7 day JR PASS

Hi there,

I think it makes sense to by a 7-Day JR Pass with your current itinarary, the price is about the same as a return Tokyo Kyoto by Shinkansen and any additional travel you do afterthat becomes free! Besides Tokyo Kyoto you could use the JR Pass to travel to and from Narita Airport and on local JR-lines in Tokyo. Lastly you can also use it to save some money on your way to Fuji-san.

To anwer your questions:
1.) You can take the Shinkansen (bullet train) directly from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, the travel time is about 140 minutes.
2.) This depends on the route you take and from where in Tokyo you travel but expect to travel around 2.5 hours/one way.
3.) Unfortunately you won't be able to travel all the way to Fuji by JR-Pass, the best way to go there by rail is to use the JR to travel to the station called Otsuki and transfer there to the fujikyu railway for the last part. (This takes about an hour and costs 1,100Yen).

Hope this helps,
Daniel.

Thank you very much Daniel! I have few other questions:

1) Is it better to buy the JR pass here in US or can I buy it on the JR station in Japan
2) I am planning to visit Kyoto only for one day. I will be leaving Tokyo on the 9th and want to come back the same evening. I would like to see the following places in and around Kyoto: 1) Kinkaku-ji 2) Fushimi Inari 3)Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. Is it possible to see all these three places in one day. I would like use my JR pass as much as I can. If you can provide me with some guidance it would really help.

Thanks for help in advance

Hi again,

1.) You can only buy the pass outside of Japan, we can ship it to you or you can buy at one of the local re-sellers.
2.) I think it may be possible but you would have a very busy day and not that much time. Kinkaku-ji and Fushimi Inari should be no problem but Arashiyama may be a bit out of the way. The last time I went there I spend around 6 hours there, I am sure it can be faster but am not sure if it would be worth the hassle. You could visit Kizomizu-dera instead, which I personally think is one of the best spots in Kyoto.
To save time I would recommend using taxi's to get around.

If you have a day left in Tokyo and want to make good use of your JR-Pass, consider a visit to Nikko it is a very impressive place and you will also get to ride the Shinkansen!

Let me know if I can help in any other way.
Daniel

Daniel-san,

Thank you very much! I was told that the JR pass is not valid for the fastest bullet train (Nozomi). Is that true?

Regards,
Harshal

Hi Harshal,

Yes that is correct, you can't use the Nozomi train but you can take the Hikari Super Express train instead. This train makes a couple more stops on the way but will get you to Kyoto in good time too.

The difference between the Nozomi and Hikari between Tokyo and Kyoto is about 20 minutes more.

Best regards,
Daniel