dhuey

Thanks for the advice upthread, folks. I ended up being mildly positive about the 14-day Japan Rail pass, Green car. It was a little annoying to have to waste 30 minutes at a station making seat reservations for the trip, but once we did that, it was very convenient simply to flash the pass entering and exiting stations at the manned gates. The price of the pass was slightly less than what buying the individual tickets would have been. Other downside is we weren't eligible to take the Nozomi Shinkansen trains for a bit of a faster trip between Tokyo and Kyoto. The Green cars weren't the lap of luxury, but they did seem significantly more comfortable than standard (2x2 seating vs. 2x3).

My family loved our Japan trip, and the trains were great.

Busymann

Hmm, this illustrates why I'm NOT getting a JR Pass.

Based on my calculations, I'm borderline whether I'll save money or not. Based on that, I'd rather not get the pass. I also won't be concerned whether I'm riding a JR train or not. I want to ride Green most of the time but maybe I won't be as concerned with doing that either besides the shinkansen.

My biggest cost will be separate on/off stops on my way to Osaka.

Shinagawa to Nagoya (for sumo)
Nagoya to Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Shrine)
Kyoto to Shin-Kobe (Kobe Nunobiki Ropeway and Harborland)
Shin-Kobe to Shin-Osaka (on my way to home base at Tennoji Sta)

Also a separate rt Shinagawa to Odawara (visiting Hakone)

Everything else are small piddily costs. No to JR.

dhuey

Yeah, it would have tilted things away from the pass for us if there were non-JR lines we had wanted to use. But for our Narita-Tokyo-Kyoto-Nara-Kyoto-Nagoya-Takayama-Nagoya-Tokyo-Narita itinerary, JR was the obvious choice. Re Green cars, we spent about five hours in Hida Line Green cars in the mountains, and it was a step up from standard. Such beautiful scenery.

My biggest gripe with the rail pass is the strange seat reservations procedures. I can't understand why JR makes this so inconvenient for passengers, and so labor-intensive for itself.

FlitBen

Even if the JR Pass were to cost slightly more, it can make sense for its routing flexibility and convenience. You can also skip having to deal with machines.and agents, except for seat reservations.

In one instance, we were halfway to Shin-Osaka when my son realized that he had left stuff behind at Himeji. We alighted at the following station and headed back on the next available Shinkansen. For our trouble, we got to see the Castle glowing ethereally at night. One of the more memorable experiences we had.

A rail pass, even a limited regional version, gives you such economical options in the event of the unexpected. Our friends and relatives in Tokyo and Kobe all wish they had access to these visitor-only passes.

evergrn

FlitBen

Which machine function can't be used? Some regional passes do not include seat reservations but may allow Nozomi trains or require.supplements for Hayabusa.

SteadyAT

+1. We are seasoned travellers, but things happen.

We had a reservation from Takayama to Nagoya (transfer) to Kyoto. There was something blocking the tracks during our Takayama to Nagoya trip, causing a significant delay and our missing the Nagoya to Kyoto train. Having the pass meant we were able to hop onto the next unreserved green car without having to go to the ticket office to re-arrange travel / seats.

On another occasion, the platform at Kyoto was packed as we were waiting for a train to Osaka. People were lined up and we joined the line and our train pulled up. We waited for folks in line to move onto the train but they did not. It became evident to us that they were not lining up to board the same train as us, and by that time, the train doors were closing. Oops! Again, because we had the JR pass, we just waited for the next train to Osaka and boarded the unreserved seats car, no problem!

Granted based on the trips we took, we definitely benefited $-wise from getting the JR pass. But even if we were only on the borderline in terms of $, I'd recommend it for the flexibility and convenience.

dhuey

BTW, it was great advice above to use Hyperdia to get my precise train times and numbers before going to the JR service station for seat reservations. It really sped up the process.

freecia

Having to use the manned gate? There can be a bit of a line at tourist hubs sometimes with tourists looking in their bags for their passes, asking for the platform number, or blocking the manned entrances. It is a little faster to go through automated gates.

dhuey

FWIW, we never waited more than a minute at the manned gates. Most times we sailed right through.

freecia

Yes, the manned gate usually only takes a minute or two unless you encounter new-to-Japan first-JR-ride groups at Tokyo Station. Even then, people tend to get sorted with decent speed as they get more practice or they exit the more dedicated vestibule at Tokyo Stn to look for their pass. The manned gate feels inefficient when I got used to the unmanned gate speed and how fast those move even in rush hour. 1-2 minutes wait isn't a great reason to avoid a JR Pass However, it would be great if Super Suica due in 2021 allowed a JR Rail Pass to be loaded onto an IC card https://atadistance.net/2018/10/10/a...an-and-beyond/ as Japan wants to hit 40 million tourists by 2020.

ETA: I don't opt to prioritize using a JR Pass within Tokyo, even if I have one which is still valid. My hotel or destination is usually nearer a metro station rather than Yamanote and I'm comfortable with the complex maze which is Tokyo public transit (and still get lost, which is totally normal). I sometimes get a daily metro pass or tourist version metro pass if I'm going a lot of trips in a single day and they're magnetic/IC tickets as manned gates are less common on metro. Suica makes transiting systems and connecting pretty easy. As a repeat visitor, I aim for value on expensive long distance tickets and try to value my time for in-town transit. An extra 2,000 over a few days which saves me 1 hour per day works out for me. It may not for more budget conscious or those with larger groups of healthy mobile travelers.

I'm guessing @evergrn meant the green ticket machines for seat reservations or pass exchange which generally requires a stop at the midori no madoguchi or JR Travel center. That can be a longer wait especially at a JR Travel Center especially at NRT, HND, and KIX and tourist oriented facilities in town. I usually budget at least 30 minutes for pass exchange without seat reservations and am happy if I can accomplish the exchange and seat reservations in 20 min. I've used plenty of regional passes, too.

JR West Sanyo-San'in pass is now available for online purchase and pickup at specific Green Ticket machines with passport IC readers and you can make nine seat reservations ahead of time, online, up to a month in advance. Totally worth the 800 yen premium over the paper exchange voucher purchased via travel agent to me.
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/t...s/sanyo_sanin/

evergrn

Machine where you buy your train tix from for bullet train, NEx, etc, along with seat assignment. Can't use the machine if you're traveling with JRailPass and want to secure assigned seats whether right away or days in advance, in which case you have to line up and talk to a person.

evergrn

Yes that's another thing that can be a bit annoying sometimes, esp when you're running to catch the train but you're blocked by a horde of people asking the employee something.

paperwastage

I've seen people who just flash the pass and run past the workers who are helping someone else.... a little rude

yeah, I wished they have it everywhere else in the world...

a lot faster (since the gate barrier is open by default) and people are still physically moving while the suica card is being detected (instead of stop at turnstyle, wait for the device to detect suica and display "GO", then move)

evergrn

That's not good. Not just rude, but should not be allowed.