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12 days in Japan 25 Dec to 05 Jan 2017

Hi Everyone

Please do help me as I am 1st time travelling to Japan by free & easy. I will be going to Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Osaka.

1) I decided to stay 3 or 4 night in Tokyo, so should I exchange for the JR Pass on the day I leaving Tokyo?

2) Then should I buy Pasmo or SUICA card while I am taking public transport in Tokyo? Pasmo & SUICA card cover any companies (i.e JR and private company)?

3) For Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, can I just book a hotel in 1 of the places? is 1 day enough to tour around these places?

Thank you for answering my questions!

Comments

  • Hi YMH2288,

    1. It depends on your itinerary, but it's probably a good idea, since you can't use the JR Pass much within Tokyo. It's better to wait and activate your JR Pass for use when you're travelling long distances by Shinkansen, for maximum savings.

    2. Pasmo and Suica cards are convenient for travelling within cities, although they don't really save you any money, and yes, they cover private companies and JR too.

    3. Yes, Nagoya to Kyoto takes between 30 and 50 minutes by Shinkansen, so it's not too long of a journey if you want to base yourself there. Kyoto and Nara are close to each other, too (about 45 minutes on the JR Nara Line). We would recommend taking more than one day to explore Kyoto - there is lots to see! Two or three days at least would be better. Nara is doable as a day trip, and Nagoya is a nice city (with great food) but doesn't offer much for tourists, so a day there would probably be fine too.

    I hope this helps!

    Japan Experience
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