JR Pass type for Takayama

Hello all,

i have question. Instead JR pass for the whole Japan. If I only want to go to:
- Tokyo
- Gala Yuzawa
- Kawaguchiko
- Takayama

What type of JR pass is the best?
because I can see they have JR trains to this area or at least half way to this area. thank you

No JR pass as you'd be using non JR transport for half of your travels.

If you do

1. Tokyo to Gala-Yuzawa round trip (about 14000 yen)
2. Tokyo to Otsuki (to go to Kawaguchiko, you must pay additionally for Otsuki to Kawaguchiko non-JR train ride)(about 3000 yen)
3. Otsuki to Matsumoto (about 5000 yen)
4. Matsumoto to Tokyo (about 7000 yen)

then JR East Pass Nagano Niigata Area will pay off.

https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass_n/

Rigorously if you buy through ticket from Tokyo (Otsuki) to Matsumoto, the total fare will be somewhat cheaper (maybe 26000 yen or so), but still the pass is cheaper.

Of course you need to do the above trip within 14 days of validity, and 5 valid days. You must pay for bus ride from Matsumoto to Takayama (5660 yen round trip).

I agree with the JR Nagano Niigata pass. You can actually purchase an add-on to that pass for 4500 that covers the round trip between Matsumoto and Takayama, so it will be even a little cheaper than mentioned above.

Hi Frog1954 & Me,

if I buy the JR Nagano Niigata pass , I don't need to buy Tokyo Wide Pass to go to Gala Yuzawa, am I correct ? I can also use this right?

Thank you for the information before.

if I buy the JR Nagano Niigata pass , I don't need to buy Tokyo Wide Pass to go to Gala Yuzawa, am I correct ? I can also use this right?

No you don't need Tokyo Wide Pass to go to Gala Yuzawa. JR East Niigata Nagano Pass covers Gala Yuzawa. But note that JR East Niigata Nagano Pass is valid for 5 non-consecutive days within 14 days of validity period. Tokyo Wide Pass covers Otsuki to Kawaguchiko, but the validity period is consecutive 3 days, and it does not cover Matsumoto.

Frog1954,

I will only be in Japan for 7 days, and my itin is as this:
Tokyo - Gala Yuzawa (round trip)
Tokyo - Takayama
Takayama - Kawaguchiko
Kawaguchiko - Tokyo

further questions would be:
1. JR EAST PASS (Nagano, Niigata area) , can I use the shinkansen until Takayama , am I correct? In Hyperdia, it shows there is SHINKANSEN HAKUTAKA 561 then I need transfer with some JR line trains.
Because you only mentioned Matsumoto, which if I'm not mistaken still need 2 hours to Takayama.

2. with this pass, if I'm not mistaken again...for Kawaguchiko, I will need to pay from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko (Fujikyu Railway) around 1.140 Yen.

If I only need to pay Otsuki to Kawaguchiko ( twice) ... this JR pass will be perfect.

1. JR EAST PASS (Nagano, Niigata area) , can I use the shinkansen until Takayama , am I correct?

No. Please see the JR East Pass Nagano Niigata Area page I posted. It allows you to travel as far as Joetsumyoko. If you want to travel to Takayama via Toyama, you must pay the fare and the express fee for Joetsumyoko to Toyama to Takayama, which costs 8480 yen.

In Hyperdia, it shows there is SHINKANSEN HAKUTAKA 561 then I need transfer with some JR line trains.

Hyperdia basically shows only the train route. Sometimes bus is cheaper. In your case you seem to want to less expensive option so I wrote the previous post. Yes it takes more time than go with Shinkansen, but substantially cheaper. It will take about 6 hours (depending on the departure time) to go from Shinjuku to Matsumoto to Takayama. It will take 4 to 5 hours by Shinkansen via Toyama.

2. with this pass, if I'm not mistaken again...for Kawaguchiko, I will need to pay from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko (Fujikyu Railway) around 1.140 Yen.

Yes, you are right.

If I only need to pay Otsuki to Kawaguchiko ( twice) ... this JR pass will be perfect.

No, you also need to pay round trip bus fare (4500 yen).

Hi Frog1954,

sorry for more asking... because kinda not familiar with the area.

so from Tokyo to Takayama, I need a bus ticket which is not covered by the JR East Pass (nagano) ?
And for Kawaguchiko to Tokyo what is the 4.500 bus fare for?

so from Tokyo to Takayama, I need a bus ticket which is not covered by the JR East Pass (nagano) ?

Yes. JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata area) is valid until Matsumoto thereafter you need to take bus to Takayama. The said 4,500 yen is a round trip bus ticket from Matsumoto to Takayama.

https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/ticket/

Matsumoto-Takayama limited Express Bus Round Trip Discount Ticket.
Adult:For JR East Pass Holders Only
Round Trip Discount Ticket!
Adult Round trip 4,500yen

And for Kawaguchiko to Tokyo what is the 4.500 bus fare for?

After you arrive Takayama, you must go back to Tokyo, and on the way you can go to Kawaguchiko, since Otsuki is on the way from Matsumoto to Shinjuku. The said 4500 yen is not for Kawaguchiko to Tokyo, but it is Matsumoto to Takayama round trip as shown above. And Kawaguchiko to Tokyo you need to pay the train fare from Kawaguchiko to Otsuki (non-JR train).

A couple of points, because it possibly wasn't covered in the above:

To/From Takayama has three main routes:
1: Tokyo-Nagoya-Takayama (all by JR train).
2: Tokyo-Toyama-Takayama (all by JR train).
3: Tokyo-Matsumoto by JR train and then Matsumoto to Takayama by bus.
In all three cases it simply takes a long time 5-6 hours.

Also, I see a lot of people adding Kawaguchiko (and Hakone) to their trips in the forums. For your trip it is at least (kind of) on the way, but it is a detour and takes extra effort to get to. I only rarely include places like that because of the time taken versus the quality of the sightseeing once there and in my opinion, it doesn't make the cut and if I was doing a 7-day tour for guests, it wouldn't be on my list of recommendations. However, there are some cool things in the area (and I don't include looking at a mountain in that list) so I hope you enjoy your visit there.

Also, I see a lot of people adding Kawaguchiko (and Hakone) to their trips in the forums. For your trip it is at least (kind of) on the way, but it is a detour and takes extra effort to get to.

Dear Venny, please note that he is an experienced traveler in Japan who owns travel agency specified for Japan. And of course I agree with him. Your places are somewhat too remote for the first timer with 7 days of time constraint. This is the user review of Japan Guide.

Kawaguchiko 3.8 729 Votes
Takayama 4.2 844 Votes
Matsumoto 3.8 617 Votes
Kamikochi 4.4 226 Votes
Shirakawago 4.5 500 Votes
Shinjuku 4.0 4283 Votes
Kyoto 4.8 5011 Votes

Since you include Gala Yuzawa, you will travel in winter which is good for Kyoto, Japan's most important tourist spot. You are first timer in Japan and travel in winter for 7 days, then why you omit Kyoto? In general hotel rate is not so expensive and now Kyoto has lots of hostel type accommodations around 3000 yen per night. Of course it's your travel, not mine, but you might consider the following itinerary.

Buy Japan Rail Pass 7 days 29110 yen.

Day 1 Tokyo
Day 2 Gala Yuzawa day trip
Day 3 Take Shinkansen to Kyoto. If the weather is fine, get off at Mishima, take bus to Kawaguchiko or take JR train to Otsuki and then Fujikyu to Kawaguchiko. And then take bus to Mishima, then Shinkansen to Kyoto.
Day4 Kyoto
Day5 Shinkansen to Nagoya and then JR train to Takayama
Day6 Bus to Shirakawago and then to Kanazawa then Shinkansen to Tokyo
Day7 Tokyo

You said you will be in Japan for 7 days so I guess your 1st and 7th day should be reserved for the transportation from/to airport.

Hi Guys, sorry for the late reply.

Thank you so much for making it more detail, I have can picture it more clearly.
This actually will be my 2nd time in Japan, and those 7 days will be only for that Itinerary because I just want to focus on that area and on my 1st trip I already enjoy visited Kyoto & Osaka.
And as your concern that I can see, I know 7 days kinda short time that is why I didn't put Kyoto. I want to do not too slow but not too fast visit. And for kawaguchiko, because this time i will bring my friends and they want to see Mt. Fuji, I've been thinking between kawaguchiko & hakone, but since I went to kawaguchiko the last time, I think it will be faster to go around kawaguchiko since I had a bit experience on the area.

My Itin will be:
1st day: Arriving Tokyo & half day around tokyo
2nd day: Tokyo
3rd day: Gala Yuzawa
4th & 5th day: Takayama & Shirakawa-go. Probably on the 5th afternoon or evening we will went to kawaguchiko.
5th & 6th day: Kawaguchiko. and return to Tokyo by bus ( i think it will be faster by bus and no transfer)
7th day: To the airport

Please share your comment about my itin if you have any.
Thank you again for spending your time helping me out.
Appreciate it big time

Venny

OK, I see. This is your second time and you want to see these places. That is reasonable.

3rd day: Gala Yuzawa
4th & 5th day: Takayama & Shirakawa-go. Probably on the 5th afternoon or evening we will went to kawaguchiko.
5th & 6th day: Kawaguchiko. and return to Tokyo by bus ( i think it will be faster by bus and no transfer)
7th day: To the airport

If you buy JR East Pass (Niigata, Nagano) you will have 5 validity days and you should consider how to use it. I think you will go to Yuzawa to just see the snowy landscape and play with snow, not for skiing. If that is the case, you may have some spare time on day 3. On the other hand, your 4-6 days seem to be rather busy. You may consider to go as far as Matsumoto on day 3. Matsumoto is a city, and you can arrive there rather late. Then on day 4, take bus to Takayama and then to Shirakawago, and then go back to Takayama to stay there. Then you don't need to use the JR East Pass on day 4. You also don't use it on day 2, therefore you can use it on other 5 days. On day 5 go back to Matsumoto by bus and then JR to Otsuki and then to Kawaguchiko (Fujikyu, not covered by the JR East Pass).

As your itinerary is rather busy, so make your luggage as small as possible. I think small backpack will suffice.

You can go from Yuzawa to Matsumoto via Shinkansen to Nagano which will make your traveling time shorter. And these route are fully covered with the JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata area).

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=ECHIGO-YUZAWA&a...

At present Hyperdia seems not to show Gala Yuzawa since this is temporary station opening only in ski season.

Hi Frog1954, sorry for answering it now.
Thank you so much for the shinkansen recommendation. yes, it will save more time
thank you

A question - you have two nights in Kawaguchiko. Given the rapid pace of the rest of your trip, that looks very slow/odd. Do you have enough things to fill in your time there (like FujiQ or the ice caves)?

Looking at Fuji takes five minutes, maybe 10 minutes if someone is wanting a good/special photo. It might sound harsh, but in my travels, most people don't spend too long looking at a single, individual static feature (moving things like the waterfalls or watching the world go by in a cafe are a bit different. It applies for all sorts of things (not just Fuji), things like the torii at Miyajima or standing outside Himeji Castle, those are not time consuming activities. It is like when I get guests asking if we can fit in Shibuya for the scramble crossing and Hachiko the dog stature, I say sure, 5-10 minutes tops including the story about the dog and going across the street - then we get on with the rest of the day.

A question - you have two nights in Kawaguchiko.

I thought the OP will stay at Kawaguchiko on the 5th night and then move to Tokyo on the 6th day and stay there. Even with this itinerary, the OP will have very little time at Shirakawago and Takayama. To go to Kawaguchiko from Takayama, you must take 10:15 bus to Matsumoto. On the 4th day, if you do the Shirakawago, you can come back at 15:25. This is the winter so you will have about 1 hour or so to sightsee in Takayama. I think Takayama is the place for walking, so this is too short. You might better cut one Tokyo day and spend one more day for Shirakawago/Takayama/Matsumoto.

Maybe I misinterpreted his line "5th and 6th day".

Hi,
I just thought we will arrive at kawaguchiko a bit late i mean it will be already like 4 or 5 PM right?
Therefor i thought to stay one night in kawaguchiko and have the sight seeing the next day for like 2 hours before go back to tokyo. and i think we will rent yukata in here.

any thoughts on this?