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Which JR pass to buy?

Hello,

Here is my itinerary :

July 1 : Narita airport - Tokyo (one way)
July 2-4: Visit Tokyo
July 5: Tokyo - Shin-Ōsaka (one-way)
July 6 : visit Osaka
july 7 : Shin-Ōsaka - Kyoto (return)
July 8 : Shin-Ōsaka - Kansai Int'l airport (one way)

Is it Worth buying a 7 day JR pass?

Thanks a lot.

Patrick

Comments

  • Hi,
    In your case, with a one way itinerary, the answer is no.
    There are other ways to save a little money though. The cheapest way from Narita is the 1000 yen bus.
    http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
    You can also use a 2-3 day subway pass to save money going around Tokyo.
    http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03

    For your short time, you really are giving very little attention to Kansai. You can always go back some day, but don't think you'll be seeing much. One thing you could do to expand your plans a bit is spend a half day in Nara - you can cover most of the best in half a day visiting Nara Park.
    Nara was also a former capital and has some of Japan's best sights. Missing the Todaiji Great Buddha would be a tragedy. Nara Park has a lot of other great places, such as Kasuga Shrine, Kofukuji Temple, the Isuien and Yoshikien Gardens, and feeding the many deer in the area.

    Since you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5 PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. 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.
    On another evening, you could also go and see Kobe.

    You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
    http://www.hyperdia.com
    Under "More Options", be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box since you can't ride that train using the pass.


    You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
    https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos

    There are also loads of other tips on
    http://www.thejapanfaq.com/the-best-japan-travel-tips/

    Best wishes.
  • Than-you very much for your advice and comments.
  • Hello our itinerary in March will be: Tokyo 5 nights, Kyoto 3 nights, Osaka 3 nights, Hiroshima 1 night, 4 days Tokyo. thanks for your advice.
  • Hi,
    First, it's better to start a new thread and not piggyback your question on someone else's.

    If you leave and return to Tokyo visiting Kansai and Hiroshima within 7 days, then a 7 day pass will pay off very nicely for you.
    Please remember that the day you activate it for to use counts as Day One - which starts and ends at midnight. So if you activate it to use it that day 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 up to a month in advance. Please note that the exchange order must be turned in for the pass within three months of the date the order was issued. So if you want to start using the pass in mid-Sept, you should not buy the exchange order until after the middle of June.

    You also might look at taking a couple of day trips from Tokyo - there are many very good places - Nikko, Karuiawa, Kusatsu, the Mt Fuji area, the Hitachi Seaside Park, Kamakura, and many more. A Tokyo Wide Pass can save you some good money.
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html
    Within Tokyo, a 2-3 day subway is also a good money saver.
    http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
  • Hello,

    My family (2 adults and 2 senior citizen) will visit Japan for 10 days. We will stay at Shinjuku, Tokyo for 9 nights

    Is it advisable to purchase JR pass? If yes, what kind of JR pass do we have to purchase? Any suggestions? Bellow is our itinerary.

    Day 1 : Narita airport to Shinjuku (Arrival)
    Day 2 : Go to Universal Studios Japan then go back to Shinjuku
    Day 3 : Go to Kyoto shrine and temples then go back to Shinjuku
    Day 4 : Go to Mt. Fuji then go back to Shinjuku
    Day 5 : Go to Shizuoka area then go back to Shinjuku
    Day 6 : Go to Gotemba outlet then go back to Shinjuku
    Day 6 : Go to Disneyland
    Day 7 : Sight seeing at Tokyo
    Day 8 : Shopping at Tokyo
    Day 9 : Shopping at Tokyo
    Day 10 : Shinjuku to Natira airport (Departure)

    Thank you.

    Don
  • Hi,

    As said above, it's better to start a NEW thread and not piggyback your question on someone else's.
    Your plans on only day trips would result in a horrible waste of time. Universal Studios Japan is in Osaka and about 3½ hours each way - meaning that a full SEVEN hours of your day will be riding trains and subways.
    For Kyoto, almost the same thing.

    If you are going to go to Kyoto/Osaka, I highly suggest you find a hotel there for one or two nights minimum, otherwise, I wouldn't go at all. There are many great places in the Tokyo area anyways.

    If you are going to the Fuji area, you need to decide which side - either Hakone or the Fuji 5 Lakes area. The JR Pass is useless to tour the sights.
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6900.html
    If the former, the Hakone Loop Course
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
    is a common way to see the area and takes a full day.

    If you decide not to go to Kyoto/Osaka, a good pass to see the local sights is the Tokyo Wide Pass.
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html

    The Narita Express is one convenient way to get to/from Narita Airport, but if you'd like to save some money, there is the 1000 yen bus.
    http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
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