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7 day trip - please advise on rail pass

tigersmom
tigersmom
about 9 years ago
3 responses

Need help on upcoming trip.
To arrive in Narita on United flight at 3pm and need to travel to Shinjuku. Hotel is in Shinjuku -Hilton.
I am assuming we should be using the Narita Express. Do we buy a ticket at the airport.or the japan rail pass.
will spend 4 nights in tokyo. Will require travel by train or subway...will the rail pass or daily tickets work.
Then we are off to Kyoto.---should we be using a japan rail pass for foreigners or buy individual tickets for kyoto.
3 nights in kyoto.
Then back to tokyo...to narita for our flight out. Can we take a train from kyoto to narita via tokyo...what is the best way.

please advise....all suggestions most welcome
Thank yo

Toraneko
Toraneko
1303 posts
about 9 years ago

A 7 day rail pass would pay off, but to be clear, you must buy the order for the pass before you arrive in Japan.
Your itinerary says 8D/7N, is that correct? If so then your first or last day will be without the pass. But you could for example
take a cheap 1000 yen bus from the airport into Tokyo, and then activate your pass from the 2nd day all the way through and take the N'Ex to Narita for your plane ride home.

http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/

You can use the Pass on JR trains, but not on city subways or non JR buses. Within Tokyo there is the JR Yamanote Line, which you can use with the pass, and it does go to many popular tourist spots.

To experience Japan more, you can also take some day trips from Tokyo to popular places like Nikko and Kamakura/Enoshima.

While in the Kansai area, be sure to take at least half a day and go from Kyoto to visit Nara - it is a must see place.

For more info, see:

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html

and on what to see, try:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/

http://www.japan-guide.com

tigersmom
tigersmom
3 posts
about 9 years ago

Thank you. Itinerary is for 7 days ...we arrive on Saturday and leave on Friday evening....sorry for my error ...3 nights in Tokyo.
Thanks for all the info. Few more questions
-Is it easy to get to shinjuku on narita express on day of arrival. -And is the green car something to consider given we will use nex and return trip to Kyoto. - final question ..Kyoto to narita ...how long is the trip and which station do you connect for nex. Thank you.

Toraneko
Toraneko
1303 posts
about 9 years ago

Hi,
It is not hard at all to get to Shinjuku by way of the Narita Express. Signs and announcements are also made in English. For the Green Car, it's up to personal preferences of course but I have never met anyone who was dissatisfied with a regular seat on the bullet train. It is quite nice and easy to relax in.

Going from Kyoto to Narita requires a transfer from the bullet train to the Narita Express, typically done at Shinagawa Station. Time from Kyoto takes about 150-160 minutes, and from Shinagawa to Narita about 1 hour. Connection time is generally a bit less than 20 minutes.

If you want more info on the Narita Express, you might look at:

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/

tigersmom
tigersmom
3 posts
about 9 years ago

Thank you ..will order the pass and then look a routes and timetables to better understand our travel on our trip.


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