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Which JR pass? and a couple more quesitons

jadetravels
jadetravels
over 1 year ago
1 response

Hi there,

The more I read, the more confused I seem to be getting about which pass to buy.
We are traveling from Narita to Tokyo, Shirahama, Koyasan, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and back to Tokyo with a possible side trip to Hakone. Do we need JR passes AND IC cards or just JR passes? Also, which JR pass should we be looking into? As well, I would like to go on the fastest bullet train one time just to experience it. Which leg / train would you recommend? Last question, are JR passes refundable?

Thank you so much!

avatar
Daniel-san
18837 posts
over 1 year ago
Expert

Hi there,

The best option would depend on how many days you spend in each spot, so look at that, and then match a 7-day Japan Rail Pass if you can, or perhaps a 14-day JR Pass. The pass will be cost efficient if you can at least cover the return Tokyo - Kyoto with it.

This will get you to all the cities you want to travel. An IC card (see: https://www.jrpass.com/the-suica-card-and-other-ic-cards) is nothing more than an electronic payment card for transport. It can be very useful, for any travel not covered by the JR Pass.

Yes, we offer refunds for passes up to 1 year after issue date. A refund fee of 15-20% of the original ticket value does apply (depending on the pass). We also offer a 100% cancellation protection for those with flexible plans.

Hope this helps,
Daniel


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