Should I get a 14 day jr pass?

Hi there!

I checked your itinerary for the best option and would advise buying normal tickets for your travels. The JR Pass is great when travelling around Japan and I would have recommended a 7 day JR Pass if you made the trip Nagoya - Kyoto - Tokyo - Nagoya in 7 days but the price of a 14 day JR Pass would not help you make savings for the above route, even with with side trips added in.

For reference, travel between Nagoya Airport and Nagoya station is not covered by the JR Pass as the airport service is run by the Meitetsu railway company. You can activate your JR Pass at Nagoya station.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Thanks for the reply Daniel. i was thinking the 14 day pass but didnt think it was economical. However we are planning on using the trains a lot in Tokyo so the other option was to purchase the 7 day pass and pay for the shinkansen seperately from Nagoya to Kyoto.We are staying in Kyoto from the 10th July and were thinking of activating the pass on the 11th so we could use it for the Nara side trip, then using up until we leave Tokyo for Nagoya on the 18th. Do you think this option could work? Also can we activate this pass in Kyoto other than Kyoto station? We are staying downtown near Sanjo Station. Thanks

Just another thought. Is there a rail/bus pass we can use for 2-3 days while in Nagoya? thanks

Hi Again!

You would look at the following
Kyoto - Nara ¥ 710
Nara - Kyoto ¥ 710
Kyoto - Tokyo ¥ 13,400
Tokyo - Nagoya ¥ 10,680

For a total of ¥ 25,500 the 7 day JR Pass is ¥ 29,110, add in local travel in Tokyo and you may break even. The main reason to consider the JR Pass in this case would be for convenience, as you have just one ticket for all your travel.

If you do have a JR Pass, consider making a side trip from Tokyo to Nikko. I've always found this one of the most impressive places in Japan. Also without the JR Pass traveling there can cost over ¥ 10,000 and this way the JR Pass really pays for itself.

You can activate the JR Pass at Kyoto station. We even have a step-by-step online guide on how to Activate your JR Pass @ Kyoto station.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Thanks for your help Daniel. I may just get the jr pass anyway for the convenience. Can the pass be used around kyoto for the bus and trains? I am thinking of going up to Arashiyama as well

Hi again,

The JR Pass can be used around Kyoto on the local JR Network. For instance travel to Arashiyama is covered. In addition you may visit Uji, Fishimi Inara and the west of Kyoto with it.

Buses running trough Kyoto are mostly not covered though, as they are run by the city itself.

Thanks Daniel, you've been so helpful!!