49 days in Japan; 21 day pass?

Hi there,

Yes, a 21 day JR Pass would give you good savings compared to normal tickets. Going up to Hokkaido, not to mention all the way north to Wakkanai and the JR Pass would give you good savings. Since you already have decided on your other transport, an additional pass would not be needed, though a 7 day JR Pass would nearly pay off for just the return Sapporo - Tokyo.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Thanks so much for your reply.

We leave in a few weeks, and I just want to make sure the JR pass covers all of our major train travel during those 21 days — on the shinkansen whenever possible.

Kanazawa to Sendai
Sendai to Tsuruoka
Tsuruoka to Shizukuishi
Shizukuishi to Shimokita (for Mutsu)
Shimokita to Hakodate
Hakodate to Sapporo
Sapporo to Asahikawa
Asahikawa to Wakkanai

Lastly, we'll need to go from Tadachi or Nagiso to Takayama on May 5 outside of the JR pass. As this will be during Golden Week, do you think there's a need for us to reserve seats on the portions that have seat reservations? What route do you suggest to save time and cash? I'm currently looking at the 1:31 train from Tadachi to Nakatsugawa, transfer to Tajimi, transfer to Minoota, and finally transfer to Takayama, arriving at 5:14pm. Is there a bus for any of this route?

Thanks again!