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Best alternatives to subsidize JR pass

txbaseball
txbaseball
over 9 years ago
4 responses

Hello!

I am visiting Japan next month and am going through all stations I plan to stop at, gauging walking distances, etc. I have noticed there are a few stops that I cannot get to via the JR Pass, so I was curious what the best alternative source of travel would be (i.e. bus, pay for private railway, taxi, etc).

Example: Coming from Kyoto Station and wanting to end at the Kawaramachi Station

According to HyperDia.com, this "route is not found" when searched with JR pass compatible settings, but does pop up when I deselect private railways. I have compared that cost of a private ticket to estimated taxi fare (taxifarefinder.com) and found private railway to be cheaper and faster than a taxi. I understand this may vary based on the cost of the private rail ticket and the distance to the destination.

I really wasn't sure how accessible taxis can be and if any sort of additional XO or paperwork is needed for a tourist with a JR pass to use the private railways. I already have my JR pass XO so I am ready to go!

Thanks so much!

avatar
Daniel-san
18832 posts
over 9 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

The public transport system and taxi's in Japan are both very accessible, even for non Japanese. Public transport is generally a lot cheaper than taxi's. The best method of course depends on the exact route and time of travel. To take the route in Kyoto for example. Kwaramachi is fastest reached using the Kyoto subway, alternatively there are different local buses going there (230yen/per ride).

Taxi's generally cost 600-800yen base fare which covers the first 2km. It's about 500yen per km after. Prices do differ on the region and taxi company traveled on. The fare could also end up higher if traffic is slow.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

txbaseball
txbaseball
4 posts
over 9 years ago

Thanks!

txbaseball
txbaseball
4 posts
over 9 years ago

Daniel-san, thanks for the info! So, to reiterate, if I search for a route without Private Rail checked and it returns nothing, but options appear when I go back and check the box for Private Rail, then the JR pass does not cover part or all of the route?

I am finding the JR useful from city to city, but not so much within the city.

Is there a consolidated list of what subway/bus lines are covered by the JR? Some examples of the ones I plan to use: Nagoya City Meijo Subway & Higashiyama Subway.

avatar
Daniel-san
18832 posts
over 9 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

Indeed just remove the button private railway and you will find all routes covered by the JR Pass.

In Nagoya there's not a lot of JR Lines and you will mostly travel by bus/metro. In Tokyo/Osaka however the JR Pass works great for city wide travel.


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