Should I buy 7 days JR pass?

Hi there!

Assuming you would use the Odakyu to travel to Hakone and the JR Pass from there on to Osaka, than you would cover the following legs with the JR Pass.

Odawara - Osaka ¥ 12,070 (Odawara is the Shinkansen station for Hakone)
Osaka - Kyoto ¥ 540
Kyoto - Osaka ¥ 540
Osaka Nara (return) ¥ 1560
Osaka - Tokyo ¥ 13,550
Tokyo - Narita Airport ¥ 2,740

For a total of ¥ 31,000 or already ¥ 2,700 in savings with the 7 day JR Pass (¥ 28,300). You can also use the JR Pass for local JR trains in Osaka adding even more!

I hope this helps!
Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Thanks so much for ur advice. It is really useful for my planning.

A couple more questions. Hope u don't mind.

As for narita airport to tokyo, what ticket should I buy? I have 3 days 2 nights in tokyo before going Hakone.

Also, how much more will I save if I take JR to Odawara? Is the ride as scenic as the romance car?

Hi Again,

You can ask me anything you like about JR travel :)

Consider buying a [Suica + N'EX] package for your arrival at Narita Airport. It's a great deal as you get a discounted package to Tokyo and the Suica card will help you travel around Tokyo for the first couple of days.

As for going to Odawara, the Shinkansen costs ¥ 3,440 without the JR Pass. The fare for the Romance car is ¥ 1,720 but travels to Shinjuku (instead of Tokyo station). I have actually never taken the Romance car myself so I can't tell you how scenic it is. However it does have it's name for a reason.

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for ur reply. I have a better idea of how to plan for my trip :) I assume JR to Odawara is underground?

Also, may i know how do I reserve the seats on JR? Can I reserve all the seats for my entire trip in one session?

Travel to Odawara by JR is via the Shinkansen (bullet train) which travels overground but nevertheless travels through a good amount of tunnels.

You can make all the seat reservations you want once you are in Japan and have your JR Pass. Just go to any JR ticket office, show your JR Pass and tell the staff when and where you wish to travel. You can reserve your entire itinerary at once.