Japan travel & transport tips
Get the most out of your Japan visit - read my useful itineraries, travel tips, transport information (including the Japan Rail Pass) & costs...
(originally published in 2017 - not updated)
When we were planning our first journeys in Japan, I found it really useful to look at various travel itinerary examples to see what was feasible and to help decide on what type of transport and passes to opt for.
Following on from my last couple of posts about budget travel to Japan and top tips for using Japan Rail Passes, I thought it would be a good idea to add some info about the last three journeys we took in Japan. For each itinerary of main bases and day trips I have added an honest appraisal of the transport options and costs that were involved.
I hope this will help you plan your japan trip - there are also lots of resources on the japan-guide.com website and forum too.
Trip 1 - July 2015.
Our first trip to Japan and we wanted to cover the most famous and frequented sights. We used 3 main bases - Tokyo, Kyoto and Kanazawa - and trains to move around.
A 14 day JR Pass covered all the major journeys, side-trips and the majority of travel in and around Tokyo - most of the main spots in the city lie on the JR Yamanote and Chuo/Sobu lines, so being centrally located on the JR Chuo line allowed us to hop around without incurring massive extra cost. In addition, our hotel for the last few days was based at Haneda Airport and we were able to use the monorail with the JR Pass to make journeys into the city centre.
We used a Suica IC card for occasional underground or bus journeys in Tokyo and Kyoto and also purchased loop bus day tickets when visiting Nara and Kanazawa, allowing flexibility to move around and reducing the price against buying multiple single fares. The ferry to Miyajima was covered by the JR Pass, as was the Hiroshima loop bus.
Extra transportation costs were incurred in Himeji (100 yen ticket to travel to the castle by bus - we walked back to the station), for limousine bus transfers to our first Tokyo hotel from Haneda airport and our second Tokyo hotel at Haneda airport from Tokyo Station when returning from Kanazawa.
Assessment:
On this occasion, the pass was really useful, allowing flexibility and covering all our needs. It represented great value for money, especially as the exchange rate at this time was great and very much in our favour.
Trip 2 - March 2016
On this second trip, we wanted to cover lots of ground with day trips from a couple of main bases - Tokyo and Nagoya - with a stop off at Kanazawa on our return journey to Tokyo, where we spent another few days before our flight back to the UK.
With a hectic daily schedule planned, consecutive day use and some element of flexibility to allow for weather or health issues was needed; the 14 day Japan Rail Pass covered almost all journeys we took. The exception were the bus journeys between Takayama and Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go and the Fujikyuko line train from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko.
Additionally, we bought the handy one day bus tickets in both Kyoto and Kanazawa, which we had found useful on our previous visits. In Tokyo, visiting different areas and doing more walking (needing more flexibility to jump on a nearby subway train if mobility became a problem), accounted for more use of our Suica IC cards.
Finally, we used the Skyliner airport train for an early morning transfer to Narita Airport from Nippori, where our final hotel in Tokyo was located near to the station, at extra expense (day 15 - JR Pass had expired).
Assessment:
Using the JR Pass on a daily basis for long journeys, involving Shinkansen and Ltd Express trains, in addition to multiple local trains and the Tokyo JR lines, worked out as good value and a good fit for our needs.
The ability to make reservations was very useful, as despite being early in the year, some trains were highly subscribed. The consecutive 14 day period covered all the plans we had, allowed us to keep moving and also added an amount of flexibility to change plans if needed. Compared to individual ticket prices, it was very good value for money.
The cost for the bus day tickets bought in Kanazawa and Kyoto were negligible but were less useful on this occasion; using our Suica cards for individual journeys would have been a better option.
The Skyliner train tickets used to access Narita Airport from Tokyo early in the morning were bought online before travelling to take advantage of a discount. This extra expense was in effect cost neutral as it allowed us to spend extra time in Tokyo (specifically in Nippori so I could stock up on fabrics last minute!) and reduce costs involved with having to get to and stay in a more expensive hotel at the airport the day before departure.
Trip 3 - January 2017
For our third visit we used geographically distant bases on Kyushu and beautiful Shikoku in addition to spending some time in Tokyo and making a few day trips. As well as some excursions by JR local and Ltd. Express trains, more private train lines and bus routes were being used.
We also spent more time exploring around the local areas of our bases (which included heavier use of local transportation services) so did not require the consecutive day coverage of a full JR Pass.
We opted to use domestic flights bought with special rate fares (Japan Airlines Welcome to Japan and special advance rate fares) to cover distance and maximise time and to utilise short-period regional JR Passes for Kyushu (3 day JR Northern Kyushu Pass) and Shikoku (3 day JR All Shikoku Pass) to cover any long journeys and day trips using Ltd Express and JR trains as far as possible.
Usefully, the All Shikoku Pass covered the use of local transport services in Kochi and Takamatsu on Shikoku, which are not offered as part of the full JR Pass. Extra costs were involved with private train lines and buses plus heavier use of Suica cards on the Fukuoka subway, airport transfers and extensive use of the Tokyo underground, as we were visiting more areas that were not accessible by JR trains.
In Tokyo, rather than using our Suica cards, we saved some money by purchasing the Keikyu Welcome! Tokyo 72 hour subway ticket, which also included train transfer from Haneda Airport to our hotel in central Tokyo. For our last 2 full days in Tokyo, after our 72 hour card expired, we made some day trips and decided to opt for the three day Tokyo Wide Pass which covered these and any necessary transfers in and around Tokyo. It also covered the Narita Express (NEX) train transfer to Narita Airport on the final of the three day period.
Assessment:
We could have bought a 2 week JR pass to cover the time we were visiting, and it would have covered an element of what we had planned. However, there were going to be bundles of days that we would not be needing any cover, the exchange rate was awful and our use of Tokyo underground, private trains, buses and tram services was going to be heavier.
Travelling very long distances by train would have eaten valuable time, so using cheap domestic flights and the regional passes, which also included local transportation services, meant we got more for our money and eliminated any dead time - this worked really well and was good value.
However, these particular JR regional passes also run for consecutive days, so careful planning was needed and meant that there was less flexibility for our time in the areas where we were based. The use of the Tokyo Wide Pass was, for us in this scenario, a bad decision. Sadly, one of our excursions did not work out as planned due to lack of time. This meant that, for the actual journeys we did undertake, there were cheaper individual ticket options and using the Tokyo Wide Pass pass resulted in us spending more money than necessary.
