Japan Rail Pass psychosis
 

Visiting Japan at end of September for first time . A few days in Tokyo and then we are going to
"wing it" with towns in/around Osaka and Kyoto. So very many pass options making me crazy !
JR pass or regional passes ? Also any suggestions for towns in these areas welcome. Mother and 27 yo daughter traveling. We are approx 10 days total in Japan. We are both seasoned travelers but this pass business has the best of me . Thanks people !

First you decide on your itinerary.

Then you go to hyperdia and price the train trips, making sure to include the seat fee.

Then you compare the cost of a pass to the cost of individual tickets.

Or, if you are only traveling for seven days, especially if you are traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto twice you just give up and buy a JR Pass.

I have never found a full JR Pass cost effective, although I have used a regional pass, but I travel quite slowly.

I am not sure that winging it in Kyoto is a good idea, have you checked for available rooms?

It is not a hard question at all. You need to give your whole itinerary if you want more concise help.
So you're going from Tokyo to Kansai. Are you returning to Tokyo?

A one way itinerary like you suggest does not make a 7 day JR pass pay off. Neither does a round trip, actually, but using the Narita Express just once would at least let you break even with a round trip. You'd need a significant side trip, like Kansai to Hiroshima, to break even on a one way itinerary from Tokyo to Kansai.

If just going Tokyo to Kansai for a week's round trip, then the japanican tickets are a much better deal than the 7 day pass.
http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJOPENTK1/
http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJOPENTO1/

I suggest you do more research - not only on transport, but where you are going. Unless you are going to be a frequent Japan traveler, it would be quite unfortunate if you just "wing it" and then discover later that there was a place you would have preferred to go to, if only you had known.

A simple calculator can help you decide what rail pass, if any, suits you:
http://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/
And a good list of most rail passes is at:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

I enjoyed Kurashiki, Myajima, Hiroshima Peace Park, Takayama.I don't think winging it makes much sense when you've got ten days, and with so little time, I would definitely want 3-4 nights with hotel reservations in Kyoto. You probably want something affordable and you definitely want a good location- Kyoto is so popular that I wouldn't risk winging it unless you were very flexible in terms of time or money.

"Around" kyoto and Kyoto - you need to do a lot more research. The train system is so efficient that you could be in a city hundreds of miles a way faster than getting to a small, out of the way place relatively nearby.

It depends on your interests, but I would prioritize Kyoto and skip Osaka. I actually did enjoy Osaka- it stays up late; fun to walk around- but 10 days is so short and there are so many neat places to see.

One of the problems traveling to towns around Kyoto is that sometimes you want JR and sometimes Kintetsu. They both have decent passes but are not interoperable. Alternatively, just buy a SUICA or PASMO (stored value cards) and pay as you go: short rides are not expensive.

Kyoto is so crowded it is a relief to visit other places. I can recommend Uji, Nara, Atsuta (the capitol before Nara), Iga-Ueno (Ninjas, good castle, Basho's home), the temples and towns near Lake Biwa (Ishiyamadera, one of the most beautiful of all temples and where Murasaki is said to have started writing Genji) and, further afield, the Ise shrines and the shrines of the Kumano Kodo. Don't forget Kishi (cat as stationmaster with special train). Nara is quite a good base for visiting many of these.

First you decide on your itinerary. Then come back here and we can help.

But, if you really want to wing it and you are traveling Tokyo- Kyoto- Tokyo in 7 days then you probably should get a 7-day JR Pass. Just be aware that each day of the pass ends at midnight. So, for example, leave Tokyo any time on a Sunday then you would need to use the pass to get back to Tokyo on or before Saturday.

The 7-day pass costs more than just buying tickets for Tokyo- Kyoto- Tokyo, but it covers any inter-city and some regional travel that you might want to do.

The problem though is that travel between Kansai cities just isn't that much. You'd need to exceed ¥2950 in total to break even. As I said, using the N'Ex once would do it. Or a day trip to Himeji would start to pull in some good savings.

But if not, the japanican tickets would save you a lot more, even with paying out of pocket for going between the Kansai cities. Plus you can take the Nozomi with it, saving you even more time.

The real problem is the "wing it" idea, I think. That is, in effect, what costs the ¥2950.

The Nozomi is a good thing to consider. I would not have saved money with the pass because what I did was just buy a ticket in the first and fastest train leaving whenever I got to the station, and half of the time, that was the nozomi.

I don't know, if the pass alone is stressing you out, and not your budget, I'd probably just buy tickets as it suits you. The pass is just one more thing to keep track of.

Didn't seem to me that the Nozomi was enough different to worry about.

>>would not have saved money with the pass because
because the pass didn't fit with the plan for your lengthy stay.

This OP does not have a plan. We don't even know for sure that they are returning to Tokyo.

<<Didn't seem to me that the Nozomi was enough different to worry about.>>

It's 20-25 minutes quicker than the Hikari between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Once you're going west of Osaka, the Sakura trains (usable with a JR pass) are just as fast, or faster, than Nozomi trains.

The two issues most important to the OP, if she decides to look at the help the board is TRYING to give, are (1) is she returning to Tokyo for the flight home or are they into Tokyo and out of somewhere else (like Kansai Int'l); and (2) if into and out of Tokyo, will they venture west of Osaka - like to Himeji or Hiroshima. If yes to (1) and (2), the JR pass will pay off.