8 day Kansai + Tokyo route and JR Pass usage

Hi Lindsay!

It looks like you're planning on a 8 day stay in Japan, 14-21st, and will have the following itinerary:

1. Kansai airport > Tanimachiyonchome: ¥1740, (57mins, 46km, incl. non-JR)
2. Tanimachiyonchome > Osaka: ¥350, (16mins, 5km, incl. non-JR)
3. Osaka > Kyoto: ¥540, (29mins, 42km)
4. Kyoto > Osaka: ¥540, (28mins, 42km)
5. Osaka > Ikebukuro: ¥13950, (226mins, 565km)
6. Ikebukuro > Osaka: ¥13950, (225mins, 565km)
7. Osaka > Kansai airport: ¥3340, (57mins, 64km)

JR ticket cost: ¥32320 for 5 legs

• 07 day rail pass (¥28,300) base saving: ¥4020

Trip analysis & recommendations

As your first travel will need to be on non-JR lines (subway), I recommend you go for the following options:

• ICOCA prepaid subway card+Haruka Kansai Express single ticket for ¥3000 at Kansai Airport.
• 7 day JR Pass for activation on day 2 until you leave.

The ICOCA+Haruka Kansai Express will give you the travel into Osaka/, and also ¥1500 to spend on the subway in Osaka and Kyoto as you need it, for example to get to and from Tanimachi-yonchome subway, or travelling around Kyoto on the bus or subway.

The 7 day JR Pass activated from Day 2 will cover all your travel between cities, and you can even use it within Tokyo to travel around quite well: here's a map of JR lines in Tokyo for reference. While in Osaka, if you want you can use the JR Pass to do a day trip to Hiroshima, Kurashiki or Nara, all highly recommended.

The trip to Asakusa will need to be done using the Tokyo Metro, which is not included in the JR Pass. You can purchase discount day passes and single tickets for the metro as needed once you arrive in Tokyo.

You can look up precise train timetables and costs at the Hyperdia travel planning website and learn how to use Hyperdia for JR Pass holders through our video blog.

Travel from Tokyo to Kansai for a 10am flight

The bullet trains don't operate during the night and the earliest train from Tokyo (5am...) will get you into Kansai Airport at 9:35am, which is too late for a 10am flight. I recommend you travel down to Osaka or Kyoto the night of the 20th and overnight there before you get the train to Kansai Airport on the morning of the 21st.

Buying a JR Pass for a friend

Provided your friend is eligible for a Japan Rail Pass and she is able to do the return from Tokyo using the pass, then I recommend it. If she is only able to receive the pass in Osaka after meeting you then unless you do more travel I don't think she'll get full value from it.

I think I covered all your questions :) Let me know if I can help with anything else!

Thank you very much is very detail and very helpful.