Hi I'd appreciate some advice on a number of points please ..
1) We arrive into Haneda airport on 16/03/17 @ around 05:30 but looking to wait here until 07:45 to pick up the JR Travel pass
Itinerary is
Tokyo Station to get then go onto Kyoto (Kyoto is a base for 4 nights)
- On 17/03/17 Looking to go to Nara from Kyoto for half the day
- On 18/03/17 looking to go to Hiroshima for the day
- On 19/03/17 spend day in Kyoto
-On 20/03/17 travel from Kyoto to Hakone, stay over night
- On 21/03/17 travel from Hakone to Tokyo
- On 22/03/17 Tokyo
- On 23/03/17 leave Tokyo via Narita @ 22:30
My points are ;
1) Any thoughts on Itinerary
2) I'm assuming rail card is worth while
3) Possibly looking at JR Green pass - do all the trains on our routes have the green cars, if not is it worth doing this and do we have to book seats each time with green pass
4) Is it worth getting the Soica(?) travel card for around Tokyo (we will likely stay in Shinjuku
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Comments
First, you don't need to go all the way to Tokyo Station - you can pick up the bullet train from Shinagawa Station - you can take the monorail (also covered by the pass) to Hamamatsucho Stn and then take the Yamanote Line to Shinagawa.
If you go down to Kansai and Hiroshima and back within a week, you can reap some huge savings.
All or nearly all of the trains will have Green Cars. You can check and also see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
http://www.hyperdia.com
For the Green Cars, just look at the drop down menu under Seat Fee and make sure Green Seat is also listed. You can reserve seats in any JR office, one at a time or all at once if you are absolutely set on riding a particular train.
If you want to go to Hakone on your way back, you need to get off the bullet train at Mishima Stn. From there a JR Pass is useless, but a Hakone Free Pass can save you money.
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/freepass/hakone/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
The Suica card is convenient as a prepaid card but there is no savings in using one. If you'll be going all over Tokyo, a 2 or 3 day subway day pass can save you some money though. The one day pass is almost impossible to make worthwhile.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
Since you won't be able to use your pass to go back to Narita, to save some money you might use the 1000 yen bus from Tokyo Stn or Ginza.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/