Bit Of Help

[Markc1981]

OK..I'm a forum newbie...

Flying to Osaka in July for a month,then traveling up to Tokyo for another month.
Not sure if to base myself in Osaka or Kyoto..and I will get a rail pass for my 1st month..but is it work getting another 7dayer one for traveling to Tokyo?

Any other advice very welcome

Thanks in advance

Mark

[samurai007]

If you're just staying in the Osaka/Kansai area for the 1st month, don't get a JR Rail Pass for that time, it's a complete waste of money.

[Markc1981]

I was looking to use Osaka as base..then travel around the area as much as poss..would it be worth it then? But i can use the pass to get from Osaka to Tokyo?

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Markc1981

I was looking to use Osaka as base..then travel around the area as much as poss..would it be worth it then? But i can use the pass to get from Osaka to Tokyo?

You will need the pass if you plan on going outside of Osaka, like Kobe, himeji, Kyoto etc. It cost quite a bit to travel to those areas.

You definitely need it to travel to Tokyo, one way would have cost you about 90-150 USD already otherwise

[burkhartdesu]

I think the pass would be more helpful for the first half of the trip, but its always possible to have it active 2 weeks into your trip, that way you get to use it in both Osaka and Tokyo- but tickets are expensive... Hopefully you're bringing alot of extra travel money, just in case.

When I went I had the 21 day pass, and I used it alot- it's a helpful tool...

Two months? July? Sounds familiar! Bring a washcloth to wipe the sweat off yourself... the damn country is a sauna in July.

[Markc1981]

any other advice from someone spending 2 months in Japan?!

[burkhartdesu]

Stay at a Hostel and save yourself a lot of money

Get a coin purse (Ahaha, even if you're a guy)

[MMM]

Don't go to Japan to save money.

A month is a long time, so I imagine you will want to travel around to Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji, etc. All of these places are relatively close to Osaka, so aren't very expensive to get to. The pass certainly is convenient, but unless you are going to be using the bullet trains, I am not sure it is actually that good a deal.

[samurai007]

Look, do some math with me. An ordinary 21 day pass is 57,700 yen. 21 days is the longest term they sell, so if you wanted another 14 day pass for the rest of your trip, add 45,100 yen to the cost, for a total of 102,800 yen. That breaks down to an average of 2,937 yen per day on the passes. At 91 yen = $1, that means $32.28 each and every day, or a total of nearly $1,130 just for the train passes.

Trust me, staying in the Kansai area and seeing the sights around there will NOT cost you that much every day. You can generally figure about $10-12 per hour of riding the train, though that can vary somewhat (more for express trains, etc). But as a rough guide, do you plan to spend a minimum of 3 hours a day, each and every day, riding the trains? Kyoto is about 45 minutes from Osaka by train. Nara is less than an hour too, I believe. Koya-san is 90 minutes, but uses a non-JR line and so the pass wouldn't be valid anyway. Himeji has a Shin-kaisoku express train that makes the trip in 1 hour for 1,450 yen, which means paying for a round trip to Himeji and back on an express train is still cheaper than a day on the JR rail pass!

Unless you are leaving the Kansai area or taking the bullet train, don't waste your money on the JR pass. While you may come close to breaking even compared to buying tickets on a few days, many other days you'll spend walking around a city seeing temples and sights and hardly use the train at all, but you're still paying for that day with the JR pass.

JAPAN RAIL PASS types and prises
Himeji travel guide - Wikitravel

[samokan]

you'll be staying in Osaka for a month? if the 18kippu is available I would suggest to get that instead..