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does it make sense to get JR Pass with this itinerary?

dara
dara
over 7 years ago
2 answers

Hi all,

I'll be in Japan from April 30th to May 8th.

My travel plan now looks something like this:

April 30th. Arrival at Narita airport. Express transfer to Tokyo, from there on transfer to Kyoto on Hikari.
May 3rd. Hikari transfer from Kyoto to Osaka.
May 5th. Hikari transfer from Osaka to Tokyo.
May 8th - Tokyo to Narita transfer.

The plan was to get 7 days JR Pass to cover all the travel from April 30th to May 5th.
But there are some questions I'm concerned about:
1. I won't be able to exchange my JR Pass until April 30th, which falls right in the middle of Golden Week, where advance planning is absolutely necessary. Does it make sense to buy JR Pass in this situation?
Or should I rather buy separate ticket somehow in advance online?
2. Is there any cost benefit from JR Pass with this itinerary? From Hyperdia seems like there isn't, but I figure there is additional cost on seat reservation when you get separate ticket?
3. Is there an exchange point from voucher to JR Pass at Narita Airport?

Thanks in advance!

avatar
Daniel-san
19375 posts
over 7 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

1.) Since you arrive that day there's not much difference really between buying the JR Pass or normal tickets. Your flight may be delayed for instance, which in turn may mean you lose any reserved seats. With the JR Pass, you can always take a non-reserved seat on the next train, so in a way, there's more flexibility.

2.) The cost of a 7-day JR Pass will be slightly lower then buying normal tickets for this route. A nice addition is that you can use the Shinkansen between Kyoto and Osaka without any additional cost.

3.) https://www.jrpass.com/blog/activating-the-jr-pass-at-narita-airport

Hope this helps,
Daniel


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