Nate_77

Hi I am hoping you can help me.
I was wondering how much a JR Pass would be ? I am flying into NRT and staying in tokyo for 6nights and then plan to travel by train to kyoto ? Is JR pass different to catching the bullet train ? How long is the journey between Tokyo and Kyoto ? My problem is, my flights are really expensive because I am flying out of Kansai I am wondering how long the journey would be from Kyoto to NRT Airport and how much additional I would have to pay? I hope someone can help!
Many thanks

KimJapan

The open jaw into Narita and out of Kansai shouldn't cost you anything more. If it is, check into other fares, travel agents, agents.

The JR pass price is about the same as a round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo - one way about 2 1/2 hours and +/- 13,000 yen.

http://www.japanrailpass.net/ will tell you all about the pass.

http://www.hyperdia.com/ then click on English - it will give you the route, time and price of trains.

mrwunrfl

KimJapan is right about looking elsewhere for the ticket. I bet that it would cost LESS to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka Kansai than a roundtrip to Tokyo. What are you travel dates and city?

If you don't return to Tokyo then you would not need a JR Pass. Kyoto to Narita Airport is about 4 hours. Kyoto to Kansai airport is 1 hr 16 min.

Nate_77

I am flying into tokyo for 6nights from 13th May 05. We probably take a taxi from NRT to the hotel. Based on others threads I would like to visit mt fuji whilst based in tokyo. I then intend to take the bullet to kyoto where i will stay for 4nights and intend to visit osaka and possibly other surrounding areas. Fly out from Kansai (again taxi) as travel agent said it would be cheaper then taking train back to tokyo. I have been quote a price for the bullet between tokyo --> kyoto as £50 per person which is cheaper than the website estimate provided by KimJapan. Not sure whether to purchase from here before i leave or whether it would be cheaper to purchase a 7 JR pass whilst out there as i would be traveling around plus i would need to purchase metro ticket for tokyo city. Very confused. Please help!!!! many thanks for your responses.

Florence

Bonjour Nate,

Don't take a taxi from NRT to your hotel in Tokyo, the train, whatever the line (JR to Tokyo or Shinjuku or Keisei to Ueno) is much more convenient and cheaper (Yen 2000-3000 against Yen 20'000 taxi).

The usual shinkansen fare Tokyo-Kyoto is Yen 13'000 so your estimate is right.

On the way back, you will certainly be better off with the train between Kyoto to Kansai airport than with a taxi.

A 7 day railpass (buy the voucher at home, exchange it in Japan against the actual pass) may be worth it since you could activate it some days inside your stay in Tokyo so that it covers the last 7 days of your stay, and therefore part of transportation inside Tokyo (JR Yamanote/circle and Chuo/transverse lines, for example), daytrips to Mt Fuji and others, shinkansen to Kyoto, side trips from Kyoto (Nara, Osaka, ...), and train ride to Kansai airport.

emd

NAte: If you get the JR pass and don't activate it at Narita right away, then you may want to see if the limosine bus goes from Narita to your hotel. We will have 14 day JR passes that we coudl use for the Narita Express train from Narita to the hotel in Tokyo, but I am opting to pay $30 apiece for uis to take the limo bus straight to the hotel so that we don't have to deal w/our luggage whe we woudl have to change train lines at Tokyo station on the Narita Express...just an option.

mrwunrfl

Something doesn't make sense. First you says you are flying on an open-jaw ticket that is "really expensive" because you are flying into Tokyo and out of Kansai. Then you say you are flying out of Kansai because "it would be cheaper than taking train back to tokyo".

Nate_77

According to my travel agent (yesterday)it is £70 cheaper to fly back from NRT but I would need get the train from Kyoto to NRT. She is offering me travel via bullet to kyoto for £50pperson. If I refused the ticket & bought a 7 day JR pass I guess it would be cheaper & the pass would cover me to all destinations except the metro. However flying out from tokyo would add 4hr train plus 2-3departure time thats 7hrs to get to the airport. time which i thought could be spent in kyoto. However from your reponses i guess i should refuse the train ticket from my travel agent and purchase a rail pass whilst out in japan this would cover all my journey's to mt fuji, kyoto, osaka and various other places and would prove cheaper overall. Is this right ? Where can I purchase the JR Pass from here ? I live in the UK. Would my travel agent supply me with one ? Thanks you all for such great help.

mrwunrfl

Ok, 70 GBP is about 14,000 yen. When you said the airfare was "really expensive" I thought you meant double, as in 2 one-ways (60,000 yen or more).

Did your TA say what kind of shinkansen it was (Kodama, Hikari, Nozomi)? The ticket price in yen is about 10,000 and is very good. I would get that ticket and forget the JR Pass. Might get a 3-day or 4-day Kansai Area Pass from JR when I got to Kyoto, but you should do this only if you understand the restrictions.

mrwunrfl

You really need to read up on the Japan Rail Passes.

Go here:
http://www.japanrail.com/railpasses.php
and follow the links for JAPAN RAIL PASS and JR WEST RAIL PASS.

Or follow the link that Kim gave you.

mrwunrfl

OTOH, a JR Pass could make sense. The only reason I didn't agree with Florence before was because the OP was not clear on his itinerary.

Basically, if you used a JR Pass you would have to take a few rides on JR lines in Tokyo, use it to get to Odawara on JR (preferrably on the shinkansen and preferrably with return to Tokyo), take the shinkansen to Kyoto, take a day trip to Nara, take the shinkansen to Himeji, and take the limited express train to Kansai. And get reserved seats when possible. Then you might break even, but most likely it would cost about 4000 yen more using the pass, which might be worth it for the simple convenience of the pass versus buying individual tickets.

Nate_77

Thanks guys. Your advice has really helped me out. Was confused but now alot more clearer. Thanks to everyone for their tips!