JR 7 day pass for 19 day trip!

Hi Karl,

I checked your itinerary for the best options and I don't think it makes sense to use a 7 day JR Pass for the routeas you have it now. Instead I would look at a 14 day JR Pass. This way you could also include the trip to Nikko, Fukuoka and Nagasaki. This way you can make nice savings over purchasing normal rail tickets. Also I think this would actually be cheaper than buy all the separate tickets for the bus and train (though I don't know what fare you have seen).

If you would not go for a 14 day JR Pass, then I think the best alternative would be to buy normal tickets.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi there, thanks for the reply.

I have just checked costs on HyperDia and it says that if I were to buy these seats separately, the total cost would be £149 (using yen to gbp google conversion).

Obviously this is cheaper than both passes, and I can buy tickets at my own pace. However, I am unsure as to why it seems so much cheaper to buy separately.

Cant someone check this for me? I don't have much longer whether or not to decide to buy a 14 day pass or not. It seems like a no-brainer at the moment.

Many thanks

Hi again,

Let's have a look at ticket prices and find out for sure:

Tokyo - Nikko (return, shinkansen) ¥ 11,060
Tokyo - Kyoto ¥ 13,600
Kyoto - Nara ¥ 1,420 (return)
Kyoto - Osaka ¥ 560
Osaka - Hiroshima ¥ 10,230
Hiroshima - Fukuoka ¥ 8,940
Fukuoka - Nagasaki ¥ 4,700
Nagasaki - Fukuoka ¥ 4,700

For a total of ¥ 55,210 vs the price of a 14 day JR Pass ¥ 46,390. So a JR Pass is cheaper if you use the Shinkansen mainly for your travels. There are other budget ways of alternative travel available, such as buses and local trains. You may spend less. Hope this gives you a good overview of what the JR Pass could do for you.