plans.
If you want to see the Fuji area, look into an Odakyu Pass - it can save you a lot.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/
For Nagano, it is a big place, but if you'd like to see someplace like Karuizawa, the ideal way would be a Tokyo Wide Pass.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6030.html
As it currently stands, your itinerary is going to require much more investment than a 7-day JR Pass.
A 14-day JR Pass would definitely pay off, with the following caveat: You would still need to pay for your initial transportation to Sagamihara, Hakone, Fuji Five Lakes and Mt Fuji.
The JR Pass would be activated from the 9th (before Nagano) until your final day.
In addition to the JR Pass, there exists a pass that covers both Hakone and the Five Lakes area. That would be the Fuji Hakone Pass. More information: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_014.html
The nationwide pass is always for consecutive days, and it doesn't need to be activated the day its voucher is exchanged. You can choose the activation date.
You certainly don't have to exchange your JR Pass at the airport. There's usually a larger line for that, so I recommend doing the exchange at a JR East Travel Service Center in major JR stations of Tokyo.
"10/07"
Sagamihara is far from Narita and the trip requires 2 transfers at the very least, but you may even need more. You have many options to get to Sagamihara. Please use the following resource to establish all your trips and transfers:
http://www.hyperdia.com/
"Nagano (Hot springs)"
You might want to know that the day-trip from Sagamihara to Nagano would be around 3 hours each leg.
"(from Sagamihara to Shibuya) Best transportation to do this?"
Hyperdia will come in handy. Keep in mind that the JR Pass is valid on JR lines only, so you should uncheck private lines.
Another option in Kyoto is to go to Kyoto station - it is a train station of course but now so much more - you can see light shows inside and out, and from the top floors you can get some great views over the city. Likewise, there is Kyoto Tower which is close to the station.
I would recommend going to Osaka for one evening though - 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.
Another possibility is going to Kobe for an evening.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2159.html
There are some good previews of the places you plan to see on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos