Narita to Shinjuku to Kyoto to Shinjuku to Tokyo

Hi there!

In general, a 7 day rail pass starts making sense if you do 1 return trip to Kyoto from Tokyo (the ticket price of this is ¥26,440 and a 7 day rail pass is ¥28,300). You'll need to do a little bit more travel, but once you do, all further JR travel is free.

Do you intend to do more travel around Kyoto or Tokyo? For example to Nara, Hiroshima, Nikko? If so, the rail pass will certainly be worthwhile.

You can also use the rail pass for a lot of travel on JR lines around Tokyo (unfortunately it is not valid for the Tokyo Metro). Here's a map of JR lines around Tokyo to give you a feel for whether JR would help with your explorations.

Hope this helps!

Not sure if we will do any bigger trips outside of Kyoto or Tokyo, but do the JR Lines provide enough travel options within the city such that we will not require access to Metro as well?

Lastly, can the JR Pass be used to get from Narita Airport to the Shinjuku area? If so, can you provide more specific info?

Thank you for your reply. Your help is much appreciated!

Hi there, no problem!

The use of the JRPass in Tokyo does depend on your travel plans (check the map I link to above to see how well they match up). In general, I think you should see the JR option as the free choice and use it where you can, but plan on using a little bit of Metro travel as well to get the best out of your stay in the city.

The JR Pass can be used to get from Narita Airport to Shinjuku. It is valid on all JR trains, including the Narita Express fast train direct to Shinjuku from Narita. For more information, you can check the Narita Express website.

You may also want to take a look at the [combined Narita Express + Metro travel card option] here for some savings on metro travel in Tokyo.

Hope this helps!