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JR Pass for Tokyo, Osaka, Nara and Kyoto?

annt87
annt87
over 7 years ago
1 response

Will be going to Japan next month for 13 days and stuck on whether I should be getting a JR pass or just buy tickets or some kind of other pass covering Tokyo or Kansai area? Here's a rough itinerary of my trip:

Day 1: land at Narita Airport in the early evening. Go to accomodation in Shibuya. Expkore around the area.
Days 2-4: Exploring around Tokyo including Harajuku, Shinjuku, Asakusa, Skytree, Akihabara and surroundings. Might check out Tokyo Disneysea or do a day trip on one of these days.
Days 5-8: Will be based in Osaka but will also be doing a day trip to Nara and another day possibly going to Universal Studios
Days 9-11: Kyoto
Day 12: Return to Tokyo to stay for one night
Day 13: Tsujiki Fish Markets in the morning. Last min shopping and sightseeing then going back to Narita.

Since I probably won't be travelling long distance too much apart from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoko back to Tokyo, I'm unsure if JR Pass would be suitable based on this itinerary. If not, what options do you recommend if you want to do lots of exploring within the city?

I will also be visiting a friend who now lives in Japan. Since my friend is ineligible for the JR Pass, will we be able to travel together since we may be on different passes if I do decide on the JR Pass?

Sorry about this essay. Thank you in advance! :)

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
over 7 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

While I would recommend a 7 day JR Pass if you can make the return Tokyo - Kansai with it, right now this period is counted as 8 days and it would be better to buy normal tickets.

You can easily travel together with your friend if you do have a JR Pass. Just reserve your tickets together :)

Hope this helps,
Daniel


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