Which Japan Rail Pass to buy?

Hi guys. Need help with this. Very confused :( I am confused of which JAPAN RAIL PASS to buy?

The following's my planned itinerary:

DAY 1. OSAKA
DAY 2. KYOTO
DAY 3. KYOTO
DAY 4. KAWAGUCHIKO or HAKONE
DAY 5. TOKYO
DAY 6. NIKKO
DAY 7. NAGANO
DAY 8-10. TOKYO

I'm planning to use Shinkansen for out-of-town trips. But inside the town, I'm planning to use the subways or buses available.

Could you please suggest whether I should buy the 1-week Japan Rail Pass, 2-week Pass or buy separate tickets? If separate, then what tickets should I buy? I'm traveling with 3 other persons.

Can I take Shinkansen from Kyoto to Hakone/Kawaguchi, then from Hakone/Kawaguchi to Tokyo? If so, which pass should I purchase?

A 7 Rail Pass will not save compared to single tickets. Take the shinkansen from Kyoto to Odawara ( entrance station for Hakone, other transport within Hakone ) and from Odawara to Tokyo. For Nikko consider a Pass from Tobu railway. Kawaguchiko is not on a shinkansen line, but either direct bus or train from Tokyo. I do not recommend Kawaguchiko and Hakone within one day, these are two different areas.

thanx for ur help :) so what railpass would u recommend me to buy for each area? and where to buy the tickets? can i buy from the train station for individual tickets? and how much do they cost approximately?

I can't decide between going to hakone or kawaguchiko.. i thought kawaguchiko's better since it's closer to mt. fuji? wat would you recommend? kawaguchiko or hakone? Is it so different? Is it worth it to go to both? If it is.. how do I go from Kawaguchiko to Hakone?

Thanx for your help... It's really comprehensive :)

A 7 day JR Rail Pass is Yen 28300.
single ticket Osaka Kyoto Yen 540
Kyoto - Odawara shinkansen Yen 12000
Odawara - Tokyo Yen 1450
Tokyo Nagano Tokyo shinkansen Yen 16300
so you either buy a 7 day JR Pass starting day 3 and you visit Nikko by JR plus single tickets Osaka Kyoto and Tokyo Narita airport or for all travelsingle tickets
Hakone Free Pass and Nikko World Heritage Pass see under travel in this japan-guide.
JR tickets you buy at any JR railwaystation, see under travel in this japan-guide.
Kawaguchiko = You want to step on the foot of Fuji san.
Hakone = you want to have a full day of various experiences: view of Fuji san if weather permits, the boiling earth of an active volcano, crossing the lake, ropeway and visit of an old check-point.
It is worth to go to both, but one day minimum for each, if only one day then I recommend Hakone

You have not said, so can I assume that you are entering Japan via Kansai Airport and departing from Narita?

Contrary to what Peter has stated, a 7 day rail pass would save you money. Kyoto-Tokyo and a round trip to Nagano would come to around 30,000 Yen alone. I would get the pass for travel on days 4 thru 10. If you are leaving Japan via Narita on day 10, you can use the pass for the N'EX train.

Hi Peter & RobBeer.. really appreciate the patience...

someone actually suggested that i buy the 1 week JR pass for day 2-8.. (so i can use it on shinkansen osaka-kyoto, shinkansen Kyoto-Odawara, Odawara-Tokyo, shinkansen tokyo-nagano-tokyo, shinkansen tokyo-nikko-tokyo). can i actually use the JR pass for the whole trip i just mentioned above?

and then for tokyo, just buy the single daily tickets for my whole time in tokyo...

what do you think? is that efficient?

they do have shinkansen for:
- osaka-kyoto
- kyoto-odawara
- odawara-tokyo
- tokyo-nagano
- tokyo-nikko
right? and i can use the JR pass for all those trips above right?

i'm sorry if i ask stupid questions. i'm just really confused. and thanx a lot for the help..

If you are leaving from Narita on day 10, then no it would not be better value to use it days 2 thru 8. You can get the JR from Osaka to Kyoto for 540 Yen/46 minutes, no changes. The N'EX from Tokyo to Narita is 3,140 Yen. Also, a JR Rail Pass is virtually useless in Kyoto, whereas you can at least use it to get arout Tokyo on the Yamanote and other JR lines.

hi robbeer...

thanx again. it makes sense.. i won't be using the pass in kyoto.. then i can use the pass for kyoto-odawara right? single ticket for kyoto-odawara's quite expensive isn't it? so if i use the pass from day 3-9, would it be better?

since shinkansen kyoto-odawara (12000) is more expensive then the bus to narita (3000)?

by the way, from osaka-kyoto i can take shinkansen right? what about from kyoto-odawara and odawara-tokyo?

thanx again :)

mama pepel To go from Osaka to Kyoto you could use the Shinkansen but only if you are staying in Shin-Osaka as then the trip is fast and there are no changes. If you stay in downtown Osaka it is easier to take a direct train from Osaka main station. The shinkansens are fast long distance trains from the railway company called JR for short. Then there various categories of slower trains that are also JR trains and run between all sorts of towns .The JR 7/14/21 days passes allows you to travel all around Japan by using any of the JR trains an even some buses and ferries.
Please click on "travel" right at the top of this page then, when the first internet page open, look at the sub-heading rail and check everything under that sub-section. Under the section Japan A to Z at the top look for travel and check for various towns and transportation in/around these towns. You need to check all sorts of maps to become familiar with the location of different towns, the rail lines between towns etc. otherwise it is hard for you to follow the written directions people give you.

Have you checked out the JR site Hyperdia ?http://www.japanrail.com/JR_hyperdia.html
It is fantastic to calculate the times and costs of your itinerary and gives you 5 options for a set trip. You can then work out whether you want to go the fastest most direct route or the slower cheaper option. It also of course enables you to compare the cost of a pass to individual tickets.

Hi Auntie Bert & Glenda. Thank you very much for your help.

This is the current option best I'm having, thanx to you all.

Btw Glenda, the JR hyperdia is really amazing, isn't it? It just kinda answers all the out-of-town transportation questions. Thanx to you for this.

Anyway, here's my proposed traveling plan:

For my trip to Osaka-Kyoto, I'll buy single ticket since it only costs around 540-670 (Bus Ltd.Exp. Thunderbird)? Am I correct?

Then I will use my 7day JR Pass (28300) for all the trips from Day 4 - Day 10, when I move for:
Day 4. Kyoto-Odawara via Shinkansen Hikari.
Day 5. Odawara-Hakone (Hakonetojan Railroad or Odakyu Ltd. Exp.- What is the difference?)
Day 6. Hakone-Odawara (Again, can't decide between Hakonetojan and Odakyu. But I can use my JR Pass with in both these trains. Am I right?)
Day 7. Odawara-Tokyo via Shinkansen Kodama.
Day 8. Tokyo-Nagano-Tokyo via Shinkansen Asama.
Day 9. Tokyo-Nikko via Shinkansen Tsubasa or Yamabiko, then JR Nikko Line.
Day 10. Nikko Tokyo via JR Nikko Line, then Shinkansen Tsubasa or Yamabiko.

This way, I spend around 29000 only? What do you think? Thanx in advance :)

Hi Mama Pepel

We planned our whole 3 week trip using hyperdia. It was fabulous. The trains were all very efficient and absolutely on time. I found this paragraph on the hyperdia website which might help-

NEW! Hyperdia can now help you find trains you can use with a Japan Rail Pass. If you click the Except Nozomi button on the second page, where you insert your choice of times, you will get schedules only for Hikari and Kodama trains on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen lines. These are the trains that Japan Rail Pass holders must use when traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and other points on these lines.

The differences between the various options that they give you is usually the number of transfers, the time taken and the cost. The advantage of having a rail pass is that cost is not a problem so you are able to take the fastest most direct option at the time you choose. If you don't have a rail pass might havre to base your decisions on cost which could ultimately mean a slow multitransfer journey.
Also be aware when planning, sometimes in the cities they can be very large stations so make sure to allow plenty of time to get from one platform to another. All the best.