Is the JR Pass the best option for our itinerary? Tokyo-Hakone-Kyoto-Kanasawa-Shirakawago-Takayama-Tokyo

Hi there,

I can't really find a pass that would help you make savings here. This is because the JR Pass counts down and you spend a good amount of night in each city, that means the JR Pass would not really help on the days you stay locally.

I think just buying tickets as you go would be the best way to get around, this is also because some parts would not be included in the JR Pass, such as the bus to Shirakawa-go or the Romance car, which is run by Odakyu.

One final word of advice, I see you spend 2 nights in Shirakawa-go. Make sure you have a plan what you'll do here for the time, as Shirakawa-go (the main village) is quite small and you'll be done seeing everything in a couple of hours.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Thank you so much Daniel San! I really appreciate it. Thanks for the tip regarding Shirakawa-go!

For travel times, I recommend learning to plan with Hyperdia this way you can find any route/timetable and more. It's a great tool for planning with the JR Pass. We also have a useful interactive map with all JR lines included.