Originally Posted by
Rusell
I was thinking of just using it to cover the trip to Nara and Kyoto as my friends said to me that they don't want to wait for me to buy train tickets and they want to use the JR passes as much as possible.
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I think Mt Fuji might be more expensive than Kyoto for train travel, but if I had a Kansai pass for the first 2 days to cover Nara and Kyoto, then do all my trips around Osaka with Suica. Then on day 6 start the JR pass then it should be able to cover Mt Fuji too
Your friends may not wait for you if they're taking the Shinkansen on their national pass, either, if that's their approach and 5-10 min is really too long for them to wait... It usually doesn't take a lot of time to buy a shinkansen or limited express ticket from a ticket machine out of pocket with cash or credit. I could probably buy one if a machine is available before some people are able to find their JR pass from the depth of their bags. I don't really have an answer for you on this other than going earlier than your friends and buying an unreserved shinkansen or relevant ticket if they want to go that route, buying a regional pass for convenience but not savings in hopes they'll agree to take the limited express, or starting the national pass earlier as JR West passes don't cover Osaka to Kyoto on the shinkansen.
Most people won't break even with a JR Kansai Area pass going between Osaka and Kyoto r/t once and Nara on a separate day as the Kyoto bus pass is only 500-800 yen and not included on a JR Kansai pass. It sort of takes a trip to Himeiji or KIX Haruka to make it pay off
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_kansai.html