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Japan Sightseeing Guide

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Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you! Is it worth buying a JR rail pass? 2009/8/6 My boyfriend and I are travelling to Japan in January. Our trip will be 10 days and we are going from Tokyo to Kyoto and then Osaka. Is it worth buying a 7-day JR railpass for the shinkansen trips? Is Hakkone on the way and do we need to buy a separate ticket to go on the boat/cable cars around Hakkone? Lastly, should we make a stop in Nagoya? Any advice would be great, thanks in advance. by Janet (guest)   ... 2009/8/7 If you make the roundtrip between Tokyo - Osaka/Kyoto within a 7-day period, then the 7 Day Japan Rail Pass makes sense. If you are going only one way from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka and flying out of Kansai airport, then, no. Buying individual train tickets would come out less expensive. To go to Hakone, you can take Shinkansen to Odawara, then from there buy Hakone Free Pass (within Hakone, all transport including cable cars are non-JR) to travel within Hakone. OR, if you decide not to buy a JR Pass, then buying a version of Hakone Free Pass that includes the train ride from Shinjuku (Tokyo) might make sense, though with this ticket you will be returning to Tokyo. For a 10-day trip, unless you have particular interest in Nagoya, I'd say, no. by AK rate this post as useful JR Pass 2009/8/7 I wrote a long answer but the web ate it. Yes the JR Pass is completely worth it. by Stan Norrell rate this post as useful JRP 2009/8/7 Yes, get a Japan Rail Pass. by Hikari365 rate this post as useful Yes and maybe No 2009/8/7 Buying a 7 day JR Rail Pass is a good deal if a round trip on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka and then back(in 7 days), just as "AK" has said. If travel is just one way on the Shinkansen (Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka only), no return and no extra Shinkansen train rides, just local JR train rides, then a JR Rail Pass is not really worth it. But if you love riding trains and don't want to hassle with tickets, a JR Rail Pass is a good way to enjoy that. There is a nice freedom of riding any (well almost any) JR train and just getting off at any station to have a look around, then to get back on or return to where you started while using a JR Rail Pass. If travel is just one way from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka on the Shinkansen, maybe a day trip to Hiroshima would make a JR Rail Pass worth it. As for Nagoya, just as "AK" has said, unless something of interest is there (such as Nagoya castle), a stop there is not really worth it for a 10 day trip. by HNL Hawaiian (guest) rate this post as useful