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Is the JR Pass cost effective?

TrangL
TrangL
over 4 years ago
2 responses

Dear Daniel-san,

I am attempting to determine if the JR Pass is cost effective for my itinerary, unfortunately it is too complicated for HyperDia to work out.

Our itinerary is as follows:
1) Osaka Kansai airport to Higashiyama in Kyoto 7th Jan 2020
2) Kyoto Higashiyama to Shinjuku in Tokyo 10th Jan
3) Shinjuku to Iiyama 13th Jan
4) Iiyama to Shinjuku 17th Jan
5) Shinjuku to Tokyo Haneda airport 19th Jan

In Tokyo we will visit Shibuya, Ueno, Roponggi. I am unsure how often we can use the JR pass to get between Shinjuku and these locations?

I was wondering if we can use the JR Pass at all when in Kyoto? Planning to see Gion, North & South Higashiyama, Arashiyama.

There are 2 adults and 1 child.
Are we better to purchase tickets separately or the JR Pass?

Thank you very much.

Regards,
Jen

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
over 4 years ago
Expert

Hi Jen,

You can simplify by just looking at the longer legs of your itinerary, these will by far cost the most and where the JR Pass will help you make savings. Local travel in comparison is relatively low cost.

For your trip this would be:
Kyoto - Tokyo ¥ 14,170
Tokyo - Iiyama ¥ 8,780
Iiyama - Tokyo ¥ 8,780

For a total of ¥ 31,730, the 7-day JR Pass is ¥ 29,650, so you will already be making savings on this route. Any extra local travel with just add to your savings.

In Kyoto, the JR lines are limited to the south and west of the city. Coverage in Tokyo and Osaka is quite extensive.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Useful!0
TrangL
TrangL
2 posts
over 4 years ago

Thanks Daniel-san.

Wouldn’t I need to purchase the 14 day JR pass as I will need to activate the service on 7/January and stop using it on the 19/Jan?

Useful!0
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