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Should I get a JR rail pass for my trip?
chocolove
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Registered User regular
So here's the situation, I am going on a 10 day trip to Japan in about three weeks and the last major logistical decision I have to make is whether to purchase a JR rail pass or not.
The basic outline of my trip is: fly into Osaka, stay for a couple of days and then take the bullet train to Tokyo where I will spend another week. Checking online, a one way ticket on the bullet train costs about $170-180 vs $~$360 for the 7 day JR rail pass.
So my questions are a) Will miscellaneous public transportation travel in Osaka/Tokyo be expensive without the JR pass? My thinking is that it can't be more than $10/day so even over ten days, that's only ~$100 for transport. b) I also wanted to ask, is 7 days in Tokyo excessive? I know that even though the JR pass might end up being a bit more expensive than buying tickets "a la carte", but the beauty of having it means that if I do get bored I can easily hop on a train to do a day trip somewhere. I think that I could easily fill a week in Tokyo and not get bored but I would love to hear from other people with experience.
The basic outline of my trip is: fly into Osaka, stay for a couple of days and then take the bullet train to Tokyo where I will spend another week. Checking online, a one way ticket on the bullet train costs about $170-180 vs $~$360 for the 7 day JR rail pass.
So my questions are a) Will miscellaneous public transportation travel in Osaka/Tokyo be expensive without the JR pass? My thinking is that it can't be more than $10/day so even over ten days, that's only ~$100 for transport. b) I also wanted to ask, is 7 days in Tokyo excessive? I know that even though the JR pass might end up being a bit more expensive than buying tickets "a la carte", but the beauty of having it means that if I do get bored I can easily hop on a train to do a day trip somewhere. I think that I could easily fill a week in Tokyo and not get bored but I would love to hear from other people with experience.
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A week in Tokyo isn't overkill. It's a huge cities with tons of subcultures to explore.
The flexibility and savings you'll get from the rail pass will more than pay for it.
Get it, use it, love it.
and take a day trip and go to Himeji the castle is in view from the train station and its a beautiful trip too.
Yeah, this is what I was most worried about, being completely off on my transportation estimations. I think getting the pass is the smart move to make.
Thanks for the input everyone!
but you should get it anyway, because it's amazing to just be able to walk onto a bullet train
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Well.. you still have to get your ticket from the counter, it just doesnt cost you anything. (unless that changed since 2008)
When I was in Japan in 2004, the Rail Pass could be used on the Yamanote line. Assuming that's still the case, the Rail Pass will get the OP pretty much anywhere he needs to go during a 10 day trip.
It covers every metropolitan train that Japan Rail (the company) runs, including everything in Tokyo. All the subways that are run by private companies aren't covered by it, however.
Aside from that there is just a couple of bullet trains that the pass doesn't cover, but they aren't massively important (just faster ones), and they wont affect the OP anyway.
I didn't stick around in Osaka (went back to Kyoto instead to spend more time, I'd recommend checking that city out since it's close), but yeah the JR pass would help you in Tokyo but you're still going to be paying for subway tickets.
The JR pass was awesome for taking the Shinkansen when you felt like a change in city. For example on my 2 week trip I wasn't planning on going to Hiroshima, but decided to go during the trip because I had the JR pass and was glad I did for the experience.
On the other hand if you want to see some more historical Japan stuff then a trip to Kyoto is really, really worth it.
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Save your money.
I'll say it again (since it seems to have been lost on ya) - if the OP is staying WITHIN Osaka and Tokyo (and with only 10 days that is easily possible), a JR pass is largely useless, and they should save their money.
i was just gonna come here and say i was in japan for 12 days, flew into osaka, trained to kyoto, went around kyoto including trips to nara etc... went to tokyo, and also went around tokyo (including hostel in asakusa for 2 nights) and to yokohama where my friend was staying
and i did not buy a rail pass, but i would have if i had to make a round trip back to fly out of osaka (i flew out of tokyo)
Khaosan Tokyo? I stayed there on two trips. It's not at all expensive (or long) to get to Shinjuku or Shibuya from there (on subway - JR will be pointless for those excursions) or really any hostel in Asakusa. Since you have the pass, might want to take a quick side trip to Hakone, if only to walk the highway that has a nice view of Mt. Fuji. There is also a great shabu-shabu restaurant there, I forget the name, but perhaps they will still have coupons for it.
Also, depending on what kind of stuff you're into Tokyo for 7 days could be a lot. Tokyo is great if you're into fashion and kind of metropolitan type stuff but if you're not REALLY going to get into the nitty gritty of it or try to meet up with people and go on adventures in Shinjuku's red light district I'd say head for Kyoto or Osaka. There's a lot more to see there for sure.
Not sure what there is to say other than that should be fine.
Agreed. Should be fine (safe, etc.).
You may already be familiar with japan-guide, but here is a link to the site you ought to consult regarding your questions: Japan-guide.com. The Forum and Questions pages were of great resource for me; just enter your question/subject in the search box and you'll find most all (if not all) the information you're looking for. The answers are straightforward and, honestly, everything that I sought advice for turned out to be spot-on regarding the outcome. I'd say you can't go wrong with the information provided there.
RE that locker of yours: Go to Japan-Guide, Questions, and type "lockers, train stations" into the search box. Good place to start.
I quite enjoyed my visit to Japan. I bet you'll enjoy yours. Happy planning!
me all day, and would be passing back through that station later.