Hello
,
I would be travelling to Japan in December 2016 with my hubby and my 4 kids. Our destinations are Sapporo-Tokyo-Hakone-Kyoto. We will take the flight to Sapporo but then from Sapporo we intend to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo. And from Tokyo onwards it will be by trains or shinkansen. Is it worth it if we take the National JR Pass to cover all our travels?
Or if you have any better advise, we would appreciate it if you could share them with us
Thank you.
Comments
Thank you.
You have not stated the number of days you will be in Japan for, but if you're planning to travel from Sapporo to Tokyo, and beyond to Kyoto, it would definitely save you money to use a National JR Pass! The journey from Sapporo to Tokyo is a long one - it would take you most of a day - but there is only one transfer, at Shin-Hakodate Hokuto station, so it's easy to do, and it is fully covered by the JR Pass.
While in Sapporo, the JR Pass will not cover your trip to Mt Moiwa - you'll need to take the subway and street car, which aren't valid for use with the JR Pass. For more information check here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5309.html
The pass will cover a trip to Otaru, however.
A trip to Hakone from Tokyo will only be covered part-way by the JR Pass. You can take the Shinkansen to Odawara using the pass, but from there you'll need to transfer to the private Odakyu line, or take a bus the rest of the way: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5206.html
And of course, the pass fully covers travel from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen, adding to your savings.
You would save a lot of money if a 14-day pass would cover all these trips.
I hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Japan Experience
In all honesty, taking a train from Sapporo to Tokyo makes no sense, unless you are stopping somewhere along the way to do some sightseeing. The total time sitting on trains is over 8½ hours, completely murdering the whole day. If you fly it's less than 2. You can also get very cheap air fares from low cost carriers like Jet Star, Vanilla Air, and Peach.
For Hakone, look into getting a Hakone Free Pass.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/
Good luck.