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7 or 14 day pass?

Shawnee
Shawnee
almost 8 years ago
2 responses

Hi,

My partner and I will be spending two weeks in Japan in July and are wondering if it would be cheaper to get a 7 or 14 day JR pass for our travel. Our rough itinerary is:

June 30th: Arrive in Tokyo (Narita airport)
July 1st: Tokyo
2nd: Tokyo
3rd: Tokyo w/ possible day trip to Nikko
4th: Tokyo w/ possible day trip to Hakone
5th: Tokyo --> Kyoto
6th: Kyoto
7th: Kyoto
8th: Kyoto --> Nara --> Osaka
9th: Universal Studios
10th: Osaka --> Hiroshima
11th: Hiroshima
12th: Hiroshima --> Tokyo
13th: Fly home.

Thanks in advance!

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 8 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

I would definitely recommend a 14 day JR Pass here. You will be travelling a lot and can make great savings using a JR Pass.

Why I would not recommend a 7 day JR Pass is that travel from 5th: Tokyo --> Kyoto to 12th: Hiroshima --> Tokyo is considered 8 days, and a 7 day JR Pass would simply fall short by 1 day.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Shawnee
Shawnee
2 posts
almost 8 years ago

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the quick reply! If we cut it down to seven days Tokyo --> Kyoto / Hiroshima --> Tokyo would it then be better to get a 7 day pass or would the 14 day one still be worth it?

Thanks,
Shawnee

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 8 years ago
Expert

Hi Shawnee,

Then the difference would be a lot smaller for sure. It would still leave travel to Nikko, Hakone, and back to the airport.

The difference is price is 17,280yen between a 7 and 14 day JR Pass. Basically a 14 day JR Pass would be worth it if you cover this amount. A return Nikko - Tokyo is around 11,000yen using the Shinkansen but can be as low as 4,520 yen using a Tobu Nikko Pass. The same goes for Hakone (around 7,000yen for a return, or about half that using local train) and Narita Airport, 3000yen using the Narita Express or 1,400 using local trains.

I can see a case where you'd use a 7 day JR Pass and look for budget options to the other places and save a bit this way. At the same time a 14 day JR Pass will get you everywhere faster and in more comfort.

Hope this helps,
Daniel


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