Hi there:)
Me and my friend will have 10 days to see the most of Japan. We're thinking of either using East Regional Pass (5 days) and Kansai Regional Pass (4days) and get a separate ticket to get from one region to the other, or getting a 7day RP for the first week and additional 3 days Kansai Regional Pass.
This is the itinerary:
Day 1-4: Tokyo (day trips to Nikko + one more)
Day 5: Hakone
Day 6-9: Kyoto (day trips to Nara and Himeji)
Day 10: Osaka
Is a JR Pass worth it just for Tokyo region and getting from Tokyo/Hakone to Kyoto? I read somewhere that Hakone isn't on rail pass anyway. Would you leave Hakone out and do something else instead?
Thanks a lot for your help:)
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The JR East Pass is discontinuing and will not be sold outside of Japan after the 31st March. The pass is being split into two different passes the JR East Tohoku Area Pass and the JR East Nagano Niigata Area Pass. It usually works out cheaper to purchase the national pass rather than two regional passes as you will need to pay for the travel between the regions as well, making it more expensive.
The JR Pass is great for travel between cities but isn't very useful for travel within cities, for example you can't use it on the Tokyo Metro. So you could activate the pass for your first long journey to Hakone or Nikko, then you could use a 7 day JR Pass.
If you are flying out of Osaka it maybe cheaper to just purchase regular tickets once you are in Japan. If you are planning to travel back to Tokyo then the 7 day JR pass would be cheaper. You can find the fares for trains here: www.hyperdia.com.
Hope that helps.
Best regards
Japan Experience
You could make a 7 day JR Pass pay off even if you are only going one way from Tokyo to Kansai if you add enough side trips to make up the cost of the pass. You've so far added Nikko, Hakone (where you can use the pass up to Odawara Stn, then get a Hakone Free Pass) and Himeji. Hakone is a popular place but only you can say if it for you or not. There are other possibilities as well, including Kamakura, Kusatsu, Izu, Karuizawa, or the Boso Peninsula.
You should do your research and decide where you want to go, then use hyperdia to see if it is worth getting the pass or not.