Hi
My girlfriend and I are going to Japan this coming Thursday. We will be there for 16 days and already have our whole trip booked in terms of hotels. I am unsure if we need to get a pass out not. Here is our itinerary in terms of train travel, can anyone advise?
Day 1 - Narita Airport to Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo to Nozawa Onsen
Day 8 - Nozawa Onsen to Tokyo
Day 13 - Tokyo to Kyoto
Day 16 - Kyoto to Narita Airport
I have looked on HyperDia and priced each train ride individually. The total I arrived at was ¥50,880 or $451. I can see that a nation wide rail pass for two weeks would cost me $400 but since the travel is more than 14 days I'm sort of stumped. Not to mention that I am also not sure the pass would be valid for all of these trips what with the confusing train lines under different systems. Can someone please explain what the wisest course of action is? Thank you so much!
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Comments
You can barely break even on a 14 day pass. You will need to use it from Tokyo to Nozawa and back, then Tokyo to Kansai and back to Narita (days 3-16).
Your first couple of days will be without any pass. But you can cheaply get from Narita into Tokyo on the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
A 2 day subway pass can also save money with a fair amount of riding.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
Alternatively you can get a Keisei+Metro ticket.
http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/special/index.html
For Nozawa, you will need to pay for a bus to get you all the way there. See:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6016.html
But otherwise, a JR train can take you everywhere you want to go.
You should not miss Nara either - it has some of Japan's best sights. You can see most of the best in Nara Park in half a day.
You can see previews of some of the best places to see on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos
The shinkansen to Iiyama is covered. But not the bus to Nozawa.