Train Ticket/Museum Pass
 

Hey folks will be going to Japan in October for the first time. Will be there 2 weeks and will be all over the country. Are there any train passes which are all encompassing (i.e. include all options)? Same with museum/attraction passes?

Thanks.

For museums, I am not aware of a pass which is valid for entire Japan. There is a museum pass called Grutto Pass which is valid at 79 museums in Tokyo where admissions are discounted at each museum. Grutto Pass is not unlimited admission pass, although it is discounted you still pay admission at each museums. At what point (after how many museum visits) will Grutto Pass become economical, I do not know…

For trains, again there is no one pass which is valid for entire train system in Japan. Simple answer is because there are multiple train companies in Japan. What come closest is JR Rail Pass. There is a JR Rail Pass which is valid for entire JR lines in Japan. However, especially in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka there are subway lines and other commuter train companies where JR Rail pass is not valid. JR Rail Pass is unlimited ride pass. During the validity of JR Rail Pass (it comes in 7, 14 or 21 days) it is unlimited ride on JR lines. Also, JR Rail Pass is not valid on Nozomi bullet trains, which runs most frequently. JR Rail Pass is only valid on Hikari and Kodama bullet trains, which runs total of three per hour.

Japan Rail Pass will cover almost all JR lines including Shinkansen. This pass is pretty expensive so most people get it only if they plan on taking Shinkansen, and the travel on local JR lines are gravy on top.

For travel on private rail or subway lines, I would pay as you go with cash or a debit IC card like Suica or Pasmo. Some of the subways have daily passes but the price can be pretty high. Whether you can save money using the pass will depend on your travel plans.

If you're staying in the Tokyo area or doing a one-way trip from Tokyo to the Osaka-Kyoto area and flying out of KIX, then buying single tickets is cheaper than any pass.

If you plan to travel around the country or at least make a round trip between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka, then the JR Pass is worthwhile.

It is good on local JR commuter trains, but with a few exceptions, these are not as good as the subways and private commuter trains for seeing the sights.

Use a debit card (Suica or Pasmo, available and rechargeable at most train or subway stations, similar to London's Oyster Card or Seoul's T-Money) for travel within the Tokyo area, and if you plan to travel outside Tokyo, validate your JR Pass just before you leave to maximize the time you can using it.

This is incorrect. The Grutto pass provides "free" admission to some museums, and some others just gives a discount.

In any case, most tourists would not buy it as many or the museums are really niche type places.

Most museums in Japan do not charge a hefty admission charge anyway, so pay as you go is usually best.

Suggest you start researching here. There are nationwide JR passes, regional passes and some passes by private rail companies.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

I mainly want to avoid waiting in a ticket queue

I can't recall waiting in any queue at a Japanese museum that took more than 1 minute

Temples/shrines? Hiroshima?

In general, if your visit to Japan coincide with Japanese holidays then it is possible that there will be some lines at museums, temples, and other tourist places. Any other time there should be minimal line at tourist places, especially on weekdays.

Your travel is in October and if visit coincide with foliage season then those foliage locations can be busy, but during October there is no major Japanese holidays. Only Japanese holiday in October is 10th. Beside foliage locations October tends to be low season for tourism in Japan.

Other than shrines and temples at New Years, no. Himeji castle had line ups at times, that's about all I can recall having a line up.

Two weeks is not really that much. I assume you'll be in Tokyo area, Hakone maybe, with a few days in Kyoto/Nara/Osaka, maybe a day trip to Hiroshima? Then yes, someone suggested jr pass, you can't take Nozomi shinkansen but that's not a big deal.. you need to pay attention on which other shinkansen you take as the travel time say to Osaka varies considerably (can even double!) depending on the number of intermediate stops.

With the jr pass you can take metropolitan Tokyo jr lines, which are enough imho. Never felt the need to take the metro.

If you plan to stay in the Osaka/Kyoto area there's a kansai area pass, or the kansai are+Hiroshima (slightly more expensive). Very good deal because you can take also Nozomi shinkansen between Osaka and Hiroshima... pay attention though to get off in Osaka and take a normal train for the final osaka-kyoto leg if you are travelling Hiroshima to *Kyoto* instead, otherwise you'd have to pay the fare difference in order to exit the station gates.

Pity you don't have time to go to Kyushu because it's amazingly beautiful, but then you'd have an excuse to go back, and Kyushu deserves time and a dedicated trip imho.

Enjoy!

I used a 21-day Japan Rail Pass that I purchased in NYC prior to my trip. I validated it in Osaka the first time I used it. The pass took me (free of additional charges) from Osaka to Hiroshima-Kyoto-Nara-Kobe-Kyoto-Kanazawa-Tokyo-Nikko and back to Tokyo. As I recall, the pass was about $450 and worth every penny. It gave me complete flexibility for spur-of-the-moment travel and included a lot of local travel. I am a fervent museum goer but the only museums I recall were in Hiroshima and Tokyo, neither of which had any lines. The remainder of the trip was filled with temples, palaces, shrines, bamboo gardens, kabuki theater and even sumo wrestling.

Unless there is a special exhibition (and even then), lines are not a problem. I even went to the Nara National Museum while the Shosoin collection (8th century Silk Road artifacts stored in an 8th century wooden warehouse and brought out once a year in October) was on display, and there were no lines.

The only time I even heard of lines was in the 1970s, a few years after Japan and China opened diplomatic relations, and China sent an exhibit to Tokyo for the first time.

Yea the 14 day JR pass sounds tempting as I will be doing several trips from Tokyo to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, then back to Tokyo.