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Is a 14 day pass worth it?

Trip2012
Trip2012
over 11 years ago
1 response

I will be in Japan for 2 weeks.

This is my rough itinerary (any comments welcome):

Narita Airport to Kyoto
Kyoto (8nights) with day trips to: Nara, Kobe, Himeji, Mnt. Koya, Ise Shima
Kyoto to Tokyo
5 nights Tokyo with day trips to: Kamakura, Hakone, Mnt. Fuji
Tokyo to Nikko (1 night)
Nikko to Narita airport

Is a 14 day JR pass worth it?

avatar
mari
1950 posts
over 11 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

Looks like a great trip!

To understand if a 14 day pass (¥45,100) is worthwhile we need to do a calculation of the normal JR ticket costs of your trip. Lets take a look at your approximate projected costs:

  1. Narita airport terminal 1 > Kyoto: ¥15930, (238mins, 592km)
  2. Kyoto > Nara: ¥690, (45mins, 41km)
  3. Nara > Kyoto: ¥690, (44mins, 41km)
  4. Kyoto > Kobe(hyogo): ¥1050, (56mins, 75km)
  5. Kobe(hyogo) > Kyoto: ¥1050, (55mins, 75km)
  6. Kyoto > Himeji: ¥5130, (68mins, 130km)
  7. Himeji > Kyoto: ¥2210, (91mins, 130km)
  8. Kyoto > Toba: ¥8230, (177mins, 270km)
  9. Toba > Kyoto: ¥8230, (161mins, 270km)
  10. Kyoto > Tokyo: ¥13220, (161mins, 513km)
  11. Tokyo > Kamakura: ¥1900, (48mins, 51km)
  12. Kamakura > Tokyo: ¥890, (58mins, 53km)
  13. Tokyo > Odawara: ¥3640, (35mins, 83km)
  14. Odawara > Tokyo: ¥1450, (36mins, 83km)
  15. Tokyo > Otsuki: ¥2860, (84mins, 87km)
  16. Otsuki > Tokyo: ¥1450, (100mins, 87km)
  17. Tokyo > Nikko: ¥5430, (121mins, 150km)
  18. Nikko > Narita airport terminal 1: ¥8460, (209mins, 229km)

TOTAL: ¥82,510 for 16 legs

As you can see, a 14 day pass will get you minimum savings of ¥37,410. You also have flexibility to change your plans as you travel. For these reasons I can recommend the 14 day pass for your itinerary.

I think your itinerary spacing looks busy, but good if you're up for it! I recommend you travel to either Hakone or MtFuji/Kawaguchiko (rather than both), and maybe give Hakone an overnight stay in an onsen if you do go there.

Please note that for Hakone the Rail Pass will get you as far as Odawara. From here you should use the non-JR Odakyu lines to get up to Hakone. I recommend the Hakone Free Pass if you visit.

Hope this helps!


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