Is it worth getting green car JR pass?

Hi there!

It's a bit hard to say since you did not include dates in your itinerary. I think your best bet would be going for the 14 day JR Pass if you can at least include all travel starting at Nagoya until your return to Narita Airport.

As for Green Cars, personally I love Green Cars and after making a 21 day Green Trip earlier this year it is hard to go back. However when I first came to Japan I was really impressed with ordinary class on the Shinkansen and other limited express trains, so I think that you will be fine with a normal pass too. Almost all Shinkansen that you may travel on and limited express trains have green seats available, some local trains may not but these are generally only for short distances.

Have a great time in Japan!
Daniel

Thank you Daniel-san

For the 14 day JR pass to work with our departure date of Nov. 9th we would have to activate it in Nagiso (where we are going to access Tsumago and Magome. The may not be possible due to size of station?. Since the travel from Narita to Tokyo with side trip to Nikko and then Tokyo to Nagoya etc. adds to the transport cost there may not be a huge savings unless the JR pass does not cover Narita train to Tokyo. Would you be so kind to confirm if that is the case.

Thanks also for your comments on the Green Cars. My husband is quite tall and we thought the slightly more leg room might make a difference for him.

Kasper

Hi Kasper,

You can activate the JR Pass at any Major JR Station and choose a first day of use up to 30 days in the future. So you don't have to start using it right away.

The JR Pass does cover the Narita Express to Narita Airport from Tokyo.

I am rather tall myself but can swim in the free space in Green Class, which is very nice but the real reason why you should consider green class is just that it makes travel much more relaxed. There are a lot less people, no crying babies and you can avoid some of the Gaijin packed Hikari express cars.

Enjoy!
Daniel

Hello Daniel-san

Since this is our first visit to Japan and we are doing the trip independently we really appreciate your comments and assistance. I will calculate the cost of the14 day JR pass plus the extra costs for the travel before activation versus the cost of the 21 day pass.

We will probably spring for the Green Class as we live in rather sparsely populated surroundings and we are not used to crowds.

Arigato

Kasper