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JR 7 day pass - is it worth it?

JR 7 day pass - is it worth it?

Old Jan 6, 2013, 6:46 am
  #1  
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JR 7 day pass - is it worth it?

Hello everyone
So my friend and I are going to Japan in March and we were planning on doing the following.
Using the Tokyo subway whilst in Tokyo
Then once we leave Tokyo on 24th March using it to get to Mount Fuji. Then we leave Mount Fuji on the 26th to go to Wakayama/Koyasan. We are only staying here one night, so on the 27th we would be travelling back up to Kyoto. Then on the 29th we are going to Osaka. We will be using the pass to travel about the areas we visit too.
Is it worth getting a 7 day pass, or should we just buy individual bus/train tickets?
To summarise:-
Tokyo --> Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji --> Wakayama
Wakayama --> Kyoto
Kyoto --> Osaka.
Plus travelling around areas whilst we are there.

I have used the hyperdia website, but it doesn't seem to recognise bus trips which is not very useful to us.

Thank you so much in advance

Gemma
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Old Jan 6, 2013, 8:10 am
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Hello, and welcome to Flyertalk, fairylights87

My first question is - why are you going to Mount Fuji?
Which location in the huge area around the mountain are you going to and what do you expect to do there?
Although Fuji San is very famous and well known I don't think of it as a natural tourist destination and certainly not in March, way before climbing season opens.

Also, do you have open jaw tickets (into Japan from Tokyo HND or NRT and out from KIX)?

If you have open jaw tickets then I don't see the point of JR passes. (You can get between Tokyo and Osaka pretty cheaply with http://willerexpress.com/en/ if you want to save on hotel costs you might want to try the luxury overnight option, eg the cocoon seat here: http://willerexpress.com/x/bus/dynam.../bus/index.php )

If you need to return to Tokyo to get a flight back home, then, sure a 7 day pass may very well suit you.
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Old Jan 6, 2013, 8:24 am
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Hi
Thanks for your response. We are going to Mount Fuji, as we thought after a hectic time in Tokyo it would be nice to relax in Japan for a few days and see some of the natural land. We plan to visit Fuji five lakes and take a picnic!
So do you think including travel AROUND Mt Fuji/Kyoto/Osaka/Wakayama....we could still get away with paying for individual trains/buses and it be cheaper?
We already have all our accommodation booked and we are catching the bus back from Osaka to tokyo with Willer Express already!
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Old Jan 6, 2013, 8:27 am
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We also don't have jaw open tickets. We are going to South Korea for a bit from Osaka and then back to Osaka/Kyoto for a few days before we return to Tokyo. It worked out a lot cheaper this way when I was looking!
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Old Jan 6, 2013, 10:36 am
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Fuji is often visible from Tokyo in March. You may enjoy Hakone, which is reachable either by private train from Tokyo-Shinjuku or from the Shinkansen stop at Odawara (only the slower Kodama Shinkansen trains stop at Odawara). The Hakone Free Pass, purchased either at Shinjuku or at Odawara gives you rides through the area on a series of sometimes touristy conveyances, and there are plenty of places to stay.

Going to Koya-san will take you through plenty of countryside. It's the top of a mountain, and you go through a lot of small towns and wooded areas to get there. By the way, the easiest way to reach Koya-san, especially if you don't have a JR Pass, is the train from Osaka's Nankai Namba Station, so I would suggest modifying the order of your trip.
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Old Jan 6, 2013, 11:13 am
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Thank you. Could someboyd please advise me on to get from Kawaguchiko (near mount fuji) to osaka then please?

Thanks
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Old Jan 6, 2013, 11:17 am
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We've heard there is a bus...we don't want to get the train without a JR Pass, so does anybody know this bus?
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Old Jan 7, 2013, 1:43 pm
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Originally Posted by fairylights87
Thank you. Could someboyd please advise me on to get from Kawaguchiko (near mount fuji) to osaka then please?

Thanks
There's an overnight bus. Costs about 8,500yen.
http://transportation.fujikyu.co.jp/...nghere/04.html
Takes 9 hours to Kyoto, 10 hours to Osaka - don't gasp yet, wait for the alternative...

I suspect (but am not sure, I don't read or write Japanese) that this is what the seat would be like on this route http://www.fujikyu.co.jp/syonan/kintaro.html

With your itinerary I would DEFINITELY not recommend the JR Pass.
You shouldn't avoid travelling by train though. The JR pass makes sense if you plan to whip up and down the country within the 7 days. It effectively costs 4,040yen per day so makes sense if your travel costs are this or greater than this sum.

It costs 2,560yen and about 150 minutes to get to Kawaguchiko from Shinjuku, Tokyo by train OR 4,070yen and 140 minutes from Shinagawa.

From Kawaguchiko it's 15,500yen for the 6 and a half hour trip to Osaka - See! Makes that 9 or 10 hour overnight bus option on a reclining seat seem much more sensible!

Travelling AROUND Kawaguchiko by train would be cheap and easy. Roughly 1,000yen or so for every hour spent travelling (it's the high speed express and bullet trains that push up the price per hour as they cover so much more ground, Japanese trains really aren't that expensive when you take out the intercity sprinters from the equation)

An alternative way to explore the country and perhaps see Mt Fuji might be a return trip from Tokyo to Hakone for 5,000yen (includes cable car and gondola and boat rides) http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html and then get a Shinkansen (or overnight bus) to Osaka
13,800 yen and 146 minutes (or 173 minutes if you get the JR pass)
Even this option would give you 4 days to somehow spend 10,000 on rail fares, which would be difficult given your plans for the Kansai area - after all, it's only 1,200yen for the 88 minute train trip from Osaka to Wakayama
And roughly 3,000 yen for a return trip to Koya San on the non JR (I.e. JR pass not valid) Nankai railway.
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Old Jan 7, 2013, 2:03 pm
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A break-even point for a JR pass is to travel round-trip between Tokyo - Osaka(or Kyoto).

You are doing 1-way, so JR pass will cost more than purchasing individual tickets.
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Old Jan 10, 2013, 6:37 am
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If you need any advice on Kawaguchiko, let me know, I love the area.
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Old Jan 11, 2013, 4:27 pm
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I'd like to hear about Kawaguchi-ko. How do I get there from Shinagawa? What are the special view points? Suggestions for lodging for one night.
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Old Jan 14, 2013, 7:39 am
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Originally Posted by abacaxi
I'd like to hear about Kawaguchi-ko. How do I get there from Shinagawa? What are the special view points? Suggestions for lodging for one night.
From Shinagawa, it's quite easy, you only change trains twice. Take the Yamanote line to Shinjuku, and the Chuo line to Otsuki. At Otsuki change to the small Fujikyu Railway and ride it the whole way, Kawaguchiko is the terminus. There are also buses from Shinjuku, but they only run during certain times of year, primarily in climbing season in summer. The train is year-round and I found it quite pleasant.

At Kawaguchiko, I enjoyed the Kachi-Kachi Ropeway, which takes you up Mount Tenjo for a beautiful view of Fuji. The lake itself is quite lovely, you can just sit and look at it, or you can ride one of the little boats that go out on the lake. (Depends on the time of year, of course.) There's a few little museums there too, the Yamanashi Gem Museum, the Teddy Bear Museum, and a few other fun little things. It's just a beautiful area...I went in September and enjoyed just walking around the lake.

I was on a budget and stayed at the Plaza Inn Kawaguchiko, which is right across from the station, it was okay. I had been told there was wifi and there wasn't. The Kawaguchiko Station Inn is adjacent to the Plaza Inn and it seemed a bit nicer. Those are both about 1km from the lake itself, downhill to the lake, uphill coming back!

There are far nicer, and more expensive, hotels right on the lake itself. I peeked at them a bit, the Kasuitei Ooya or Kozantei Ubuya both looked really nice. If you have the money for a hotel right on the lake, I'd highly recommend it! If you don't, stay up near the station. There's a 7-11 down the road about 300m and you can get food and stuff there if you're staying at the station.
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