I'm weighing the idea of getting a two-week rail pass for an upcoming trip. I'm starting out in Fukuoka and working my way back up to Tokyo over the course of a week. I'm riding Fukuoka-Hiroshima, Hiroshima-Osaka, daytrips to Kobe and Kyoto while staying there, Osaka-Tokyo and Tokyo-area daytrips. My options:
-Buy a one week pass, activate it before leaving Fukuoka, bite the bullet on the Tokyo daytrip fares.
-Buy a two week pass and go to town
-Suck it up, because I won't get enough use out of either?
giblet
Apr 4, 10, 9:34 pm
I haven't done the math for your particular situation, but generally the JR pass is really good value for the long trips. For the Tokyo daytrips, it's probably not.
Depending on where you are staying many of the train trips you take will not even be on JR lines. And the short trips probably aren't going to cost you more than $35/day, which is how much the 14 day pass costs.
What I did was get a pass for the time I was outside of Tokyo, and it was really good value. You can get a Passmo card for the time you are in Tokyo (rather than buying tickets one by one) and that also saves money.
msb0b
Apr 4, 10, 10:09 pm
The Fukuoka-Hiroshima-Osaka-Tokyo Shinkansen fares add up to 33450 yen. If the 7 day pass covers is, then it's great. The Osaka day trips to Kobe and Kyoto can cost as little as 500 yen each way on the special rapid trains or 3000 yen each way on the Shinkansen.
Generally rail pass is not worth it on daytrips unless you are taking Shinkansen or limited express trains. Get a Suica or Pasmo and which you can use on JR, subways and private rail lines.
ksandness
Apr 5, 10, 12:25 am
I once bought a three-week rail pass with the intention of staying in Tokyo and making a lot of day trips. Unfortunately, the weather was unseasonably cold and rainy, and I hardly felt like getting out of bed in the morning, much less catching an 7AM Shinkansen.
When I added up the single-ticket fares for the trips I had taken, I realized that the rail pass cost about $100 more than the fares for the trips I had actually taken.
However, if you are adding on a journey from Fukuoka and plan to take fairly long journeys out of Osaka and Kyoto, the rail pass might be worth it. It certainly is convenient for inter-city travel, but as people upthread have noted, a Suica or Pasmo card is a much better option for travel within Tokyo, where the subways cover ore territory and are faster than the JR trains.
RichardInSF
Apr 5, 10, 1:16 am
Note that there is a Y730 daily ticket that is good for one day of unlimited rides on JR in Tokyo (as well as out a few stops past the Yamanote line loop). You can buy this from any ticket machine in the Tokyo area (in English, it's called "Tokunai Free"). You cannot swipe your Suica card and get the same effect as there is no daily upper limit for charges on a Suica card.
ChrisLi
Apr 5, 10, 2:06 am
I'm weighing the idea of getting a two-week rail pass for an upcoming trip. I'm starting out in Fukuoka and working my way back up to Tokyo over the course of a week. I'm riding Fukuoka-Hiroshima, Hiroshima-Osaka, daytrips to Kobe and Kyoto while staying there, Osaka-Tokyo and Tokyo-area daytrips. My options:
-Buy a one week pass, activate it before leaving Fukuoka, bite the bullet on the Tokyo daytrip fares.
-Buy a two week pass and go to town
-Suck it up, because I won't get enough use out of either?
It sounds to me that you are leaving Osaka beyond the 7th days of enabling the rail pass, but the next level will be at 45K yen which you don't travel enough for that, even considering the Narita access
My recommendation goes to Sanyo Pass x 1 (20K yen for 4 days)
Day 1 : Fukuoka == ==> Hiroshima
Day 2 / 3: Hiroshima == Late Departure ==> Osaka
Day 3 / 4: Osaka > Kobe > Osaka
For your Kyoto / Kansai Day Trips (if more than 1 day) consider Kansai Thru Pass which provides your access to basically everything besides JR, which is good as Kyoto you mostly stuck with Kyoto Bus (200 yen per trip or 500 yen per day, incl. in pass), while for the Osaka - Kyoto travel you do it on Hankyu but not JR (which depends on where you stay, it may be even more convenient)
Kansai thru pass info can be found http://www.surutto.com/conts/ticket/3dayeng/index.html
For the Osaka - Tokyo Run you likely to get it on seperate ticket, or consider doing Star Alliance Japan Airpass product for 1 segment ITM - HND flight, which should save you about 2000 yen and earn miles at your account
Also as other say it makes perfect sense to use PASMO / SUICA , combining day-passes for pan-Tokyo travel.
kaka
Apr 7, 10, 9:26 am
just got back to HK, and what ChrisLi said was exactly waht i did (almost).
in a nutshell, redemption (OW on JL/KA) HKG-HND-ITM//KIX-xTPE-HKG, well use of the Red eye and stand-by on J-class for 1000 Yen (thanks JALPak for that). I even managed to get in Namba before my fd, who arrived KIX almost an hour before I got to ITM.
Kansai Thru Pass is good for Osaka and Kyoto's Subway, and plenty of buses around. We went to Koyasan as well. (Our 3rd day of the pass wasn't well utilized in Kyoto since we got ourselves into a bad hangover from here (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298564-d1128059-r33567109-Grill_Miyata-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) :P) Although technically we could use it better by going to Osaka with it to catch the Shinkansen using the Sanyo Pass (you CAN'T get it/activate it at Kyoto. Don't even think about it. We coughed up 620 yen) but were too lazy to do so.
Sanyo West Pass. Nozomi Trains are a blist! Wouldnt have mind Hiraki but there's only 1/hr from Hiroshima to Osaka. Didnt try Kodama but they stop at every stop. On our return to Osaka from Hiroshima my fd has the full JR pass (he's staying behind) so it was a bit hard to schedule for a Hiraki. Was ok but less convinient than Nozomi with a Sanyo Pass.
Just to point out again, ITM-HND isnt that bad at all! I was in Namba within 45 mins of getting off the plane in ITM. I remember HND-Tokyo (Shinbashi Station) cant take more than 45 mins as well). You only need to be at the airport 20 mins before with luggage!
It sounds to me that you are leaving Osaka beyond the 7th days of enabling the rail pass, but the next level will be at 45K yen which you don't travel enough for that, even considering the Narita access
My recommendation goes to Sanyo Pass x 1 (20K yen for 4 days)
Day 1 : Fukuoka == ==> Hiroshima
Day 2 / 3: Hiroshima == Late Departure ==> Osaka
Day 3 / 4: Osaka > Kobe > Osaka
For your Kyoto / Kansai Day Trips (if more than 1 day) consider Kansai Thru Pass which provides your access to basically everything besides JR, which is good as Kyoto you mostly stuck with Kyoto Bus (200 yen per trip or 500 yen per day, incl. in pass), while for the Osaka - Kyoto travel you do it on Hankyu but not JR (which depends on where you stay, it may be even more convenient)
Kansai thru pass info can be found http://www.surutto.com/conts/ticket/3dayeng/index.html
For the Osaka - Tokyo Run you likely to get it on seperate ticket, or consider doing Star Alliance Japan Airpass product for 1 segment ITM - HND flight, which should save you about 2000 yen and earn miles at your account
Also as other say it makes perfect sense to use PASMO / SUICA , combining day-passes for pan-Tokyo travel.