I am trying to help a friend, who is planning a trip for her family of four to Japan in June; she has not used this forum (or been out of the U.S.) before. They will be staying in Tokyo with a relative, who suggested that they purchase train passes for travel around the country. I have traveled in Europe and am familiar with various European websites, but not with Japanese ones. Can anyone direct us to sites for Japanese train system and travel passes, as well as general English-language sites for info on travel in Japan? Many thanks!

Hi Lynne, <BR> <BR>Practical informations about travelling in Japan can be found on <BR>www.jnto.go.jp (Japan National Tourism Organisation) <BR>www.jinjapan.org (Japan info from the Interior Ministry) <BR> <BR>You'll also find lots of informations, ideas and opinions by searching this forum under Japan. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Two books for ideas on what to see/do: <BR> <BR>Eyewitness guide "Japan" <BR> <BR>"Tokyo for Free"

Just got back from Kyoto - Definitely buy a JR rail pass from here. Costs around $260 and will give you access to all JR system ground transportation including the SHinkasen (bullet trains).<BR>Easy to convert the voucher to a pass at Narita.<BR>Check out LoneyPlanet.com for info. Also <BR>buy the book.<BR><BR>Have fun - Careful of the Blowfish !!

Buy the JR passes from a travel agent in your home country before leaving for Japan and you will save heaps of money on train travel.(Can't remember the cost of the pass but it REALLY saved me lots of money )<BR><BR>I bought a 9 day pass that allowed me unlimited travel on the Shinkansen from Tokyo - Hiroshima -Nagoya- Takayama (village in the mountains) -Sendai - Hokkaido - Tokyo. And I was also able to use the pass for train travel in Tokyo itself.<BR><BR>Validate the pass at the office at the basement of Narita Airport where you will board the train for travel in to Tokyo city.<BR><BR>Enjoy your stay in Japan.

We too used the JR pass - it is I believe the only travel bargain in Japan. The only drawback is that is not valid for the "Nozomi" Shinkansen - the latest &amp; fastest of the trains.

There are other ways of saving on train fares, like reduced-fares return tickets between the main cities, linked to a stay of minimum 7 days in the city of destination. You can buy them on the day of departure at the travel information counter of the main stations. <BR>

serena's reply was just like my thoughts. Other thing I can recommend is don't but the green (first) class passes. We've had both and there is really not enough difference between the cars to warrant the extra price. We had a 14 day pass and on our last 3 days in Tokyo, we were able to ride everywhere on the trains for free, rather than shelling out for subways. Another bargain in Kyoto and other cities, are the one day bus and train passes. they're usually sold by snack/magazine venders in the train stations. For the price of 2 or so bus rides you can ride all day in kyoto.

I can also recommend a great place to visit with a family in June- Takayama. It is up in the mountains, so much cooler. You take a train up from Nagoya..I skipped it on two earlier trips thinking it was too far off the main path, but as really glad we went.it is a nice town, with lots to see.. several streets of preserved,(and still in use)merchant houses, very nice crafts, Hida folklore farm village with old farmhouses that have been set up there, lots of temples and museums, and a museum where they store their festival floats. We rented bicycles and cruised all over with our 2 teens. a group of kids from our school also visited there and all agreed it was the most interesting place they went.