Hello everyone! In late July, my group will be going to Japan for 14 Days. We need some feedback on our Itinerary and some help regarding the JR Pass and if it’s worth it. We plan on hitting Tokyo, Kawagoe, Kanagawa, Osaka, Kyoto. Where we’re a bit stumped on, is if we should use the JR Pass to get between Osaka and Tokyo, and if that, added with the trips to Kanagawa, Kawagoe, Kyoto and all the rides in-between each part of the city (e.g. from Akihabara to Asakusa), will pay off the JR Pass. Our alternative was flying between Osaka and Tokyo, and just using the local lines to get to everywhere else with PASMO.
The flight we found is with Jetstar. It’s \~550 for all four of us with their FareCredit. **Is FareCredit worth it?**
**We’re also a bit shaky on Week 2 after returning to Tokyo. IF there’s more to do more on the Osaka side, that’d be great to know.**
So feedback on that, alongside our Itinerary would be greatly appreciated!
**Day 1 (September 25th)**
* Arrival at Narita (3PM)
* Train to Airbnb in Kita
* Explore marketplace near Airbnb
**Day 2 (September 26th)**
* Asakusa Kimono Rental
* Shimokitazawa
**Day 3 (September 27th)**
* Tonogayato Garden
* Tachikawa
* Okunitama Jinja in Fuchu for Festival
**Day 4 (September 28th)**
* Morning exploration around AirBnb
* Flight to Osaka (Afternoon)
* Train to Airbnb in Minato Ward
* Explore around Airbnb
**Day 5 (September 29th)**
* Meeting up with Japanese friend
* Namba Parks
* Hozenji
**Day 6 (September 30th)**
* Umeda
* Hanadako
* Underground Mall Shopping
* Mitsuboshiseimenjo
**Day 7 (October 1st)**
* Kyoto Day Trip
* Kameyama Park
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Okochi Sanso Villa
**Day 8 (October 2nd)**
* Kobe Herb Gardens trip
**Day 9 (October 3rd)**
* Flight back to Tokyo
* Rest for the rest of the day at Airbnb
**Day 10 (October 4th)**
* Kamakura Day Trip
* Enoshima if we have time
**Day 11 (October 5th)**
* Kawagoe Trip
* Hikawa Shrine
* Taisho Roman Yume-dori
* Shintomicho
**Day 12 (October 6th)**
* Yokohama Trip
* Chinatown
* Cup Noodle Museum
* Red Brick Warehouse
**Day 13 (October 7th)**
* Relax?
* Free Space
**Day 14 (October 8th)**
* Flight Home
1 comment
From Akihabara to Asakusa is the worst example of local use of JR Pass as Asakusa does not have a local JR station.
If you were to use the JR Pass, it would need to be 7 days and will cost about the same as round trip Tokyo-Osaka with individual tickets. So if you can fly for less than the cost of the 7 days JR Pass (or 30 000 yen)… then flying can be cheaper (also depend fly from what airport as you need to add cost of going to/from airport.
What can be good is Narita Express round trip discount ticket. https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/nex.html