JR pass or not? - 14 days

Hello there,

I checked your itinerary and had a look at possible options for train tickets/passes. I recommend purchasing a 7 day JR Pass and use it for travel from Osaka - Kyoto - Nara - Nagoya - Tokyo - Osaka. This way you can make very good savings and cover most of your travel with it.

The JR Pass also comes in handy when traveling in Tokyo, travel to Akihabara and Disneyland is both covered.

Looks all good if you ask me, let me know if there's any part you'd like feedback on.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Hi, thanks for the response, i see what your saying but then doesnt that only give me 1 day in each of those places? I really wanted to stay in Nagoya for 2 nights. Can you explain how thats works with my itinerary, i want to make this holiday as cost effective as possible.

Hi again!

The most expensive travel is Kyoto - Nagoya - Tokyo - Osaka. If you can cover at least this, then you can make good savings. So you could either start using the JR Pass later or spend a bit less time in Nagoya.

While Nagoya is great for shopping most tourists don't really like it as much as other bigger cities in Japan. I think you could just spend 1 day there or even drop it entirely since you'll be in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo as well.

If planning allows it, I would also try to cover travel to the rabbit island with the JR Pass. Because this is also on of the more pricey trips.

Osaka, Kyoto and Nara are all close together, so you would not have to use the JR Pass there.

I see, so i will try to make it all fit. I was in Nagoya last year and really liked it, i want to base myself there and travel to Tokyo and back, and Mt Fuji and back, is this practical? It prob isn't, but i guess the question is it manageable?

Is the JRpass consecutive days or any 7 days? So i mean, once its activated, the clock starts ticking?

Hi again!

Yes the JR Pass is consecutive! I must say that I certainly enjoyed parts of Nagoya myself but am also taking feedback from other travelers in mind.

Tokyo and Nagoya are connected directly using the Shinkansen and you could base yourself in Nagoya without much trouble.

Mt. Fuji can also be reached from Nagoya, I recommend making the approach via the Shizuoka area or visit Hakone. However I would not go to the Fuji Five Lakes area (including Kawaguchiko) as there's a lot of travel involved coming from Nagoya.

In the case that it is consecutive then i am thinking the best way to try to take advantage of this would be to re-shape my itinerary, if i was to purchase 7 day pass then i would change it as shown:
Base myself in Osaka for 5 days, i feel like its a bit rushed though
Day 1 - KIX to Osaka Namba
Day 2 - Kyoto
Day 3 - Universal Studios
Day 4 - Nara
Day 5 - Osaka general sightseeing, Castle, Dontonburi, Amerikamura
Day 6 - Nagoya - activate 7 day pass to from Osaka to Nagoya - shopping, castle, Osu - base myself in Nagoya
Day 7 - Okunoshima
Day 8 - Mt Fuji
Day 9 - Tokyo - Disney Sea
Day 10 - Tokyo - sightseeing in the city
Day 11 - Akihabara
Day 12 - Back to Osaka - 7 day pass expires
Day 13-14 - stay in Osaka - shopping etc

Or with a 14 day pass, i would base myself in Nagoya from Day 3-ish, as i really know that city well and i would feel more comfortable and its cheaper to stay in Nagoya, and i don't mind the back and forth traveling, and its really likely i'll change my mind about when i want to do things, i feel like the 14 day gives that flexibility, but maybe i am being silly, i just feel that if i can base myself in Nagoya, accommodation is cheaper and makes it worth it.....i'm not sure if i have planned the initial days very well, any suggestions? what do u think re the JR pass?

Day 1 - KIX to Osaka - stay in Osaka for 2 nights
Day 2 - Kyoto - sightseeing at night in Osaka
Day 3 - Nara all day - sightseeing at night - luggage storage - head to Nagoya, base myself in Nagoya - activate JR pass 14 days
Day 4 - Nagoya to Okunoshima
Day 5 - Nagoya to Universal Studios, Osaka
Day 6 - Nagoya to Mt Fuji
Day 7 - Nagoya sightseeing, shopping, castle etc
Day 8 - Nagoya, Osu, malls
Day 9 - Nagoya to Tokyo - Disney Sea
Day 10- Nagoya to Tokyo - Akihabara
Day 11 - Nagoya to Tokyo sightseeing around the city
Day 12 - Nagoya to Tokyo - water parks
Day 13 - Nagoya to Osaka - sightseeing, KIX on day 14

Hi there,

The charm of the JR Pass of course is that you don't have to worry about travel costs. So basing yourself in Nagoya and traveling somewhere everyday is a possibility. I don't see any problem with it, as long as you are okay with traveling every day as well.

Option one will give you less distance to cover but maybe higher hotel prices.

Option two will give you one central base but will involve more distance to travel and you have to purchase a 14 day pass instead of a 7 day pass but may have lower accommodation costs and you don't have to move all your luggage as much.

Both options do work it's up to your own preferences I guess.