JR Train Passes

Hello! I am wondering if the convenience of the JR train pass is worth it. Our "home base" will be Tokyo, but we will visit Kyoto and Yokohama at least; possibly other places of interest (suggestions for day trips are welcome!). So is the JR Pass worth it? Thanks in advance for the advice!

Yes, it's probably going to be worth it if you're heading down to Kyoto and back. It costs about 27,000 yen roundtrip from Kyoto to Tokyo. It costs 28,300 yen for a 7 day pass. I'm sure you'll more than likely spend more than the remaining 1,300 yen worth in Tokyo whether you take something like the Narita Express or just on local JR lines...

It's especially useful if you head down to Kyoto but maybe want to get off the train and check out some in between cities on the way back!

Kyoto is more than 2 hours on the bullet train Tokyo. If you plan to visit Kyoto I would not make it a "day trip." I would stay a couple of days. (much to see) But if all your travel is in the Tokyo area the JR pass is not worth it. (like Yokohama, Hakone, Kamakura, etc.) It's less than $10 each way.

Thank you much for your reply! I should clarify that we will be 2 nights in Kyoto and a total of 8 nights in Tokyo. Since the train passes only offer 7 or 14 days, and we'll travel at various times, I guess that means I'll have to purchase the 14-day passes. Do you know if the 7 days have to be consecutive or not?

a Sample itinerary
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_9.html

and the usage of JR Pass have to be consective 7days.

I would not buy a 14 day rail pass (at 45,300 yen) if you are going to spend the bulk of your time in Tokyo. Stick with the 7 day pass and time its use to when you are going to Kyoto. Use it around Tokyo and when it expires you can purchase Tokyo Metro One Day Pass for 710 yen that will give you unlimited use on the Metro for the day. http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/ticket/oneday.html#o...

You might want to purchase a Suica + N'ex card also for when you arrive at Narita. http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/

Japan Rail Pass makes sense for long-distance trips, such as Tokyo - Kyoto/Osaka. (If you make that round-trip, a 7-day pass pays off, as explained above.) You do not *need* it for days only with local travel such as Tokyo - Yokohama or Tokyo - Kamakura, even.

So if you can plan your itinerary so that all long-distance travels fit within a 7-day period, you can use the JR Pass to cover those and any other JR shorter distance trips within the 7-days, and and buy regular tickets (or buy prepaid card for the convenience of not having to buy single tickets every time) for short-distance trips that fall outside the 7-day period.

For example, in the "sample itinerary" for 11 days given in the link above, you would probably want to use your 7-day JR Pass from day 5 till day 11 (assuming that on the last day you use Narita Express, which is a JR train, to Narita airport). This makes an efficient use of the pass.

Thank you much for your reply! I should clarify that we will be 2 nights in Kyoto and a total of 8 nights in Tokyo. Since the train passes only offer 7 or 14 days, and we'll travel at various times, I guess that means I'll have to purchase the 14-day passes. Do you know if the 7 days have to be consecutive or not?

I thought Ts and I answered your questions - yes, the 7 days have to be consecutive, so you need to plan your itinerary well to make efficient use of the rail pass :)

My guess (without knowing your full itinerary) is that you seem not to be planning to go as far as Hiroshima, and you seem to be planning to spend many days IN/around Tokyo, you would probably do well only with 7-day pass, using single tickets for days not covered by the pass :) 14-day pass can be a waste of money, is what Paul, Is, and I are saying...

For example, if you are on one day only doing Tokyo - Yokohama return trip, you can buy single tickets. For another, if you are doing a Tokyo - Hakone return trip, if that day falls within the 7-day, you can use it to get go Tokyo - Odawara, and buy a separate pass/tickets for travel WITHIN Hakone (this area is not covered by JR Pass anyway), OR, if you happen to make that trip outside the period covered by 7-day, you can use a separate non-JR transport from Tokyo to Hakone, which may turn out to be cheaper.

... the site posted my question again. I will be purchasing the 7-day pass and will buy individual tickets for the other days. The link for the suggested itinerary is great, maybe we'll sneak off to Himeji from Kyoto!