Travelling for 10 days within Japan

Hi Brandan,

Welcome to the forum. Love the visit to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and yes we exactly provide tools like the fare calculator and free travel advice here on the forum so our customers can have an informed decision.

And to be honest here, you'd need a good bit of extra convenience for that 14.000yen. There are a few main points I can mention through. 1.) No need to worry about budget. You already paid your pass and if plans change or something happens, the JR Pass gets you anywhere. For example, on my last trip I left by bag on the train and had to backtrack significantly to retrieve it. The good part was that I did not have to pay for any fares. It could even be simpler, you often learn about new places to visit while on your trip and might want to divert a bit, with the pass, this is a super easy choice. There's also things about just having the option to make stopovers when you want.

Having said that, you may still be able to make savings with another option. For example, have you considered just a 7-day pass but to do Tokyo - Kyoto - Nagasaki - Hiroshima - Osaka and then just buy a single ticket back to Tokyo? I think this would be much closer to breaking even, if not making savings outright.

You could also do normal tickets between Tokyo - Kyoto/Osaka and then get a regional pass. In your case the Sanyo-Sanin Northern Kyushu Pass is of particular good value and has most of the perks that the JR Pass has too, such as free seat reservations and same luggage allowance.

Hope this helps :)
Daniel

Thank you Daniel. Your answer is very useful. Could I ask a follow on question please? If we start the first Shinkansen journey on the 26th of July, at approximately 12 noon, does the 7 day JR pass expire exactly 7 days later on 1st of August at 12 noon? Or does the pass last for the whole day irrespective of start time on a day. Thank you, Brendan

The JR Pass is counted in days (not hours), so for example, if you start using it on a Monday, then your last day of travel is Sunday, when it will expire at midnight. What time you first take a train on Monday does not make any difference.

Hope that clarifies!
Daniel

Thanks Daniel. You have been very helpful. Based on your recommendation I will purchase 4 JR Passes and commence them on the first day of our rail travel, encompassing the journeys from Tokyo, to Kyoto, then Nagasaki, then Hiroshima and on the 7th day of the pass in Osaka. Then I will reserve 4 separate tickets from Osaka to Tokyo and then to the airport. Many thanks for your help. I will investigate the other offers such as SIMs and Meet and Greet associated with the rail pass now.
Many thanks, Brendan

Hi Brendan,

Glad to hear it - if you do need any further help...You know where to find me.

Best regards,
Daniel