Best use of a 7-day pass - arrive and depart from Tokyo

pamela98

I will be spending 10 days in Japan, arriving and departing Haneda airport. Planning to stay 4 nights in Tokyo and 4 nights in Kyoto. If I bought a 7-day rail pass, can I use it to explore Tokyo and Kyoto surroundings, or is the pass just for long distance travel between cities?

Tenjin

The JR Pass is of very limited use inside the big cities. You could use it in Tokyo for the Yamanote Line, which goes to several good tourist spots, and in Kyoto you can use it on the Nara Line to see the Fushimi Inari Shrine and Tofukuji Temple, as well as go to Nara, which is a must-see place and worth at least half a day for the Todaiji Temple and Nara Park. You could also use the pass to go from Kyoto Stn to Arashiyama, which you could spend half a day to a full day touring.
Also you could take a day and go from Kyoto to Himeji for half to a full day to see Japan's finest original castle, Kokoen Garden, and Mt Shosha. That would start to give you some good savings, as a Tokyo-Kyoto round trip leaves you slightly short from breaking even on the cost of a 7 day pass.

Since you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5PM, 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 could use the pass for day trips out of Tokyo as well. Nikko is one top destination, and can add even more value for you. Kamakura is also a good choice for a day. Hakone is another, but the pass won't help much with there - you can though get a Hakone Free Pass.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/

For within Tokyo, you also might look at getting a 2 or 3 day subway pass.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03

pamela98

Thank you so much for your response. I have tried booking online for the rail pass but saw that the delivery date is in one week. From the website, it says delivery is within 2 days. Which is correct?
Thank you.

Tenjin

I'm not sure about this discrepancy, but as I'm not a spokesperson, you should contact them directly at:
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/about-us/contact

japanexperience

Hi Pamela98,

We have a delivery estimate page on our website here:
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/book-jrp/delivery-rates-and-times

This gives an estimate only, and when you place the order you will receive a Fedex tracking number that you will be able to use to keep track of the progress of your order - the delivery estimate given on the Fedex site will be the most reliable one.

Fedex are generally pretty reliable, but it's always best to order your rail pass with a few weeks to spare before your trip, just in case of any complications!

If there is very little time before your trip it could be better to err on the side of caution and have your passes shipped to your hotel in Japan. I hope this helps.

Kind Regards,

Japan Experience