Travel options Tokyo to Nagano

Hi

I fly into Haneda Airport on 21 Feb then need to get to Nagano. I will return from Nagano to Tokyo on 27 Feb and spend 3 days sightseeing before flying out from Narita.

Is it worth getting the JR rail pass, or is it cheaper just paying individual journeys? Also wondered if you can use the JR pass on the local train lines when sightseeing in Tokyo? If I didn't have a pass, how much would a day pass around Tokyo cost?

Also, does anyone know prices for the Shinkansen (Tokyo - Nagano) vs the cost of a taxi or bus?

Thanks

A seven day JR Pass is 28300 yen, which breaks down to just over 4000 yen each day.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html

A NEX + Suica package gets you to amd from the airport and gives you a prepaid card to deduct transportation to and from places, and costs 5500 yen for the roundtrip version. You Suica card will have 1500 yen loaded on it.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_suica_nex.html

I would try to use a Puratto Kodama Economy Plan tickets to get to and from Nagoya. This is the slower Shinkansen, but you will get there, and have a complimemtary drink on the train.

http://tokyoexpert.blogspot.com/2009/02/kodama-puratto-economy-plan-di...

The normal cost for the train is 10580 yen each way, but this will drop the cost to 7900 yen for each leg.

5500 + 7900 +7900 = 21300 which is less than the JR Pass.

You will find that the Suica card can be used for private trains and subway travel too, which the JR Pass will not help with.

I hope this helps.

Your options are explained in the following page.
- http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6003.html
As you see, bus options may be cost-saving but will require far longer time than rail.

ebaychucky311:
A NEX + Suica package gets you to and from the airport....
I would try to use a Puratto Kodama Economy Plan tickets....

The traveler is flying into HND, which excludes the option of the Suica & N'EX package.
And, the first destination is Nagano, not Nagoya.

Is it worth getting the JR rail pass

It sounds not, regarding a nationwide Japan Rail Pass. JR regular fees will result in being far more cost-saving than a 7-day JRP.

If you travel to Nagano Station having seats reserved on Shinkansen, the regular roundtrip cost from Tokyo tokunai (inside the 23 city wards) will be 15540 yen (2 x 3890 yen as base fares, 2 x 3880 yen as Shinkansen charges).
JR regular fees to get from Tokyo to NRT are around 3000 yen if you take a Narita Express, whose seats require reservation.
You will choose a way to NRT among JR-East, Keisei and bus, depending on the location of your Tokyo hotel.

Logically, you can save the Nagano cost to 14100 yen with a combination of a 3-day JR Kanto Area Pass (sold at 8000 yen) and regular tickets (sold at 6100 yen).
- http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/kantoareapass/index.html
If you are younger than 26 and choose JR-East as a way to NRT, a Flexible 4-day JR East Pass (sold at 16000 yen) can be cost-saving.
- http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass/index.html
JR East Travel Service Center in HND is open only from 11:00 to 18:30. If you cannot visit it during the hours but do hope to purchase a JR Kanto Area Pass / a JR East Pass, please visit Travel Service Center in Tokyo Station, which is open from 7:30 to 20:30.

[Common among rail options]

With a certain credit card, you can try reserving Nagano Shinkansen and Narita Express seats through the website.
- http://jreast-shinkansen-reservation.eki-net.com/pc/english/common/faq...
- http://jreast-shinkansen-reservation.eki-net.com/pc/english/common/men...
If you use the above-mentioned combination of a JR KAP and regular tickets, here you will have to reserve Shinkansen seats separately for Tokyo -- Sakudaira (covered by a JR KAP) and for Sakudaira -- Nagano (not covered) on the way and the way back.

I recommend you would choose a regular ticket for a monorail ride from Haneda Airport International Terminal to Monorail Hamamatsucho, not a Monorail Suica Card. The one-way fare is 470 yen.
Trains running for Tokyo depart at Tracks 1 and 2 of Hamamatsucho. The one-way fare is 150 yen, which will be covered by your fair ticket or rail pass if you have successfully purchased it in advance.

Also wondered if you can use the JR pass on the local train lines when sightseeing in Tokyo?

That depends on places you will visit.
A Japan Rail Pass is a pass for JR transport options. The only non-JR line in Kanto Region where a JRP can be valid is Tokyo Monorail line.
A JR Kanto Area Pass / JR East Passes have some other non-JR sections in its valid zone.

How much would a day pass around Tokyo cost?

Usually one-day and two-day rail passes do not pay off easily.

[Regarding no-JR-pass rail options]

A JR ticket office in Hamamatsucho is open from 8:00 to 20:00 or 21:00, where you can get a Suica Card (issued by JR-East) and purchase your JR tickets.
If you clear immigration procedures too early, you can get a Suica Card from a vending machine, reach Tokyo with it and purchase your JR tickets at a ticket office there, which is open from 5:30.

In Tokyo you will throw your fare ticket and Shinkansen ticket together into a gate machine at a Shinkansen transfer gate then pick up the both. If you have used a Suica Card from Hamamatsucho and purchased your tickets in Tokyo, you will touch the Suica Card just after throwing the tickets.

Sorry for miscalculation regarding a combination of a JR KAP and regular tickets. Let me withdraw descriptions on this option.
You will return to Tokyo 6 days later, so you can use a JR KAP only on the one way.

Brilliant thank you - do you know if you need to book the Shinkansen in advance or if you can just pay when you arrive at the station?

Advance booking is not mandatory. You can buy the tickets at the station right before departure:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html