Can I Use My Jr Pass in Kyoto

The Japan Rail Pass (JRP) can save you a LOT of money in Japan, only it takes some planning to brand the most of it. Here is our full guide to buying, using and getting the best value from a Japan Rail Pass.

Japan Rail Pass: antb / Shutterstock.com

Nippon Rails Pass: The Quick Explanation

Here are the basic facts almost the Japan Runway Pass. For full details on each entry, whorl down.

• A Japan Rail Pass covers travel on all Japan Runway (JR) lines in Japan, equally well as some JR double-decker lines and the JR Uno-Miyajima Ferry.
• At that place are 7-day, 14-day, and 21-24-hour interval Nihon Rail Passes.
• There are ordinary and Greenish Car (first class) passes.
• Almost people buy their Japan Runway Laissez passer online before arriving in Japan.
• You can buy the Nippon Rail Pass online at Voyagin.com which is an official partner of JR Runway.
• One time yous purchase the pass online, Voyagin will send an Commutation Voucher to you by post which you then exchange for the Rail Pass itself on arrival in Nihon at the airport or at whatever JR Rails station.
• The substitution club must exist converted into the bodily pass inside three months of the date the exchange order was issued.
• When yous convert your exchange order into an actual Japan Track Pass, you can prepare it to go "agile" upwardly to 30 days in advance (ie, at a later appointment).
• Once the pass is active, the clock is ticking (for case, a 7-24-hour interval pass volition final exactly 7 days from the twenty-four hour period information technology becomes agile, ie, the validity is for consecutive days).
• You can reserve seats with a Nippon Runway Pass in person at train stations in Japan (but not from abroad).
• There are some clever tricks to become the almost out of a Nihon Rails Pass. We'll discuss these in particular later on.
• Here are the prices for a Japan Rails Laissez passer purchased exterior Japan:

Type:	Light-green		Ordinary
Duration	Adult	Child	Adult	Child
7-mean solar day	39,600 YEN	nineteen,800 YEN	29,650 YEN	14,820 YEN
14-day	64,120 YEN	32,060 YEN	47,250 YEN	23,620 YEN
21-solar day	83,390 YEN	41,690 YEN	60,450 YEN	30,220 YEN

Shinkansen in Tokyo Station: Joshua Davenport / Shutterstock.com

Nippon Runway Pass Introduction

The Nippon Rail Pass is one of the world'south best travel deals. If y'all do just one round trip on the Narita Express (N'EX) train between Narita Drome and Tokyo, and one round trip on the shinkansen (bullet train) between Tokyo and Kyoto, a pass Volition salve you coin (for more details on savings, see the following department). Merely, more than than only saving you coin, an ordinary Japan Runway Pass makes travel much easier. Why? Considering with the ordinary pass you don't have to purchase tickets or brand reservations: you just breeze through the turnstiles similar a VIP and get on the next train to your destination. That is huge, especially if you don't speak or read Japanese, or simply hate continuing in line.

500 Serial Shinkansen in Himeji: Kapi Ng / Shutterstock.com

Is the Japan Track Pass Worth It?

Here is the simple math behind the savings with a Japan Runway Pass:

• Circular trip NE'10 fare between Narita Airdrome and Tokyo: Y6,040
• Round trip shinkansen fare betwixt Tokyo and Kyoto: Y26,160
• Total: Y32,200
• Cost of 7-day ordinary Japan Rails Pass: Y29,110

And so, right at that place, you've saved Y3090 (nigh US$28)! But you lot're likely to practice much more travel than that in Japan, so you could save a hundred bucks or more with a 7-day laissez passer. And, if y'all're ownership a 14-day or 21-day pass and really exploring Nippon, you could salve several hundred dollars.

Nippon Runway Pass and Japanese cash: oatautta / Shutterstock.com

So buying a Japan Rail Pass is a complete no brainer. The only people who shouldn't buy a Nippon Rail Pass are those who intend to come to Japan and stay put in one city, or those who programme to travel around Nihon past airplane or long-distance ferry.

Greenish Machine vs Ordinary Laissez passer

Nippon Railways calls their first-class cars "Green Cars." You can find Green Cars on shinkansen and on limited express trains (known as "tokkyu" in Japanese). Sure, Light-green Cars are significantly more than comfortable than regular cars, only, in some ways, a Greenish Machine Nihon Track Pass is less user-friendly than an ordinary Nihon Rail Pass. Why? Because all Greenish Auto seats are reserved. So, different with an ordinary pass, you take to get into the ticket office and reserve your seats every time you travel. That's sort of a pain. But, if you lot know your whole itinerary, you can have care of all your reservations with one stop at a Nihon Railways office before long after arriving in Nippon.

Green Motorcar on a shinkansen in Hokkaido: Piti Sirisriro / Shutterstock.com

For a full breakdown of the differences between Green Cars and ordinary cars, with pictures of seats, check out JR Trains: Green Cars Versus Ordinary Cars.

Can You lot Reserve Seats With an Ordinary Japan Rail Pass?

Yes, you tin reserve seats with an ordinary Nihon Runway Pass (ie, non simply a Green Machine Pass). If you are going to travel on a shinkansen (bullet train) or limited express (tokkyu), you can reserve seats up to one month in accelerate of your actual travel. Just drop into an Japan Railways ticket role with your laissez passer. So, you could reserve all of your seats with i stop at a JR ticket part. Annotation, however, that you must do this inside Japan. Yous cannot reserve seats from outside Japan.

Shinkansen ticket office in Shinagawa Station: Laboo Studio / Shutterstock.com

Are In that location Any Trains You Cannot Ride With a Nihon Rail Pass?

You cannot use the pass on the Nozomi shinkansen or the Mizuho shinkansen. The Nozomi runs on the Tokaido/Sanyo line between Tokyo and Hakata (Kyushu). The Mizuho runs betwixt Osaka and Kagoshima (Kyushu). This doesn't really thing to tourists since there are other shinkansen on the same routes that travel on the same lines and only take a scrap longer. For instance, the Nozomi takes about two hours and 15 minutes betwixt Tokyo and Kyoto, while the Hikari (another type of shinkansen that runs on the same line) takes about two hours and 38 minutes.

Shinkansen and Mt Fuji: IamDoctorEgg / Shutterstock.com

How to Buy a Japan Runway Laissez passer

Almost people buy their Japan Track Laissez passer online before arriving in Nippon. When you purchase a Nippon Rail Pass online, you lot will receive an "exchange lodge" (run across photo beneath) in the mail. The Japanese company Voyagin is a trustworthy and reliable online vendor of Nippon Runway Passes. They send their tickets from Japan by Ems limited mail, which is quick, rubber and reliable.

Nihon Rail Pass Substitution Order – paradigm © Chris Rowthorn

Upon arriving in Japan, yous must exchange your exchange order for the bodily runway pass. Yous'll need your passport to do so. You lot tin can do this immediately upon inflow at Narita Airport, Haneda Airport or Kansai International Airport (among others). Or you lot can exercise so at major train stations in Japan like Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ueno, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya (among others). Nonetheless, you may not want to exchange the laissez passer immediately (come across the following section for an explanation).

Note that Nihon Railways has started selling Nihon Rail Passes in Nippon. At this point, this is but a trial, simply it might become permanent. If you buy the pass inside Japan, it costs a bit more than. Hither are the prices for passes bought within Nippon.

At this signal, yous can only buy them at major train stations (Tokyo, Osaka etc) and major international airports (Narita, Haneda and Kansai).

When to Buy a Japan Rail Laissez passer

If y'all're going to purchase your Nippon Rail Laissez passer before arriving in Nippon, keep in mind that you must catechumen the commutation guild into the actual pass inside three months of its appointment of issue. So, don't buy the pass too far in accelerate. But, don't leave information technology to the last minute, because the exchange order will be sent to you by mail and this tin can have several days. So, we recommend buying your pass about one month before you lot exit for Nihon. Voyagin sends their passes by EMS express mail and these usually arrive less than a week later on they are sent out.

Nippon Rail Pass ticket side: Peter Gudella / Shutterstock.com

How to Make the Most of Your Japan Track Pass

Hither is the primary point: A Japan Runway Pass only saves you money on long-distance train travel on shinkansen and limited expresses. You should pay for short hops on city trains like the Tokyo Loop Line (Yamanote-sen) or the Osaka Loop Line (Kanjo-sen) with cash or, better yet, with a smart card similar a Suica, Pasmo or Icoca card.

The reason is simple: short hops on local lines are cheap, while long-altitude travel is expensive, and the Nihon Rail Laissez passer just pays off when you utilise it to cover expensive travel. Here'southward the math: A 7-day ordinary pass costs about Y4,158 per day. Half dozen short hops on the Tokyo Loop (Yamanote) Line to explore Tokyo would cost you Y1,200 (at an average fare of Y200 per trip). So, you'd exist wasting money to pay for that with a pass that costs Y4,158 day. In contrast, a ane-way journeying on the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto costs Y13,080, so you're style ahead with the laissez passer (you save Y8,922 for that twenty-four hours).

Narita Express railroad train in Tokyo: EQRoy / Shutterstock.com

Many people beginning their Nippon trips in Tokyo at Narita, which is continued to Tokyo by the fast and efficient Narita Express (NE'Ten). So, some people actuate their passes at the airport to cover that NE'X ride and then they use it to comprehend local travel in Tokyo. This is a bad idea, not but because it would be cheaper to pay for local travel with cash, merely also because Tokyo is best explored with subways, which are not covered by the pass.

People in line at JR Station in Narita: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock.com

There's another reason not to go your laissez passer at the airport: The line at the JR Travel Services Office (where you convert the substitution lodge into the bodily pass) at Narita is often very long and slow. Who wants to wait on line later a long international flight? Why not do information technology the following twenty-four hours at Tokyo Station or Shinjuku Station, when you're rested? Then, set information technology to become active the twenty-four hour period you exit Tokyo to start exploring Nihon.

Sample Itineraries to Make the Most of a Japan Rail Pass

1) A week or so: Tokyo and Kyoto with a 7-day Japan Rail Pass

Tokyo skyline with Tokyo Tower: Blue Planet Studio / Shutterstock.com

If you lot have a calendar week or 10 days in Japan and just want to run across Kyoto and Tokyo, hither's the smart mode to do it with a seven-day Nihon Rail Pass.

• Go far at Narita and pay with cash or a credit card for the NE'X to Tokyo.
• Spend two days in Tokyo using a Suica or Pasmo card to pay for trains and subways.
• Drib into a JR ticket office sometime during those 2 days with your passport and set your pass to become active on the twenty-four hour period yous travel to Kyoto.
• Travel by shinkansen to Kyoto using your laissez passer.
• Base yourself in Kyoto for 5 days.
• If you need a break from Kyoto, you can take twenty-four hour period trips to places like Nara, Osaka or Himeji (for the castle). These trips will be covered past the pass.
• Travel by shinkansen dorsum to Tokyo. This volition also exist covered past your laissez passer.
• Spend one nighttime in Tokyo.
• Utilize the laissez passer to comprehend the NE'10 back to Narita for your flight home.

Cost of railroad train tickets if bought separately: Y32,200
Cost of seven-solar day ordinary Japan Rail Pass: Y29,110
Toll of one-way on the NE'X: Y3,020
Total savings: Y70*

*The savings will be much greater if you lot take day trips to Nara, Osaka or Himeji.

You can also view the full size version of this map.

For more details, see the full itinerary for this 7 to ten days Nippon trip.

2) A week or so: Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto with a vii-twenty-four hour period Nihon Track Pass

Fushimi-Inari Shrine in Kyoto: Luciano Mortula – LGM / Shutterstock.com

If you'd like to add one metropolis to the to a higher place route and encompass it with a 7-day Japan Rail Pass, here is what we recommend:

• Arrive at Narita and pay with cash or a credit card for the NE'Ten to Tokyo.
• Spend two days in Tokyo using a Suica or Pasmo menu to pay for trains and subways.
• Drop into a JR ticket office sometime during those two days with your passport and set your pass to go active on the 24-hour interval you lot travel to Kanazawa.
• Travel by the new Hokuriku shinkansen from Tokyo to Kanazawa using your laissez passer.
• Spend i night in Kanazawa.
• Travel from Kanazawa to Kyoto on the Thunderbird Limited using your pass.
• Base yourself in Kyoto for 3 or iv days.
• If you need a pause from Kyoto, you can take solar day trips to places like Nara, Osaka or Himeji (for the castle). These trips will exist covered by the pass.
• Travel by shinkansen back to Tokyo. This will as well be covered by your laissez passer.
• Spend one night in Tokyo.
• Use the pass to cover the NE'X back to Narita for your flight home.

Cost of train tickets if bought separately: Y39,620
Cost of vii-twenty-four hours ordinary Nippon Rail Laissez passer: Y29,110
Toll of one-way on the NE'Ten: Y3,020
Total savings: Y7,490*

*The savings will be much greater if you take day trips to Nara, Osaka or Himeji.

You tin can likewise view the full size version of this map

For more details, see the full itinerary for this 10-day Japan trip.

3) fifteen Days: Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima/Miyajima and Naoshima with a 14-day Nippon Rail Laissez passer

"Floating" torii (shrine gate) at Miyajima: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

If you've got 15 days in Japan and want to see a lot of the state, here'due south the smart way to practice information technology with a 14-mean solar day Japan Rail Pass.

• Arrive at Narita and pay with greenbacks or a credit bill of fare for the NE'X to Tokyo
• Spend two days in Tokyo using a Suica or Pasmo card to pay for trains and subways
• Drop into a JR ticket office former during those two days with your passport and ready your laissez passer to become active on the day yous travel to Kyoto.
• Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto on the shinkansen using your pass.
• Base of operations yourself in Kyoto for 4 days.
• Travel from Kyoto to Osaka using your pass.
• Spend one nighttime in Osaka.
• Travel from Osaka to Hiroshima using your pass. Explore Hiroshima and spend one dark there. Consider a side trip to Miyajima with an overnight in that location (non included in the totals for this itinerary).
• Travel from Hiroshima to Okayama then downwardly to Takamatsu and take the ferry to Naoshima (Japan'south "Art Island"). This is all covered by the pass except for the Takamatsu-Naoshima ferry, which costs Y520.
• Spend ane dark on Naoshima.
• Travel from Naoshima to Okayama via Uno and go along to Tokyo by shinkansen (all covered by the pass).
• Spend 1 night in Tokyo.
• Apply the pass to cover the NE'X back to Narita for your flying home.

Cost of train tickets if bought separately: Y59,530
Cost of xiv-mean solar day ordinary Japan Rails Pass: Y46,390
Cost of i-style on the NE'10: Y3,020
Total savings: Y10,120

Yous can too view the full size version of this map.

Kyoto Commune Map

Click a Kyoto Commune for detailed info on attractions, places to swallow and accommodation

• Arashiyama
• Fundamental Kyoto
• Northwest Kyoto
• Nishijin
• Northern Higashiyama
• Southern Higashiyama
• Downtown Kyoto
• Kyoto Station Area
• South East Kyoto

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Source: https://www.insidekyoto.com/japan-rail-pass-how-to-make-the-most-of-it

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