Trip to Hokkaido

Hi, I just wanted to check if the rail pass is valid all over the country. I was planning to travel to Hokkaido by trains and I just wanted to make sure that no additional tickets are needed.

What rail pass?

The Japan rail pass for tourists

Japan rail pass

Yes, you can use the pass to Hokkaido:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html

"what rail pass"? Oh give the attitude a break Firas. You know exactly what the OP was referring to.

@OP what's your itinerary? There may be better options.

Hi, I'm going to fly to Tokyo then travel to mount Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka and then all the way up to Hokkaido where I'll be staying for a week and I thought traveling by train would be the cheapest option!

Over what time frames?

From Osaka to Hokkaido, I would HIGHLY recommend flying over the train. It is quite affordable (usually cheaper than the train) and it is only a 2 hour flight.

To take the train from Osaka to Sapporo, it is about 12 hours and 3 transfers.

If you will be departing home after Hokkaido, I would recommend flying again. Even if you need to connect to a flight in Tokyo, it is 1.5hrs on plane vs 8-9hrs on train.

Actually, Sal, it still hasn't been clarified which rail pass, since even if we know it's JR Pass, there's a multitude of JR Passes, not all of which get you to Hokkaido.

Hi, I was referring to the "JR pass" which, according to the website, costs 46390 yen for two weeks

Thirty years ago, I traveled from Kagoshima (south end of the Kyushu island) to Sappro by train, since at that time flight is quite expensive while train is affordable. It took 32 hours by train, with transfers at Hakata, Kyoto, Aomori and Hakodate. This year I will fly from Kagoshima to Kobe and then Sapporo, and the cost is 10200 yen one way (by Skymark airline). It depends on the season, but you might better check the flight fares (from Osaka area to Sapporo and Hokkaido to Tokyo). Within Hokkaido, there is no Shinkansen so you might better consider where to go.

A 14 day pass will cover the itinerary, but individual tickets to Osaka and then a flight to Hokkaido would be cheaper. If you do extensive travel in Hokkaido, then get a regional pass by JR Hokkaido. I would fly back as well. The Chitose to Haneda route is one of the most common within Japan and there are good prices.

"The Japan Rail Pass (also commonly called JR Pass)". Whenever someone refers to the "rail pass" you know exactly what they're talking about and to be facetious about it simply because they didn't say "Japan rail pass" is just rude.

@OP what I meant is does your long distance travel fit into a 7 day period? Or is it more suitable for a 14 day period? Would a flight be more suitable? We don't know the itinerary.

To clear things up even more, the JRP is a pass issued by Japan Rail. It should not be confused with all the other rail passes issued by the 6 Japan Rail companies. When people ask about the Japan Rail Pass, it's the 7, 14 or 21 day one, not any issued by JR West or JR East or JR Kyushu, etc....

It may sound trivial, but there is a difference between saying "Japan Rail Pass" and "Japan rail pass". There is no such thing as a Japan rail pass.