Trouble Deciding Between the 7-Day/14-Day Pass!

Hi there!

Lets quickly break your trip down into it's individual JR ticket prices.

1. Tokyo > Nikko: ¥5,630 (121mins, 150km)
2. Nikko > Tokyo: ¥5,630 (117mins, 150km)
3. Tokyo > Otsuki: ¥2,860 (85mins, 87km)
4. Otsuki > Kyoto: ¥14,650 (235mins, 561km)
5. Kyoto > Uji(jr): ¥230 (17mins, 14km)
6. Uji(jr) > Nara: ¥480 (26mins, 26km)
7. Nara > Kyoto: ¥690 (44mins, 41km)
8. Kyoto > Hiroshima: ¥10,990 (112mins, 380km)
9. Hiroshima > Miyajimaguchi: ¥400 (26mins, 21km)
10. Miyajimaguchi > Hiroshima: ¥400 (28mins, 21km)
11. Hiroshima > Osaka: ¥10,820 (109mins, 345km)
12. Osaka > Tokyo: ¥13,950 (194mins, 556km)
13. Tokyo > Narita airport terminal 1: ¥3,140 (58mins, 79km)

JR ticket cost: ¥69,870 for 13 legs

• 14 day Japan Rail Pass (¥45,100) saving: ¥24,770

As you can see you'll make good savings with the 14 day JR Pass so I certainly recommend this option.

For the trip from Narita to Tokyo I recommend either the [Narita Express + Suica deal] or the Keisei Skyliner + 2 day metro pass deal for discounted travel for your first few days. Then you should start the 14 day JR Pass validity period from day 3-16.

Please note that you can also get good use of the JR Pass around Tokyo. I didn't include these costs in your calculation, but you can expect to save a further ¥500-800/day with careful use of JR lines :)

You can look up precise train timetables and costs at the Hyperdia travel planning website and learn how to use Hyperdia for JR Pass holders through our video blog.

Hope this helps!

Thanks so much for the help, I really appreciate it :) also, I was wondering how the whole reserved seat thing works?
Do you have to reserve a seat before you hop onto the shinkansen in order to secure a seat? If so, how do you do that?

Thankyou :)

Hi there, no problem!

Reserving a seat is free for JR Pass holders, and may be helpful if you want to sit a group of travellers together, are travelling during peak times (7-9am, 5-7pm), or simply want the peace of mind of a reserved seat. You can make a reservation on any train by visiting a JR ticket office at a JR station and presenting your JRPass, specifying the train/time you'd like to travel. You don't have to reserve well in advance, and can even reserve on arrival at the station for the next train out. You are given a ticket with carriage/seat number on it, which you can use to find your place on the train. Here is a blog post with more.

All shinkansen that you will use have both reserved and non-reserved seating. You can simply hop on/off these shinkansen if you don't want to make a reservation and sit in non-reserved seating. Of couse, as it is non-reserved there is no guarantee of a seat, but at non-peak times you'll generally be fine.

Hope this helps!