Planning First Trip to Japan

To be able to tell if you need a JR Pass we need to know your itinerary or at least a part of one and for the how many days.

Aloha!

The JR rain pass for 7 days is around Yen 2,900 for 7 days from memory. The RAIL PASS does not let you use the NOZOMI but, the HIKARI and KODOMA . Here is a link to the JR site that may help you.
I lived in Japan from 1993 to 1997 and covered most of the place with the exception of KYUSHU. Only went to HAKATA and the north part of KYUSHU.
Will you be travelling to Kagoshima and living there, or just for holiday ?
The rail pass can save you lots of $$ if you plan to travel all over Japan, but, if you are onl travelling Tokyo to Hakata then Kagoshima, I think it would be better just to get a regular train ticket.

http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/index.html

This years price for the Japan Rail Pass is 28,300 yen for a 7 day 2nd class not 2,900 yen. There are other ways to get where you are going which is why we need the itinerary to know what to suggest.

First off, thank you guys so much for helping!

Since I will be staying with my aunt, I won't have to worry about room and board fees (although we will be compensating her out of thanks). The plan is for me to stay the whole month of June 2011, or at least the majority of it. I do not think we will be travelling around much, because my aunt has two young children and her husband works often. She's also a substitute-like teacher in her area as well. So (as of now) we do not plan on leaving the Kagoshima area.

Also, would it be easier to just get a regular train ticket or just fly from Tokyo to Kagoshima?

Thank you again for your help!!

Flying would be your fastest and probably the cheapest option. You can check into the discounted tickets for air travel by foreign visitors given by various airlines. For example, if you fly into and out of Japan on a Star Alliance airlines you can get a one way domestic air ticket for 11,000 yen. See here for more details:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

I'm sure your aunt will show you around Kagoshima but you can explore the town easily by yourself when they are working. Kagoshima is a small town and the bus/tram/train services can get you to where you want to go without much hassle. There is a huge covered shopping dori(street) in the middle of town that you can explore for a while. The weather in June will be hot and tropical so be ready for it. Have you seen this site yet?

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4600.html

Aloha!

Kagoshima is such a beautiful, laid back town. There's a lot of local trains around the area that can get to to nearby attractions. I am sure your aunt will take you to the hot springs at Furusato Kanko in Sakurajima. This is one of my favorite places on earth.

If you do not plan on traveling much on your own, I would try and fly from Tokyo to Kagoshima.

One caveat - most international flights use Narita airport while many internal flights use Haneda airport. Transfer between the two can be time consuming so if you choose to fly, be aware of the need to transfer.

If you are flying on the oneworld alliance, you can get yokoso japan fares for $100 or so per person. I believe a similar plan exists elsewhere.

hi people, sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm planning to go to Japan too, probably in May. Can I just ask, we plan to go for 7 days, mainly to Tokyo and Osaka. We are thinking of dropping by Kyoto as well. Would it be worth it to be the JR rail pass? since it is abit pricey. Thanks!

If you go to hyperdia.com/en, you should be able to price your itinerary.

I think a one week pass might be worth it if you are going to Tokyo and Kyoto and back to Tokyo, especially if you are doing a true 7 days (e.g. Sun to Sat).

For example, to and from the Narita airport costs beteen 18-36 dollars depending on which train you take - if you use the JR pass both ways, that is $72.

Tokyo to Kyoto, normal shinkansen this month appears to be around $80 pp; hyperdia wouldn't let me check March
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=TOKYO&arv_node=KYOTO&via_node01=&via_node02=&via_node03=&year=2010&month=03&day=06&hour=09&minute=20&search_type=0&search_way=&transtime=undefined&sort=0&max_route=5&airplane=off&ship=off&sprnozomi=off&walk=off&privately=off&lmlimit=null&search_target=route&facility=reserved&sum_target=7

Kyoto Osaka = $30
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=KYOTO&arv_node=OSAKA&via_node01=&via_node02=&via_node03=&year=2010&month=03&day=06&hour=09&minute=23&search_type=0&search_way=&transtime=undefined&sort=0&max_route=5&ship=off&lmlimit=null&search_target=route&facility=reserved&sum_target=7

Osaka back to Tokyo $137
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=OSAKA&arv_node=TOKYO&via_node01=&via_node02=&via_node03=&year=2010&month=03&day=06&hour=09&minute=25&search_type=0&search_way=&transtime=undefined&sort=0&max_route=5&airplane=off&ship=off&sprnozomi=off&bus=off&walk=off&lmlimit=null&search_target=route&facility=reserved&sum_target=7

So, if you are staying 7 days only, use the JR pass (28300 yen), and go Narita-Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Tokyo-Narita, then you will save a bit (36+80+30+137+36)

HOWEVER< you can get back and forth from Tokyo and the airport by buying the N'Ex Suica combo pass for 3500 yen s that gets you a one-way tkt + 1500yen to use on the Tokyo subway.

So the answer is - maybe. The JR pass is really cool and convenient though. You can use it on the Yamanote line subway in Tokyo - we did the first time and had no issues.

Notived when I tried the links I posted that you just get the hyperdia site. To get an idea of what you save, de-select airplane and nozomi options when you search.

user* you are reading hyperdia incorrectly. The fare for Tokyo->Kyoto is indeed about $80 - 7980 JPY, but a passenger also has to pay what hyperdia calls a "seat fee". The unreserved seat fee of 4730 yen is actually a "limited express surcharge" that is required to be paid.

That means that to take a Hikari shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto costs 12,710 yen. A seat reservation would cost 500 yen. There is an additional charge of 300 yen for taking a Nozomi shinkansen.

It might be possible to pay $30 for travel between Kyoto and Osaka but it is not necessary to take a limited express train (26 minutes, fare 540 plus surcharge 630 for a total of 1170 yen) or a shinkansen. There are local trains that do the trip without a surcharge (29 to 40 minutes for 540 yen).

deryck002, if you are going from Narita to Tokyo (3000 yen on JR Narita Express) Tokyo to Kyoto 12,700 yen, Kyoto-Osaka-Kyoto 1000 yen, Kyoto to Tokyo 12,700 yen, Tokyo to Narita Airport 3,000 yen, then if your addition is good then you will see that the 7-day JR Pass is a good deal for you (it includes free reserved seats).

PrincessxShawn, you should fly, per ht's first link.