CaliforniaSteve

My wife and I are heading to Japan in September. We'll be there a total of 16 days. We're flying in and out of Narita on ANA. We'll also be traveling to Nagano, Kanazawa, Takayama, Hiroshima and Osaka via train. We'll be purchasing the JR Pass for our train travels as that seems to be a very good value given our itinerary. Some questions, however:

1. We have booked an AirBnB in Tokyo near Ninyocho Station. It appears that the Narita Sky Access Line is the best way to get there. However, I am wondering if it's better to get just that ticket (@1330 JPY) and then get a combined subway pass (3 days for 1500 JPY) or to get an IC card for the entire time in Tokyo. The fare with the IC card is 1313 JPY.

2. Is there any difference in the IC cards from the various providers?

3. For the other cities that have transit systems, I thought I read somewhere the IC card from Tokyo (or any of the other cities that use IC cards) can be used interchangeably. Is that the case?

4. We'll be in Tokyo three nights, so I was planning to use the JR Rail Pass starting with our first rail trip on the morning of Day 4 (Tokyo to Nagano). That would give us sufficient time on the pass to use it to travel from Osaka to Narita on the last day of our trip. Does that sound like the best use of the pass?

Anyone have any comments or suggestions? Thanks.

abmj-jr

1. Just get a Suica card for your Tokyo train and subway needs.

2. Not really. Suica and Pasmo are interchangeable.

3. Yes, with a very few exceptions that don't apply here.

4. Yes, assuming you mean the 14-day JR Pass.

CaliforniaSteve

Thanks! Quick and concise.

Hubbabridge

You can't use SUICA on the Hiroshima tram, only ICOCA (which is the IC card for Kansai region). So in Hiroshima you will have to buy tickets or get an ICOCA card.