2 weeks in Japan: 7 or 14 days JR pass?

Hi Sarunas,

Welcome to the forums :)
I see that you already have your itinerary well planned, especially like the part where you visit Takayama, Shirakawago and Kanazawa, there is more than enough to see and visit here in two days time.

Going to the question about a 7 day or 14 day JR Pass, I think that a 14 JR Pass would be well worth it, for instance a return Tokyo Takayama would already really pay save you more money that the cost for the upgrade.

Here is a list with ticket prices:

Narita -> Tokyo ¥ 3,140
Tokyo Nikko (return) ¥ 11,260
Tokyo --> Takayama ¥ 14,600
Kanazawa --> Tokyo ¥ 13,010

This adds up to ¥ 42,010, which is for the first week alone. To cost for the upgrade from the 7 day to the 14 day JR pass is ¥ 16,800. So you would really make some good savings here (¥ 25,210).

Now on the the 2nd week:
Tokyo - Osaka :¥ 13,950
Osaka - Hiroshima ¥ 10,150
Hiroshima - Matsue ¥ 9,770
Matsue - Iwakuni ¥ 10,300
Iwakuni - Hiroshima ¥ 740
Hiroshima - Okayama ¥ 6,060
Okayama - Tottori ¥ 4,660
Tottori - Himeji ¥ 4,740
Himeji - Nara ¥ 5,270
Nara - Kyoto ¥ 690
Kyoto - Tokyo ¥ 13,420
Tokyo - Narita Airport ¥ 3,140

This is an other ¥ 82,890 in travel or ¥ 124,900 in total. The 14 day JR Pass is ¥ 45,100 so you would save ¥ 79,800.
Not bad right! In addition you can also use it for travel on local JR lines in Tokyo.

For the rest you are pretty much good to go, maybe Hiroshima --> Matsue; Iwakuni (kintai-kyo); Miyajima is a little much in just 2 days but certainly possible if you plan it well. While there consider a visit to the Adachi Art Museum I was very impressed by it, the garden is also very beautiful.

For Koya-san, You can't go all the way there by JR alone and the last part from Osaka is traveled on a private railway. A Koyasan World heritage ticket may be of interest to you here.

Make the most of your trip!
-Daniel

Thank You Daniel for a quick reply!

Summing this all up, I see, that 14 days JR pass is a must have. As I will have really big savings. Even for one person it is a lot! And here everything times x2 as we will be two persons.

One more question just for curiosity. Maybe you suggest something else to visit in this day in/near "Osaka --> Mount Koya (Koyasan)". Maybe Mount Koya is not the best choice?

Your replies are very appreciate!
Sarunas

Hi Again,

Yes your plans make for a very good example of how efficient a JR Pass can be.

I personally love Koyasan and it makes for a wonderful visit with your loved one (especially if you stay the night).
Other than that I would certainly recommend a visit to Kobe for a day or two. This Website shows many of the things that Kobe has to offer.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Million thanks again Daniel! I will keep in mind Kobe and will look around on the web regarding it.

Have a nice day!
Sarunas