Is this itinerary okay and worth the JR passes?

Hi there!

I think you made a good choice already!

If I would change anything, I recommend you start your JRP from day 1 to day 7. On day 8 you will explore Kyoto area, so a JRP will not be very useful for you compared to on your arrival. Day 8 and 9 will be best handled by paying for tickets as needed I think, and it's a good idea to us the 1 day kansai pass on the last day to get back to Kansai via Haruka.

Hope this helps!

Hi mari, thanks for the feedback. May I know how much saving I have made by using this passes as compared to buying individual ticket as the journey from osaka-tokyo-kyoto is not that long. Furthermore I found that I have to use other private train in Tokyo also. I got/read plenty of advise from other forum telling to buy this pass but as I calculated it (excluding the trip to Nara & Osaka on Day 7) the difference is not that much. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have no word against this passes but my family is already asking me how much saving if using this passes for this trip. I hope you can help.
Many thanks :)

Family! :D No problem. Here's your cost breakdown:

1. Kansai airport > Tennoji: ¥2,270 (34mins, 46km)
2. Tennoji > Ikebukuro: ¥13,750 (247mins, 576km)
3. Ikebukuro > Maihama: ¥380 (55mins, 25km)
4. Maihama > Otsuki: ¥3,300 (114mins, 100km)
5. Otsuki > Shinjuku(jr): ¥1,280 (87mins, 77km)
6. Shinjuku(jr) > Asakusabashi: ¥160 (15mins, 9km)
7. Asakusabashi > Ikebukuro: ¥210 (24mins, 11km)
8. Ikebukuro > Kyoto: ¥13,220 (191mins, 522km)
9. Kyoto > Nara: ¥690 (44mins, 41km)
10. Nara > Osaka: ¥780 (55mins, 48km)

JR ticket cost: ¥36,040 for 10 legs

• 7 day Japan Rail Pass (¥28,300) saving: ¥7,740

Although this calculation is quite vague, you can see you'll make good savings with the 7 day pass. You'll also have a lot of travel flexibility, so a day trip to Hiroshima from Osaka or Kurashiki (for example) would be totally possible.

Note that for Shinsaibasi I have assumed you'll change to the non-JR metro at Tennoji in Osaka. For Disney you'll need the Maihama stop. You can use the JR Pass to great effect in Tokyo. Here's a map of JR lines in Tokyo for you to refer to. For Kawaguchiko the JR Pass will take you as far as Otsuki. From Otsuki you'll need to use the non-JR Fujikyu lines up to Kawaguchiko (¥1110 each way).

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.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for the detail and advise. I'll use these infos in arranging my plan.

One more question, regarding train to Otsuki, can my 7 day-Japan Railway pass be used to ride Limited Express Azusa or Kaiji?

Hi there!

Yes! you can use both these trains :)