If you're just going to Kyoto on Shinkansen Japan Rail Pass may not be worth it, check the prices, buy roundtrip on Nozomi although I believe the N700 train is used on all 3 services but Nozomi has longest non stop run. Make Tokyo your base, visit the many districts you can see both old and new, get a Pasmo/Suica card, learn the subway/train system you can get anywhere in Tokyo. Most sights are within walking distance from a subway/train station, clean and safe. Tokyo is great for shopping and eating. Catch the Shinkansen go down to Kyoto for couple of days, older buildings in Kyoto but you'll have to ride bus or take taxi to get to some of the sights. You can catch a local to Osaka or Nara if you like. If you want to spend day in Osaka catch local from Kyoto and catch Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo.

Welcome to FT.

Roundtrip from Tokyo to Kyoto = 26,040 *
JR Pass = 28,300

If a roundtrip to Kyoto is the ONLY rail travel you'll do in Japan, it's cheaper to buy tickets in Japan than to buy a 7-day JR pass. However, if you also make a trip to the airport during those seven days and a couple of local journeys on JR trains, the JR pass will save you money.

* There are ways to get this cheaper. You save a few hundred yen by using unreserved seats. You can get your tickets from a discount ticket shop in Tokyo. You can buy a package deal which bundles hotel and train fares. You can buy a multi-ticket pack of slower, Kodama tickets. etc. etc. Plenty of suggestions on the forum.

Traveling solo :(

Yea, that seems to make the JR Pass the no brainier. I don't speak or write the language, so seems like it would not be worth the headache of dealing with single tickets or the other packs for possible slight savings.

Booked 4 nights in Kyoto as my base in that area so will at least make one trip to Osaka, Nara, and maybe Kobe?
Was also thinking maybe Hiroshima & Miyajima, taking a boat makes me feel fancy :D

Plan to maximize JR Pass
Day 1 Tokyo -> Kyoto
Day 1-4 Kyoto/Osaka area
Day 5 Kyoto -> Hiroshima (not sure what trains to take for this one?)
Day 5-7 Hiroshima & Miyajima
Day 7 Hiroshima -> Tokyo

Some other local pass or Seishun 18 Kippu
Day 7-11 Tokyo

I would defintely grab a Hyatt Visa from Chase for the two free nights and stay at the Park Hyatt your last two nights.

Also, my least favorite stop in Japan was Hakone. It's not that it is horribly awful but that if you are going to visit other hot springs- such as Takayama, Shibu Onsen, etc- you may as well skip it. Others experiences here may vary.

From my experience the train fromKyoto to Hiroshima doesnt take too long. If you leave in the morning you can easily fit a whole day in at Miyajima upon arrival and still see the Shrine at high and low tides while also climbing Mt. Misen. Climbing the mountain is not to be missed in my opinion.

Following this approach will allow you to take a day in Hiroshima before heading back East.

I personally would not spend three days in Hiroshima- although you may have your reasons. I would check out Fukuoaka with that extra time, or just head back east and check out Koyasan or sHirikawa-go on the way back to Tokyo

Enjoy!

From Kyoto, there are a few shinkansen each day that go all the way to Hiroshima and beyond. Otherwise, you take the shinkansen from Kyoto to shin-Osaka and switch trains to another southbound shinkansen there. Easy, at most one transfer.

I've accompanied visiting friends who had a JR pass and it didn't seem all that convenient to me. First you have to exchange your voucher for the ticket - that took about half an hour in Tokyo station. Then you can't use the JR pass on the faster Nozumi Shinkansen trains, which greatly outnumber the slower trains that you're allowed to take, so you have to wait longer to get a train. My friends were thinking of staying an extra day in Kyoto, but they couldn't because their pass was about to run out. And even traveling with them in Tokyo they'd always have to find the exit where they could use their pass. All to save maybe a few thousand yen on a trip to Kyoto.

If you don't want to deal with figuring out the price of individual local train tickets, the Suica card is very convenient and worth the Y500 investment I think.

There are tradeoffs but there are two Hikaris an hour between Tokyo and Osaka, and at least one Kodama (in each direction). It's annoying not to be able to use Nozomis but every time I have had a JR pass, I've been pleased that I got it -- mainly because I threw in last minute trips on a whim.

And certainly if you are doing a round trip Tokyo-Kyoto and a day trip Kyoto-Hiroshima, there is absolutely no doubt you want a JR pass, it will save something like Y20,000.

+1

JR Pass makes Hub-and-Shink tourism a breeze. Pass holders can reserve seats in advance, so it's usually possible to avoid unnecessary waiting around. I've never noticed it was challenging to find the manned ticket gates to enter or exit a station.

If you do get a JR Pass and you do make reservations ahead of time it IS also very easy to change these reservations if you want to stay longer or leave later. Free and easy!

Yes, all the Shinkansen and other station gates have several automated turnstiles for those who have purchased single tickets, but at the extreme right end of any bank of turnstiles, there's always a little booth with a non-turnstile gate that functions as the wheelchair access gate. It also functions as the "tourists show their JR Passes" gate.

Hi

Better exchange at Ueno Station. Took me about 5 to 10 minutes on last March. The staff there speak very good english ^ (my english was bad :D)

When you have a JR pass, you should be aware that when you reach the staffed gate, there will invariably be some really old woman who has a problem which requires that she give a complete autobiography to the ticket agent in order to solve it.

You will quickly get used to keeping moving around her, flashing the pass so the agent can see it, and heading to your track. Reduces the hassle factor considerably and JR agents are good, they can multiprocess.

Yes, just sidle around the chatty old woman, catch the JR employee's eye, smile and bow slightly, and go on your way.

:D good to know, I'm usually to polite in those situations.

Haven't bought the JR Pass, but still looks like it works out best for my planned travel.

Getting close to buying my JR Pass..
Since I am spending my first night at Hotel Jal City Haneda Tokyo, it looks like the closest (or cheapest) place to do JR Pass Orders Exchange is at the Haneda Airport International Terminal right?

I was thinking of checking out in the morning and having the hotel hold my suitcase (they do that right? any fees?). This is because the check out time is 11 AM and the office in the airport, doesn't open till 11 AM.

Then hopping on their shuttle to the airport, do the JR Pass exchange, get back on the shuttle to back to the hotel to get my suitcase, and then somehow figure my way to Kyoto...

Looks like, in Kyoto at least, I will be needing to take a few rides not covered by the JR Pass (will be needing to get from Kyoto station to Krasuma station). Does Suica work for that or is there an equivalent for Kyoto area? Any issues with having more than one type of these cards? (I have contactless feature on 2 of my credit cards. If I just place my wallet in front of the reader, it might charge the opposite card of what I intended)

Are the blocks in Japan normal size or are they like the larger NYC blocks? I've been trying to use GoogleMaps and streetview to gauge how far I will need to walk from the station to my hotels.

Thanks in advance ;)