JR Pass in function of itinerary

[kojtl1000]

Hello,

At last, our itinerary is as good as final. Now we need to decide what type of Rail pass we need and when we need to activate it.
Our itinerary looks like this:

Friday 15 jul 11: Brussels - Tokyo
Saturday 16 jul 11: Tokyo - Kyoto (Arrive Tokyo 9am -- Travel directly to Kyoto)
Sunday 17 jul 11: Kyoto (Gion Matsuri Parade)
Monday 18 jul 11: Kyoto
Tuesday 19 jul 11: Kyoto (Daytrip Nara)
Wednesday 20 jul 11: Kyoto (Daytrip Osaka)
Thursday 21 jul 11: Kyoto (Visit Hiroshima + Miyajima)
Friday 22 jul 11: Kyoto - Nagoya (Visit Toyota Factory + Sumo game)
Saturday 23 jul 11: Nagoya - Takayama
Sunday 24 jul 11: Takayama (Visit Kamikochi)
Monday 25 jul 11: Takayama - Kanazawa (Visit Shirakawa-go)
Tuesday 26 jul 11: Kanazawa - Toyama (Kurobe Gorge?)
Wednesday 27 jul 11: Toyama - Matsumoto (Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route)
Thursday 28 jul 11: Matsumoto - Tokyo (Castle)
Friday 29 jul 11: Tokyo
Saturday 30 jul 11: Tokyo (Tokyo Disney Sea???)
Sunday 31 jul 11: Tokyo (Fireworks)
Monday 01 aug 11: Tokyo (Daytrip Nikko)
Tuesday 02 aug 11: Tokyo (Daytrip Hakone)
Wednesday 03 aug 11: Tokyo
Thursday 04 aug 11: Tokyo - Brussels

Can you guys tell us if we best buy a week/two weeks/three weeks JR pass and when do we activate it best? Do we buy a single ticket to go from Tokyo to Kyoto and only get the pass for 1 week traveling from Kyoto through the Alps?
PS: the daytrips on our itinerary are not fixed to a specific day. They are just the trips that we want to do. If they need to be moved in function of the JR Pass, this is possible.

Thanks a lot for your advice.

[kojtl1000]

Originally Posted by markostalin

Your iternary is really good

Thanks a lot. We tried to limit the traveling with our luggage to a minimum.

[loveskyliemole]

hi there

はじめまして

I'm Japanese, so I can't use JR Japan Pass so don't know much about it,
but I used Eurail Pass when I went bacpacking in Europe and I tried hard to figure out what the best way to use it, so I guess I understand how you feel

Can you tell me how much the prices for 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks are?

There are also lots of good package deals including accommodation and transport here.
There are coach(long distance bus) services with reasonable prices too.
When I travel, I use coachs and the local trains often cos I enjoy all the sceneries and meeting local people on the way.

Anyway, I hope you have a safe and wonderful trip !

[kojtl1000]

Hi Kylie,

Thanks a lot for the info.
The JR Pass prices are:
- 7-day = 28300 Yen
- 14-day = 45100 Yen
- 21-day = 57700 Yen

[loveskyliemole]

You guys are so lucky!
That's cheap!!! I wish I could get one to travel Japan with Shinkansen!!
If I were you, I would definitely get the 21 days pass!

I guess there are lots of places you would like to visit.

My friends from overseas, they loved "Kamakura" and "Yokohama" very much.
and also Karuizawa (especially girls for shopping:a big outlet mall) and Ueda (Where I travel often:You can see some of the views of Ueda in the anime movie called "Summer Wars")

Well, I guess you already know a lot about Japan, but I'll write some more anyway

July won't be too bad, but it could be very muggy and sticky in many areas in Japan in summer, so in summer I'd like to travel northern part of Japan, and in winter I would go south.


Sorry, I can't come visit this website very often so I might not be very helpful, but feel free to leave any message or questions.

Have a good day

Originally Posted by kojtl1000

Hi Kylie,

Thanks a lot for the info.
The JR Pass prices are:
- 7-day = 28300 Yen
- 14-day = 45100 Yen
- 21-day = 57700 Yen

[kojtl1000]

Thanks a lot for your input, Kylie!

[JohnBraden]

I did a brief tally just by typing in the destinations on Hyperdia | 乗換案内 路線検索 時刻表 ゴルフ場 旅費精算 通勤費なら and including the Tokyo-Kyoto initial trip, you surpass the 21day pass price on your Toyama to Matsumoto leg (60,000yen+).... Granted, some of the trains aren't JR and you would have to pay for them, but not too many. I also haven't included the Matsumoto to Tokyo, the round trip to Nikko (Hakone would use a private railway), which could fetch another 19,260 yen.... For a total of about 80,000+ yen/person....

I took a 7 day pass and I went to Shizuoka, Nagahama, Nikko, and Kyoto from Tokyo as well as using it on the JR lines in Tokyo and for the 28,300yen price, I spent the equivalent of 65,000yen....

If I were you, I'd buy the 21 day pass.... You can purchase it at Narita airport and activate it right away for use on the trip into the city! Be advised that it's good practice to reserve the seats in advance so as to ensure availability. And for the trip to Kyoto from Tokyo, ask for seats on the right side of the train so you can get an unobstructed view of Fujisan (Mt. Fuji). You could ask the JR employees at each station you leave which side of the train has more scenic views. Some of them may be able to tell you.