Help to maximize 7 days JR Pass
 

First time going to Japan this summer... :D
I need your expert help in maximizing JR Pass 7 days.

Our itinerary is as follow:
June 18 (Friday): Arrive Narita airport, stay in Tokyo
June 21 (Monday): Maybe daytrip to Hakone
June 22 (Tuesday): Tokyo - Kyoto
June 24 (Thurday): Daytrip to Osaka
June 27 (Sunday): Kyoto - Tokyo
June 28 (Monday): Maybe daytrip to Mitaka (Ghibli Museum)
June 29 (Tuesday): Leave Tokyo to Narita airport

I think it is best if we use our JR Pass on June 22 from Shinjuku to Kyoto because that way the pass can cover Round Trip to Kyoto.
My questions:
1. Can we use our JR Pass one last time on Tuesday June 29 to go to Narita (Since we activated our 7days pass on Tues June 22)?
2. For our first 4 days in Tokyo (June 18 to June 22), do we need to use JR pass in Tokyo?

Huge thanks... I feel transportation is not cheap in Japan :confused:

No. The seven day pass is valid for seven calendar days.
If you were to move your Ghibli museum day to the front of your trip, you might fit your Tokyo to Kyoto return trip and the trip to NRT within seven days.

If you pay for individual subway and train fares you're unlikely to spend more than a few hundred yen per day each.

Really? Why?

Thank you, Jib71.
I said transportaion in Japan is not cheap because we are budgeting our trip for 2 people. We estimate it will be about: 12,440 yen (2 people RT to Narita), 10,000 yen (Hakone Free pass for 2 people), 56,600 yen (2 people 7-day JR Passes) = 79,040 yen not including local transports in Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto.
But we understand that we won't regret this trip.

"If you were to move your Ghibli museum day to the front of your trip, you might fit your Tokyo to Kyoto return trip and the trip to NRT within seven days."
Just need to clarify here - We plan to "activate" our JR Pass as day 1 on June 22 to go to Kyoto. So I can only use JR pass to Ghibli Museum either on June 28 'right?

Sorry - still trying to figure out the math.

You could reduce that to 7,000 yen... or even less. Here's my recommendation in two steps:

(1) Purchase a JR+SUICA package on your arrival. It will cost you 3,500 yen each and cover your journey to your destination in Tokyo. (You could, for example, stay in Shinjuku for easy access to Hakone and the Ghibli museum). Plus you'll have 1,500 yen each to spend on subways and trains... and you can claim back 500 yen each if you use all the credit on the card and take it to a JR ticket office to refund the deposit.

(2) Use the JR pass for the trip back from Tokyo to NRT.

If you really want to save money, then use the slower trains from NRT and the one-way trip costs 1,000 yen per person.

Well that covers a variety of pleasure rides - two days unlimited use of trains, cablecars, ropeways, boats and buses in the Hakone region.

It seems pretty reasonable to me. (You could also tag on some side trips without incurring additional expense. I don't think it's a good idea to spend all your time on trains and none of it seeing the stuff you came to see, but ... ).

Journeys on JR trains when you're using your pass will be free. That gets you from Kyoto to Osaka and back, for example. In the Tokyo area, you will have 1,500 yen towards subway/ bus/ train rides if you purchase a N'EX + SUICA package on arrival.

You don't need to use a JR pass to visit the Ghibli museum. The fare from Shinjuku to Mitaka is 210 yen (one way). The bus from Mitaka station to the museum is 300 yen (return).
So that's 1,140 yen for the two of you.

Just a reminder that SUICA is not valid on "Private Railway service" using Pitapa system which does not accept SUICA, for those OP better off use cash. Within Kyoto region most of the time you end up using bus, which this page provide most information on it (including a bus map for tourist), get the 500 yen bus pass will be valuable too.

http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%...Connection.png for the compatibility map

For Kyoto - Osaka commute OP can also use Special Rapid service which is quite frequent and covered in the pass

if you really really want to save money, overnight bus will be an option

I am with jib71.

I suggest moving your trip from Tokyo-Kyoto one day to June 23. Then activate your Rail Passes for June 23-29. Go to the Ghibli Museum earlier in your stay in Tokyo.

During the 7 days of your Rail Pass, you can use it for the round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo, day trips in and around Kansai (Nara, Osaka by shinkansen, Hikone and other great day trips, perhaps even down to Okayama or Kurashiki) and the Narita Express back out to NRT to depart on the 29th. The Pass won't really pay for itself if you only use it for the round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo but WILL pay if you add in those other trips. Use the Narita Express+Suica pass to get into Tokyo from NRT upon arrival and to get around Tokyo on the subways and local JR trains.

June tends to be typhoon season so be prepared for rain and possible weather-related changes of plans.

Almost all railways and buses in the Tokyo area accept SUICA.
You are right that the Kansai area, including Osaka and Kyoto, is another kettle of fish.

I would like to add should this person come to Q Shoe, they can use their Suica on the JR Kyushu Lines/Nishitetsu Bus and Trains/ and the Fukuoka City Subway...!

how about pasmo?...

Pasmo is only valid on Pasmo itself and Suica system

Thank you all so very much for your invaluable tips and suggestions. We will move our Kyoto departing date and buy JR Suica pass once we arrive in Japan.

I am hesitant about opening another thread but we are seriously considering not going to Hakone for day trip after reading other threads in this forum (ie: summer - might not see Mt Fuji, raining season). We plan to go only go to the national park (guessing it will be like NYC's central park?). Perhaps Fall or Winter is a better season to go to Hakone since we might stay overnight to experience onsen.
My spouse thinks that day trip to Osaka is enough because we want to experience Tokyo and Kyoto as much as we can for our first trip.
Any thoughts on this?

Huge thanks again...

Well, it seems that you will be in and around Tokyo from the 18th through the 22nd. Depending on when you catch your trains, you then will have 4 full days plus up to 2 half-days in and around Kyoto/Osaka. Remember, they are only a few minutes apart on the shinkansen (if you have a JR Rail Pass) or less than an hour on local trains.

My thought is that you will have time in Kyoto to do a full day trip to Osaka - you might want to stay into the evening to experience the vibrant night scene there - and perhaps another day trip to Nara or perhaps to Hikone to see the castle. That would still leave you 2 full days plus 2 half-days in Kyoto. Or, if you find you just haven't seen everything you want to see, just scrap one of the day trips and use that day for more of Kyoto. Everything is so close together and so easy to get to by train with a Rail Pass that changing plans as you go is very easy.

In case you haven't already done so, I'd recommend obtaining a good guidebook. There is so much to see in Kyoto and Tokyo that you will have to pick and choose what to spend your time on. You can also get a nice tourist guide for Kyoto at the Tourist Information Center on the 9th floor of the Kyoto Station building, along with a bus route map.