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PLEASE Help a 1st Time Solo Traveller - Will a JR Pass work for me?

Akari22
Akari22
almost 9 years ago
3 responses

I am travelling alone for the first time to Japan this summer, for 3 weeks.

My trip pans out like so:

Tokyo (4 nights) > Hakone (2 nights) > Kamakura (3 nights) > Osaka (4 nights) > Kyoto (4 nights) > Back to Tokyo

All in all I will be travelling for 21 days. Originally I was going to visit Fukuoka after Osaka, however I'm not sure if this is feasible, especially as most of my searches say it will take 11 hours on the train and I dread to think what that costs.

I plan to use the subway in places like Tokyo, I've heard the JR pass can work for this also?

I would appreciate any and all advice!

Thank you thank you thank you,
Akari

sseijiis
sseijiis
30 posts
almost 9 years ago

Hi, Akari22

We were in Japan in November for 30 days and would like to make some comment:
1. Travel Planner: increase the length of stay in Tokyo and Kyoto. Many places to visit and wonderful food
2. Osaka to Fukuoka: Use the site Hyperdia.com this can be done in 3 hours with some connections. It is served by the JR pass
3. Subway: it is not possible to use the pass Subway in Tokyo, but there are some railway lines of JR that serve very well as the Yamanote. And you can use the pass. In Osaka as well.

Hope this helps.

Note. Rent a portable WiFi is not that expensive. Dispatch bag by the hotel to the next hotel. Very practical and not expensive.

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
almost 9 years ago
Expert

Hello Akari,

I think Sseijiis already covered the basics very well!

Going to Fukuoka really does not add than much travel time. It's about 155minutes from Shin-Osaka with the JR Pass to visit Fukuoka, so you could certainly visit it.

In terms of Japan Rail Pass, it's hard to match one to your current itinerary. However you could consider a 7 or 14 day JR Pass if you were to include Fukuoka in your itinerary. The station name in Hyperdia.com for Fukuoka is Hakata, so you can check the train schedule yourself as well.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

sseijiis
sseijiis
30 posts
almost 9 years ago

Daniel-san

You helped me a lot to make our wonderful trip.
And I feel obliged to give small aid.
thank you very much

Akari22
Akari22
3 posts
almost 9 years ago

Ah, I see! I think I will visit Fukuoka after all.

While waiting for a reply on this thread I had a look at the JR map and it seems most, if not all, of my planned journeys involve JR lines, so I am tempted to invest in a 21 day pass.
Just to clarify, on the map there is a blue Shinkansen line...the pass is valid on this correct?

Thank you both so much for your help and sorry for all of these questions!

Akari

Toraneko
Toraneko
1303 posts
almost 9 years ago

Hi,
You can travel to most of the most popular places in Japan on JR. It's unclear what you mean by "blue Shinkansen line". You can go on all the lines, just not take the fastest shinkansen, the Nozomi or Mizuho.
For Fukuoka, don't miss the Nanzoin Temple which is one of Japan's finest yet almost totally unknown to the outside world and completely FREE! There is a lot that could fill an entire day - see here. If you can spread out a bit more, Nagasaki is the most interesting city on the island and worth a day.
Since you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as Dotonbori, plus the night views from the Umeda Sky Bldg, and Abeno Harukas Bldg are wonderful. Instead, look into visiting Nara, Koyasan, and Himeji.
For the Tokyo area, look into taking a day trip to Nikko, Kamakura/Enoshima, Hakone or the Fuji 5 Lakes Area.

Akari22
Akari22
3 posts
almost 9 years ago

This is really some brilliant information you're giving me. I may treat Osaka as a day trip from Kyoto then (just like I plan to do with Kamakura from Tokyo!) and head down to Fukuoka after Hakone.

On the map on this website the JR tracks are in green however there is a track in blue that is a Shinkansen track and I was wondering if that is included with the JR Pass, but you have answered my question! :)

I really can't thank you enough for this advice!


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