emerveille

My boyfriend and I are going to Japan in early October. We will be arriving in Tokyo and going to Kyoto five days later. We will then return back to Tokyo after 3 days. We'll likely take a day trip to Hakone while in Tokyo.

Given this itinerary - is buying a JR Pass worth it? I'm not sure since our only big trip will be roundtrip from Tokyo to Kyoto. It also seems that we could buy the Hakone Free Pass to travel there? (rather than having to buy a JR Pass?) If we were taking other day trips, it seems like the pass would be more worth it?

Any advice would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance!

DonTopaz

You would probably be better off with the special pass that offers a round-trip ticket between Tokyo and Kyoto (or Osaka) on the Nozomi train for 21,000Y (http://www.japanican.com/tours/tourd...mm%2fdd%2fyyyy), rather than the JR Pass (28,300Y, reserved seat, but does not permit travel on Nozomi).

If you do go to Hakone, you can either take the non-JR Romance Car train from Shinjuku, or the JR train to Odawara for about 7,000Y.

emerveille

Thank you DonTopaz!

Someone just told me that you can also use the JR Pass on some subway/trains in Tokyo? (which makes it more "worth it"). Do you know if that's true and if so, does that make it more worthwhile of a purchase?

mrwunrfl

It would only apply to JR trains and not to the subway or other rail companies in Tokyo. You might not use JR in Tokyo, or not much, or maybe several times, but the fares are minimal. Tokyo to Shinjuku is 190 JPY, for example, on JR Chuo Line.

If you used a JR Pass to get to Hakone you would take JR to Odawara. From there, you would still have to pay 3900 JPY for a 2-day HFP. Your cost would be 28,300 + 3900 = 32,100 JPY for JR Pass + HFP. For your Kyoto travel you would be limited to using the less frequent Hikari shinkansen.

The pass for 5000 JPY includes roundrip Tokyo area - Hakone. The fare from Shinjuku to Odawara on Odakyu Rail is 850 JPY. You would pay an extra 870 each way to use the Romance Car to Odakyu Hakone-Yumoto station.

The regular fare with reserved seats on the more frequent Nozomi shinkansen for Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo is about 27,000 JPY. Add the HFP for a cost of 32,000. You could add to that the cost of any use of JR trains in Tokyo.

A trip from Tokyo to Kamakura is 870 JPY each way. If you compare the JR Pass vs regular shinkansen fare - and you want to make this trip - then the JR Pass wins.

But, using the deal that DonTopaz recommends your cost would be 26,000 JPY. That deal clearly wins even if you add a trip to Kamakura.

If you are considering other side trips (Tokyo-Nikko, or a day trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto) then the math changes in favor of the JR Pass. That is, the JR Pass keeps your options open for additional side-trps at no additonal cost.

But, as you described your plan - Kyoto, Hakone, bopping around Tokyo - then I would not get the JR Pass.

mrwunrfl

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html