JR Pass 7 or 14 days + IC Card

Hi guys,

I'm planning on going to Japan for the 1st time in next April, and I'm still having doubts about which JR Pass is best to use.

From April 6 to April 8, I'll be arriving at Chubu Airport and staying in Nagoya, and it is my understanding that I won't be able to use my JR Pass my whole stay in Nagoya.

April 9 in the morning, I'll travel from Nagoya to Tokyo.
From April 9 to 13, I'll be in Tokyo (with two side trips: Kamakura and Nikko).

April 15 in the morning, I'll travel from Tokyo to Kyoto.
From April 15 to 18, I'll be in Kyoto (with 3 side trips: Himeji, Arashiyama and Nara).

April 18 in the evening, I'll be travelling back to Nagoya.
My take-off in on April 19 in the morning.

From my calculations, it is my belief that my 14-days pass will pay off anyway, but I was wondering if a 7-days pass wouldn't be slightly more interesting, if I then start it on April 9.

What do you think?

My second question is regarding the IC Card. As I'll be arriving in Nagoya, I was thinking of taking a Maneca card. Am I wrong to believe I'll then be able to use it in all other cities I'll be travelling (subways and buses in: Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Nara, Arashiyama etc) without needing to buy other local IC Cards?

Thanks for reading me

From my calculations, it is my belief that my 14-days pass will pay off anyway

I did not make calculations, but feel that the difference between regular tickets and a 14-day pass is going to be very small. I even suspect that regular tickets may be slightly cheaper.

but I was wondering if a 7-days pass wouldn't be slightly more interesting, if I then start it on April 9

It comes down to the question whether your JR trips after April 15 amount to more than the difference of cost between a 14 and 7 day pass which is 17,280 yen. If you do the calculation, you will realize that it does not. Then again, I don't think that regular tickets for the period from April 9-15 will come more expensive than a 7-day pass either.

My second question is regarding the IC Card. As I'll be arriving in Nagoya, I was thinking of taking a Maneca card. Am I wrong to believe I'll then be able to use it in all other cities I'll be travelling (subways and buses in: Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Nara, Arashiyama etc) without needing to buy other local IC Cards?

Yes, that's correct.

Note that Arashiyama is part of Kyoto City.

7 day pass wont work as you are away from nagoya more than 7 days.

Okay, this doesn`t really answer any of your questions, but I am wondering why you would be 3.5 days in Kyoto but do side trips from Kyoto for 2 of these days, plus one day in Arashiyama, which can be considered part of Kyoto. So essentially you are left only with half a day for all the sights in Kyoto.

April 15 in the morning, I'll travel from Tokyo to Kyoto.
From April 15 to 18, I'll be in Kyoto (with 3 side trips: Himeji, Arashiyama and Nara).

It is obviously your trip and your interests, but seeing that you will go to Kamakura & Nikko, it would seem you are interested in temples and shrines. So I would probably cut short on Nagoya (where there is less to see) and increase the time in Kyoto. You might even consider to cut out Tokyo (and Kamakura & Nikko) as a whole and use Osaka as a city experience instead. E.g. 1 day in Nagoya, then off to Kyoto and base yourself there. Do side trips from Kyoto including 1 - 2 days to Osaka for the city feeling and enjoy more time in Kyoto and vicinity. In that case also no national JR pass would be needed.

Just and idea, but Tokyo is a great location.

Alternatively you could cut short on your day trips from Kyoto (still increasing the time you spend in Kyoto). Maybe replace Himeji with Hirosaki, which is on the way between Nagoya and Kyoto and has a very nice and less touristy castle.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Arashiyama can be considered a part of Kyoto? haha

If it isn't part of Kyoto, where is it then?

In the not so distant past, it was a town on its own outside of Kyoto City, but today it is fully integrated into the city.

What I tried to convene is that in the original plan there is only about half a day allocated to the "core" of Kyoto, but there are so many things to see in Kyoto apart from Arashiyama, that it would seem to be insufficient, specially for someone who seems to be very interested in "traditional" Japan experience as witnessed by all his / her other destinations. So my advise would only be to increase the days in Kyoto by either cutting down on side trips (e.g. deleting Himeji) or - better in my eyes - cut down days somewhere else, specially Nagoya, to increase time in Kyoto.

If it were me, I would probably do the 1 week pass and then pay out of pocket for everything else. This is working under the assumption in Nagoya you will be mostly getting around by private line/subway and are not planning some super far trip on JR not mentioned in your itinerary. Getting from Chubu air to Nagoya you will use a private line.

I think the 1 week pass started on the 9th would pay for itself because there is a trip from Nagoya to Tokyo, Tokyo to Nikko (where you can use the shinkansen to Utsnomiya, and yes, you can be cheaper and use the Tobu line, but if you have a pass, the shinkansen to Utsonomiya will be faster.) round trip, Tokyo to Kyoto. If you plan to go to Himeji I would go on the 15th when your pass is still valid and you can use a shinkansen then as well. I would then use a Suica card/Pasmo to take Kintestsu to Nara, since Kintetsu Nara is closer to most of the tourist sights and even if you use JR to Arashiyama, it's just not that expensive. Goin back from Kyoto to Nagoya I would pay out of pocket. It's under 6000 yen with a seat reservation from Kyoto to Nagoya by shinkansen and use whatever train you want including the more frequent Nozomi and not be restricted to the more limited JR pass only Hikari/Kodama. As Uji noted, the cost difference is 17, 280 yen, so it's just not worth it.

Hope this helps!

Looking at your schedule I would consider the 7-day pass (pays off, but not hugely), but that the 14 day pass would be an expensive option.

Thanks a lot for your answers!
Been really helpful.
I will then opt for a 7-day JR pass from April 9 until April 15.

I wouldn't buy a JR pass. You will come out a bit ahead by just paying regular fare, plus you get more flexibility.

Nagoya to Tokyo: 10400
Tokyo round-trip Nikko: 2600 (Tobu Nikko Free Pass from Asakusa + includes travel at Nikko)
Tokyo round-trip Kamakura: 1800
Tokyo to Kyoto: 13000
Kyoto to Nagoya: 5400 bullet train / 2600 regular train (but takes extra 1.5 hrs)

I can't find a 7 day where you'd come out ahead. Plus you could take the slightly faster Nozomi trains if paying individually(or the much slower Platt Kodama and save 30% when booking in advance)

(And the bullet train to Nikko is not actually faster than Tobu line because it only takes you half way. And you have to walk an extra 10 minutes to get to the attractions from the JR station vs Tobu. )

I think it depends on making a good transfer with JR to Nikko. However, it's important to note the Tobu pass does not cover express fees and the trip is much longer without them. You're going to be paying around 2100 yen additional for upgrades in both directions to a Limited Express.

There is also the trip between Kyoto and Himeji assuming OP is still interested in doing that, which previously poster didn't include the cost of. Via Hikari shinkansen it's about 55 minutes. If you're paying out of pocket those tickets are ~4750 yen each way for a non reserved seat on the shinkansen. If you take JR Special Rapid, you're looking at 90 minutes and paying 2270 yen each way. And if you take Hankyu, it's only 1680 yen each way but the trip will take you 145 minutes or nearly 2.5 hours. There are Kansai area passes only, JR and otherwise, but I think assuming OP still wants to go to Himeji it tips the balance to the JR pass.

If OP has decided to drop Himeji, then they might not need a pass, but if they are still doing Himeji, I think that tips them into pass territory. I get 25,200 without including Nikko or Himeji using Me2s costs. I personally would not want to spend 5 hours round trip to get to Himeji even if it saves me money. You can get a 1 day JR Kansai West Pass for 2200 which would cover the Himeji round trip, bringing you to 27, 400, which means you just really need to cover 1710 yen more in fares to break even so to speak. Not having to pay for the trip to Nikko even if you pay for a bus pass to get from JR Nikko to the sights and the fact you can now take a faster shinkansen over the Special Rapid to Himeji I think puts the pass ahead. But again it depends on if you want to include Himeji.

Good luck!

non-stop Express is 105 minutes from Asakusa. Regular is 120 minutes including the 1 transfer, so I don't think I would classify that as "much" longer.

Really it depends where you are staying. If you can get to Skytree or Asakusa easily, then Tobu is usually cheaper and faster. If not, then it's probably faster to take the bullet train from Tokyo station or the special JR/Tobu limited from Shinjuku. The latter two would benefit from a JR pass.

I guess that's probably the deciding factor for the OP. If the Tobu Nikko pass works, then I would use that to get to Nikko and skip the JR pass. If not, then the JR pass is probably a good idea.

I don't know Me2, I think Himeji is also a considering factor. While the Kansai Thru Pass for 4000 yen and would cover their round trip to Himeji and the possible trip to Nara, I just would not personally want to spend 2.5 hours trying to get to Himeji. I've done the 90 minute SP Rapid from Kyoto back before there were smart phones and I just wanted to get on a train rather than wait for a possible shinkansen. The Jr West one day pass does allow the most flexibility since you can buy it with no penalties in Japan. Jr West has some really good passes.

I think I also look more at the JR options because I prefer to stay near Tokyo station/Shimbashi when I'm in Tokyo vs. near Asakusa. But I know everyone has very specific opinions on location. I personally don't like Shinjuku and I know lots of people love it. Last trip to Japan I don't think I used the subway in Tokyo once. Hyperdia was not giving me good transfers for non-limited expresses on the Tobu line and I was getting around 130-140 minutes with 2 or 3 transfers.

But I think we can all agree that a 2 week is really not necessary. :)