Need help with a few specific doubts:
My spouse and I will be in Japan for 14 days exactly. We could get a 14 day JR Pass, but we believe 7 days is what makes most sense for us – since we will be spending half of our trip in the Tokyo & surrounding areas. We would be activating our JR Pass for the last half of our trip, unfortunately it would expire a day short of our departure – so we will have to pay for the transportation from Tokyo to Narita.
We are intending on using a combination of Tokyo Metro Pass and SUICA for traveling within Tokyo. I am looking into getting the Skyliner Round Trip Plus Tokyo Metro 72 hr pass for 5,580 Yen. This seems like a great deal beacuse the Tokyo pass alone is 1,500 – making the round trip to/from Narita cost only 2,040 each way, in a train faster than the Narita Express (Keisei Skyliner).
* Has anyone used this pass? I’ve rarely come across anyone mentioning it
* If so, do you know how the return ticket works? My understanding is that I get a voucher, so my intuition tells me that I exchange that voucher for an actual ticket when I am ready to return. How far in advance can I do this?
* Our hotel is right beside Roppongi station. Based on my research it seems like we would be taking a lot of the Tokyo Metro lines, and we don’t expect to be taking the Yamanote line a whole lot. Tokyo Metro pass makes sense for us – correct? It usually pays itself off in less than 3 uses per day, which we are intending on.
The only main trip we are intending on doing outside of Tokyo is in the Yamanashi area – specifically Lake Kawaguchik, Chureito Pagoda, Saiko Iysashi-no-Sato Nenba, Fuji Shibazakura Festival, and possible the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway.
* Since we won’t have a JR pass, we won;t be going the Shinjuku to Otsuki to Fujikyu way. Instead, our research indicates that a bus from Tokyo station to Kawaguchiko station is the best way to go. Is this correct?
* In what order would you do the attractions I listed in this area? We will be taking the earliest possible bus and willing to take the latest one back.
I was initially considering the JR Wide Pass when arriving to use it for: Airport to Tokyo, Tokyo to Kawaguchiko, and Tokyo to Nikko. Even then, it seemed like a very close call in value vs. just getting the Nikko area pass.We are also leaning towards not going to Nikko, because we don’t want to have so many days traveling 4+ hrs round trip. We are also from British Columbia, Canada, where waterfalls and mountains are in abudance – so crazy city life is more appealing to us for this trip (aside from Kawaguchiko).
I think that’s all. Any other advice is welcome.
3 comments
Tokyo metro pass can be loaded on Pasmo, get a Pasmo instead of Suica.
Yes you are likely going to use more subway because of hotel location, but might still use the train or other modes of transportation depending on the destination.
Yes, bus to Kawaguchiko make sense. Actually if you had the JR pass, I would have recommended to use the Fuji excursion train, it is direct so no change at Otsuki, but you have to pay for the last part. That train is about the speed of the bus. It is also fully covered by the wide pass. What the pass does not cover is the bus in Nikko.
In one day I would not have recommended Nikko for the waterfall, but just stay around the temple/shrine area.
Hi! You can consider using the Keisei Sky Access Express to go from NRT > Tokyo. It’s not super high speed, about 1hr30 give or take depending what time but it is much cheaper ~1500 Y to get to Roppongi Sta. You also don’t need to buy a separate ticket for it, IC card will work.
I’d double check and ask the info desk at the airport if the metro pass is valid for the SkyAccess Express, I don’t see why it wouldn’t though since it takes normal IC card and utilizes the same valid routes ( Asakusa / Oedo / Hibiya) . If it doesn’t, I personally don’t think it’s a loss because the price is relatively cheap.
Can’t comment on Kawaguchiko , but I almost went and also researched the bus seemed like the best option.
We found the bus from tokyo to kawaguchiko pretty convenient. Ordered our tickets online in advance as its currently a busy period.
Cant comment on using the trains to and from kawaguchiko. There seemed to be a lot of different train routes (fuji kyoku, fuji limited express & fuji excursion?) which could be an option too. We just stuck to the buses as it seemed easier. The station and help desks was also chaos at the time so didnt bother enquiring.