hi all! i’m going to japan in october with my sister and i have been going back and forth on whether a JR pass is worth it for both of us since it’s essentially gonna cost the same as what it’ll cost if i just buy the shinkansen tickets individually (at least with the prices i’m seeing now).
here’s a quick breakdown of my trip, and i am staying near the yamanote line when i’m in tokyo.
october 4 – land in tokyo
october 5 – asakusa, tokyo skytree area, akihabara
october 6 – shibuya, harajuku, omotesando, shinjuku
october 7 – teamlabs, tsukiji market, ginza, imperial palace area
october 8 – SHINKANSEN TO KYOTO; nishiki market, pontocho alley, gion
october 9 – kiyomizudera, yasaka jinja, ninnenzaka/sannenzaka
october 10 – day trip to arashiyama
october 11 – fushimi inari, nara
october 12 – train to osaka, kuromon market, amerika-mura/shinsaibashi, dotonbori
october 13 – osaka aquarium, shinsekai
october 14 – SHINKANSEN BACK TO TOKYO; maybe ikebukuro or ueno, shinjuku at night
october 15 – day trip to kamakura and enoshima island
october 16 – shimokitazawa, daikanyama, nakameguro
october 17 – flying back to USA at 5PM
so based on this schedule, i could buy the 7 day rail pass for ¥29,650 / $203. i looked up the dates of my 2 shinkansen trips and the total came out to approximately $202.
is it worth buying the JR pass if it’s so close? are there any benefits i’m missing? if i could use it on normal JR yamanote trains i think it’d be worth it, but given the 7 day period i’d really just be able to use it on that day we get back to tokyo.
thank you!
10 comments
Even if you’re breaking even it might not be worth it. There’s pros and cons to both. Since most information about the pass is very positive, check [this comment thread](https://reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/s/lSpxChT2QK) for a differing opinion.
You can use JR pass for JR lines in Tokyo, so you’ll end up saving money with the JR pass than buying the tickets individually, even if it’s a little bit of money since you won’t be back in Tokyo for that long at the end.
The trip from Kyoto to Osaka can be done on a JR line, that would already save you a bit a money, and you could also get to Nara for free if you manage to squeeze it in even if just for petting a deer and leaving, so yeah, I’d go for it
Can use it in Tokyo and for the trains you don’t need seat reservations for it’ll make the process of traveling much easier as you can just walk through the gate as soon as you arrive at the station rather than queue/buy tickets and you can use the pass for any train whereas with a ticket you might be limited to the train you buy a ticket for
JR pass is more of a headache imo with your plans.
If you haven’t included the Yamanote Line and travel to/from the airport in your estimations then you’ll likely be making a (small) saving with the pass. If so, worth it imo for the peace of mind and flexibility.
You can use JR pass on yamanote line and its pretty much the main train you will be using for the entirety of your stay in Tokyo. Might be worth it getting it just to avoid buying separate tickets or using IC to get around tokyo.
JR pass you cannot use the Nozomi Shinkansen that is a bit faster. You might also force yourself to use JR to save money when it might not be the best option, for example depending on hotel location in Kyoto, you might be close to private railway companies that would make the route easier.
Use the Japan Rail Pass Calculator! [https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/](https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/)
I actually found it nice when I’m a big station I can just use my jr pass to cut through inside of walking around even if I wasn’t riding the train or subway for JR at the time. I just wanted to cross through. Only makes sense if it’s about even with your travel plans and you may take some local JR trains too