kathy

My husband and I will be in Japan for 11 days and we can't decide whether to get the 1 or 2 week JR pass. I've been trying to figure out how much train costs are to compare them to the pass, but I'm a bit confused. <BR><BR>Our itinerary is <BR>Tokyo for three nights<BR>Kyoto for four nights<BR>Takayama or Hakone for 2 nights<BR>back to Tokyo for one night <BR><BR>Since we'll be doing more of the train travel during the latter half of our stay, we thought we should use the JR pass for the last seven days. If we do that, then would we still validate the pass at Narita when we first arrive? Or is their a place in Tokyo (near Asukasa where we'll be staying) to validate it on the 4th day of our trip? Also, if we only get the 7 day pass, then trips to and from Narita will have to be paid for separately. Are we better off getting the 2 week JR pass--it does seem to be quite expensive.<BR><BR>Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.<BR><BR>

nori

I heard there is something called JR Flexi Pass that you can use only on chosen days. This may actually be more useful than normal JR Pass. Maybe worth<BR>cheking out.

karen

It would cost you around 3000 Yen for a single trip from Narita to Tokyo.<BR><BR>You could still validate your pass at Narita and chose the first date you want to start the pass. And you could also make your reservations at the same time if you know your itinerary already.

Florence

Bonjour Kathy,<BR><BR>Go for the 7 days railpass for the last part of your stay. The voucher has plans showing where you can activate the pass in downtown Tokyo (Tokyo, Ueno, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro stations, in addition to Narita). You can also do it directly at the airport, specifying the day you want it started, but there are usually long lines there and I always prefer doing it in Ueno.<BR><BR>The best way to Asakusa from Narita is through the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno (Yen 1920), then Ginza subway line (3 stops - yen 160) or the double-decker bus from Ueno station to Asakusa.

Kathy

THank you everyone for your responses. I am beginning to feel a bit better about navigating the JR schedules, etc. <BR><BR>Thanks again!<BR>