Hi
Three of us are coming to Japan end September/October 2017. I have planned the following:
26 September 2017 Tokyo Arrive early evening
27 September 2017 Tokyo Hop on Hop off Bus
28 September 2017 Tokyo Hop on Hop off Bus
29 September 2017 Tokyo Mt Fuji & Hakone
30 September 2017 Tokyo Nikko
1 October 2017 Tokyo Disneyland
2 October 2017 Tokyo Kamakura
3 October 2017 Tokyo - Takayama ½ day Takayama
4 October 2017 Takayama – Kanazawa ½ day Takayama
½ day Kanazawa
5 October 2017 Kanazawa – Kyoto ½ day Kanazawa
½ day Kyoto
6 October 2017 Kyoto Kyoto
7 October 2017 Kyoto ½ day Nara
½ day Kyoto
8 October 2017 Kyoto Hiroshima / Miyajima
9 October 2017 Kyoto Osaka
10 October 2017 Kyoto ½ day Himeji Castle
½ day Osaka
11 October 2017 Kyoto – Narita ½ day Kyoto
Train to Narita
Evening flight
I assume it's no worth buying the JR pass whilst in Tokyo. Is it worth it for the remainder of the trip? Some of these will be tours. Except the journeys between Tokyo - Takayama - Kanazawa - Kyoto - Hiroshima / Miyajima - Kyoto - Osaka - Kyoto - Narita.
I'm also confused if it's worth the extra for the Green pass???
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Aussietraveller
0
Comments
Both a 7 and 14 day pass would pay off for your plans, although your long distance travels are more than 7 days.
If you get the pass before you leave for Japan, it will be significantly cheaper than buying it in Japan (about ¥6000 less for the 14 day).
http://www.japanrailpass.net/file/trial_basis_en.pdf
The most effective time to use it for you would be Sep 28 - Oct 11.
You can use it to go to Nikko, and partway to Hakone (take the bullet train to Odawara, then buy a Hakone Free Pass).
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
As for getting from Narita on your first day, the cheapest way is the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
For Kamakura, you can use your pass too, but take some time to go beyond and see Enoshima too. The pass won't cover the train but it's not too much and it's worth seeing.
For Takayama too take some time to see Shirakawago - you have to pay for the bus, but it's the crown jewel of the area and only takes a few hours.
For Himeji, don't miss the Kokoen Garden next to the castle.
For the Green Seats, it's up to you. Regular seats are perfectly comfortable. If you want to compare, see:
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-first-class-Japan-Rail-Pass-ticket-much-better-than-the-regular
You can see previews of some of the best places to see on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos