Originally Posted by
Middle_Seat
Thank you to everyone who has answered my original question! I'll be flying into and out of NRT, 7 days apart, so my best bet might be the Rail Pass. When I google 'japan rail pass' I see plenty of adverts for companies that seem to sell them...are they all selling the same kind of pass?
At this point, I think that I'll have time to visit only Tokyo and Kyoto.
If you have the rail pass, can you just get on a train and grab a seat, or do you need to reserve one in advance or at the station?
Although there are many businesses that advertise the JR Rail Pass, I personally prefer to deal with an officially authorized dealer. The link below will tell you everything you need to know about using the Rail Pass. If you scroll all the way down, you will see a link to "Buy at JR designated sales offices or agents." You can find one near you if you'd prefer to do the transaction in person. Many also will take a phone order and send the Exchange Order to you via Fedex or UPS overnight.
For your needs, the 7-Day Ordinary Rail Pass is what you need. It is good for 7 total days. If you will be leaving on the 7th day, you could use the Rail Pass to cover the Narita Express train at both ends of your trip - going into Tokyo upon arrival and going back out to NRT for the flight home.
For most local trains you can just walk on, using the Rail Pass to get through the manned gate at the ticket gates. You can also try to walk on to the bullet train but only a few cars are for non-reserved seating and you might not find a seat. For the longer runs to and from Kyoto, I'd definitely make reservations. My habit is to reserve my onward seats out of a town when I
arrive there so I don't have to make a special visit to the station later. You can reserve your first Narita Express at the same time and agent that you exchange your pass. Likewise, when you reserve your last bullet train (shinkansen) segment back to Tokyo, the agent will also be able to make your Narita Express reservation.
Since you will have 2 or 3 days in Tokyo and Kyoto, you might want to consider a half-day trip to a near-by site just as a change. From Kyoto, the ancient city of Nara is less than an hour on the local train and is older, smaller, quieter and a little more serene than Kyoto. The main attractions are within a few minutes walk from the station.
Likewise, Himeji is only about an hour on the shinkansen and offers the best preserved original feudal era castle in the country, about a 10 minute walk from the station.
Even if you only do the airport train(s) and the round-trip to/from Kyoto, the Rail Pass will save you money.
http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/