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keoshi
keoshi
over 10 years ago
3 responses

Hey,

My girlfriend and I will be travelling to Japan next week, and after we made the decision not to buy JR Passes, we are now reconsidering it. Our initial idea was to buy two Seishun 18 passes and split them between us.

Here's what our booking looks like now:

Day 1-9: Staying in Tokyo*
Day 9: Travelling to Kyoto
Day 9-17: Staying in Kyoto**
Day 17: Travelling back to Tokyo
Day 17-19: Staying in Tokyo

Now, as mentioned above, this is our booking plans, not our itinerary. So, let me explain further:

  • Staying in Tokyo: we are staying in a rented house for a while, so one-day trips are on our plans for sure:
  • Mount Fuji
  • Nikko
  • Kamakura
  • Hakone
  • even Sapporo maybe

** Staying in Kyoto: same thing, we're staying for a while so we'd like to go to: - Osaka - Nara - Mount Koya - Sapporo if we have time

Considering that our plans are never final and we may wake up feeling like taking one-day trips for the half the time we're staying in Japan, would you recommend a JR Pass? And if so, which one?

Thank you in advance!

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
over 10 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

I see that you are very enthusiastic about visiting visiting Japan. At the same time I think that a JR Pass could be a great addition to your plans. The Seishun Kippu is a great experience too, let me say that first! However it will take up a lot of your time. For instance travel between Tokyo - Osaka by local train is over 9-10 hours, so you pretty much loose the day.

A JR Pass could help you see a lot more of Japan and help you make some good savings at the same time, especially with all the day trips you wish to make. For instance a 7-day JR Pass is roughly the same price as a return Kyoto - Tokyo by shinkansen and you would already make some nice savings with a return Tokyo - Sapporo if you use a 14-day JR Pass, just for that.

Now the tricky point, is planning with your current schedule. I see that you will be staying in Kyoto for longer than 7 days. You could fit the return Tokyo - Kyoto in 7 days and visit Nara and Koya in the same period or you could take a 14-day JR Pass and use it for your day trips, especially Nikko is smart to visit with the JR Pass as normal tickets on the JR are around 10,000Yen for a return.

I hope this gives you an idea of the possibilities, let me know if I can help with planning or anything else!
-Daniel

keoshi
keoshi
3 posts
over 10 years ago

Daniel-san, you're the best.

We're saving for this trip and dreaming about it for a long while; we're so excited!

Hah yes, longer than 7 days in Kyoto, that was part of the reason why we abandoned the idea of a JR Pass if the first place. We then had to get 14-days passes and that was very hefty on our budget. But considering we've been planning this trip for so long and knowing that we'll want to explore different areas of the country I think that's the best option for sure.

Ordering right now and hoping they get here on time! :)

Thank you so much!

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
over 10 years ago
Expert

Hi Keoshi!

Thank you for ordering with us!

Shipping is quick and I am sure we will dispatch it today.

Let me know if I can help with planning now or later on!
-Daniel

keoshi
keoshi
3 posts
over 10 years ago

Daniel,

Already ordered, hope the tickets arrive soon! I'm confident this was the best possible option since we have such open plans — must be great to just go anywhere you feel like — more and more opportunities are opening up and that's exciting!

I will bother you in the future if anything we need help with comes up.

Thank you so much once again,
Filipe


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