14 day JR Pass

Hi Meg,

Lets take a look at your projected costs:

1. Narita airport terminal 1 > Tokyo: ¥3,140 (62mins, 79km)
2. Tokyo > Takayama: ¥14,300 (273mins, 532km)
3. Takayama > Osaka: ¥10,010 (220mins, 357km)
4. Osaka > Miyajimaguchi: ¥10,070 (140mins, 367km)
5. Miyajimaguchi > Hiroshima: ¥400 (26mins, 21km)
6. Hiroshima > Kyoto: ¥10,590 (112mins, 380km)
7. Kyoto > Tokyo: ¥13,020 (164mins, 513km)
8. Tokyo > Odawara: ¥3,440 (35mins, 83km)
9. Odawara > Tokyo: ¥3,440 (35mins, 83km)
10. Tokyo > Yokohama: ¥1,460 (23mins, 28km)
11. Yokohama > Tokyo: ¥1,460 (23mins, 28km)
12. Tokyo > Narita airport terminal 1: ¥3,140 (58mins, 79km)

JR ticket cost: ¥74,470 for 12 legs

• 14 day Japan Rail Pass (¥45,100) saving: ¥29,370

As you can see you'll make good savings with the 14 day JR Pass. A 14 day pass is ¥16,800 more than the 7 day JR Pass, so in order for the 14 to be worth it over a 7 day + tickets your ticket costs will need to be more than this. If we imagine you use a 7 day pass between the 8th - 14th you would need to purchase a further ¥29,100 of JR tickets. This could be less or more depending on various deals/offers, but you will need to cover the bullet trip back to Tokyo from Kyoto at ¥13,020. I think it's would be hard to find other means of doing the remainder of your travel for the remaining ¥3780, so I think I can recommend the 14 day pass in your case. If you were to move your return to Tokyo to the 14th, then you may be better off with a 7 day pass, but it will depend on the spacing of your trip.

I hope this helps!

Hi Mari,

Thank you for the break down which has been very helpful. Have tried to play around with the schedule so that I could get away with a 7 day pass but no luck. I think if I didn't allocate 4 nights in Kyoto, I may be able to use a 7 day pass.

Another question, I am staying in the Asakusa area when I arrive in Tokyo and wondered whether it is worth getting the Suica card & Express package? I can see the benefits of the Suica card but as the express stops at Tokyo, that would mean changing on to various lines to get to Asakusa.

Hi there!

I think it'll be hard to fit it into 7 days. As you'll still make good savings with the 14 day pass I feed comfortable recommending this.

If you're going to be staying in Asakusa, then you may want to look into the Keisei Access Express which goes direct from Narita to Asakusa in just over 50mins. It's a non-JR train so there will be a charge, but it will be the easiest route I think. If you think you'll do a lot of metro travel in Tokyo it's a good idea to stock up on discounted metro passes while you are at Narita. You can read more on these here.

Hope this helps!

Hi Mari,

I think the 14 day pass will be best as well, thank you.

Thank you for suggesting the Keisei Access Express. Agree that the route would be easier than changing from Tokyo station. Bril re metro passes, will look into these.

I have decided to not visit Takayama but instead replace it with an overnight stay in Hakone. Do you think it is worth purchasing a 2 day Hakone Free Pass? It appears as a good offer as it offers unlimited use of transport in the Hakone area.

Sorry for all the questions.