First Time to Japan - suggestions on Rail Expenses

Hi there!

To get a handle on the expenses for your trip, lets take a look at your costs:

1. Tokyo > Osaka: ¥13550, (194mins, 556km)
2. Osaka > Kyoto: ¥540, (29mins, 42km)
3. Kyoto > Osaka: ¥540, (28mins, 42km)
4. Osaka > Nara: ¥780, (59mins, 48km)
5. Nara > Osaka: ¥780, (55mins, 48km)
6. Osaka > Odawara: ¥12070, (159mins, 472km)
7. Odawara > Tokyo: ¥1450, (36mins, 83km)

TOTAL: ¥29710 for 7 legs

As you can see, you'll make a small savings of ¥1410 with a 7 day rail pass (¥28,300), however to ideally make the most savings you should return to Tokyo within the 7 day period. While the savings are only slight, any further JR travel is totally free so you'll have the opportunity to change your plans, such as visiting Hiroshima/Miyajima while in Kyoto, or Nikko while in Tokyo.

Please note that to explore Hakone you'll need to purchase some separate tickets as the train system there is not operated by JR. For Hakone I recommend the Hakone Free Pass.

As far as Haneda airport is concerned, trasport to Haneda via the Tokyo Monorail is 100% free for JR Pass holders, however is only a small charge of around ¥500 for the ticket as Haneda is much closer to Tokyo than Narita.

You can look up train timetables and costs for all of your legs at the Hyperdia travel planning website and learn how to use Hyperdia for Japan Rail Pass holders through our video blog.

Hope this helps!