Hi,
I will travel to Japan for the first time with my boyfriend and we will arrive the 23th of July in Osaka. We will stay for three weeks and leave the 14th of July from Tokyo. I don't know which pass to take and or we should take a pass at all. Or that we should by seperate tickets at the ticket station.
We arrive at the Airport of Osaka and travel from there to Kyoto. Form there we want to travel south to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Also we like to go to Okinawa (how do we get there best? From which place and which route?) After we have seen Nagasaki we like to travel further to Tokyo (we like to go on a day trip to disneyland from there and to Hakone and Mount Fuij). But we will do Tokyo in the end of our journey.
It is our first time in Japan.
The difficulty is that we don't like to travel every day and like to stick around in a place for a few days probably. It might also be possible that we skip a place or travel to another place as mentioned above.
I hope you can give us some advise on whether we should or should not buy an Japan Rail Pass and for how many days you would recommand it.
Thank you so much.
Greetings,
Carolien from the Netherlands
0
Comments
I'm afraid I don't understand. You write you'll arrive in Japan on July 23 and leave Tokyo on July 14??
At any rate, for going to Okinawa, you might look at low cost carriers like:
http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home
http://www.flypeach.com/pc/en
http://www.vanilla-air.com/en/
You can fly from Osaka or Fukuoka very cheaply. You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia
http://www.hyperdia.com
and you can see what rail passes are available on:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html
For the Mt. Fuji area, look at the Odakyu passes.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/
For Tokyo, there are good 2 and 3 day subway passes:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
Hope this helps.
I am sorry. I mean I leave Tokyo the 14th of august.
So you don't recommand a JRP but to buy different tickets at the railway station when I am in Japan?
And to fly from Osaka to Okinawa.
So although we like to travel to Nagasaki and from there back to Tokyo eventually you don't recommend a JRP?
Thank you for your information again.
Greetings,
Carolien
Can I buy the subway passes also in Tokyo? I find it a bit confusing on the website. Or how can I persue it?
Thank you for your help.
Greetings Carolien
Well, if you are leaving in a week, you are seriously getting tight on time. If you use the full JR Pass, you must buy the exchange order for it before you leave for Japan.
Since a JR Pass is virtually useless for you in Okinawa, it would make more sense to go there without using up any of your time you have with the pass. So you could fly to the Kansai area, see what you want (Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, etc) and then fly to Okinawa and return to Osaka. You can use one of the low cost carriers I listed above, but if they are full, or their schedule is inconvenient for you, you might try ANA's Experience Japan Fare.
http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/wws_common/promotions/share/experience_jp/index.html
After that, you can activate your pass and use it to go southwards to Nagasaki. Be sure to eat the chanpon and saraudon while there. You might find Huis Ten Bosch amusing for you too.
http://english.huistenbosch.co.jp/
As for the rail passes, you can definitely save some money using something. The question is what combination is best for you. A 3 week rail pass would not pay off without adding more side trips. If you spend a week for Kansai and Okinawa, then a 2 week pass for going to Nagasaki and then going to Tokyo by train would just about break even for you. It would be the most hassle free for you as far as using a pass goes.
There is another way you could do it however - from Osaka to Fukuoka you could use a JR Sanyo Sanin Area Pass:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_sanyo_sanin.html
and then for Kyushu use a 3 day Northern Kyushu pass. (Although if you are not interested in seeing Kyushu and only want to go to Nagasaki, just buy a regular one way train ticket.) Afterwards, you could return to Tokyo from Nagasaki with a 2 hour flight on the ANA fare.
This comes out quite a lot cheaper then the 14 day JR Pass, and you won't be stuck on the train for over 8 hours between Nagasaki and Tokyo (2 transfers needed).
A lot depends on where you plan to spend your time, as well as if you want the convenience of just one pass all the way through, or saving about 70 euros.
If you don't have a firm itinerary yet, there are a number of good places you can see south of Osaka, listed on
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-places-you-must-visit-and-things-to-do-in-Japan
Just to verify your choice, I suggest you use a site like www.hyperdia.com to check regular rail fares and schedules, and see which pass or passes work best for you. On the site, be sure to click on "More Options" and deselect "Nozomi" since you can't use that train on a full JR pass (but you could on a Sanyo Sanin Area Pass).
You can buy the Tokyo subway pass in Tokyo (their explanation is wildly verbose and confusing - it is easiest to go to one of the listed Bic Camera Stores). For Nagasaki there is also a trolley day pass which is very convenient, and both Kyoto and Nara have day bus passes for 500 yen each. Fukuoka also has a number of good places to see
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/fukpic.html
and they have a good subway day pass. You can also use the JR Pass or Sanyo Sanin Area Pass on the JR ferry to Miyajima, and if you get the full JR Pass, you can use it in Hiroshima City on their loop bus.
We will try to make more stops in between now and see a lot of the Japan.
I am still thinking of buying a separate card in Tokyo for that part.
Thank you for your help. And if you have any tips or recommendations left, I always like to hear them.
Greetings,
Carolien